The mosque
A square minaret.
LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Radosław Botev — CC BY 3.0 pl · Radosław Botev — CC BY 3.0 pl
The Ancient Ksar of Chinguetti is a historic desert town on the Adrar Plateau in northern Mauritania, east of Atar. It is one of the Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is famous for old libraries holding rare manuscripts and for its stone mosque with a square minaret. Chinguetti was founded in the 13th century as a hub for trans-Saharan caravan routes and became a town of learning and trade. In ancient times the region was broad savanna. Today encroaching sand threatens the town badly: tall dunes mark its western edge, and some houses have been abandoned to the sand. A wadi splits the town into an old quarter and a new one. You see houses of reddish dry stone and mud brick with flat roofs of palm trunks, and narrow lanes leading to the central mosque and its square minaret. The old houses have doors hewn from massive acacia wood. Wide golden dunes and a palm oasis in the wadi surround the town. It is about 72 km from Atar in a straight line. Visit the libraries with their owners, and touch manuscripts only with permission. The UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of Adrar, including this area, so read the current advice before you plan.
A square minaret.
Rare manuscripts.
Around the town.
Chinguetti, Adrar Plateau, northern Mauritania
Its old libraries, manuscripts and history as a town of learning.
Yes, the UK Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to the area.