Moorish message. Mauritania map in Russian
MAURITANIA
(African Islamic Republic of Mauritania)
General information
Geographical position. Mauritania is a country in northwestern Africa. In the north it borders with Western Sahara and Algeria, in the east with Mali and Senegal, and in the west it is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Square. The territory of Mauritania occupies 1,030,700 square meters. km.
Main cities, administrative divisions. The capital of Mauritania is Nouakchott. The largest cities: Nouakchott (560 thousand people), Kaedi (74 thousand people), Nouadhibou (70 thousand people), Rosso (50 thousand people). Administrative-territorial division of the country: 12 regions and 1 autonomous capital district.
Political system
Mauritania is an Islamic republic. The head of state is the president, the head of government is the prime minister. The legislative body is a bicameral parliament (Senate and National Assembly).
Relief. Vast low-lying plains and low plateaus predominate.
Geological structure and minerals. The country's subsoil contains reserves of iron ore, copper, phosphorites, and gypsum.
Climate. The climate is tropical desert. The average annual temperature reaches +38°C. Precipitation is 100-400 mm per year, in the northeast - less than 50 mm.
Inland waters. There are no permanent rivers within the country; Mauritania's border with Senegal runs along the Senegal River.
Soils and vegetation. Most of Mauritania is desert, but there is a small area of greenery in the south.
Animal world. The fauna is poor: jackal, gazelle, antelope, rodents and snakes.
Population and language
The population of Mauritania is about 2.511 million people, the average population density is 2 people per 1 sq. km. Ethnic groups; Moors (descendants of Arabs and Berbers) - 80%, blacks - 20%. Languages: Arabic, French (both state), Hassanya, Wolof, Pular, Sonnik.
Religion
Almost 100% of the population is Muslim (Islam is the state religion).
Brief historical sketch
In the IV - mid-XI centuries. the southern part of the territory of Mauritania was part of the medieval states of West Africa (Ghana, Tekrur, etc.); in the northern part there were state formations of the Sanhaja Berbers. In the middle of the XI-XII centuries. Mauritania as part of the Almoravid state, in the XIII-XIV centuries. the southern part of the territory of Mauritania as part of the medieval state of Mali.
Penetration of Europeans from the 15th century. ended with the transformation of Mauritania into a French colony (1920). Since 1946, Mauritania has been an “overseas territory”; since 1958, it has been a self-determining republic within the French Community. On November 28, 1960, Mauritania was declared an independent republic.
Brief Economic Sketch
The basis of the economy is cattle breeding, fishing and mining. Breeding cattle, sheep and goats, camels. They cultivate (mainly in oases) date palms and grains. Fishing. Iron ore mining. Export: fish and fish products, iron ore, as well as livestock, leather.
The monetary unit is ougiya.
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1. Mauritania is a state in West Africa, washed from the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It borders Western Sahara in the northwest, Senegal in the southwest, Algeria in the northeast, and Mali in the south and east. The capital is Nouakchott,
2. Features of the relief are that more than 60% of the country’s territory is occupied by the rocky and sandy deserts of Western Sahara.
3. Mauritania has a tropical desert climate. The average temperature in January is +16...+20 °C, in July +30...+32 °C. Daily temperature fluctuations reach 30-40 °C, especially in winter. Average precipitation is approx. 100 mm, and in many places no more than 50 mm falls per year. Only in the extreme south of Mauritania, in the valley of the river. Senegal, their number can reach 200-400 mm. In winter, the drying easterly harmattan wind often blows.
4. There are no permanent rivers, and only the border of Mauritania with Senegal runs along the Senegal River. .
5. Three zones can be distinguished on the territory of Mauritania: the Saharan desert, semi-desert, and Atlantic. Only a third of the country in the southwest is lowland about 100 m above sea level. The Saharan desert zone occupies the central and northeastern part of the country, accounting for two-thirds of the entire territory. Only a narrow strip adjacent to the river valley. Senegal is occupied by deserted savannas, and in the valley itself there are tropical forests (5% of the country's area).
