A city of glorious past
Of mystery and mystics
Of mosques and saints
A magnet for students
A scholar’s sanctuary
Of Sankore University fame
A city of books and scholarship
Located at the edge of the Sahara
Yet so close to the celebrated Niger
Drought and Flood battle for your soul
Modernity and environment have turned you
Into an impoverished African city in Mali
No matter what your status is today
The years you flourished are not grey
Your glory remains green, ever green
In the texts of travellers and explorers
And in the minds of visitors and tourists
Timbuktu is still that fascinating place to visit.