Timbo

Timbo was the capital of the Fouta Djallon imamate, the Fulani theocratic state that governed this plateau from the eighteenth century until the French took it, and it was a centre of Islamic scholarship with a court and a mosque. The state is gone and Timbo is a village now, with the tombs of the almamys, the rulers, and the site of the old mosque the main things to see. The imamate ran from the 1720s until the 1890s, which makes it one of the longer-lasting West African states of the period.

History

Karamokho Alfa, who led the Fulani jihad that founded the Imamate of Futa Jallon between 1727 and 1751, ruled from Timbo, which became the capital of the new state and an important religious centre known for its eighteenth-century mosque (Wikipedia, Timbo, Guinea).

What you'll find

• The almamys' tombs - the burials of the imamate's rulers.
• The old mosque site - the ground the capital's mosque stood on.
• The former capital - a village that governed the whole plateau.
• The scholarly history - a centre of Islamic learning in West Africa.

When to go

November to April is the dry season and the tracks are passable. The rains from May make the roads difficult. Mornings are cooler.

Practical notes

Very little survives above ground and the site needs a guide and background to make sense of. There is no interpretation. The track in is rough.

Nearby

Mamou is southwest, and Dalaba is west.

Key facts