6. Representatives of two large races live in Mauritania - Caucasian and Negroid. The first includes the Moors (Arabs and Berbers), who make up approx. 2/3 of the population. In Northern and Central Mauritania they form an ethnically homogeneous population background whose predominant occupation is nomadic animal husbandry. 1/3 of the inhabitants are Negroid African peoples (Tukuler, Fulani, Sarakol, Wolof).
The country has many mineral resources: iron, copper, uranium, nickel, gypsum, phosphorites and mineral salts; Quite large oil deposits have recently been discovered. Of particular importance today is the mining of iron ore (40% of export earnings) and gold. Animal husbandry predominates in agriculture: camels, sheep and goats are bred. They mainly grow crops for their own consumption: millet, sorghum, rice, corn; in oases - date palm. Fisheries play a very important role: the coastal areas of Mauritania have long been considered one of the richest fish in the world. The main exports are iron ore, gold and fish.
1) In what part of the continent is the country located, what is the name of its capital.
2) Features of the relief.
3) Climatic conditions
4) Large rivers and lakes
5) Natural areas and their main features
6) Peoples and their main occupations
Mauritania
Mauritania gained independence from France in 1960.
Maaouia Ould Seed Ahmed Taya seized power in a coup in 1984 and ruled the country for more than two decades. A series of presidential elections he led are seen as fraudulent. A bloodless coup in August 2005 overthrew President Tay, and a presidential council was established to set the date for new elections. Independent candidate Sidi Ould Cheikha Abdallahi was elected in April 2007 as Mauritania's first freely and fairly elected president. His term ended prematurely in August 2008, when a military junta led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz overthrew him and brought him under military rule. Aziz was subsequently elected president in July 2009. The country is still currently experiencing ethnic conflicts.
Geography of Mauritania
Location:
North Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara
Geographical coordinates:
Total area: 1030700 sq km
Demographics of Mauritania
33.67 births per 1000 inhabitants (2010)
I arrived in Senegal yesterday. Before this, I traveled around Mauritania for about a week. That's what I can say about it.
In short, it is a full-fledged Arab country with an African way of life.
The country is small, almost all of it is in the desert, there is practically nothing to see. 
Dunes are rarely found. Basically, the desert is not particularly remarkable. 
In the northeast, in the Zuerat region, there are even some mountains where ore is mined. But still, a non-tourist country. 
The main attraction (I think Bolashenko will support me 100% here) is the longest train in the world! Going to the aforementioned Zuerat. A rare African railway built after independence. The train is enchanting, I will, of course, write a detailed post about it. 
A fishing port in the second city of the country and also the large port of Nouadhibou. An extremely colorful place. The second most interesting in the country. 
Mauritania is a very poor and backward country. In most aspects, almost typical Africa. 
The country is very dirty. Garbage is lying everywhere. There are very few trash cans, no one needs them here. Often people are selling something right in the middle of it. 
An ordinary city street in Nouakchott. There is still asphalt on PCH, but instead of sidewalks there are sand-covered roadsides, which are difficult to walk on due to the abundance of sand. Garbage is everywhere. 
The problem is that in Mauritania there is desert everywhere and, in fact, in the cities there is desert too. There is no improvement. There are small oases in the country, but apart from dirty palm trees, nothing much grows there. 
That is, sand is just everywhere here! And besides, there are no parks or squares - when we wanted to relax and drink tea, we went to five-star hotels and ate there in the lobby (take note of this method!) 
Where there are sidewalks, such moments are no longer perceived as wild. After all, the main thing is that there is a SIDEWALK, you can walk on it! 
Well, don’t worry about this either. 
In the second city of the country, Nouadhibou, the situation is generally more decent than in the capital (if you can call it that). But the views are also depressing - the desert begins right outside the outskirts. 
When you get to the markets or just walk along the littered outskirts, you have virtually no doubt about what continent you are on. 
But the country is not completely black. The population is approximately 60% Arabs and 40% blacks. There are a lot of completely dark-skinned people. 
No, these are not Islamic terrorists! And they cover their faces in such a way as to protect it from sandstorms. Tuareg scarves. 
