[5]  Sidi Yayha's tomb is located in the mosque, which has meant it has historically attracted many visitors including Timbuktu's most renowned scholar, Ahmad Baba.

[2] In 1990, the government of Mali requested admission for the city of Timbuktu to UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger based on a threat of sand encroachment on historic buildings including the Sidi Yahya Mosque.

[6] While the community has kept Sidi Yahya better maintained than the two other main mosques in Timbuktu, years of erosion, wear on the foundation, and ineffective drainage threatened the structure.

[6] The exterior of the building is studded with exposed beams of wood called torons which are used to climb to higher parts of the mosque to apply a new layer of mud.

The doors of the Sidi Yahya mosque are low and ornately designed, showing Moroccan influence from the time when the city was under Maghsharan Tuareg authority (c.

The roof of the mosque, like other buildings in Timbuktu, is supported by wood from the indigenous ronnier tree, covered with layers of mud to form the plaster-like exterior.

[6] In the summer of 2012, members of Ansar Dine, a group tied to al-Qaeda, broke down the doors of the mosque, which according to legend were not to be opened until the end of time.

[12] In 2013, the restoration of the Sidi Yahya Mosque, viewed by residents of Timbuktu as an historical protective symbol of the city, was carried out by local woodworkers with the support of UNESCO.

[13] “The reinstallation of the sacred gate, a religious and cultural landmark of Timbuktu, marks a new and decisive step in Mali’s reconstruction and peace building work.

[13] This—along with the reconstruction of the mausoleums of Timbuktu and the trial of those responsible for their destruction at the International Criminal Court—sends a strong message to all extremists.”[13] With the support of local carpenters and UNESCO, the sacred gate of Sidi Yahya was restored on September 19, 2016.