The daring desert crossing uniting sub-Saharan West African goldfields with Mediterranean merchants, epitomized by Mansa Musa and the scholars of Timbuktu.
The introduction of the dromedary camel into North Africa during late antiquity unlocked the vast wastes of the Sahara Desert. Berber and Tuareg guides led massive caravans of thousands of camels laden with Saharan rock salt southward to the Sahel, where it was exchanged pound-for-pound for alluvial gold mined in the forests of Bambuk and Bure. This wealth financed the legendary Mali and Songhai Empires, culminating in Mansa Musa’s lavish 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca.
Supplied upwards of two-thirds of the medieval Mediterranean world’s gold coinage, underpinning Italian florins and ducats.
2 caravanserais recorded within 40 km of the mapped line. A caravanserai is a roadside inn; a halting place is a named camping ground with no permanent building. How caravans travelled and how a caravanserai worked.
Caravanserai · Morocco · 34.0651° N, 4.9729° W
Funduq al-Tetwaniyyin (Arabic: فندق التطوانيين, lit. 'caravanserai of the people of Tetouan'), also known as Funduq al-Staouniyine, is a historic funduq (caravanserai) in Fes el-Bali, the old city of Fes, Morocco.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Caravanserai · Morocco · 34.0661° N, 4.9746° W
Funduq Sagha (Arabic: فندق الصاغة, lit. 'inn of the goldsmiths') (also spelled Fondouk Sagha) is a historic funduq (a caravanserai or traditional inn) in Fes el Bali, the old medina quarter in the city of Fez, Morocco.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo via Wikimedia Commons
| Name | Type | Country | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funduq al-Tetwaniyyin | Caravanserai | Morocco | 34.0651° N, 4.9729° W |
| Funduq Sagha | Caravanserai | Morocco | 34.0661° N, 4.9746° W |
Sources: Wikidata (caravanserais, CC0) and the OWTRAD project (halting places). All caravanserais and halting places
Sovereign states that safeguarded, taxed, or maintained garrisons along this route:
