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Rang

Sand-coloured city of scholars

Timbuktu

Earthen mosques the colour of the desert, and the deep indigo veils of the Tuareg.

Timbuktu seen from a distance by Heinrich Barth's party, September 7, 1853
Photo: Drawn by Martin Bernatz after a sketch by Heinrich Barth, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Timbuktu is sahara sand

Timbuktu lies at the southern edge of the Sahara, near the Niger river in Mali. From the 14th to the 16th century it was a rich trading city and a centre of Islamic scholarship, and families there still keep old manuscripts. Its three great mosques are built of mud and limestone rubble. The oldest, Djinguereber, dates from about 1327. They are the same pale brown as the sand that blows through the streets. The strongest colour is worn, not built. Tuareg men of the region wrap the head and face in a long veil dyed with indigo, so heavily that the dye rubs off on the skin. Outsiders have called them the blue men.

Sahara sand#D2B48CTuareg indigo#23305CMud brown#9A7650Manuscript ink#2B2422

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Timbuktu

IndigoA deep blue dye from plants, now mostly made synthetically and known for colouring denim
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Timbuktu" on Wikipedia. If you know Timbuktu and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

All colour cities
🇲🇱 City of the great mud mosqueDjennéA town of sun-dried mud brick in Mali, centred on the largest earthen building in the world.🇮🇳 Ruins among golden bouldersHampiThe ruined capital of Vijayanagara lies among heaps of ochre granite boulders and bright green paddy.🇮🇩 Home of court batikYogyakartaThe royal city of central Java, whose classic batik is drawn in brown, indigo and white.🇺🇿 The sand-coloured holy cityBukharaAn oasis city of pale brick, where patterned brickwork does the work of colour and blue domes are accents.🇮🇷 The mud-brick desert cityYazdAn earth-coloured city of domes and wind towers in central Iran, with one tall gateway of blue tile.🇾🇪 The gingerbread citySana'aTower houses of brown brick, each window and floor outlined in white gypsum like icing.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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