MAURETANIA

November 2022

Imagine a country so remote that most people have never heard of it, let alone can find it on a map. A country with a unique and very traditional culture. Where most men wear clothes straight out of the fairy tales of 1001 Nights.

You wouldn't believe that such a place still exists in the 21st century. But it does.

Mauritania is a large part of the Sahara, three times the size of France, which ends abruptly at the Atlantic coast.

A rough, impassable country, inhabited mainly by Moors. A place where you won't see another tourist for days.

The capital Noukachott, with exotic markets and an exotic atmosphere. The highlight was a visit to the Port de Peche (fishing harbour) on the Atlantic coast with its rugged beauty and the incredible faces that defy the harsh climate. While most people are busy fishing, some take the opportunity to take a dip in the sea.

Chinguetti, one of the 7 holy cities of Islam in the Middle Ages, is now a dilapidated, forgotten place on the edge of the Sahara, characterised by slowness and remoteness. Not much is left of its former splendour - apart from several medieval libraries filled with thousands of old, handwritten books and guarded by librarians from the old world with wooden locks.

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