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  • Geography Now! T-Shirts!

  • Get one, geographynow.com!

  • Oooh this is gonna be a good one.

  • Very few people know anything about Mauritania

  • AKA, the land of wind and ghosts.

  • Strangers from a vibrant background with forbidden actions that linger hidden in the sands lost in time.

  • Whoa, that sounded like the preface of a romance novel.

  • Well that's one more thing I can add to the list of things to pursue in case Geography Now! crashes and burns.

  • [Intro]

  • It's time to learn Geography NOW!!!

  • Ah, you know why I'm smiling

  • This country usually ranks in the top 10-ish least visited countries in the world

  • And when I hear that the gears in my head start spinning

  • and I'm like in my prime research mode.

  • By the end of this episode you'll want more of Mauritania!

  • [Awkward laughter]

  • POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

  • Mauritania derives its name from the Berber kingdom of Mauretania from the third century BC

  • And since then they developed an interesting civil layout.

  • First of all, the country is located in north-western Africa

  • Bordered by Senegal, Mali, Algeria and depending on where you stand on the dispute, Western Sahara.

  • Which is mostly administered by Morocco except for this small portion inland by the separatist rebels

  • Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and effectively cutting off the entire Atlantic coast from Mauritania

  • On the Nouadhibou Peninsular.

  • It's a long story we talked about it a really long time ago in the Algeria episode

  • Wow back in the days when I was doing all the animations and motion graphics

  • And then you found me, right?

  • No actually I found Peader, Vincent and Jared and they did such great jobs didn't they Ken?

  • They did such great jobs!

  • Yes, they did such great jobs.

  • Otherwise, the country is divided into 15 regions or wilaya

  • However the capital and largest city: Nouakchott

  • Which means "Place of winds" is made up of three in itself:

  • North, West and South.

  • Otherwise the next largest cities are Nouadhibou and Rosso which is located in the south.

  • And the three largest airports are of course Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International

  • Nouadhibou International

  • and Tazadit Airport.

  • On that note though, Nouakchott is kind of like the starting point of the trans west-African coastal highway.

  • A ridiculously long and partially unpaved road that passes through twelve coastal states of west Africa.

  • Otherwise one thing Mauritania is famous for is their national railway.

  • Owned and operated by the mining and industrial company.

  • It's a single 704 kilometer line that links the local iron mining centre of Zouérat

  • With the port of Nouahibou, Fderik and Choum.

  • There used to be a tunnel through Choum but the S.A.D.R separatists weren't too happy

  • and the line was diverted.

  • This line has one of the longest trains in the world with over 200 carts most of which transport iron ores

  • but you can also ride it as a passenger.

  • Nouadhibou also has disputably the largest ship graveyard in the world

  • Dropped off by various outsiders that bribed the local officials and today over 300 of them dot the beaches.

  • Speaking of which, some notable places of interest might include:

  • These archaeological sites

  • the Kiffa meteorite crash site

  • these cool plateau areas

  • Kumbi Saleh which was once the capital of the Ghana Empire.

  • the medieval town of Oualata

  • the manuscript museum

  • the holy city of Chinguetti

  • the habbot library

  • the Terjit oasis

  • and Oadane.

  • Oh and I forgot to mention that donkey carts are like, everywhere.

  • speaking of wildlife!

  • PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

  • Now if you don't know anything about Mauritania, it's probably like the most Saharan country you can get.

  • Like literally almost the entire country is covered in sand and sparse oasis.

  • First of all, with over a million square kilometers, about 90% of the country is dry desert

  • with generally flat plains considered in both the Maghres and Sahel regions of Africa.

  • In the center of two small ridges of mountains, the Tagant and Adrar are around.

  • A little further up north you find the tallest peak: Kediet Ej Jill, all along the way to the southern border is

  • the longest and only permanent river, the Senegal River, shared along with Senegal.

  • And the largest lake is probably either the D'aleg or the lake Rkiz, however they fluctuate in size

  • due to the droughts and irrigation.

  • So either one of them could be a winner as well as this huge reservoir next to M'bout

  • Back to the A'drar ridge though, the coolest natural landmark probably in all of Mauritania lives hidden,

  • right in between the sands, the Eye of the Sahara, also known as the Richat Structure.

  • It's too big to see on land but from space this forty kilometer wide monster has been a curiosity...

  • for geologists all over the world

  • Otherwise most wildlife is found in the south along the border with Senegal.

  • Like the Banc D'arguin National park, bird watching is popular here with sandpipers and flamingos.

  • You can also find wolves and the national animal, the African lion.

  • And once again, Noah is not here to fill in as my co-host for the physical geography section.

  • Uhh I don't know, you guys remember Nick from the Comoros episode, right?

  • Uh Nick how would you like to fill in for this segment?

  • Uh, but I thought you were saving me for the Mauritius episode?

  • Eh, why not give the subscribers a little taste of what's coming up in the next episode.

  • Alright, see ya.

  • Mauritania's economy is primarily driven by the mining and agricultural sectors.

  • As well as a new petroleum industry offshore in the decently sized Chinguetti oil field.

  • One resource though that they are definitely not in short supply of though: Wind

  • Mauritania is located in the heart of the Harmattan territory

  • For those of you who don't know, the Harmattan is a famous dry wind of the Saharan Desert.

  • It comes between November and March. These winds pick up dust storms easily and can even cause nose bleeds and cracked skin if exposed for too long.

  • As humidity goes below 15%.

  • Ugh! Stay hydrated and bring some lotion.

  • In the south though, the weather's a little better. This is the region where most of the crops are grown

  • and where fish are caught. The coasts of Mauritania are actually some of the best fishing spots in the world.

  • Speaking of which! Food!

