Sidi Yahya Mosque is a historic mosque and Islamic school located in the heart of the ancient city of Timbuktu, in northern Mali. The construction of the mosque began in 1400 AD by Sheikh el-Mokhtar Hamalla of Timbuktu, and its construction was completed in the year 1440. The mosque represents a model of Sudano-Sahelian architecture that uses natural soil materials in construction (mud bricks). The mosque was severely damaged in 2012, and some of its architectural elements were later rebuilt under the supervision of the UNESCO team. Sidi Yahya Mosque was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, as part of Timbuktu.