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Very few people know anything about Mauritania
AKA, the land of wind and ghosts.
Strangers from a vibrant background with forbidden actions that linger hidden in the sands lost in time.
Whoa, that sounded like the preface of a romance novel.
Well that's one more thing I can add to the list of things to pursue in case Geography Now! crashes and burns.
[Intro]
It's time to learn Geography NOW!!!
Ah, you know why I'm smiling
This country usually ranks in the top 10-ish least visited countries in the world
And when I hear that the gears in my head start spinning
and I'm like in my prime research mode.
By the end of this episode you'll want more of Mauritania!
[Awkward laughter]
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
Mauritania derives its name from the Berber kingdom of Mauretania from the third century BC
And since then they developed an interesting civil layout.
First of all, the country is located in north-western Africa
Bordered by Senegal, Mali, Algeria and depending on where you stand on the dispute, Western Sahara.
Which is mostly administered by Morocco except for this small portion inland by the separatist rebels
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and effectively cutting off the entire Atlantic coast from Mauritania
On the Nouadhibou Peninsular.
It's a long story we talked about it a really long time ago in the Algeria episode
Wow back in the days when I was doing all the animations and motion graphics
And then you found me, right?
No actually I found Peader, Vincent and Jared and they did such great jobs didn't they Ken?
They did such great jobs!
Yes, they did such great jobs.
Otherwise, the country is divided into 15 regions or wilaya
However the capital and largest city: Nouakchott
Which means "Place of winds" is made up of three in itself:
North, West and South.
Otherwise the next largest cities are Nouadhibou and Rosso which is located in the south.
And the three largest airports are of course Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International
Nouadhibou International
and Tazadit Airport.
On that note though, Nouakchott is kind of like the starting point of the trans west-African coastal highway.
A ridiculously long and partially unpaved road that passes through twelve coastal states of west Africa.
Otherwise one thing Mauritania is famous for is their national railway.
Owned and operated by the mining and industrial company.
It's a single 704 kilometer line that links the local iron mining centre of Zouérat
With the port of Nouahibou, Fderik and Choum.
There used to be a tunnel through Choum but the S.A.D.R separatists weren't too happy
and the line was diverted.
This line has one of the longest trains in the world with over 200 carts most of which transport iron ores
but you can also ride it as a passenger.
Nouadhibou also has disputably the largest ship graveyard in the world
Dropped off by various outsiders that bribed the local officials and today over 300 of them dot the beaches.
Speaking of which, some notable places of interest might include:
These archaeological sites
the Kiffa meteorite crash site
these cool plateau areas
Kumbi Saleh which was once the capital of the Ghana Empire.
the medieval town of Oualata
the manuscript museum
the holy city of Chinguetti
the habbot library
the Terjit oasis
and Oadane.
Oh and I forgot to mention that donkey carts are like, everywhere.
speaking of wildlife!
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Now if you don't know anything about Mauritania, it's probably like the most Saharan country you can get.
Like literally almost the entire country is covered in sand and sparse oasis.
First of all, with over a million square kilometers, about 90% of the country is dry desert
with generally flat plains considered in both the Maghres and Sahel regions of Africa.
In the center of two small ridges of mountains, the Tagant and Adrar are around.
A little further up north you find the tallest peak: Kediet Ej Jill, all along the way to the southern border is
the longest and only permanent river, the Senegal River, shared along with Senegal.
And the largest lake is probably either the D'aleg or the lake Rkiz, however they fluctuate in size
due to the droughts and irrigation.
So either one of them could be a winner as well as this huge reservoir next to M'bout
Back to the A'drar ridge though, the coolest natural landmark probably in all of Mauritania lives hidden,
right in between the sands, the Eye of the Sahara, also known as the Richat Structure.
It's too big to see on land but from space this forty kilometer wide monster has been a curiosity...
for geologists all over the world
Otherwise most wildlife is found in the south along the border with Senegal.
Like the Banc D'arguin National park, bird watching is popular here with sandpipers and flamingos.
You can also find wolves and the national animal, the African lion.
And once again, Noah is not here to fill in as my co-host for the physical geography section.
Uhh I don't know, you guys remember Nick from the Comoros episode, right?
Uh Nick how would you like to fill in for this segment?
Uh, but I thought you were saving me for the Mauritius episode?
Eh, why not give the subscribers a little taste of what's coming up in the next episode.
Alright, see ya.
Mauritania's economy is primarily driven by the mining and agricultural sectors.
As well as a new petroleum industry offshore in the decently sized Chinguetti oil field.
One resource though that they are definitely not in short supply of though: Wind
Mauritania is located in the heart of the Harmattan territory
For those of you who don't know, the Harmattan is a famous dry wind of the Saharan Desert.
It comes between November and March. These winds pick up dust storms easily and can even cause nose bleeds and cracked skin if exposed for too long.
As humidity goes below 15%.
Ugh! Stay hydrated and bring some lotion.
In the south though, the weather's a little better. This is the region where most of the crops are grown
and where fish are caught. The coasts of Mauritania are actually some of the best fishing spots in the world.
Speaking of which! Food!