Previously, blacks were slaves of the Arabs, but now there is freedom, equality, brotherhood 
But, nevertheless, this is an Arab country, first of all, and, most importantly, religious. This is what is called the “Islamic Republic of Mauritania” (abbreviated ROME:)). Well, almost like Iran. Religiosity is manifested in everything here: locals are constantly inquiring about your religious affiliation, or more precisely, whether you are a Muslim. In Mauritania, you quickly learn the times of all prayers, since everyone around you does them. If you're on a minibus, it stops and everyone gets out to pray. 
The aunts are all wrapped up. In theory, you can’t take pictures of them, but if you really want to, then... By the way, some of them themselves start talking to me. These girls even wanted to take a photo with me, but then their mother tutted at them and they retreated. 
African women often carry all sorts of luggage on their heads like this. 
National Moorish clothing, these are the robes. Every second person wears them here. Including officials. 
Insane number of children. In the absence of playgrounds, people play with whatever they can on the streets. 
Old tires are very popular. 
We can only be glad for our children that they don’t have to play in garbage dumps like this. . Thank you comrade....(insert your choice) for our happy childhood! 
I was sadly surprised at how poor children’s playgrounds are in Morocco, and how few there are. But what about Morocco? In Mauritania, there are practically no playgrounds for children at all. Children play with all sorts of rubbish, tires, stones, and whatever comes to hand. Childhood imagination is inexhaustible, as we know. 
Mauritania is an African poor country. Everyone lives here more than simply. 
Here is a typical house - bare walls, no furniture - they sleep on mattresses that are not the freshest, the set of dishes is minimal. 
A shower, and indeed tap water in general, is a luxury in Mauritania. How else to be in a desert country. That's why everything is dirty - there is physically not enough water to wash anything other than clothes. 
A donkey brings water to this house every few days; it is stored in a special tank. The water is dirty, you can only wash with it. 
Standard Moorish shower combined with toilet. Be thankful that LJ hasn’t learned how to convey smells yet. 
But no matter how modest the decoration of the house, there will almost certainly be a zombie box in it. I remember this rule from Amazonian Peru. 
The roads in the country are generally quite good. The asphalt is laid, more or less tolerably. There is even a marking somewhere. 
This asphalt on the Arat-Zuerat highway was obviously just laid. There used to be a dirt road here. 
However, road signs and kilometer posts are missing as a class! You can only roughly imagine where you are. 
There are an incredible number of police checkpoints along all the highways. At each of them, the police stop all the cars and rewrite the data. However, the police are harmless to foreigners. They rewrite the data and that’s it. Often they just want copies of their passport, it is recommended to make more of these copies before leaving for Mauritania. This will speed up the process of passing posts. 
And so, they are quite friendly. They feed, water, catch cars. Several times the police treated me to local pilaf. And then we found a car to the right place.
The police checkpoints are desperately simple and primitive. The booth measures 3 by 3 meters. There is nothing inside except a table, a chair and a notebook in which everyone passing by is written down. Of course, there is no light (there are no less problems with it than with water), in the evening and at night everything is recorded with a flashlight. The police usually sleep here, they have the same dirty mattresses. Sometimes there is a gas cylinder for making tea or pilaf. There are hordes of flies flying around. 
In general, whatever you say, it is an extremely unenviable prospect to be a police officer in Mauritania. And it’s still winter, there’s no heat. And it’s all the more joyful that Mauritanian police officers do not become malicious assholes from this way of life, taking out all their troubles on citizens, but remain pleasant and sympathetic people. 
The country's lack of tourism is very beneficial in this aspect. In neighboring Morocco, they pester you with questions and pestering more often, and they want to deceive you more often. There is none of that here. 
Most of the shops are more than primitive. If space allows, sellers also sleep right in them. The vast majority of products are imported from neighboring countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. There are also Spain and France. 
Those stores that rent more space for the sake of respectability create the appearance of an abundance of assortment in the “Soviet” way, so popular in Cuba - by displaying the same product in a row in the windows. 
The only Auchan in the whole country. We came in at the height of the working day - completely empty. It is unusual for the Moors to stock up in supermarkets; markets are much clearer and cheaper. I asked if I could pay by card, they said something like “yes, we’ll get the device now.” In the end, they never found him. 
