MAURITANIA

Visit Mauritania with TransAfrica

Mauritania is a large territory, largely covered by the Sahara and inhabited in its central and northern regions by the Moors of Arab-Berber origin. The country, which was once a French colony, gained its independence in 1960.

It has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. The neighbouring countries are: Algeria to the north east, Mali to the east and to the south; Senegal also to the south, while to the north west lies Western Sahara – a much disputed territory to which Morocco also lays claim.

The Oases between Chinguetti and Oualata

Chinguetti and Ouadane, two of the most ancient oases in the north, are very beautiful and much visited. (Chinguetti was actually declared a world heritage site - UNESCO is currently seeking to protect it from the ever-encroaching dunes.) Few travellers venture into the north of the country, up towards the areas surrounding the mining town of Zouerat and the great sand lakes of Maqteir and El Amami.

Less frequently visited, but very interesting, is the region of the Aoukar, with its archaeological remains of ancient settlements. At the spectacular site of Aghrijit you can still see the little streets, walls and yards of a large ancient village that was abandoned thousands of years ago. On the eastern boundary of Aoukar is the oasis of Oualata – an ancient caravan centre, older even than Timbuktu. While in the majority of oases there reigns a silent aura of abandon, this is definitely not the case in Oualata. Here many houses are still inhabited and the people have kept alive the tradition of decorating their beautiful doorways with geometric designs in Arabic colours, making this fascinating oasis a veritable one of a kind.

Limited Tourism Possibilities

Apart from in the above-mentioned regions which, together with Nouakchott and the Atalantic coast, receive a degree of tourist attention, the chance of meeting other western travellers in the rest of the country is extremely rare – in fact, almost zero. Venturing in to the central part of the country you come across large herds of zebus of the nomadic Peul tribe, as well as black country people who live along the Senegalese border and whose wives decorate the interior of their homes in bright, vivid geometric designs.

Some comment needs to be made here about the wide open spaces that this country has to offer – all of them largely unexplored – in the extreme north in the areas bordering Algeria and Mali. These are completely uninhabited territories, with huge dune ranges, rocky ridges, valleys, mysterious archaeological remains, vast fossilised lakes where the clay deposits on the surface stretch off into the distance in colours of green and violet. In this universe apart, that is totally isolated from the rest of the world, wander rare groups of Reguibat nomads who have never come into contact with foreigners.

We are the only company to offer travelling opportunities in this region. No one else ventures onto these difficult territories because of problems with getting fresh supplies, as well as possible problems with rebels and safety.

msn Encarta Mauritania    Maps