Ancient Chinguetti

Rank: Top 1000

Wonder Type: Cultural

Country: Mauritania

Best of: Old Town, Ancient

Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, this trading and religious centre became focal points of Islamic culture. It have managed to preserve an urban fabric that evolved between the 12th and 16th centuries. Typically, houses with patios crowd along narrow streets around a mosque with a square minaret. They illustrate a traditional way of life centred on the nomadic culture of the people of the western Sahara. [More Details]