Some dishes from Mauritania might include things like...
and the national dish
Alright! The food is good, but let's meet the people who eat these dishes shall we?
DEMOGRAPHICS
Alright thanks Nick that was great, good! Follow him on Instagram if you want!
Now this is pretty tricky because Mauritania's people have a lot of tricky history and a lot of ups and downs.
First of all:
The country has about 4.5 million people and is the 5th least densely populated country in the world.
Out of the people, there are three main people groups.
Census are not very well documented, but from what studies have shown...
it is estimated that the largest group are the Haratin West Africans, at about 40%
The Bidhan or Moors at 30% and the remaining 30% are other African groups of the Niger-congo family groups.
They use the ouguiya as their currency
They use the type C plug outlet
and they drive on the right side of the road.
The main language is Arabic, however keep in mind they have a distinct Hassaniya dialect similar to the countries around them.
It's kind of like an 80% Arabic, 20% Berber mix. Some words are also taken from the Wolof language
Like 'Mboro' meaning 'Bread'
In addition, French is the most commonly spoken second language, they were a former colony
So today, si vous parlez, vous irez bien ici.
The vast majority, at nearly 100% is Muslim, it is the state religion with only a few Christians and Jews mostly in the capital, Nouakchott.
Mauritanian geograpeep, Ellie, told me that it's often said that Mauritania is like a land of a million poets.
It's kind of known throughout the Arab world that Mauritanians like to condense everything they want to say...
...in as few but as expressive words as possible
If you cannot do this and need a lot of explanation, they have a word for you.
"Zraag" or blue, which means something like simple minded.
Now here's where things get a little controversial. I have to mention this and every one of you Mauritanian geograpeeps have asked me to bring it to light...
If you look at Mauritania in most search engines, you'll probably come across an article or post that talks about the biggest tableu in the country:
Slavery.
They became the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981
However there are no criminal laws enforcing the bans so under pressure from the outside world in 2007...
they passed a law that would prosecute slave owners.
The problem is however that today slave ownership is still practiced even by those in governmental positions.
so it's like a weird under the radar type of system that has been perpetuated.
It's hard to estimate by sociologists speculate that anywhere between 4-17% of the population...
may be living is slavery today.
It's mostly the blacks being subjugated by the Arab community.
In some cases blacks can also be slave owners as well though.
Today however, there are active slave abolitionists groups like SOS - Esclaves
These people work to help either escaped or freed slaves get back on their feet and work as functioning members of society providing for themselves.
Well uh, pretty difficult to transition out of that topic.
Uh, here's Keith on bass!
On that note with Mauritania, you get this kind of fusion-Arab-Berber-black African type of culture.
If you just meet the everyday people of Mauritania you'll get this very hospitable group
That loves to ask questions while offering you mint tea.
Most people were loose, well ventilated clothing to help with the extreme heat.
Men may be wearing the traditional Daraa or Boubou while the women wear the traditional colorful Melahfa
with gazelle skin sandals.
Unlike some stricter Islamic countries, it''s actually surprisingly acceptable and common for both men and women to party together
with traditional dancing and music
usually played with four string lutes called Tidinit.
Women's choir called the Ardin and Kettle Drums.
Oh and holidays like the Eid ul Fitr and the festival of dates are celebrated here as well.
Otherwise history! We don't have too much time to get into it but in the quickest way I can condense it...
the Portugese come in
the French colonize
This guy takes over
Free democratic elections in 2007
and here we are today!
Some famous people from Mauritania or of Mauritanian descent might include people like...
I'm sorry it's just pronounciations...
However I was told that some of the most famous people from this country are the Imraguen fishers
They have a really unique way of fishing by co-operating with the dolphins
they've made friends and the tradition has gone on for centuries.
Kind of reminds me of the people of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Did you guys watch that episode by the way? Go ahead.
Yeah I can plug in my own videos on my own channel it's not selling out.
Anyway, friend time!
FRIENDZONE
Like many other countries we discussed, in Mauritania it really depends on the ethnicity of the person you're asking...
...to find out whom they consider their best "friends."
Sudan is like the cool cousin that they get to see once every so often
Historically they were a major stop off for people on pilgrimage to Mecca.
If you ask the Wolof or South Mauritanian people, they would most likely answer Senegal or Mali.
As these two countries have had the closest cultural ties.
Such as people groups and language.
The biggest commercial partners and aid providers are the gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.
France, Spain and China are also in there. These countries have been opening up tons of infrastructure and business deals.
And as a former colony the French have been linked diplomatically for centuries.
They make up the largest tourist demographic in Mauritania as well.
When it comes to their best friends however, most Mauritanians would probably the say the people of
Western Sahara, Southern Morocco and Southern Algeria and Northern Mali.
They share the same Arab dialect, clothing, culture, tribes. Tons of their students study abroad in these countries.
And overall, they get each other the best.
In conclusion, Mauritania is like the place where the desert fuses the Arab world with the west African black world amidst the wind and mint tea!
No, I don't want to minimize the fact that controversy lingers.
But there's a whole picture and story that goes so far with Mauritania.
Just take it one page at a time.
Stay tuned! Mauritius is coming up next!
And I will be in it!
Yeah! See Nick!
[Outro Music]