The famous oasis of Chiguetti is located by the Ouarane erg in the Adrar mounts.

In the old days, the name of Chinguetti – now part of the UNESCO's World Heritage – applied to the whole area. As many an ancient city in Mauritania, its development is mostly due to commercial traffic in Sahara. It once boasted eleven mosques, and pilgrims used to gather here before travelling to Mecca. Considered as Islam's seventh holy city, it was then home to many scholars who came here to study the thousands of ancient manuscripts kept in Chinguetti's famous libraries. As a centre of spiritual life, it remained a great meeting-place for intellectuals for several centuries, while its schools and madrassas(Islamic schools) were held in high esteem.

A mosque is still visible today with it drystone minaret towering over the old city. It is surrounded by a number of libraries and small musea set up in private houses open to the public. The doors of these ancient houses made of roughly cut acacia wood are equiped with an original locking device.

Traditional houses are built with drystone bound by adobe and frequently ornamented with geometrically shaped niches. Indoors, rooms are spread out around a yard, while stairs lead to terrasses offering a breathtaking view of the city and surrounding dunes.

Enjoy strolling around the ancient city's narrow streets cluttered with sand, where you'll probably come across women dressed in colourful "melhafas" and haughty men draped in blue "draas".

The "batha", i.e. the bed of the wadi, separates the old town from the new one, which grew around the old colonial fort and official buildings built when Mauritania was still a French protectorate. Since the marketplace and most shops are located there, you'll notice people constantly crossing the wadi from one part of the town to the other.

The Maure Bleu inn is conveniently located on the Southern bank of the "batha", i.e. in the older part of Chinguetti. You'll notice immediately its garden open onto the wadi and its traditional drystone constructions, and its "mahmel", which is a large cabin made of palm-tree branches and esparto grass - an ideal place for a rest on hot days.

Mahfoud and Sheikha will gladly offer you the traditional three glasses of pepermint-tea, unless you prefer a glass of fresh "bissap", a drink made from hibiscus flowers, while our cook Younous from Southern Mauritania prepares your dinner. You can then enjoy the garden and the beautiful view of the surrounding dunes. A number of books and miscellaneous litterature (mostly in French, though) are available in the lounge if you wish to know more about Mauritania. You can stay in a "khaima" (traditional tent) and dream for a few nights that you are one of those Saharian nomads resting in Chinguetti for a few days. Two bedrooms are available in a traditional drystone construction, as well as a few comfortable cabins.

The Maure Bleu Inn is an ideal location to discover at your own pace the surroundings of Chinguetti. Once you've become familiar with the city and the neighbouring oases, you can also leave on a camel trek for a few days in the sand of sea around Chinguetti. And, if you wish to discover more distant places, our 4WDs will take you to Ouadane, Guelb-er-Richat, Tanouchert and other oases in the Adrar region. Mahfoud and Sheikha will gladly help you devise an a la carte programme if you feel a bit lost.

Le Maure Bleu : accomodation, restaurant, garden, lounge, well-equiped showers (3) and toilets, plus two independent washbasins.
E-mail: sylviedesert@maurebleu.com - Phone: (00222) 546 47 18

Access from Atar: 80 km on easy track - approx. 1,5 hours
Access from Nouakchott: 420 km on the Nouakchott-Akjoujt-Atar road, plus 80 km on the Atar-Chiguetti track (approx. 7,5 hours altogether)

Pictures, website and translation by: gilles.chertier@aquiceara.com