Araouane or Arawan's a village in the Malian Sahara in eastern Mali, lying 270 km north of Timbuktu on the road to Taoudenni. It's a former oasis and's still a station on trans-Saharan trade routes. Formerly known for its scholars, particularly Ahmad Baba al Massufi, who was born there, it's declined in recent centuries. Its mosque's now buried in sand to its minaret. Restoration of the town began in the early 1990s, but was severely disrupted by the Tuareg Rebellion. In early 1990, the town wa… (More on Araouane)