For centuries the city of Timbuktu was famed as a golden metropolis situated on the southern fringes of the Sahara; tales of its immense wealth and its reputation as a key centre of learning obsessed travellers and adventurers for many hundreds of years. Timbuktu certainly has one of the most illustrious histories in Africa; yet its recent history is much more turbulent and in 2012 the city suffered heavily after it was captured by Tuareg separatist Islamist forces. Recently Dan visited the once-gleaming Timbuktu with the International Committee of the Red Cross to learn more about its history and its vast collection of manuscripts - the most important set of documents in the history of sub-Saharan Africa...