Is Timbuktu a Real Place?

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[@HistoryandHeadlines]

This video is also part of the playlist at kzbin.info/aero/PL_iDqSE1rpeCrUeBvvPnxVjKNYPUDYsuw

[@creasdaddy]

Not sure who's idea it was for Project Africa but these videos are awesome and its introducing me to some content creators I've never heard of.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I don't remember who proposed it, but kzbin.info/door/-JWw2juO3Ikj5C9VsNoGIw did a lot of the organization behind the scenes and so probably deserves some credit.

[@XalphYT]

Did I know that Timbuktu was a real city? Once, I was on a flight and the man beside me said that he was returning home to Timbuktu. At the time, that was essentially like saying to me that he was born in a fairytale.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for sharing your story! :)

[@komlat253]

lol wtf! to be fair, that's a fair conclusion

[@Dimz30]

Definitely a real place. Just goes to show what they hide in history class, they don't want u to know about the first universities.

[@HistoryHustle]

Is Timbuktu a Real Place? That is a question I have asked myself once. I always though it didn't exist. I have to read about African history more. Great you covered it!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thanks! :)

[@bjs301]

Thanks for another good video. I knew Timbuktu was a real place, somewhere in Africa or western Asia. I didn't know it was a city. When I was a child in the 1960's, there was an expression about "going to Timbuktu", that basically meant going to some mysterious city about as far away and far off the map as one could go. If I recall right, it was an expression U.S. military personnel had used in World War 2, in reference to being sent to fight in a place nobody had ever heard of. Now the expression makes sense.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

You're welcome! I recall Woody Harrelson saying something about Timbuktu in the film Natural Born Killers (1994) in the context of being a farawary place.

[@skillgreyhd4912]

I invaded the city in a game called Europa Universalis 4 as Mali. Its a historical game apparently

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

One of my students recommended that game to me, although I have not yet had the chance to play it.

[@PobortzaPl]

I heard of Timbubktu in a story set in Audoghast. It was Bruce Sterling's "Dinner in Audoghast", one of characters mentions Timbuktu, from context reader can understand it is even bigger and more important place than Audoghast.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

It is interesting reading about how people found it mentioned in all these different works! :)

[@sjappiyah4071]

Amazing how the richest city in the world at the time is now simply a place of legend. It shows the huge impact racism has on our societies knowledge. Great video here! Love this series

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thanks! :)

[@gentlebutch]

I had heard of Timbuktu and my mom told me when I was little that it was a real place. I never looked it up when I was older so I didn't know but I was pretty sure. My mom wasn't highly educated she wouldn't have lied but she may not have known and I grew up before you could just Google stuff. Interesting video as always.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for your kind comment! :)

[@denisedalton9754]

I was about to come here and leave a very a similar comment. 😳 Weird.

[@pisces2569]

I heard of it used in expression, but I was never sure if it was real or not

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Well, now you know and as they said in GI Joe: "Knowing is half the battle!" :)

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

I heard about it as a kid from various cartoons and movies

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I think I recall it appearing in a book by en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Geoffroy in which Napoleon conquers Africa and make Timbuktu the capital of Africa.

[@eanhudspeth9929]

I always associated the place with expressions. I found out it was a place lile 3 years ago and always wamted to learn aboit its significance to the develeopement of the world today

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I am glad that you have the chance to learn more about it now! :)

[@thelostscouser3061]

I remember from my childhood a comic strip called "George and Jimmy" in which the bad guys always ended up locked in a box bound for Timbuktoo. I don't know it was meant to be a real city. It simply signified a place far far away, I suppose.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for sharing. I am not familiar with that comic strip.

[@tessadifrancesco183]

Yes, I had heard of Timbuktu from a history class I took in middle school. This video was interesting and it was a nice refresher from that when I took that class.