There are cool villas in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou! Flowers, landscaping... And all around, right next to the walls, there is a dusty primer and a garbage dump. 
Surprisingly, there are wind turbines in the country! I wonder if they are actually used for their intended purpose? 
Mauritania is a country of pets. Goats, donkeys, camels, chickens. Occasionally there are even cows. Absolutely everything is carried on donkeys. 
Sometimes they interact with each other without the intermediary services of a person. 
Camel hangout on the outskirts of Nouakchott. All are one-humped. 
In Zuerat. 
Why not? 
Donkey parking. Just enter the payment directly. Why not? 
I have never seen so many goats in any country before. Well, somehow sheep are more popular everywhere. I’ll even say more: I haven’t seen goats anywhere except for isolated specimens in Russia. Or I don't remember. And here there are only goats, no sheep. 
Due to the lack of meadows and generally any grass in desert areas, goats usually graze in garbage dumps. Or at best, they gnaw the trees. 
Moorish leader! Reminded me of Old Man 
The food is simple and primitive. In eateries you can eat chicken with side dishes for 2-3 dollars, or somewhere else they seem to have fish. Couscous, a dish made from some kind of flour, is popular among residents. By the way, it is also common in Morocco. They eat everything from one large plate, and always with their hands. 
On the penultimate day, I found a cool cafe next to my registration, where for about 2 euros you can eat chicken with so many different side dishes that it’s not easy for two people to eat. 
The cafe looks like this: food on the floor, we sit on cushions. Popular with locals who eat couscous here, yes, with their hands. 
Nearby is a Moorish McDuck. 
The Moors drink tea all the time. But it is difficult for a Russian person to drink it. And now I will explain why. No, the tea is very tasty! But... by the time you wait for him, you will go crazy. The Moors boil tea for a long time in a small teapot, then pour it into glasses, then pour it from glass to glass, then pour some of it out, then put the kettle back on, then add mint and sugar, thimble some more with the glasses, and, voila! After 15 minutes you are given a cup with a capacity of 100 g, half filled!!! You drink it in one gulp, maybe they will pour you another 50 g of tea, and wait another 15-20 minutes for the next batch.. 
This procedure constantly froze me out. I tried, if possible, to prepare a lot of tea in a thermos myself and brew it in tea bags :) 
So to summarize: the main attraction in the country (well, besides the train, of course) is the people. Kind, open, spontaneous. However, Mauritania is definitely not a country that you want to visit again. Not because there is something wrong with her, but because once is enough for her. And it is visited in many ways only because the route from Europe to Africa lies through it, and due to the geopolitical features of the continent, there is no way to get around it. 
The modern population of Mauritania (about 4.3 million people) is ethnically heterogeneous: three quarters are the so-called Moors - Arabs and Berbers, engaged mainly in cattle breeding; in the south, Negro-African peoples predominate - Toucouleur, Fulbe, Wolof and others, who are mainly sedentary life. Islam has been declared the state religion. Mauritania, unlike some other countries of North and West Africa, did not experience the heyday of medieval civilization, but the urban settlements of Chinguetti, Tishit, and Walata that have survived from that era testify to their former prosperity and the subtle art of decorating the facades of buildings. The Chinguetti Library contains 2 thousand manuscripts of Arab scientists. The musical, singing, and dance arts of the peoples of Mauritania are diverse. The capital and largest city of the country is Nouakchott, built only 30–40 years ago. The second largest and most important city is the port of Nouadhibou.
In the IV - mid-XI centuries. the southern part of the territory of Mauritania was part of the medieval states of West Africa (Ghana, Tekrur, etc.); in the northern part there were state formations of the Sanhaja Berbers. In the middle of the XI-XII centuries. Mauritania as part of the Almoravid state, in the XIII-XIV centuries. the southern part of the territory of Mauritania as part of the medieval state of Mali. Penetration of Europeans from the 15th century. ended with the transformation of Mauritania into a French colony (1920). Since 1946, Mauritania has been an “overseas territory”; since 1958, it has been a self-determining republic within the French Community. On November 28, 1960, Mauritania was declared an independent republic.
