Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Nouakchott, Mauritania - Blogging World Tour

30 Day Blogging Challenge

Nouakchott, Mauritania.
A bit of interesting history - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouakchott
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293815-d10339182-Reviews-Nouakchott_Ho...
We're doing a private tour today, looks like an interesting variety.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g293815-d14779091-Nouakchot_...
We're writers and here's a golden opportunity to see a famous library and a shipyard graveyard. Our muse should be inspired by one them to discuss. Maybe even both.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-libraries-of-chinguetti-chinguetti-mauri...
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/bay-of-nouadhibou-ship-graveyard
and our interesting dining choice.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293815-d4022339-Reviews-Restauran...
Discuss what you enjoyed on the tour or the library, or the shipyard graveyard or even the restaurant. Maybe all of them. Have fun!
Wow, only 6 days left of our journey.

Okay, my ignorance is showing. The first thing I have to do is check a map.
Thank goodness our first tour was the perfect introduction to Mauritanian customs and culture. It was a private guided door-to-door tour of the nation’s capital, Nouakchott. We visited markets, mosques, the port, the beach, and the National Museum of Mauritania. We sipped Mauritanian mint tea, and learned about the history of the region. Just what I needed.

Later I was able to check out the libraries in the city of Chinguetti. It contains some of the world’s most important Quranic texts amid its simple earthen libraries.

Established around 777 CE, Chinguetti became an important trading outpost on the Timbuktu caravan route to the Mediterranean. At the same time it became a gathering place for Islamic pilgrims on their way to Mecca. With the steady traffic of holy people through the city, a large, stone mosque was built and small libraries were founded to contain the growing number of religious texts left behind. Preserving the tradition of trading and passing down such holy writings, most of the original Chinguetti libraries exist in largely the same state as when they were deposited.

Today there are five such libraries left in Chinguetti containing some 1,300 Quranic manuscripts, as well as civil records including contracts, bills of sale, and legal judgments. The dry desert air and dedication of generations of custodians have helped preserve the fragile parchments, often rolled inside bamboo tubes.
From Atlas Obscura.