Manuscripts

Islamic calligraphy (khatt) is the supreme art form of Islamic culture, transforming the written word into spiritual expression through elegant scripts. For over fourteen centuries it has adorned mosques, manuscripts, and monuments, making the divine word visually manifest.

Timbuktu was a major center of Islamic learning and trade in medieval Africa, flourishing from the 13th to 16th centuries. Home to Sankore University and hundreds of thousands of manuscripts, it became synonymous with wealth, knowledge, and scholarship.