HERITAGE SITE | SHANQEET, MAURITANIA

• This is arguably the most important town in Mauritania. It was so important a town in the past, that for many centuries all of Mauritania was popularly known in the Arab world as Bilad Shinqit, “the land of Chinguetti.”
• Nestled in the Sahara, this red-stone desert oasis was established in 776 CE and eventually blossomed into one of the biggest centers of science, religion and mathematics and trade in West Africa. This led to the development of ‘desert libraries’ housing privately-owned book repositories where students could educate themselves on all of the subjects being taught here.
• It was also an important outpost on trade routes moving across the Sahara and became a thriving business hub as well. Caravans numbering up to 30 000 camels at a time would break the journey and refresh themselves at the oasis retreat. The caravans would be transporting wool, barley, dates and millet as well as salt to the south and would return with ivory, ostrich feathers, gold and slaves.
• Today this desert village is an incredible jewel of Arab/Berber culture and contains wonderful examples of its architecture. This ancient village has welcomed travellers seeking shelter from the blistering Saharan heat for more than 1,200 years and continues to welcomes travellers today.
• It has largely retained its historic nature with many of its buildings still standing strong after 800 years! Home to only a few thousand residents today, its inhabitants rely mostly on tourism for their livelihood.
• During its peak, it boasted thirty family-owned libraries that were open to the public. Today, only five remain and house more than 1,000 priceless medieval Quranic manuscripts and others which are still preserved and handled according to tradition.