www.aljazeera.net Manuscripts from Africa's desert north, appearing in public for the first time, have gone on display in Johannesburg after President Thabo Mbeki launched an appeal for funds to save a vital element of African cultural history.

The manuscripts are from the National Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research in Timbuktu in Mali, which was once an important cultural crossroads that attracted scholars from far afield in the African and Arab worlds.

Experts say documents kept at the centre, some dating back to the 13th century and finely illuminated, are important because they show that Africa had a long written tradition rather than, as is commonly supposed, an oral one; and that African culture was alive and vibrant long before the European Renaissance.

"This is the first time these manuscripts have left the institute," said the director of the establishment, Mohamed Gallah Dicko. "They never leave for reasons of preservation and security."

Of the 25,000 manuscripts at the centre, 16 have gone on display at the Standard Bank Gallery in the heart of Johannesburg, where the exhibition was opened by Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure on Saturday.

The documents on display there include a biography of Prophet Muhammad along with treatises on music, astronomy, physics and traditional pharmacy.

"We wanted to show that contrary to what people sometimes think, the manuscripts do not all deal with Islam," Dicko said.

He said the modest 1970 building where the manuscripts were kept was not suitable for hi-tech conservation, and that a new centre of international standard would be constructed with the results of the cash appeal.

Mbeki launched the appeal at a gala dinner in South Africa, as part of the first joint cultural programme under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which encourages collaboration between governments, state institutions and the private sector.

"Clearly, we cannot allow such a critical part of African history to die, because such a death would mean erasing an important link to our glorious past," Mbeki said.

He added that translation and publication of some of the manuscripts would help renew a sense of self-respect and pride in Africa.

The appeal aims to raise 35 million rand ($5.6 million) as part of a joint programme.