World Heritage

Ancient Ksour of Mauritania

Known to few travellers, these four outposts are the artistic essence of Sub-Saharan Africa, reckons Sean Connolly, who discovers stone minarets, early Islamic manuscripts and even the occasional camel train

A focal point for a country

The Chinguetti Mosque was created around the 13th century – its minaret (thought to be the second oldest in continuous use) is now a national emblem for the Islamic Republic of Mauritania hinguetti. Ouadane. Tichitt. Oualata. Although

Cthey may lack the cachet of that most famous of caravan towns, Timbuktu (only 45 days f r o m C h i n g u e t t i b y c a m e l ) , t h e s e f o u r outposts deep in the Mauritanian Sahara are no less historical. Situated in a loose arc across Mauritania, they sit at the very fringes of human habitation in the country, pinprick outposts overlooking the plains of rocky desert and shifting erg dune seas beyond.

Known as k s o u r, these for tified villages derive their name from the Latin castr um – castle – and their high stone walls and narrow pedestrian alleyways more than look the part. Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries, each was once an important caravan town for the trans-Saharan trade, hosting camel trains more than 1,000 animals long ferrying salt, gold and slaves across the great desert. Though today wheels typically

outrank hooves, it’s still possible to spot camel trains hauling massive, hand-hewn blocks of salt, particularly in Tichitt, the remotest of the four towns. The four ksour were also hubs of Islamic scholarship, and served as the last outposts for pilgrims setting off towards Mecca on hajj. Though would-be hajis “You can spend a week today instead head for Nouakchott airport, this rich Islamic heritage lives on travelling between in the centuries-old manuscripts kept in

Chinguetti and private libraries here; the leather-bound texts have been preserved by the bone-

Ouadane by camel” dry desert air, yet remain fragile – not unlike the towns themselves. Indeed, these once-bustling centres of desert life today cut something of a forlorn figure, far from modern trade routes, with many of the traditional buildings having collapsed and dunes lapping at the edges of town. The largest of the ksour, Chinguetti, once boasted more than 20,000 residents, but today is home to fewer than 3,500. This still makes it the

Alamy

NEED TO KNOW

Location: All four ksour are in centraleastern Mauritania, 500–1,000km inland from coastal capital, Nouakchott. Getting there: From the UK, connect to Nouakchott daily via Paris (Air France) or Casablanca (RAM), or twice-weekly via Gran Canaria (Binter Canarias & Mauritanian Airlines). Connections from London take around 9–12 hours; from £55 return. Weekly (Dec-Mar) charter flights between Paris and regional capital Atar with Pointe Afrique (pointafrique.com/vols) are most convenient. Getting around: The ksour are remote, and public transport challenging. A good tour agency (and vehicle) can therefore be key. Native Eye (nativeeyetravel.com) and Lupine Travel (lupinetravel.co.uk) run scheduled trips, and Time 4 Mauritania (time4mauritania. com) arranges custom itineraries. When to go: Nov-Mar is best, with highs around 30–35° and cool nights – other times can be truly scorching. Accommodation: There’s at least one guesthouse with basic rooms (under £20) and meals (£5) in each ksour, but many opt to sleep out under the stars, either on the roof or in a khaïma tent. Further info: Mauritania (Bradt Travel Guide; forthcoming) by Sean Connolly, the author of this article.

biggest, though, as Ouadane, Tichitt, and Oualata count fewer than 1,500 hardy souls each. Partly in response to their risk of being abandoned – or literally vanishing under the encroaching sands – the ksour were inscribed as UNESCO sites in 1996.

Chinguetti in particular retains an outsized importance in the Mauritanian psyche (and tourism industry) that belies its much-diminished size. The city’s 5-pointed minaret, famously topped with clay ostrich eggs symbolizing purity and fertility, remains Mauritania’s most iconic symbol, and Chinguetti is often said to be the 7th-holiest city in Islam (although no one seems to know which is the 6th). The squat stone minaret in Ouadane is similarly crowned, and these unusual ovoid embellishments serve as an elegant reminder of how the desert both connects and divides: ostrich eggs also adorn some of the famed earthen mosques along the Niger River, over 1,100km away.

Though part of the same UNESCO site, the ksour are geographically distant, and it’s a rare traveller who manages to visit them all. Chinguetti and Ouadane sit on the Adrar Plateau, a broad, rocky highland cut through by gorges and wadis that shelter a small archipelago of green oases and orchards. They are readily accessible from the nearby moder n city of Atar, or delightfully, you can still spend a week travelling between the two by camel.

Tichitt and Oualata sit far to the south-east, along an 800km escarpment fringing the Aoukar Depression, where along with the two ksour, the stone remains of hundreds of prehistoric villages dot the cliffs. Uniquely among the ksour, Oualata’s buildings are plastered in banco mud and decorated with striking red-and-white bas-reliefs. Getting to either is no easy task, however, and barely a handful of tourists reach either village every year.

But whichever village you choose, the homes and families of the ksour have hosted travellers for centuries, and you’ll be greeted with a heartfelt ‘bismillah’ – welcome.

