Nouakchottنواكشوط

Mauritania sits where the Arab-Berber world of North Africa meets the Sahel of West Africa, and for centuries it was a land of caravans and nomadic clans rather than cities. Trans-Saharan trade linked oasis towns such as Chinguetti, Ouadane, Tichitt and Oualata, which became centres of Islamic learning and of copying manuscripts. The region was also the base of the Almoravids, a Berber movement that swept north into Morocco and Spain in the 11th century. Its clans, the tribal confederations of the Moors, still shape social life today.

The French moved into the territory in the early 1900s, and for decades governed it from Saint-Louis in Senegal, since there was no town in the colony that could be a capital. As independence approached in the late 1950s, they picked a small fishing and trading village on the coast, close to the old Ksar, and began to build a new administrative capital there. The name Nouakchott is often translated as 'place of the winds', though its exact origin is debated. Construction began in 1958.

Mauritania became independent on 28 November 1960, and Nouakchott became its capital. The plan was for a modest town of a few thousand. Instead, the great droughts of the 1970s and 1980s killed herds and drove nomadic families to the city in search of food, work and water. The population grew from a few thousand to more than a million in a few decades. Districts such as Sebkha and Arafat spread across the sand with little planning, and the city still bears the mark of that sudden growth.

Since independence the country has seen coups and long periods of military-led government, alongside episodes of elected rule. In 2019 a presidential election led to a peaceful change of president, which observers described as a first in the country's modern history. Slavery was formally abolished in 1981 and criminalised more fully in later laws, and its legacy remains a live and sensitive subject. The city has also grown as a hub for fishing, iron-ore and mining exports, and a new airport opened in 2016. Visitors should treat these subjects with care and listen more than they speak.

Nouakchott is flat, low and beige. Most buildings are one to three storeys, made of concrete block and painted in shades of cream, ochre and grey. Streets follow a rough grid laid down in the planned core and give way to looser patterns at the edges. Sand blows in across the roads and piles at the base of walls, and cleaning it away is a daily routine. On some days, especially in the spring, the sky turns orange-brown with dust.

The city is a strip along the coast, and the Atlantic is close enough to smell. The wind that gives the city its name is real: it arrives most afternoons, cools the coast and carries sand. The sea is cold and rough, with strong currents and dangerous surf, so this is a working coast, not a beach resort. Along the shore, painted wooden boats bring in fish that feed the city and are sold across the region.

The layout can be read by district. The Ksar, the oldest core, holds the National Museum, the Grande Mosquée and many small restaurants. Tevragh Zeina to the north is the upmarket district, with embassies, larger houses and modern hotels. Sebkha, to the south, is built on a low-lying salt-flat depression, and its big market draws people from across the city. Arafat, Dar Naim and Toujounine spread to the south and east, and are home to a large share of the population. Each district has its own feel, and visitors usually see only the Ksar, Tevragh Zeina, the beach and one market.

Building here means fighting the environment. Dunes creep toward the edge of the city, and sand has to be stabilised with fences and planted belts. In the wet season, the low-lying districts flood after heavy showers because drainage is poor. Visitors will notice piles of rubbish, broken pavements and open drains, and also large, well-kept mosques and government buildings built with foreign aid. The city rewards those who see it as a work in progress rather than a finished capital.

Mauritania is officially an Islamic republic, and most people describe themselves as Moors, or Bidhan, or as Haratine, descendants of former slaves who form a large share of the population. In the south, along the Senegal River, live communities such as the Halpulaar (Fulani), Soninke and Wolof. The country has long stood between the Arab and the African worlds, and the two blend in the capital. Everyone is proud of the desert heritage, even city-born children.

The everyday language is Hassaniya, an Arabic dialect that differs from the Arabic of the Gulf or Egypt. Standard Arabic is the language of the mosque, the newspaper and official speeches. French is the second language of business, offices and most signs, so a few French phrases will get a visitor much further than English. Pulaar, Soninke and Wolof are spoken in the south and in some city neighbourhoods. Learn the greeting in Arabic, 'as-salaam alaykum', and the answer, 'wa alaykum as-salaam', and you will start well.

Greetings are a ritual here and take time. People ask after your health, your family and your journey before any question. It is rude to skip it and to jump to business. Men often shake hands, sometimes for a long time; women may greet with a nod or a hand on the heart. Visitors should use the right hand for giving, receiving and eating. Dress for men and women is conservative: long, loose clothes, with shoulders and knees covered. Many Mauritanian men wear the boubou (a wide robe), and many women wear the melhfa, a bright, wrap-around cloth that can be draped as a veil.

Hospitality is a core value. Visitors invited to a home are offered tea first, then food, and sometimes a place to sleep. It is customary to accept. There are also clear rules: no alcohol, respect for prayer times, and care about photographing people, especially women. A polite request goes far. Nouakchott has few tourists, so you may be met with curiosity; smile, greet, and take your time.