  • Some dishes from Mauritania might include things like...

  • and the national dish

  • Alright! The food is good, but let's meet the people who eat these dishes shall we?

  • DEMOGRAPHICS

  • Alright thanks Nick that was great, good! Follow him on Instagram if you want!

  • Now this is pretty tricky because Mauritania's people have a lot of tricky history and a lot of ups and downs.

  • First of all:

  • The country has about 4.5 million people and is the 5th least densely populated country in the world.

  • Out of the people, there are three main people groups.

  • Census are not very well documented, but from what studies have shown...

  • it is estimated that the largest group are the Haratin West Africans, at about 40%

  • The Bidhan or Moors at 30% and the remaining 30% are other African groups of the Niger-congo family groups.

  • They use the ouguiya as their currency

  • They use the type C plug outlet

  • and they drive on the right side of the road.

  • The main language is Arabic, however keep in mind they have a distinct Hassaniya dialect similar to the countries around them.

  • It's kind of like an 80% Arabic, 20% Berber mix. Some words are also taken from the Wolof language

  • Like 'Mboro' meaning 'Bread'

  • In addition, French is the most commonly spoken second language, they were a former colony

  • So today, si vous parlez, vous irez bien ici.

  • The vast majority, at nearly 100% is Muslim, it is the state religion with only a few Christians and Jews mostly in the capital, Nouakchott.

  • Mauritanian geograpeep, Ellie, told me that it's often said that Mauritania is like a land of a million poets.

  • It's kind of known throughout the Arab world that Mauritanians like to condense everything they want to say...

  • ...in as few but as expressive words as possible

  • If you cannot do this and need a lot of explanation, they have a word for you.

  • "Zraag" or blue, which means something like simple minded.

  • Now here's where things get a little controversial. I have to mention this and every one of you Mauritanian geograpeeps have asked me to bring it to light...

  • If you look at Mauritania in most search engines, you'll probably come across an article or post that talks about the biggest tableu in the country:

  • Slavery.

  • They became the last country in the world to abolish slavery in 1981

  • However there are no criminal laws enforcing the bans so under pressure from the outside world in 2007...

  • they passed a law that would prosecute slave owners.

  • The problem is however that today slave ownership is still practiced even by those in governmental positions.

  • so it's like a weird under the radar type of system that has been perpetuated.

  • It's hard to estimate by sociologists speculate that anywhere between 4-17% of the population...

  • may be living is slavery today.

  • It's mostly the blacks being subjugated by the Arab community.

  • In some cases blacks can also be slave owners as well though.

  • Today however, there are active slave abolitionists groups like SOS - Esclaves

  • These people work to help either escaped or freed slaves get back on their feet and work as functioning members of society providing for themselves.

  • Well uh, pretty difficult to transition out of that topic.

  • Uh, here's Keith on bass!

  • On that note with Mauritania, you get this kind of fusion-Arab-Berber-black African type of culture.

  • If you just meet the everyday people of Mauritania you'll get this very hospitable group

  • That loves to ask questions while offering you mint tea.

  • Most people were loose, well ventilated clothing to help with the extreme heat.

  • Men may be wearing the traditional Daraa or Boubou while the women wear the traditional colorful Melahfa

  • with gazelle skin sandals.

  • Unlike some stricter Islamic countries, it''s actually surprisingly acceptable and common for both men and women to party together

  • with traditional dancing and music

  • usually played with four string lutes called Tidinit.

  • Women's choir called the Ardin and Kettle Drums.

  • Oh and holidays like the Eid ul Fitr and the festival of dates are celebrated here as well.

  • Otherwise history! We don't have too much time to get into it but in the quickest way I can condense it...

  • the Portugese come in

  • the French colonize

  • This guy takes over

  • Free democratic elections in 2007

  • and here we are today!

  • Some famous people from Mauritania or of Mauritanian descent might include people like...

  • I'm sorry it's just pronounciations...

  • However I was told that some of the most famous people from this country are the Imraguen fishers

  • They have a really unique way of fishing by co-operating with the dolphins

  • they've made friends and the tradition has gone on for centuries.

  • Kind of reminds me of the people of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Did you guys watch that episode by the way? Go ahead.

  • Yeah I can plug in my own videos on my own channel it's not selling out.

  • Anyway, friend time!

  • FRIENDZONE

  • Like many other countries we discussed, in Mauritania it really depends on the ethnicity of the person you're asking...

  • ...to find out whom they consider their best "friends."

  • Sudan is like the cool cousin that they get to see once every so often

  • Historically they were a major stop off for people on pilgrimage to Mecca.

  • If you ask the Wolof or South Mauritanian people, they would most likely answer Senegal or Mali.

  • As these two countries have had the closest cultural ties.

  • Such as people groups and language.

  • The biggest commercial partners and aid providers are the gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.

  • France, Spain and China are also in there. These countries have been opening up tons of infrastructure and business deals.

  • And as a former colony the French have been linked diplomatically for centuries.

  • They make up the largest tourist demographic in Mauritania as well.

  • When it comes to their best friends however, most Mauritanians would probably the say the people of

  • Western Sahara, Southern Morocco and Southern Algeria and Northern Mali.

  • They share the same Arab dialect, clothing, culture, tribes. Tons of their students study abroad in these countries.

  • And overall, they get each other the best.

  • In conclusion, Mauritania is like the place where the desert fuses the Arab world with the west African black world amidst the wind and mint tea!

  • No, I don't want to minimize the fact that controversy lingers.

  • But there's a whole picture and story that goes so far with Mauritania.

  • Just take it one page at a time.

  • Stay tuned! Mauritius is coming up next!

  • And I will be in it!

  • Yeah! See Nick!

  • [Outro Music]

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