Battling against the desert

(from top) The interior decoration and sandy streets found in Oualata; the elements- blasted buildings of Ouadane

Be surprised by Jersey this spring and summer on a culturally enriching travel experience that will make you feel a million miles from home

You may be able to reach the warmest part of the British Isles from mainland UK in under one hour, but despite its familiarities, Jersey feels slightly exotic. From beaches lapped by turquoise waters and sun-dappled vineyards to gentle French lanes, you’ll feel closer to the Mediterranean than the Mersey. Here’s what to expect from this Brit…(ish) isle…

Go on a journey through time

Peel back the layers of Jersey’s captivating past at La Hougue Bie Museum. The name comes from the Old Norse word for mound, as the site is home to medieval chapels sitting on a hillock. A Neolithic passage runs beneath the mound, opening into a dolmen used for ceremonies over 5,000 years ago. Staggeringly, it was built more than a thousand years before Egypt’s pyramids and is the 10th criss-cross the nature-filled island. Loop Jersey in six hours, on the 64km trail that starts at Liberation Square in St. Helier and passes St. Aubin’s Harbour and La Corbière Lighthouse, and meanders through the pristine Les Mielles Nature Reserve on the west coast before continuing to Greve de Lecq beach and charming Gorey village. The route is a steep one, so consider

oldest building in the world. Jersey Museum & Art Gallery also offers a fascinating insight into the island’s past, from the Ice Age – when Jersey wasn’t an island but was part of mainland France – right up to the vibrant island that it is today. Highlights include the gas-lit Victorian house and hearing Jèrriais (Jersey French).

Sandwiched between France and Britain, both countries have fought over beautiful Jersey. Discover the island’s ties with Europe at Mont Orgueil, a wellpreserved medieval castle on the east coast, where you can enjoy panoramic views stretching as far as Normandy from its tower.

Like France, Germany also wanted to control Jersey, and they succeeded during the Second World War. Discover what life was like during the occupation at the Jersey War Tunnels, where you can explore 1,000m of the network built by prisoners that now houses a unique exhibition about the period. Local guide Philip Marett’s grandparents lived on the island during the occupation, making him the ideal person to tour the bunkers and forts with while listening to his family stories of the war years. Explore the island independently, by downloading the GeoTourist’s self-guided Liberation Route tour to hear inspiring stories of resistance, find liberation landmarks and learn about Liberation Day on 9 May when Germany surrendered.

Hit the trails

Craving an adventure this spring or summer? A bike ride through Jersey’s unspoilt landscapes while feeling the wind in your hair is bound to whet your appetite. A network of signposted country roads known as Green Lanes

Culturally curious

(clockwise from this) Mont Orgueil Castle is over 800 years old; the island is a gastronomist’s delight, especially with its abundance of fresh seafood; enjoy the delights of the markets; book with Channel Islands Direct for a great offer on the Radisson Blu Waterfont; embark on a bioluminescence tour; WWII relics; walking the coast

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hiring an EVie electric bike to make cycling those hills a breeze.

Hikers will be delighted at Jersey’s national park on the west coast. Spread over 2,145 hectares, the vast natural area was only formed in 2011 after 7,000 islanders formed a human chain to protect it two years before. To find out more, download a podcast from Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Google and do a self-guided walk along gorse and heather-covered clifftops. Look out for red squirrels, lizards and shorttoed treecreepers.

Jersey has one of the world’s largest tidal ranges, and at low tide, it grows to almost double the size. When the tide is out and the sun has set, Jersey Walk Adventures host spectacular bioluminescence walks on the seabed so you can stroll through Caulleriella bioculata – worms that glow like fireflies.

Gorge on gourmet food

Jersey is a true natural larder, bursting with gastronomic experiences to make even the most seasoned foodie traveller’s mouth water. Limit your food miles with locally sourced seafood cooked in Jersey garlic butter at a Faulkner Fisheries’ barbecue in L’Étacq. Cook foraged ingredients such as fungi and seaweed on a campfire on the beach around St. Ouen with Kazz Padidar from Wild Adventures. And don’t miss a Wild Edgewalker Nature Wander to forage for herbs to make tea during ‘forest bathing’ sessions – the Japanese meditative practice of strolling through woods.

Back in town, make like a local and browse produce such as lobsters, oysters and Jersey Royal potatoes at the bustling 200-yearold Central Market and Beresford Street Market in St. Helier before visiting an old sail loft distillery with The Channel Islands Liquor Co.

La Mare Wine Estate in St. Mary, meanwhile offers relaxing guided tours of its vineyards, orchards, cognac distillery and kitchen, which produces chocolate and fudge. The tour includes a tasty gin and tonic as well as samples of wine and apple brandy cream liqueur.

When the evening comes, book a table at local favourite Salty Dog Bar & Bistro in St. Aubin to tuck into locally sourced shellfish, such as pan-seared hand-dived scallops. The two AA Rosette restaurant, Mark Jordan at the Beach, also serves seafood just up the road – another reminder that, in Jersey, you’re never far from the sea, a rich and diverse culture, and an experience that will make you feel so far from home.