[@5caser]

Most people do not realize Africa had great empires in History too!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

There has been several of them: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_empires

[@Loki-and-Thor]

I first heard about Timbuktu in a Mr Men book! I knew about it from an early age.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I actually wasn't familiar with Mr. Men books, but I see that there is an article on them at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Men Thanks for commenting! :)

[@mattpotter8725]

@@HistoryandHeadlines How can you not know the Mr Men books?!!! I know they are kids books (and probably not that popular in the US), but if you are ever in a bookshop and see them check out Mr Forgetful, it's a classic!!! I always like Mr Bump as well, probably as when I was a kid we had plasters (I think you call them band-aids) with him on that always seemed to help the pain go away!!! Great vid btw (loving this Project Africa playlist), and I knew Timbuktu from a saying, maybe from the Mr Men, not sure - "as far as from here to Timbuktu" meaning a long, long distance (like as long as a piece of string, but with regards to travel), but it wasn't until later I heard that it was a real place in Mali with a great history.

[@mattpotter8725]

@@HistoryandHeadlines Actually here you go - classic British kids tv from the 70s kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmauhKGZmLhlebs

[@reaganmorse1577]

I think I learned in middle school that Timbuktu is a real place.

[@Dimz30]

Of course it's a real place. Where the Greeks, Rome's came to learn mathematics, astronomy, science and much more. That they don't tell u about in the indoctrinated school system.

[@ryanwhitaker3296]

I didn't realize Timbuktu was a real place until I was well into my teenage years. I always figured it was just a figure of speech.

[@TheGeezzer]

One of the first things I did on my first PC was to look on Google Earth for Timbuktu. I was pleasantly surprised to find it, a bleak emptyish spot in the middle of nowhere, Not a place I'd want to get mugged and killed in. I knew it existed but wasn't sure _where_ it existed.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

It is neat being able to see places using Google Maps!

[@rparl]

If I were king of Timbuktu, I'd tell the people what to do. A short poem I learned as a kid.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for sharing that as I had not heard that poem before!

[@wyattwright1486]

I feel like I never hear about the history of Africa. Very informative video.

[@MrEricleblanc26]

I heard of Timbuktu from Jules Verne books. I learned a lot from his books. It was long before the internet.

[@zachpetroff314]

In full disclosure I really thought Timbuktu was a vacation spot in Wisconsin.

[@takshashila2995]

Timbuktu is really famous to not exist in India even today. Everyone knows its name but believes that it is a joke or a rumour or some funny made-up place. In

[@NoRockinMansLand]

Wow, interesting

[@9786oof]

I also found out recently that Toledo is a place and not just an exclamation?? Holy Toledo

[@zigzag1able]

Fallowing the trail line with African history! And I'm ❤️💛💚

[@JCResDoc94]

*☼ no, im trying to find the way to **_santa fe_** , do you know? shouldnt have taken that left at albuquerque.*

[@seanjordan4390]

I previously knew this was a place, but knew nothing about it.

[@carolineadams7283]

I think most people know of Timbuktu and I knew it was a real place and if anyone is interested the bbc did a fantastic documentary with a historian who traveled there

[@leonardolopez9659]

I did know Timbuktu was a city I mainly learned of it from a video game called Europa universalis 4. I had no clue that it had a mythical status

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I have never played that game but at least one student has recommended it to me.

[@anthonyeaglowski4265]

I knew about Timbuktu from a few African history videos I had watched, before than I just thought it was some far away city.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Would you ever like to visit there?

[@emilybeaver5976]

I always just assumed that Timbuktu was just apart of a saying and not an actual place.

[@dimitriosdrossidis9633]

Interesting, I didn't know about the actual existence of Timbuktu, let alone that it's in mali, as my only connection is a saying in german where Timbuktu is used as a place for bidding where no-one will find you or where it's hard to get to.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

It would be interesting to visit some day.

[@turbosdolphin]

Yes, heard of and know it was real. Great vid. I really enjoy your work!!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thanks! I appreciate that! :)

[@agent944994]

Love it!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thanks! :)

[@mauradelaney5326]

I would like to know about more african history

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Please see www.historyandheadlines.com/the-last-empress-in-the-world-a-real-african-game-of-thrones/

[@paulmcaughey5246]

Well, yes I did. Not being Muslim myself, I would really like to go there. African history is extremely Fascinating.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

If you are interested in Muslim history, please see kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHnUqauvm8ynpZo

[@eliscanfield3913]

My parents told me it was a real place, I think. Also, National Geographic had an article on the city and its desertification when I was a kid.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I enjoyed reading _National Geographic_ when I was younger.