Climate, flora and fauna
The climate is tropical desert, with average monthly temperatures ranging from 16–20 °C in January to 30–32 °C in July. Precipitation in most of the country is less than 100 mm per year, only in the south - in the Sahel zone - 200-400 mm.
The vegetation of Mauritania also has a corresponding character: sparse shrubs and isolated trees in the south, and in the rest of the territory, sparse greenery appears only for a short time after the rains.
Large animals in Mauritania include oryx and addax antelopes, mountain goats, and small predators include the jackal and fennec fox. Lots of snakes and lizards, as well as insects and spiders.
Story
Berbers from North Africa settled in what is now Mauritania in 200 BC. Moving south in search of pastures, they often imposed tribute on local Negroid farmers, and those who resisted were pushed back to the Senegal River. The appearance of camels from North Africa in this area in the late period of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of caravan trade between the Mediterranean coast and the Niger River basin, which brought profits to the Berber group of Sanhaja tribes. Having captured the important caravan trade point of Audagost in eastern Mauritania on the way to the salt mines of Sijilmasa located to the north, the Berbers came into conflict with the Ghana Empire, which at that time was expanding its borders in a northern direction. The state of Ghana was founded in the 3rd century. AD, and part of its territory fell on the modern regions of Aukar, Hod el-Gharbi and Hod el-Sharqi of southeastern Mauritania. In 990, Ghana captured Audagost, forcing the Lemtuna and Goddala tribes, which were part of the defeated Sanhaja, to unite into a confederation for self-defense. In the 10th–11th centuries. some Sanhaj leaders converted to Islam and soon became supporters of the Sunni trend. The descendants of the Islamized Berber nobility of the Almoravids spread their religious beliefs among ordinary Berbers, created a religious and political movement and in 1076 captured the capital of Ghana. Although infighting among the victors again led to a split among the Berber tribes, Ghana was dealt a blow from which it never recovered. It existed within significantly narrowed boundaries until 1240.
In the 11th–12th centuries. Berbers felt the consequences of the Arab conquests in North Africa. In the 15th–17th centuries. After several centuries of relatively peaceful penetration into the territory of Mauritania, the Bedouins of the Hassan tribe conquered the local Berbers and, mixing with them, laid the foundation for the Moors (Arab-Berber) ethnic group. Although some Berbers, for example the ancestors of the Tuaregs, not wanting to fall under the rule of the Arabs, retreated into the desert, for the majority Arabic became their native language, and Islam became a new religion. Many black Africans engaged in settled agriculture in the southern regions of the country during the 11th–16th centuries. were conquered by the Berbers and became subjects of the new Arab emirates of Trarza, Brakna and Tagant.
The Portuguese, who appeared on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century, founded a trading fort on Argen Island in 1461. At various times throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. they were replaced by Dutch, English and, finally, French traders. European merchants sought to control the trade of gum arabic from the Sahel zone.
At the beginning of the 19th century. French traders who settled in Senegal repeatedly came into conflict with Arab emirs, who tried to control and tax the gum arabic trade. In 1855–1858, the governor of Senegal, Louis Federbe, led a French campaign against the Emirate of Trarza. In the 19th century French officers, moving north from Senegal, explored the interior of the desert. In the early 1900s, a French force under the command of Xavier Coppolani invaded these areas to protect the interests of French traders and began to govern them as part of the French colony of Senegal. In 1904, these territories were removed from Senegal and in 1920 included in French West Africa. However, until 1957 their capital was still Saint-Louis in Senegal. The French had great difficulty managing the nomadic population, among which inter-tribal feuds continued, as well as rivalry between Arabs and Berbers. Administrative difficulties were also increased by tensions between the nomadic and sedentary populations. Even after the end of World War II, some areas continued to remain under military administration.
