Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Iznik, tilework
Further reading:
J.Hedgecoe and S.S.Damulji, 
Zillij: The Art of Moroccan
Ceramics,
New York, NY 1993.
J.M.Scarce, ‘Function and decoration in Qajar tilework’,
Persian Art and Culture of the 18th and 19th Centuries,
Edinburgh 1979.
Timbuktu (also known as Tombouctou)
Famous Islamic trading city in Mali, West Africa.
Timbuktu is located on the southern edge of the
Sahara several kilometres north of the Niger river.
According to tradition the city originated as a
nomadic Tuareg encampment in the twelfth century.
The encampment would have consisted of tents
made out of acacia wood frames covered over with
mats and animal-skin canopies. In 1325 the city was
conquered by Mansa Musa who incorporated it into
the empire of Mali. During this period the famous
Andalusian poet and architect Abu Ishaq al-Saheli
visited the city and built a mosque there. Several
years later in 1333 the city was burnt and pillaged in
an attack by Mossi tribesmen from Yatenga (present-
day Upper Volta) although it was later rebuilt by
Sulayman the emperor of Mali. The rule of Mali
ended in the fifteenth century and for the next forty
years the city was controlled by Tuareg nomads until
its annexation by Ali the ruler of Gao in 1468. During
this time Timbuktu became the main centre for the
trade with North Africa and enjoyed its greatest
period of prosperity. This was brought to an abrupt
end with the Moroccan invasion of 1591, although
the city managed to remain more or less independent
until 1787 when it passed into the control of the
Tuareg. In the nineteenth century the city was
incorporated into the Fulbe state of Massina and
remained under nominal Fulbe control until the
advent of French colonialism in the late nineteenth
century. Despite these conquests by various groups
and dynasties, Timbuktu remained substantially
independent for most of its history due to its position
on the border of the desert.
The first known European visitor was Caillié who
wrote the following description of the city in 1828:
‘The city of Timbuktu forms a sort of trian-gle,
measuring about three miles in circuit. The houses
are large, but not high, consisting entirely of a ground
floor. In some a sort of water closet is constructed
above the entrance.’ The city has retained this
triangular configuration into recent times although
new houses have been built around the central core.
The city is divided into five districts, or quarters,
traditionally inhabited by different ethnic groups—
the Ba Dinde, the Saré-kaina, the Bella Faraji, the
Sankoré and the Dijingueré Ber. The Dijingueré Ber
quarter is generally thought to be the oldest Muslim