Timbuktu is a trove of medieval treasures. But there are fears its heritage could be at risk from armed rebels who have overrun the ancient city.

Soon Mahamoudou Baba Hasseye, the affable imam at Timbuktu's Sidi Yahia Mosque, arrives, resplendent in a silver caftan, white turban and reflecting sunglasses.

The Treasures of Timbuktu Scholars in the fabled African city, once a great center of learning and trade, are racing to save a still emerging cache of ancient manuscripts ...

And in recent days, one Islamist group, allied with al-Qaida, has begun systematically destroying shrines inside the mosque, shrines that celebrate ancient Muslim saints.

Faith and studyBuilt with mud bricks by the great Mali emperor Mansa Musa, the 14th-century Djinguereber mosque is Timbuktu’s oldest standing building.

We pass Timbuktu's renowned Djingareyber Mosque, an imposing mud fortress built in the fourteenth century, when Timbuktu was a commercial and intellectual center of north Africa.

The Islamists controlling northern Mali on Tuesday destroyed two tombs at the ancient Djingareyber mosque in fabled Timbuktu, vowing to destroy all World Heritage sites in the region.

Inside the mosque complex. The buildings are constructed from mud bricks and adobe in a prime example of what is known as the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style.