Leo Africanus
At the time he visited the city of Timbuktu, it was somewhat past its peak, but still a thriving Islamic city famous for its learning. "Timbuktu" was to become a byword in Europe as the most inaccessible of cities, but at the time Leo visited, it was the center of a busy trade carried on by Berbers in African products, gold, printed cottons and slaves, and in Islamic books. Leo is said to have died in 1554 in Tunis, having reconverted to Islam.
Most of Leo's life is a mystery, and can only be gleaned from references in his magnum opus, Description of Africa. A fictionalized account of his life, Leo Africanus, by Amin Maalouf, fills in key gaps in the story and places Leo Africanus in all of the prominent events of his time.