A preservation project is underway to save the documents which are written in Arabic and several African languages. They were discovered hidden beneath homes and in caves.
"'Not only are we preserving the heritage of Timbuktu, of the Islamic world and Africa, but we are preserving a message of love and peace, of living together in a multicultural world,' said South African President Thabo Mbeki, noting that Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in peace together in medieval Timbuktu."
