Why would York want to be twinned with Timbuktu?

But while in the Middle Ages it was the fabulously wealthy hub of an important West African trading empire, today it is little more than an outpost of one of the poorest countries in the world, Mali.

According to York-based aid worker Jane Carter, who went there a few years ago, the only ways to reach it are to fly in by ageing Aeroflot plane; a five-day journey by dodgy riverboat up the Niger river; or overland across the desert in a hardy 4X4.

So, the question for York people is, why on Earth should we want to be twinned with such a remote place?

Because it would open our eyes, says Heworth-based educational consultant John Bibby, who is leading York's bid to twin with the African city.

"It would mean we were linked with another culture. It would be a new window on the world for York," he said.

No, it wouldn't bring jobs to York, or floods of cash, he admitted. But if proper links were established, there would be a real opportunity in the future for exchange visits, and a chance for each of these ancient cities to learn from each-other.

York council leader Steve Galloway remains to be convinced. York being a tourist city itself, he can see that links with Timbuktu could generate some useful publicity, he says. "On the other hand, I don't necessarily think that the residents of York would feel that it was something we should put a lot of resources into." York is already twinned with Munster and Dijon, Coun Galloway pointed out.

York has, however, won through to the last three in a national contest to find a British twin for the far-flung African city.

Only Glastonbury, famed for its association with King Arthur and the Holy Grail, and Hay-on-Wye, a town on the Welsh borders renowned for its second-hand bookshops and little else, now stand in our way.

So what if we were to win?

"We will deal with that as and when it happens," Coun Galloway said.

Others in York are more enthusiastic.

Labour councillor Janet Looker, a former Lord Mayor, said she was "very, very much in favour" of York having better links with "less developed countries."

Coun Looker is chairman of a group forging links with the Fanteakwa district in Ghana, a West African country with a longstanding cocoa trade link with the city.

Being twinned with Timbuktu would not be like being twinned with Munster or Dijon.

"There is not really a great difference in culture between us and other European cities," she said. "We've been fighting each-other for 1,000 years, and we know each-other very well!

"Forging links with Africa is much more of a challenge. But I think it is a good idea."

One of the ways in which York could benefit culturally from links with an African city would be through setting up links between schools, Coun Looker says.

Mark Barnett, the head teacher of Westfield Primary School in Acomb, agrees with that.

Earlier this year he went with a group of others from York to Begoro, in the Fanteakwa district of Ghana, to help build a children's playground.

It was, he says, one of the most life-changing and humbling experiences of his life.

He saw families living on $1 a day, people living in homes you could buy for £300. And yet he didn't come away with the traditional negative images of Africa as a starving continent blighted by drought and famine and dependent on hand-outs for survival.

Yes, there was poverty. "But it wasn't a part of Africa where anybody was starving. There was water. And I have never seen such happy people."

He brought back lots of photos of his time there, which he has had blown up and used to make a wall display at school. "And the children (at Westfield) are fascinated by it."

The links with Ghana are fairly well-established, and children at Westfield have exchanged information with children in schools over there, Mr Barnett says.

That in itself is a hugely worthwhile activity, he says.

"We're not multicultural in York yet. This kind of thing broadens the mind, it broadens children's thinking."

Dave Brown, headteacher of Heworth Primary School, agrees.

Some of his school children took part in a "Big Brew" event in Parliament Street earlier this year to raise awareness of how people in Mali, the country in which Timbuktu is located, manage to get by when they have to walk miles every day to collect water.

The Heworth children each carried buckets of water in Parliament Street.

That helped to make children think about what it was like to live in another country, he said.

Links with a city like Timbuktu, however, would make it seem that much more real to them.

"Children often just see the world that is immediately around them," he said. "Anything we can do to encourage them to realise there is a much wider world has got to be good."

Timbuktu is such a remote place that it would probably be impractical to take primary-age children on an exchange visit there, even if we were to be twinned with the city, admits Mark Barnett.

But it would certainly be possible to take older, secondary school-age young people, he believes.

And who knows, the existence of twinning links might make it easier for travellers of all ages from York to reach this most far-flung of cities, and even find a welcome there, says Janet Looker.

First, of course, we have to win the competition to be Timbuktu's British twin town.

How do we do that?

"I think we've got to show some enthusiasm!" says Barry Perks of York-based overseas development charity International Service."We've got to motivate people to get behind this."

That may be the hardest thing to do. But those children at Westfield Primary School who were so excited by Mark Barnett's photos of Ghana prove there are plenty of children who would probably love it if we were twinned with a lost town on the edge of the desert.

Timbuktu

When you travel to Timbuktu, says Jane Carter of York overseas development charity International Service, you really feel as though you are going to the ends of the earth.

Jane went there herself a few years ago while on a tour of Mali, where some International Service volunteers work.

"Most people fly in one of those rickety old Aeroflot planes," she said. "Or you can take a boat, five weeks along the Niger river on a boat that is quite possibly going to sink!"

Jane herself opted to drive overland in a 4X4, through semi-desert areas occupied by Tuareg tribesmen.

Timbuktu, she says, is "almost the last inhabited place in Mali before you hit the Sahara" - so it really does deserve its reputation as being at the end of the world.

It is only a small place, she says, consisting mostly of sand, but it does have one of the oldest mosques in the world, built of sand and mud.

But there is no industry, very little agriculture, and the environment is harsh. It is hot and dry - 45C or 50C, with no fresh fruit or vegetables for six months of the year.

Many of the people make a living from fishing in the River Niger, on whose banks the city is situated.

Apart from that, Jane says, all around are the lone and level sands.

There is a decent hotel, though, because the city's legendary reputation does mean some tourists go there. And you can, theoretically, drive into the desert north of Timbuktu - though you'd need a very good 4X4 to make it. And God help you if you got lost.

York's other twin cities

York is officially twinned with both the German city of Munster, and Dijon in France.

Twinning can bring many benefits, a spokesman for City of York Council said - including increased tourism, educational and civic links and an increased understanding and friendship between different cities.

"But York also has strong links with international communities to which it is not twinned, including Fanteakwa in Ghana and New York, and it would be possible for the city to form stronger links with Timbuktu without going through a formal twinning process," the spokesman said.

Dijon

York has been twinned with the French city since 1953.

Once the prestigious city of the Dukes of Burgundy, Dijon is now a modern regional capital with eight museums and a name for hosting international events.

It prides itself on being a destination for the gourmet, wine-lover or amateur of history and art.

Munster

Next year, York will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its partnership with Munster, in the North Rhine Westphalia region of Germany.

Munster was recently awarded the title of the "World's Most Liveable City" and boasts plenty of history, green spaces and shopping and cultural activities.

• Opinions were divided in Parliament Square, York, as to whether the twinning should go ahead.

Kevin Dunn, 30, of York, was nonplussed: "I'm not bothered really, I don't know why we didn't twin with New York instead," he said.

I can't think of any benefits to it."

Richard Scott, 40, of Fulford, wasn't convinced either: "I don't know much about it and I'm not that bothered really," he said.

"I suppose I wouldn't have anything against it but I don't really understand the benefits of it.

"I suspect it will mean our council leaders will have lots of jollies at our expense and little else."

Kleo Walker, 18, of York, was more enthusiastic: "I think it would be good for England to experience Africa and learn about the culture there," she said.

"It would be good for Africans too experience a city like this too. It would raise awareness on both sides."

Ellen Thomas, 18, also of York, agreed: "I think it's a good idea. It would have been a good idea to twin with New York too though - that would have been nice."