MAURITANIA
​I visited Mauritania in January and February of 2019.

The traditional music of Mauritania (Arabic in origin) is very different from other traditional West African music.*
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Azougi was a town in north western Mauritania, lying of the Adrar Plateau, north west of Atar. (Wikipedia)
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Chinguetti is a ksar or a Berber medieval trading centre in northern Mauritania, located on the Adrar Plateau east of Atar.  (Wikipedia)

To unaccustomed ears, it can often be nerve-shattering.*
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Atar (population 18,000), situated in a lovely oasis, is the major market centre for the nomads of northern Mauritania.*

​ It's characterised by the four-string lute (tidnit), sometimes a harp (ardin) and usually a soloist wailing praises to Allah.

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Terjit is an oasis, 45km by road south of Atar. It nestles in a gorge on the western edge of the Adrar plateau with the palm grove stretching a few hundred metres alongside a stream which emerges from a spring.  (Wikipedia)

The exhibits focus on the life and culture of the country's nomads, totally excluding that of the Black southerners.*

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One of the more interesting activities is visiting the small wharf and fish market, Port de Peche, every afternoon between 4 and 6 pm when the fishing boats return with the day's catch.*​

Founded in 1147 by a tribe of Berbers, Ouadane sits on the edge of the Adrar plateau 120-km north-east of Chinguetti.*​

Frank Cole - the Canadian who cross the Sahara by camel in the late nineties - is remembered.


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*These captions are from West Africa -- Lonely Planet's travel guide.