MAURITANIA Black African Twist
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© Lonely Planet Publications 420 lonelyplanet.com MAURITANIA •• Highlights 421 HIGHLIGHTS HOW MUCH? Mauritania Nouakchott fish market ( p424 ) Watch doz- ens of colourful fishing boats roll in with Cup of tea in a nomad’s tent Free their glistening catch. Taxi ride in Nouakchott US$1.10 Chinguetti ( p428 ) Lose yourself in the labyrinthine lanes of the old city before Camel ride in the desert About US$22 experiencing the magic of the Saharan per day dunes. Wild coast meets Saharan dunes. This should be enough to lure you to Mauritania. If you’re Bush taxi fare (from Nouakchott to Oualâta ( p430 ) Push the frontiers by trav- Nouâdhibou) US$21 still diffident, a limited amount of hyperbole may strike a chord: think grandiose dune fields, elling to this remote desert town, one of Auberge room About US$7.50 per Mauritania’s best-kept secrets. ancient cities scoured by sandy winds, giddily deep canyons, eye-popping plateaus, sand person seas larger than many a small European country and a phalanx of enchanting oases. Iron-ore train ( p433 ) Hop on the world’s MAURITANIA longest train, and be ready for the bump- LONELY PLANET INDEX Sure, you may find similar landscapes in other parts of West Africa, but few are on the same iest journey of your life! scale as those in Mauritania. And few are as varied. Where else could you find such a startling Banc d’Arguin ( p427 ) Pack your binoculars 1L petrol US$0.80 and observe vast flocks of birds from a interplay of dunes and ocean? If it’s tranquillity you’re after, fear not: unlike Senegal, the Mau- 1L bottled water US$0.90 MAURITANIA MAURITANIA traditional pirogue (traditional canoe). ritanian coastline is completely virginal – expect kilometres of sandy beaches without a resort Bottled beer US$1.50 in sight. And it will remain forever: an immense stretch of seashore is protected, with Parc CLIMATE & WHEN TO GO Souvenir T-shirt US$2.30 National du Banc d’Arguin ranking as one of the best bird-watching spots in the world. It’s unsurprisingly dry in the Sahara region Plate of couscous US$2.30 of the country, where annual rainfall doesn’t For outdoor-adventure types, Mauritania offers the full slate of trekking options as well as exceed 100mm. In the south, rainfall increases exhilarating camel trips amid surreal landscapes, not to mention hot-air ballooning. to about 600mm per year, mostly occurring during the short rainy season from July to moravids pushed south and, with the assist- But it’s not all about nature, landscapes and adrenaline: Mauritania is also of strong September. ance of Mauritanian Berber leaders, destroyed historical interest, with a sprinkle of World Heritage–listed caravan towns, all testifying to The most pleasant time to visit Mauritania the Empire of Ghana, which covered much of is from November to March, when daytime present-day Mauritania. That victory led to ancient civilisations. Culturally, Mauritania is a place apart; the population is almost equally temperatures hover around the mid-20°C. the spread of Islam throughout Mauritania divided between Moors of Arab descent and black Africans. It’s a Muslim country with a Note that it can get quite cool at night, espe- and the Western Sahara. The descendants of black African twist. This striking combination is part of its appeal. cially in the desert. the Almoravids were finally subjugated by Arabs in 1674. If you’re more inclined to ecotourism than mass tourism, Mauritania is your Shangri-la. ITINERARIES As colonialism spread throughout Africa One Week Head straight to Nouakchott’s in the 19th century, France stationed troops fish market ( p424 ) and spend a couple in Mauritania, but it was not until 1904 that, FAST FACTS of days sampling the luscious cuisine of having played one Moorish faction off against the capital. Then push onto Atâr ( p427 ) another, the French finally managed to make Area 1,030,700 sq km and take either a 4WD tour or a camel Mauritania a colonial territory. Independence ATMs None trip in the grandiose dunefields around was fairly easily achieved in 1960 because the Borders Morocco, Mali, Senegal open; the city. French wanted to prevent the country from Algeria unadvisable Two Weeks Spend a couple of days trekking being absorbed by newly independent Mo- in the Adrar, explore the ancient desert rocco. Mokhtar Ould Daddah became Mau- Budget US$25 per day towns of Chinguetti ( p428) and Ouadâne ritania’s first president. Capital Nouakchott ( p429 ) and revitalise yourself in an idyllic Ould Daddah took a hard line, especially Languages Arabic (Hassaniya), French, Fula, palm-filled oasis. Then forge west to the against the (mainly black African) southern- Soninké and Wolof Atlantic coast and observe vast flocks of ers, who were treated like second-class citizens Money Ouguiya (UM); US$1 = UM266 birds at Parc National du Banc d’Arguin and compelled to fit in the Moors’ mould. Any ( p427 ). Journey on to Nouakchott ( p424 ) opposition was brutally suppressed. Population 3 million and marvel at its striking melange of cha- The issue of Western Sahara (Spanish Seasons Very hot (April to October), hot (November to March) otic markets and modern buildings. Sahara) finally toppled the government. In Telephone Country code %222; international access 1975 the very sandy Spanish Sahara (a Spanish code %00 HISTORY colony) was divided between Morocco and From the 3rd century AD, the Berbers es- Mauritania. But the Polisario Front launched Time GMT/UTC tablished trading routes all over the Western a guerrilla war to oust both beneficiaries from Visa In advance US$30, at Moroccan border US$25 Sahara, including Mauritania. In the 11th the area. Mauritania was incapable, militarily century, the Marrakesh-based Islamic Al- and economically, of fighting such a war. A 422 MAURITANIA •• History lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com MAURITANIA •• Culture 423 bloodless coup took place in Mauritania in electoral fraud was massive. The harassment new impetus to the country is the oil boom there are also silver daggers, silver and amber 1978, bringing in a new military government and arrest of opposition figures continued, and that began in 2006 with the exploitation of jewellery, earth-tone rugs of camel hair, and that renounced all territorial claims to the black Africans still faced discrimination. offshore fields off Nouakchott. hand-dyed leatherwork, including colourful Western Sahara. leather cushions and leather pipe pouches, A series of coups ensued. Finally, Colo- Mauritania Today CULTURE camel saddles and sandals. nel Maaouya Sid’ Ahmed Ould Taya came to To everybody’s surprise (and relief), Ould Mauritanian society is changing fast. Tour- The traditional music of Mauritania is power in 1984. For black Africans, this was Taya’s repressive regime came to an end in ism development in the heart of the desert, mostly Arabic in origin, although along its even worse than under Ould Daddah. Ethnic August 2005, when the president was toppled the internet and mobile phones have played southern border there are influences from tensions culminated in bloody riots between in a bloodless coup. This marked a symbolic a crucial role in the last decade. But despite the Wolof, Tukulor and Bambara. One of the Moors and black Africans in 1989. More turning point in the country. The new govern- the profound social changes, the extended the most popular Mauritanian musicians is than 70,000 black Africans were expelled to ment, led by Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, is intent family, clan or tribe remains the cornerstone Malouma. She has created what is called the Senegal, a country most had never known. on putting the country back on its feet and on of society, especially with the Moors. ‘Saharan blues’ and is to Mauritania what MAURITANIA In the 1990s the government became in- stamping out corruption. Mauritania seems As in many Muslim countries, religion Cesària Évora is to Cape Verde. creasingly extremist. In 1991 Mauritania sup- on the way to democracy: the general elections continues to mark the important events of There’s some superb traditional architec- ported Iraq during the Gulf War, and aid dried that were held in November 2007 were fair life. Although slavery was declared illegal in ture in the ancient Saharan towns in the Adrar up. To counter criticism, Taya introduced mul- and no incidents were reported, according 1980, the caste system still impregnates soci- as well as in Oualâta. MAURITANIA MAURITANIA tiparty elections in 1992, which he won, but to UE observers. But what could really give a ety’s mentality. The iconic image of nomadic Moors sip- ENVIRONMENT 0 200 km ping a cup of tea under a tent in the desert Mauritania is about twice the size of France. MAURITANIA 0 120 miles belongs to the past. Over the past three dec- About 75%, including Nouakchott, is desert, To Marrakesh (690km); Rabat (850km) ades, drought has resulted in a mass exodus of with huge expanses of flat plains broken by Laâyoune Tindouf traditionally nomadic Moors from the desert occasional ridges, sand dunes and rocky to Nouakchott. plateaus, including the Adrar (about 500m M O R O C C O A L G E R I A Women are in a fairly disadvantaged posi- high). tion. Only a third as many women as men The highest peak is Kediet Ijill (915m) are literate and few are involved in commer- near Zouérat. Mauritania has some 700km A T L A N T I C Ain Ben Tili O C E A N cial activities. Female genital mutilation and of shoreline, including the Parc National du BÎr Moghrein forced feeding of young brides are still prac- Banc d’Arguin, one of the world’s major bird- r a a h tised in rural communities.