No name makes people think of ancient Africa better than T imbuktu . For more than four hundred years, this great trading city was the greatest trading place in sub-Saharan Africa.
Cities exist for a reason, and Timbuktu was no exception.
Timbuktu was located on a bend in the Niger River. Traders mined salt in the desert. In ancient Africa, salt was sometimes worth more than gold. Miners would carry the salt to the city where merchants would transport it on the river to faraway places. Timbuktu developed as a trading city, but the wealth of the city attracted others.