Constructed from the very earth on which it stands, Timbuktu’s oldest mosque is at the heart of daily life in the ancient city, loyally maintained by the proud descendants of its original builders.
“We have not had to do major patching up since 2006 when the Aga Khan’s restoration programme began.”
– Mahamane Mahanmoudou, the 77-year-old Djinguereber muezzin and mason-in-chief of the mosque
Timbuktu has never, to anyone’s knowledge, been the capital of any country. But its history, coupled with the pleasing sound of its three syllables, have made it a megalopolis in the human imagination ever since Emperor Moussa I built Djinguereber after returning from Mecca in 1327.
Takrit scribes in Cairo – through which the miles-long camel caravan of the king of the vast Mali Empire passed – said his wealth and generosity was unlike any they had seen. He gave away so much West African gold while on his travels that the value of the metal collapsed.
Retired headmaster and local historian Salem Ould Elhadje says no one knows where Kankou Moussa – the “king of kings” as he is known in Mali – established his capital, or even if he had one. But the trading centre Timbuktu – and in particular Djinguereber mosque – were certainly his pride and joy: “He established administrative buildings here, centres of scholarship and universities. He brought an Andalucian architect from Cairo to build Djinguereber. The protruding beams are a reminder of European buttresses. The conical minaret recalls the Egyptian pyramids.”
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The Guardian | Timbuktu’s Djinguereber mosque: a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 5
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Ismailimail 
This building has always fascinated me
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