Chinguetti

Chinguetti, deep in the Adrar desert of Mauritania, is one of the most evocative and remarkable places in the Sahara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an ancient town that was once a great crossroads of the caravan trade and a renowned centre of Islamic scholarship, revered as one of the holy cities of Islam. Founded in the medieval era, its atmospheric old quarter of dry-stone and mud houses, crowned by a famous square-towered old mosque, is slowly being reclaimed by the encroaching dunes. Its greatest treasures are the ancient family libraries, which still guard priceless illuminated Qurans and scientific and religious manuscripts centuries old.

History

The region was once savannah, as rock paintings of giraffes, cattle and people in the nearby Amogjar Pass show, and the town was founded in 777, its name meaning spring of horses in the extinct Azer dialect. By the 11th century it was a trading centre of the Sanhaja Berber confederation, which merged with the Almoravids, whose strict faith shows in its plain buildings; after two centuries of decline it was effectively refounded in the 13th century as a fortified halt for trans-Saharan caravans, and many buildings of the old quarter date from then. Its Friday Mosque, a dry-stone building of the 13th-14th century with a square minaret topped by five ostrich eggs, was restored by UNESCO in the 1970s and is seen by many Mauritanians as the national symbol, and in 1996 Chinguetti became a World Heritage Site with Ouadane, Tichitt and Oualata (Wikipedia, Chinguetti).

What you'll find

• The old mosque - the famous square-towered medieval mosque.
• The ancient libraries - the priceless medieval manuscripts.
• The old town - the dry-stone quarter half-buried in sand.
• The encroaching dunes - the desert reclaiming the town.

When to go

November to February, the cooler winter months, for bearable desert temperatures, as the Sahara is scorching for much of the year; even in winter, days are warm and nights cold. The town is reached by a journey to Atar, usually by air or road, and then a desert drive, ideally with a guide who can arrange access to the private libraries.

Before you go

As an atmospheric, ancient Saharan library town of extraordinary history, half-buried in the dunes, guarding priceless manuscripts, Chinguetti is a genuinely evocative and remarkable destination.

Nearby

The town of Atar, the oases of Terjit and the ancient town of Ouadane are within reach.

Key facts