Timbuktu in 1893, a situation that lasted until it became part of the current Republic of Mali in 1960. Presently, Timbuktu is impoverished and suffers from desertification. In its Golden Age, the town's numerous Islamic scholars and extensive trading network made possible an important book trade: together with the campuses of the Sankore Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Several notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, have described Timbuktu. These stories fuelled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being extremely rich to being mysterious. Over the centuries, the
Timbuktu (1959 film) was originally meant to be shot on location in colour and widescreen based on an idea of Small and Frank Cavett with Stuart Heisler to direct. Later, there was a script done by Horace McCoy. At one stage, the film was going to be made by the team of Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse, who were making films for Small. In 1956 producer Edward Small registered several titles for the film, including: "East of Timbuktu", "West of Timbuktu", "North of Timbuktu", "South of Timbuktu" (a technique of titling films that William Witney described as "boxing the compass"), "The Road to