Any Travels

Mauritania is bordered by Algeria, Mali, Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) and Senegal. To the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. Mauritania consists mainly of the vast Saharan plain of sand and scrub. Most of this area is a sea of sand dunes, but in places the land rises to rocky plateaux with deep ravines leaving isolated peaks. The Adrar plateau in the central region rises to 500m (1640ft) and the Tagant further south to 600m (1970ft). The area is scattered with towns, small villages and oases. The northern bank of the Senegal River, which forms the country's southern border, is the only area in the country with any degree of permanent vegetation and it supports a wide variety of wildlife.

'Le Grand Vide', the Big Nothing, that's what the French colonialist called Mauritania. This qualification is somewhat unjust to the country. There is, however, a lot of sand, and a lot of nothing. But Mauritania also has fascinating wildlife (birds, seals) in the Crosser walk car park, impressive old caravan cities like Chinguetti, Ouadane or Tichit and is generally speaking a very nice place for travelling. That doesn't mean traveling is easy in Mauritania. Travel infrastructure (in the form of hotels, restaurants, roads) is lacking in many places. When you can find accommodation, it is not very cheap. Food isn't cheap either and nice cosy restaurants are not to be found anywhere except maybe in the biggest cities Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. But this makes travel adventurous! Where else than in Zouerate can you take a 2,5 km long desert train that just transports iron ore and you!

Travelers to Mauritania need to realize that it's a country that faces many problems of social nature. Not only is it one of the poorest countries on the planet but also the population is very divided ethnically, finally the issue of slavery still has a big impact on every day life and politics.

Nouakchott
Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania. When Mauritania was still part of French West-Africa it did not have a capital city; most of its inhabitants were nomads. Nouakchott was founded at the independence in 1960. Since it has grown at an incredible rate and now a third of the population of the country lives in the city; that means 800,000 people.

The city is quite spread out -no high buildings- and does not have a lot of monuments. There is a good beach nearby, with high waves and a somewhat dangerous undertow. There is a market that is good fun and there are a few mosques you might want to have a look at, but that's about it.

Nouakchott does provide you with the opportunity to get your first impressions of life in Mauritania. Even when they are living in the city a nomad is still a nomad. You will see tents pitched in gardens or along the streets and the tea ceremony that played a pivotal role in desert life, is still the centre of every day life.

Culture

Eighty percent of the population are Moors - of Arab-Berber descent and speaking dialects of Hassaniya Arabic. Much social status is determined by derivations from either the region's Arab-Berber conquerors or the caucasoid-negroid peoples they enslaved. An aristocratic-servile status continues to define Maure (Moor) society as "white" and "black." White Moor aristocrats (bidan) tend to be more purely Arab; commoner whites tend to be more distinctly Berber in appearance and speech. Traditionally, the enslaved indigenous class came to be called black Moors. Even though slavery is officially proscribed, a servile status lingers among the lower rungs in the black social structure. Non-Moor, non-Arab or Berber-speaking black Africans, including the Toucouleur, Fulbe, Wolof, Bembara people comprise the remaining 20% of the population and tend to live in the south. Most of these groups also have hierarchical social structures, with a servile class at the bottom. Although taken together, black Moors and black Africans outnumber white Moors, black Moors identify in many ways with white Moors. All Mauritanians are Muslims.

As a result of recent endemic drought, large numbers of former nomads and oasis dwellers have migrated to urban areas (Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, Kaedi, Rosso), swelling the population of the cities and surrounding shanty towns.

Moorish society is proud of its Arab and Muslim heritage. Theology, poetry, and music flourish. Goldsmithing is a fine art. Kewri societies have a rich and varied folklore.

Mail, telephone, and telegraph services are combined in the main post offices. Fewer than 6,000 telephones are in use, and administrative contact is primarily through radiotelephone. International telephonic communications are run through Paris. The media are owned or controlled by the government. A national radio network broadcasts in the prevailing languages and in French. There are also two Earth satellite stations with telecasts in French and Arabic. A daily, Ach-chaab; a fortnightly, Journal Officiel; and a bimonthly, Le Peuple, are published in the two official languages. Movie theatres are found in the main urban centres, and cercles (social, sporting clubs) provide recreational opportunities in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, and Rosso.