Google becomes home to priceless Timbuktu manuscripts

Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
Timbuktu, in Mali, was once an important center of learning and religion. Now, more than 40,000 pages of precious manuscripts documenting centuries of its history and culture have been digitized and made available to the public.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
Timbuktu is also home to some of West Africa's most important historical buildings. Pictured is the replastering of the Great Mosque of Djenné, an annual event that attracts hundreds of people from across the city.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
Boys stand on scaffolding during the replastering festival. The Great Mosque is one of a number of buildings in the city designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
Mali was home to early 14th century ruler Mansa Musa, who some historians argue was the wealthiest person to ever live. His riches came from gold, and he ruled over an empire in which the arts and science flourished. According to accounts from the time, Musa's 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, in modern day Saudi Arabia, featured a convoy of 60,000 men (12,000 of whom were slaves) and 80 camels loaded with 300 pounds of gold each.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
A manuscript from Timbuktu containing detailed astrological maps. Hundreds of thousands of documents residing in the city contain verses of the Quran, scientific writings, law, poetry and cultural history, including everything from black magic to bedroom advice.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
A decade ago, it was thought hundreds of thousands of the manuscripts were destroyed by Islamic fundamentalists. Some were, but the vast majority were smuggled out of Timbuktu in secret and safely stored among more than two dozen locations across the capital Bamako.
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Photos: Uploading history: How thousands of manuscripts from Timbuktu ended up on Google
Abdel Kader Haidara (pictured) coordinated the smuggling effort. Haidara is still primary custodian of thousands of manuscripts, and he contacted Google in 2014 to ask for help digitizing them and others to ensure a record of their contents could be preserved online.