MauritaniaSituated in West Africa, Mauritania has borders with Algeria to the northwest, Mali to the east and south, Senegal on the southwest and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. There are three distinct geographic regions in Mauritania; a narrow belt along the Senegal River Valley in the south, where soil and climatic conditions permit settled agriculture; north of this valley, a broad east-west bank characterised by vast sand plains and fixed dunes held in place by sparse grass and scrub trees; and a large northern arid region shading into the Sahara Desert and characterised by shifting sand dunes, rock outcroppings and rugged mountainous plateaus with elevations of more than 1,500 ft...More Information on Mauritania. Full country name: Islamic Republic of MauritaniaArea: 1.03 million sq km Population: 2.5 million Capital City: Nouakchott (pop 600,000) People: Black Moors 40%, Moors 30%, Black Africans (Soninke, Pulaar, Peuls, Wolof) 30% Language: Arabic, French, Wolof Religion: Islam Government: republic Head of State: President Maaouya Ould Sid' Ahmed Taya Head of Government: Prime Minister TayaSghair Ould M'Bareck History of MauritaniaFrom the 3rd to 7th centuries, the migration of Berber tribes from North Africa displaced the Bafours, the original inhabitants of present-day Mauritania and the ancestors of the Soninke. Continued Arab-Berber migration drove indigenous black Africans south to the Senegal River or enslaved them. By 1076, Islamic warrior monks (Almoravid or Al Murabitun) completed the conquest of southern Mauritania, defeating the ancient Ghana empire. Over the next 500 years, Arabs overcame fierce Berber resistance to dominate Mauritania The Mauritanian Thirty-Year War (1644-74) was the unsuccessful final Berber effort to repel the Maqil Arab invaders led by the Beni Hassan tribe...More on Mauritania's History. Overview of Mauritania's EconomyGDP: US$2.2 billionGDP per capita: US$1,050 Annual Growth: 3.3% Inflation: 4.7% Major Industries: Iron ore, fish Major Trading Partners: Japan, Italy, Algeria, China Member of EU: No Political System of Mauritania- Government of Mauritania Climate, Vegetation and FaunaMost of the country is hot and dry with practically no rain. In the south, however, rainfall is higher with a rainy season which runs from July to September. The coast is tempered by trade winds and is mild with the exception of the hot Nouakchott region (where the rainy season begins a month later). Deserts are cooler and windy in March and April. Languages: In 1987 six ethnic groups inhabited Mauritania: one of primarily Arab...more. Education: In the late 1980s, Mauritania was still in the early stages of developing...more. Culture: A combination of Islamic, French and traditional
African influences...more. People of Mauritania: Eighty percent of the population are Moors - of Arab-Berber descent...more. Facts for the TravelerVisas: Only visitors from Arab League
countries, France, Italy and certain African nations don’t require
a visa. Visas of beween one and three months are required by everyone
else.
Health risks: A yellow fever vaccination is mandatory for anyone coming from an infected area. Water should be boiled or purified before drinking. Time: GMT/UTC Electricity: 220V Weights & measures: Metric Also Read: Money & Costs | Transport And Getting Around | Public holidays in Mauritania | Events Of Mauritania When to GoWith little else going on for the traveller in Mauritania, weather is as good a guide as any for influencing the timing of your visit. The most tolerable weather occurs between November and February, when it’s hot and sunny during the day, but cooling off in the evenings with southerlies blowing in from the desert. From June to October it’s very hot all the time, but bearable for brief visits. Never go between March and May unless a constant blast of sand and hot wind is high on your list of priorities. Other Tourist Attractions in Mauritania more...What to do in MauritaniaMauritania isn’t a good hiking destination, has no organised sports to speak of and isn’t a great country to cycle in. Coastal reefs make some of the coast attractive to gung-ho surfing fanatics, but even some of the most popular beaches are crime havens - swim with your money and passport or leave it in a hotel safe. Bird watchers are the luckiest travellers; the 200km (124mi) Arguin Bank is arguably the best spot on the planet to indulge ornothological passions.
The earliest inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during a series of migrations. The southern part of the country was named Matabeleland after the Ndebele tribe who occupied the area in the early 1800’s under a loose confederation of Ndebele-speaking tribes headed by the Khumalo tribe under [...]
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Religion in Africa
Africans profess a wide variety of religious beliefs, with Christianity and Islam being the most widespread. Approximately 40% of all Africans are Christians and another 40% Muslims. Roughly 20% of Africans primarily follow indigenous African religions. A small number of Africans also have beliefs from the Judaic tradition, such as the Beta Israel [...]
Culture of Africa
Africa has a number of overlapping cultures. The most conventional distinction is that between sub-Saharan Africa and the northern countries from Egypt to Morocco, who largely associate themselves with Arabic culture. In this comparison, the nations to the south of the Sahara are considered to consist of many cultural areas, in particular [...]
Demographics of Africa
Africans may be grouped according to whether they live north or south of the Sahara Desert; these groups are called North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, respectively. Afro-Asiatic speaking peoples predominate in North Africa, while Sub-Saharan Africa is dominated by a number of disparate populations grouped according to their diverse languages–Niger-Congo predominantly in West [...]
Economy of Africa
Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent: the United Nations’ Human Development Report 2003 (of 175 countries) found that positions 151 (Gambia) to 175 (Sierra Leone) were taken up entirely by African nations.
It has had (and in some ways is still having) a shaky and uncertain transition from colonialism, with increases in corruption [...]
Politics in Africa
Colonial Africa
Colonialism had a destabilizing effect on what had been a number of ethnic groups that is still being felt in African politics. Prior to European influence, national borders were not much of a concern, with Africans generally following the practice of other areas of the world, such as the Arabian peninsula, where [...]
History of Africa
Africa is home to the oldest inhabited territory on earth, with the human race originating from this continent. During the mid 20th century, anthropologists discovered many fossils and evidence of human occupation perhaps as early as 7 million years ago. The famous Leakey family, with ties to both Britain and Africa, discovered fossil [...]
Geography of Africa
Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earth’s surface. It includes within its remarkably regular outline an area, of c. 30,360,288 km² (11,722,173 mi²), including the islands.
Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the [...]
Etymology of Africa
The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - “land of the Afri” (plural, or “Afer” singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia.
The Afri were a tribe - possibly Berber [...]
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