www.usmrbc.com The ancient towns of Chinguetti, Ouadaneare in Adrar; Tichitt is in Tagant; and Oualata in Hodh el Chargui. These four cities were relay stations on the long caravan routes, which passed part of the trade between North Africa and the sub-Saharan Africa for centuries. The old cities also had profound religious and cultural influence as centers of Islamic scholarship.
The arrival of Europeans on the coasts of Africa gradually diverted commerce towards trading posts that were created little by little on the coasts, and led to the decline of these ancient towns.
CHINGUETTIis 90 km from Atar, 90km and 120 km from Ouadane; it is now more accessible since the opening of the new road through the Amogjar pass.
Regarded as the 7th Holy City of Islam, Chinguetti was a religious and intellectual center, and famous for its many Koranic schools. The city was also an important stopover point for the pilgrims going to Mecca.
The influence of Chinguetti largely exceeded the borders of Mauritania. Its scholars were renowned as far as the Orient. In fact, Mauritania at one point was known as the "Bilad Chinguetti" -- a reflection of the cultural significance of the city, which reached its apogee during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today Chinguetti is a city mostly buried under the dunes. It offers an impressive spectacle for the visitor, who can note the inexorable advances of the desert into its quarters. Some rare structures still remain in the old city, the most famous of which is the mosque, whose rectangular minaret dates from the XIIIth century.
Also famous are the libraries of Chinguetti, which contain hundreds of invaluable, centuries old Islamic manuscripts that are preserved according to traditional methods. Their libraries are jealously protected by the families that own them.
Recommended places to visit: the old mosque, the family libraries, the colonial Fort (Fort Saganne known from the film by the same name).
OUADANE is 200 km from Atar
Ouadane, or the City of the " two oueds," is an old city whose foundations date back to 1140. It knew its moments of splendour as a flourishing caravan city for the Trans-Saharan trade. It was the most important city of Mauritanian Sahara. Its rich palm plantations were famous. It had seven mosques and large libraries. The Portuguese visited the city as early as the 17th century, and established trade with its inhabitants. Its decline started with the massive diversion of the trade to the coasts by the Europeans towards the end of the 17th century.
Ouadane offers exceptional landscapes because of its geographical location, and attracts visitors in particular to its houses built in cliffs. Today, tourism offers to Ouadane a new chance to rise again, as reflected by the multiplying of inns and small restaurants (gargotes).
Recommanded places to visit; the old Mosque, the palm plantation, the old city.Surrounding sites of interest include Tin Labbe, the mysterious Guelb Errichat, El Beyedh and the Fort of El Ghallaouya.
OUALATA is 90 km from Nema, 400 km from Tichitt, and 700 km from Tidjikja.
Oualata is an ancient city famous for its libraries, its immutable architecture, and its mural decorations. It is one of the most beautiful towns of Mauritania because of its location at the foot of the Dhar. Its stone-built houses have an original architecture. Paintings with various motifs decorate the houses.
Oualata was an active city during the Middle Ages, thought to have been built at the beginning of the 11th century. It was built on the sites of Birou, another old city. It was a caravan city that knew its moments of splendour. It was also a great center for the arts and religion, and a competitor to Timbuktu, in present-day Mali.
Recommended places to visit; the Koranic school, the fort of Oualata, the Library, , and decorative works at the homes of private individuals.
TICHIT is 400 km from Oualata and 490 km to Nema.
Because of rough road conditions, it can take up to 12 hours to travel to Tichit from Tidjikja. It is an isolated, ancient city, whose history is known from the beginning from the middle of the 12th century.
A caravan city, Tichitt was a commercial metropolis in the Sahara. With its rich silos, its irrigated agriculture, Tichitt was visited by merchants and caravans from the Hodhs and Tagant, as well as from North Africa and Black Africa. The city was also famous for its libraries, its scholars and for its seven-centuries-old old mosque.
Tichitt is not visited as frequently as other old cities, but is rich in old architecture. On the road between Tichitt and Tidjikja, there are several canyons, cliffs and cave paintings.
Places recommended to visit: the mosque, Chorfa and Massena districts. In July, there is the Guetna or curing of dates.
32 km away there is Aghreijitt and there one can visit sites dating from the Neolithic era, burials sites as well as its ruins and Mosque. In the middle of the cliffs one finds the remainders of old villages: potteries, archaeological objects and dont forget the SALINES (EMERSAL), which are still exploited by the cameleers.
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