The tea ritual is the centre of hospitality. Atay is green tea brewed strong with mint and a lot of sugar, and it is served in three rounds from small glasses. A saying often quoted across the Sahara says the first glass is bitter like death, the second strong like life and the third sweet like love; the wording varies from place to place. The host pours from a height to make a foam, then repeats the process: the first glass is the strongest, the second sweeter, the third the mildest. Accepting at least the first glass is polite, and the whole ritual can take half an hour.

The national dish is thieb, sometimes written tcheb or thieboudienne in the Senegalese form: rice cooked in tomato stock with fish or meat and vegetables. On the coast the fish version is common, and inland people prefer lamb or goat. Méchoui, whole roast lamb or goat, is a feast dish, made for weddings and for honoured guests, and restaurants sell it by the portion. Couscous, millet and dates are staples, and the country grows date palms in the oases of the Adrar.

Milk is central. Camel milk is drunk fresh, or soured, or mixed with sugar and water in a drink called zrig. A porridge called lakh is made of millet and curdled milk. These reflect the nomadic past, when milk and dates were the daily food in the desert. Bread, often flat and baked in rounds, comes with most meals. Vegetables are less central than in the coastal countries to the south, and vegetarians will find the menu narrow: rice, salads and some stews.

The sea supplies the other half of the table. Fish from the Atlantic, some of the richest fishing waters in the world, arrives at the beach in the afternoon and is grilled to order. Octopus and squid are important exports. Most food in Nouakchott is halal, and alcohol is illegal for Muslims and not available in ordinary shops. Eating is done with the right hand or a spoon, from a shared bowl, and it is polite to wash your hands before and after. Ask the price of any item that is not on a menu, and bring small notes.

Islam is the state religion, and nearly everyone is Muslim, mostly Sunni of the Maliki school with strong Sufi traditions. The five daily prayers shape the day. The call to prayer sounds from mosques across the city, and at prayer times shops may close for a few minutes and men gather in the streets or on mats. Friday is the day of the main congregational prayer, and offices and many shops close or open late. The weekend follows Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday depending on the office; check locally.

The city's two main mosques are the Grande Mosquée, a large building with a tall minaret, and the Ibn Abbas Mosque on the avenues of the Ksar. Both are landmarks, and both are closed to non-Muslims. That is not a snub: it is the rule in most mosques in the country. Visitors can look from the pavement or the car for a few minutes, in modest dress, and not photograph worshippers. The museum and the crafts centre offer a way to see the culture from inside.

Ramadan changes the whole city. During the month of fasting, people do not eat, drink or smoke in daylight, and visitors should avoid doing so in public. Restaurants are mostly closed until sunset, then fill with people breaking the fast with dates, milk and soup. Eid al-Fitr at the end of the month, and Eid al-Adha (known as Tabaski), are the two biggest holidays, and travel around them is difficult. Dates move about eleven days earlier each year, so check the year.

The heat also sets a rhythm. From March to October the middle of the day is too hot for outdoor work, and people stay in the shade or sleep. Life returns in the late afternoon, when the sea breeze cools the city and the boats come in. Evening is for tea, family, and short outings. For a visitor, this means doing the museum and mosque exteriors in the morning, resting in the afternoon, and going to the fishermen's beach as the light softens, with a driver, and being back at the hotel before dark.

The sea is the city's economic engine and its most visible working scene. The Atlantic off Mauritania is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, fed by an upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water. Boats of all sizes work these waters, from large trawlers to painted wooden pirogues. In the afternoon, artisanal boats come in to the beach in Nouakchott, and porters carry fish up the sand to the market. It is loud, fishy and crowded, and it is the best place in the city to see how people make a living.

North of Nouakchott lies the Banc d'Arguin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the Sahara meets the sea. It is one of the great wintering grounds for migratory birds, and a few Imraguen fishing communities live there, fishing from sailing boats without engines, as required by park rules. Getting there needs a permit, a 4x4 and a guide, and it is a trip for days, not hours. Further north is Nouadhibou, a fishing and port city on the Atlantic coast, where the iron-ore railway from the mines of Zouérat ends after a journey of hundreds of kilometres.

The other great trip is inland, to the Adrar plateau. A road runs from Nouakchott through Akjoujt to Atar, the region's main town, about 450 km and a long day by car. From Atar, oases such as Terjit, and the old caravan towns of Chinguetti and Ouadane, lie among red cliffs and dunes. Chinguetti has a famous tradition of manuscript libraries, and Ouadane a ruined old town on a hill. These are the reasons most visitors come to Mauritania, and Nouakchott is the base and the gateway.

The Adrar is not a self-drive trip. Roads are poor, checkpoints are common, and many governments limit or advise against travel to parts of the country, especially near the eastern and northern borders. A licensed agency arranges the vehicle, guide, permits and safety plan, and the trip is best planned weeks ahead in the cool season, from November to February. Check your own government's advice for the whole route, take proper insurance, and let your hotel know your plan. Nouakchott gives you one or two days to acclimatise, change money, buy a SIM and meet your agency.