Stamps of Mali: Timbuktu – Africa’s Cultural Treasure

There are a number of cities which most people seem to know about without being able to provide details about their exact geographical locations. I am referring to cities like Samarkand and Timbuktu.

Samarkand is located in Uzbekistan and Timbuktu can be found in Mali. I suppose we associate these two cities with something distant and unknown.

The two cities have a lot in common despite being located on different continents. Their moments of greatness took place many centuries ago when they were both important hubs for trading caravans.

However, in this article I intend to spotlight Timbuktu or Tombouctou as its name is rendered in French. The city is located in an oasis in the central parts of Mali in West Africa. Today it is the administrative centre of a province with the same name. Its current population amounts to some 10,000 people.

Timbuktu was founded by the Tuareg people around 1100. For many years it served as an important hub for the many caravans crossing the Saharan desert carrying gold, salt and slaves to different parts of Africa. When Islam reached the region several important religious schools were established in Timbuktu.

For many years Timbuktu was part of the legendary Mali Empire which comprised most of West Africa. In 1591, Morocco conquered the area which led to a period of decline for Timbuktu. Today the city is part of the Republic of Mali.

Timbuktu is famous for its many historic buildings. They include some of the most exceptional mosques of the Islamic world. For this reason the UNESCO has added the city to its World Cultural Heritage List.

In 1961, newly independent Mali decided to release a new set of airmail stamps. Two of the very handsome stamps were devoted to Timbuktu. The 100-franc stamp shows the Sankoré Mosque and a Tuareg. The 200-franc value is devoted to a view of mysterious Timbuktu. The large-sized stamps were issued to mark the opening of Timbuktu’s new airport (although this is not mentioned on the stamps).

Above: 1961 Mali issues showing Sankoré Mosque and mysterious Timbuktu.

If it is fairly easy to get to Timbuktu today it was quite a different matter in the 19th century. In fact, for many years the city was forbidden for Westerners.

At the beginning of the 19th century French interest in West Africa was very strong. At first trading stations were only established along the coastline. The interior was still virgin territory and completely unknown. Timbuktu was seen as a mythical place and many Westerners doubted that it even existed.

Now enters a young and enterprising Frenchman on the scene. René Caillié (1799-1838) had a fascination for Africa. He was only 17 years old when he sailed to Senegal in order to study Arabic and Islam.

But his greatest desire was to visit the mythical Timbuktu. After years of study and preparations he started the difficult trek towards Timbuktu disguised as an Arab traveller. He reached the city in April 1830. After careful observations of the city he joined a caravan heading for Tangiers in Morocco.

Back home in France Caillié wrote a book about his travels in Africa which found a most receptive audience. The French Geographical Society awarded him a medal in appreciation of his exploration work in Africa.

Thanks to Caillié’s visit to Timbuktu, people in the rest of the world finally obtained reliable information about an area which had been closed to foreign visitors for so many years. He could tell about a city with wonderful architecture from the era when the Malian Empire dominated most of West Africa.

René Caillié died in 1838. In 1939, the eight colonies making up French West Africa released a set of three stamps each marking the centenary of the explorer’s death. The stamps also commemorated Caillié’s memorable visit to Timbuktu. Others had tried to visit the city before him but all those attempts had failed.

Above: Two stamps from the omnibus edition commemorating René Caillié’s visit to Timbuktu.

The stamps show a portrait of René Caillié and a map of the northern part of Africa. Caillié’s route from Boké all the way to Tangiers has been traced on the map. The following colonies took part in the omnibus: Dahomey, French Guinea, French Sudan, Ivory Coast (Côte d’lvoire), Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

The issue was very much a low-budget one. All the colonies used the same design, the same colours and the same denominations. The stamps passed through the press twice with the country name being printed during the second operation. Interestingly enough all three denominations exist without country name. A set of three stamps can probably be had for some AU$4 in mint condition; a set without the country name is valued at far more than AU$300.

Shown below is a nice cover which was mailed from Saint-Louis in Senegal on September 20, 1930 to an addressee in Boghé in neighbouring Mauritania. The postal services in French West Africa were apparently very efficient as the cover is backstamped at Boghé on September 22. A closer study of the 90c Caillié stamp reveals that the country name is missing making the cover highly desirable.

Above: Senegal-Mauritania cover from 1930.

The French Yvert & Tellier catalogue has decided to list the stamps without country name under the heading of Côte d’lvoire (Ivory Coast) as it is impossible to determine to which colony the error stamps belong. Obviously some of the stamps without country name were on sale at the Saint-Louis post office in Senegal.

French forces finally took complete control of Timbuktu in the 1890’s. By then Timbuktu was a sleepy small town without any particular significance. It is only fairly recently that the outside world has realized the historic and cultural significance of Timbuktu.