Restoration of the Essayoutti house © mission-culturelle-Tombouctou

Work began on the house in August 2004 and will soon be completed. Three builders and seven labourers were given a 3-month in-situ course in traditional building techniques and the use of local materials. At the same time, and to enable the house to fulfil its cultural role, some fifty of the scholar Essayoutti’s manuscripts have been acquired and a library has been built. Speaking on the subject, Mr Ali Ould Sidi, head of the Timbuktu cultural mission, said that the Essayoutti heritage house project is a major jewel in the city’s architectural crown but is also a unique stopoff point in the Ksour chain of fortified villages. It comes at a propitious time to ensure Timbuktu’s place as a crossroads of civilizations and a meeting-point between North and Sub-Saharan Africa.