[@ada310aa]

The only time I heard of timbuktu as being a real place was in a cartoon

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Which cartoon?

[@abigailbrandenburg1833]

I didn’t know that Timbuktu was a real place, although as a kid I also never thought it could be a made up city.

[@thatonepianoguy_]

Thank you!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

You're welcome! I hope that you also find today's new video interesting at kzbin.info8gDSBm8nUMA

[@Lohoris]

Oddly, I never heard of the myth that it WASN'T a real city.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for commenting!

[@موسى_7]

I used to think Timbuktu was a currently-existing country, not a city, and I imagined it to be in south-east Africa, not north-west.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for commenting! I hope that you also find today's new video at kzbin.info6gJgbIX4NP8 interesting.

[@renciadevilliers6077]

I did know that it is real, maybe because I live in Africa. The real treasure at Timbuktu was the library which was burned as pagan scripts by the Islamists. Recently some recovery work has been done on some of the partially burned scrolls that were saved. That library must have had some amazing books!

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

For more about African history, please see www.historyandheadlines.com/project-africa/

[@furuleetsaingo]

Yes to both questions

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for responding!

[@elianadean8296]

I knew timbuktu existed, I just didn't know the importance of it

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

This video is part of the playlist at kzbin.info/aero/PL_iDqSE1rpeCrUeBvvPnxVjKNYPUDYsuw if you are interested in seeing any similar videos.

[@panostriantaphillou766]

wtf? we did geography at primary school.

[@tessasmithkintz3830]

I have heard of Timbuktu. Mainly from my grandma that says she drives there. I had no clue it was real place I just thought it was a silly metaphor.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

For more on African history, please see www.historyandheadlines.com/project-africa/

[@ateium2409]

Yes , I knew about Timbuktu and that it was a real place

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for responding to the question!

[@patrickblanchette4337]

6:48 Yes to both questions.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for replying to the questions!

[@ayen1361]

I start looking for Timbuktu after playing rdr 2

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Are you referring to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dead_Redemption_2

[@AskiatheGreat64]

Is Timbuktu a Real Place? Short answer: Yes

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Indeed. Have you been there?

[@Njoofene]

I can't believe people thought that Timbuktu was not a real place. lol

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

In 2004, I had students in one of my classes who thought Bill Clinton was still president or Al Gore was president. In an election year, adults of voting age did not know who the current president was...

[@lydiaharless9666]

I didnt know that it was a real place, i thought it was just a saying

[@jasonshumate6456]

I thought I'd been to Timbuktu, but I was just in the Middle of Nowhere.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I have not yet had the chance to visit Mali.

[@majordan7729]

I think I've been in the Middle of Nowhere more than once...

[@martin128]

Well where does this come from that people think that Timbuktu is not a real place?

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I've come across multiple articles of people trying to assert it's real as if others must not believe it. Such as: blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2013/01/yes_timbuktu_is_a_real_place_heres_the_proof/ and www.quora.com/Is-Timbuktu-a-real-place

[@markspencer3612]

I knew it was a real city but I always thought it was in Ethiopia .

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

My dad may have visited Ethiopia when he was in the Marines. I know he went to East Africa, so I'll have to ask him about his journeys.

[@atomisedman6235]

@@HistoryandHeadlines Hope he visited my country Kenya

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

@@atomisedman6235 I think he may have. I'll forward your comment to him and maybe he can reply to confirm.

[@majordan7729]

@@atomisedman6235 Major Dan visited Kenya in 1980. Had a great time!

[@atomisedman6235]

@@majordan7729 Cool. Its really changed a lot since then. Mostly for the better but still some bad like extreme wealth disparity.

[@papakarrbear3767]

Never heard of it until now

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I am glad that you learned something new from our video!

[@matthewlyons4228]

Always thought it was just an expression

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I am glad that you learned something new from this video!

[@TJCampbell78]

Yes I had heard of it. Yes, I knew it was real too.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Thank you for responding to the question!

[@cytkl]

Yes. Destroyed by the conquer

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

What was the most successful empire to rule over Timbuktu?

