The city lies on the south­ern edge of the Sahara, about 13 km from the Niger Riv­er. In the 14th–16th cen­turies, it was a major cen­ter of trans-Saha­ran trade and Islam­ic cul­ture. It host­ed renowned madrasas and libraries, includ­ing the Sanko­re Uni­ver­si­ty. The archi­tec­ture fea­tures mud-brick mosques, nar­row streets, and car­a­van court­yards. Despite its decline after the 16th cen­tu­ry, the city remains a sym­bol of African schol­ar­ship. Home of the pres­ti­gious Koran­ic Sanko­re Uni­ver­si­ty and oth­er madrasas, Tim­buk­tu was an intel­lec­tu­al and spir­i­tu­al cap­i­tal and a cen­tre for the prop­a­ga­tion of Islam through­out Africa in the 15th and 16th cen­turies. Its three great mosques, Djin­garey­ber, Sanko­re and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu‘s gold­en age. Although con­tin­u­ous­ly restored, these mon­u­ments are today under threat from deser­ti­fi­ca­tion.