It has held a grip over the Western imagination for centuries, a mysterious desert city whose very name has become synonymous with enigma and remoteness.
Now the historian Dan Snow hopes Timbuktu’s recovery from a destructive occupation by Islamist militants will inspire the world to create a “monuments men” style international agency to protect cultural heritage sites threatened by war.
“When you’re confronted with the death of human beings it can feel perverse to worry about the fabric of the buildings around them. But it is really important, because by destroying the fabric of a community you can obliterate that community,“ Mr Snow told The Sunday Telegraph shortly after visiting the city…