[@mohamedmahmoudmohamed5580]

Tubukto it's a real city, i live in tubukto right now.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

How are things over there this year?

[@mohamedmahmoudmohamed5580]

It's not good at all, but better than 2012 n 2013. Saddly, it's became unsecure city, it's not that's tubukto we know befor 2012

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

@@mohamedmahmoudmohamed5580 I sincerely hope things get better!

[@mohamedmahmoudmohamed5580]

God well Thnks

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

@@mohamedmahmoudmohamed5580 You're welcome!

[@deannachatman2647]

No i did not, but it is cool that it is real.

[@mathieuleader8601]

shame Rene died of consumption

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Indeed.

[@mathieuleader8601]

@@HistoryandHeadlines very painful

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

@@mathieuleader8601 I once visited en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium with a group of students. According to Wikipedia, "It opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients."

[@bobweasel3]

civ v

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

The Civilization series are among my favorite in all of video game history! :)

[@redheadchucky]

wrong people to answer these questions

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

Who do you think are the right people to answer these questions?

[@eileen1820]

There's SO much anti-European sentiment and dogma now that I would love to know if Native Americans and Africans think they [ultimately] benefited from colonialism and or imperialism. I already know what elitists would say and they like to and continuously speak for others. Africa had no written language or history as far as I know. No infrastructure, agriculture or metallurgy, etc. It's sad that I expect this could be met with potential outrage but it's a question I trust many wonder but no one asks for fear of incorrectly being mislabeled.

[@presleywilson9815]

You're joking, right? You know Egypt is in Africa, right? Of course they had written language, some of the oldest in the world. How does an entire continent, the birthplace home sapiens, NOT have a history? Agriculture quite literally started in Africa. Egyptians were using iron 5000 years ago. You're being met with outrage because all of your bogus claims are so rooted in eurocentric racism, it's disgusting. It would have taken 2 minutes to google all the bs you just claimed. What's worse is that your ignorant and uneducated views have gotten likes by equally ignorant and uneducated people. And for the record, no people who have been colonized think they benefitted from it. That's such an entitled gross question. Would you "appreciate" 50 million of your people being annihilated by disease and slaughter? Or the enslavement of millions upon millions? Good lord, get some perspective.

[@eileen1820]

@@presleywilson9815 Dude. Get REAL. You know exactly what I mean. You're NOT woke. You're in fact the cancer of today's culture. You are part of cancel culture. Bring it on ALL DAY LONG. I only fear God; never ever a feeble minded individual like you.

[@eileen1820]

@@presleywilson9815 and thank you for 100% proving my point. You got out your digital pitchfork and did you even notice I simply posed a *question?* I asked THEIR opinion; not yours. Go to the dry cleaners to twice press your White Savior Cape.

[@hailes9841]

Ethiopia had grand palaces and also churches carved by stone. Agriculture? Check. Metallurgy? Check. Conquered other kingdoms including southern Arabian kingdoms? Check. Written script? Check. Also Ethiopia was mentioned as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world amongst Rome, Persia, and China. I actually recommend watching the rest of this project Africa playlist especially the guns,germs, and steel one because it seems like you do not know too much about Africa and honestly it is not your fault. Ever heard of the Benin kingdom and their metallurgy work? Heres also a quote about one of their cities: “Great Benin, where the king resides, is larger than Lisbon; all the streets run straight and as far as the eye can see. The houses are large, especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It is so well governed that theft is unknown and the people live in such security that they have no doors to their houses.” This quote is from Portuguese captain Lourenco Pinto.

[@eileen1820]

@@hailes9841 and what about Congo? Botswana? Namibia? Kenya? Nairobi? South Africa... Here comes the *Revisionist History.* Frighteningly Orwellian. Shameful.

[@johnniegaillard6228]

THOSE EVIL HEATHENS ARE ALWAS PUTTING THEIR NOSES IN PTHER PEOPL BUSINESS, AND TAKING EVERY THING THEY SEE, THE NATIVES SHOULD HAVE KLIIED ALL OF THEM.

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

If you are interested in the history of Africans, you may also enjoy kzbin.infoJceyVUxBtYc