Welcome to Nouakchott, the capital and largest city of Mauritania, in the south-west of the country and one of the largest cities in the Sahara. It was once a mid-sized coastal village, chosen as the capital of the young nation, with construction beginning in 1958. Planned for just 15,000 people, the city grew rapidly in the 1970s, when drought and spreading desert drove many Mauritanians from their villages. Today it is the heart of the country's economy, with a deepwater port and a university. Let's begin our tour of this desert capital by the sea.
National Museum of Mauritania
Photo: Clemens Schmillen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsStep inside the National Museum of Mauritania, housed in a two-storey building constructed by the Chinese in 1972. It shares the building with the National Library and a centre for conserving Mauritanian manuscripts. The archaeological galleries take you deep into the past, with Mousterian, Aterian and Neolithic finds, along with objects from excavations at historic cities such as Koumbi Saleh, Ouadane and Tichit. Look closely at the arrowheads and pottery sherds, then move on to the costumes that reflect the country's many cultures.
Nouakchott fish market
Now we head to the coast, about 5 kilometres from the city centre, to the Nouakchott fish market. This is where artisanal fishermen bring their catch ashore, and it serves as a central hub for fish across the capital. Around you, retailers sell and fish scalers work, while wholesalers run processing factories that prepare fish for export. The variety is impressive: 36 species of fish, along with crustaceans and molluscs. A study in 2022 found the fish sold here to be of good quality and safe to eat.
Marocaine Mosque
Photo: Maxim VanBest Dynasty from Kathmandu, Nepal · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsIn the south of central Nouakchott, near the Marocaine Market and the Moroccan Cultural Centre, stands the Marocaine Mosque, also called the Grande Mosquée de La Capitale. Lift your gaze to its minaret, 55 metres high and decorated with intricate Islamic mosaic patterns in white, blue and green. At the very top, an iron rod ends in a crescent. Beside the mosque is a centre where imams and religious leaders gather for lessons. Intriguingly, no one knows exactly when the mosque was built.
Saudi Mosque
Photo: Initsogan · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsOur tour ends at the Saudi Mosque, also known as the Nouakchott Grand Mosque, a Sunni mosque standing south-west of the Presidential Palace and right beside the Chamber of Commerce. As its name suggests, it was built with the assistance of the Government of Saudi Arabia. For several decades its imam was Bouddah Ould Bousseyri, a very influential religious figure in the country.
Lomakuume
