The Lost City of Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was a legendary medieval city in southeastern Morocco, founded in 757 CE on the Ziz River near the Sahara. Once one of the most important trading hubs in the Islamic world, it controlled the gold and salt trade routes between West Africa and the Mediterranean. According to Moroccan folklore, Sijilmasa was a city of unimaginable wealth where the streets were lined with gold and the houses were decorated with precious stones. The city's wealth came from the gold of the Ghana Empire, which was traded at Sijilmasa's legendary markets. The city was destroyed in the 14th century during con