Mauritania Top Things To See

• See the capital city of Nouakchott. Only created in 1960, it nonetheless maintains the traditional Berber style of architecture. It lies near the sea in a desert landscape of low dunes scattered with thorn bushes and adjoins the Ksar, an old Moorish settlement.

• Whilst there, don't miss the Plage du Wharf, the mosque, the Ksar and its market, the African market and the camel market, the crafts centre, the Maison de la Culture and the carpet factory.

• View Mauriania's best attraction, Parc National du Banc d'Arguin. A vast area of islands and coastline located on the Atlantic desert coast, it is one of the world's largest bird sanctuaries and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are also several archaeological sites on the islands.

• See the Adrar - a spectacular massif of pink and brown plateaux gilded with dunes and intersected by deep canyons sheltering palm groves in the central north. Government permission may be necessary.

• Witness the oasis of Azoughui, the Almoravid capital in the 11th and 12th centuries. Remains of fortified buildings from this period can still be seen.

• See the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Oualata, once among the greatest caravan entrepôts of the Sahara. A fortified medieval town built in terraces up a rocky peak, it has for centuries been a place of refuge for scholars. Tirzet and its Muslim cemetery are nearby.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
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