In 1946, Mauritania was granted the right to form a territorial assembly and to be represented in the French parliament. The first political organizations that were not yet mass began to emerge. In 1958, Mauritania became part of the French Community under the name of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and on November 28, 1960 it became an independent state. Moktar Ould Dadda became the first prime minister and then president of Mauritania. Initially relying on the traditional elites and France, he, following the example of the radical regime of Guinea, created a mass political party and ultimately concentrated all power in his hands. Moktar Ould Dadda withdrew Mauritania from the franc zone and proclaimed Arabic the state language, which immediately caused resistance from the southerners, who feared the dominance of the Moors, who made up the majority of the population.
In 1976, an agreement was reached to transfer Spain's colonial possession of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) to the temporary administrative control of Morocco and Mauritania. However, this was followed by an unpopular war among the Mauritanians with the Polisario Front, the national liberation movement of Western Sahara, which was assisted by Algeria.
In July 1978, the army overthrew Moktar Ould Daddou in a bloodless military coup. Immediately after this, the constitution was suspended, the government, parliament, and public organizations were dissolved, and power passed to the Military Committee for National Revival (MCNV). Its leader, Lieutenant Colonel Mustapha Ould Mohamed Salek, took over as president of the country. The Polisario announced an end to the war with Mauritania, but the Moroccan leadership insisted that the Mauritanians continue to fight for their part of Western Sahara territory.
The next few years were marked by frequent changes in the leadership of the military regime. The relationship between the Negroid population and the Moors remained tense. Attempts by individual members of the Military Committee to carry out a new military coup, as well as differences with Morocco on the issue of Western Sahara, were a constant source of internal political instability.
For a short time in 1979, Mustafa Ould Mohamed Salek established a regime of personal power and recreated under a new name the Military Committee for National Revival, which he continued to head after his resignation. He was soon deposed by Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Luli, who, in turn, was forced to relinquish power in 1980 in favor of Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Huna Ould Heidallah. The latter, as prime minister, in July 1979 announced the final renunciation of Mauritania's claims to the territory of Western Sahara. In 1981, Mohammed Huna Ould Heidallah abandoned his intention to form a civilian government and adopt a new constitution.
In 1984, as a result of a bloodless coup, power in the country was seized by Lieutenant Colonel Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya, who served as Prime Minister several times under Mohammed Hun Ould Heidallah. Overall, Maaouya Ould Sidi Ahmed Taya managed to restore internal stability, begin economic reforms and take steps towards democratizing the political system.
Ethnic unrest continued in Mauritania until the late 1980s, and a border dispute with Senegal provoked a wave of attacks on black Mauritanians and Senegalese citizens in 1989 and the expulsion of the latter from the country. Disagreements over the demarcation of the Mauritanian-Senegalese border and the repatriation of refugees led to a temporary cessation of diplomatic relations and a curtailment of economic relations, which were restored in 1992.
A national referendum in 1991 adopted a new constitution, introducing a multi-party system. Maaouia Ould Sidi Ahmed Tay's victory in the 1992 presidential election was marred by riots and accusations of voter fraud. The pro-government Republican Social Democratic Party (RSDP) won the vast majority of parliamentary seats in the National Assembly elections in 1992 and 1996, as well as in the Senate elections in 1992, 1994 and 1996.
The main events after the adoption of the new constitution were boycotts of elections by opposition parties, who argued that the ruling party had one-sided advantages in election campaigns, arrests of members of opposition groups, and clashes based on inter-ethnic conflicts. Despite the ethnically diverse composition of the Mauritanian government and its formal implementation of some of the democratic reforms required by the new constitution, international human rights observers continued to note violations of the rights of the black minority population and members of opposition organizations in the 1990s.
Economy
Mauritania is a developing country with a relatively low standard of living compared to other countries in the region.
During the colonial period, the main occupation of the population was camel breeding, fishing and subsistence agriculture. Iron ore deposits were discovered in the country in the 1960s, and mining has since become the mainstay of Mauritania's economy.
Mauritania's agriculture is constrained by its arid climate. Dates and grain crops are grown in oases. In the 1970s, the Sahel region was plagued by drought, affecting more than half the countries in the region and 200 million people. In Mauritania, grain crops died as a result of drought and famine began. The second drought hit in 1982-1984. Soon an irrigation system was built, which made it possible to somewhat overcome the effects of the drought. 49 thousand hectares of land are irrigated.
