Timbuktu Pictures: Before and After al Qaeda

Sankore Mosque

Photograph by Brent Stirton, Getty Images/National Geographic

Men greet each other outside the 14th-century Sankore Mosque. At the height of its wealth during the Middle Ages, Timbuktu leaders built several elaborate mosques, attracting Islamic scholars throughout the region and establishing the city as an important religious and academic center.

Published December 7, 2012

Mourning a Death

Photograph by Brent Stirton, Getty Images/National Geographic

In a moment of unity prior to the current conflict, members of Timbuktu's three major ethnic groups—the Tuareg, Songhai, and Berbiche—gathered to mourn the death of a prominent city official’s wife. Each group has ruled the city during its long history, and relations among them are often fractious.

Published December 7, 2012

Forbidden Fashion

Photograph by Brent Stirton, Getty Images/National Geographic

Before the Islamist takeover, students often dressed in Western fashions to attend Timbuktu's public high school. But the Islamists have implemented a strict Taliban-style interpretation of Islamic law, requiring all women to wear burkas and forbidding girls from attending school.

Published December 7, 2012

Ansar Dine Fighters

Photograph by AP

Fighters from Ansar Dine, one of the Islamist factions controlling Timbuktu, stand watch over the city’s downtown. After allying with Tuareg rebels to conquer Mali’s key northern cities, the Islamists ousted Tuareg fighters who refused to embrace their Islamist agenda.

Published December 7, 2012

Bearing Witness

Photograph from AP

A crowd gathers in Timbuktu to witness Ansar Dine amputate the hand of a young man found guilty of stealing rice. Human rights groups have reported several amputations meted out by Islamists occupying northern Mali towns and villages.

Published December 7, 2012

Ancient Shrine Destroyed

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

Ansar Dine fighters tear down an ancient shrine to one of Timbuktu’s venerated saints. So far the group has destroyed several of the city’s tombs and other historic landmarks, calling them idolatrous. UNESCO has declared the city an endangered World Heritage site.

Published December 7, 2012

Child Soldiers

Photograph from AFP/Getty Images

Timbuktu residents have reported that Ansar Dine has recruited boys as young as 12 for military training. The International Criminal Court has warned that such acts constitute war crimes.

Published December 7, 2012

Hostage Handover

Photograph from AP

Islamist fighters man an antiaircraft gun in northern Mali during the handover of a Swiss hostage for transport to Burkina Faso by helicopter. For the last several years, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has reportedly reaped tens of millions of dollars by kidnapping foreigners and holding them for ransom. Security analysts say the group has used the money to acquire heavy weapons from looted Libyan stockpiles.

(Read more about how Timbuktu has changed.)

Published December 7, 2012

See More Pictures of Timbuktu in National Geographic Magazine

Photograph by Brent Stirton, National Geographic

Published December 7, 2012