Nouakchott (نواكشوط), Mauritania

Nouakchott (Arabic: نواكشوط) is the capital and biggest city in Mauritania. Located on the central western coast of the country facing the Atlantic Ocean, the city covers 1,000 sq km (400 sq km) and has a population of close to a million people (2012 estimate). It is one of the biggest cities in the Sahara.

Nouakchott traces its history to 1958, when it developed from a small fishing village. Human habitation may have gone back much earlier, with nomadic Berber tribes settling at the site. Its name means "place of the winds" due to its windy coastal location.

Before independence, Mauritania was part of the French colony of French West Africa, and the capital was Saint-Louis in Senegal. Nouakchott was made the capital when Mauritania became independent in 1960.

As is so common thoroughout Africa, Nouakchott had its share of political tension, with racial violence flaring between the Arabs and blacks in the late 1980s. Nonetheless, the city grew rapidly as it received waves of refugees discharged from other placed in Africa by various droughts that hit the region since the 1970s.

Nouakchott, Mauritania
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nouakchott_street_market.jpg
Author: Maxim VanBest Dynasty


Nouakchott Goat Market
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nouakchott_goat_market.jpg
Author: Ferdinand Reus

Visiting Nouakchott

Nouakchott International Airport (NKC) gets flights from Algiers, Bamako, Brazzaville, Casablanca, Conakry, Dakar, Las Palmas, Madrid, Nouadhibou, Paris and Tunis.

Places of Interest in Nouakchott

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