, settlement_type = Commune and town , image_skyline = Oualata 03.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = View of the town looking in a southeasterly direction , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Mauritania , pushpin_label_position = bottom , pushpin_mapsize = 300 , pushpin_map_caption = Location in Mauritania , subdivision_type =

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

, subdivision_type1 =

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, subdivision_name =

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

, subdivision_name1 = Hodh Ech Chargui , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_name2 = , established_title = , established_date = , government_type = , leader_title = , leader_name = , area_magnitude = , area_total_sq_mi = , area_total_km2 = , area_land_sq_mi = , area_land_km2 = , area_urban_sq_mi = , area_urban_km2 = , area_metro_km2 = , area_metro_sq_mi = , population_as_of = 2000 , population_footnotes = , population_total = 11779 , population_urban = , population_metro = , population_density_sq_mi = , population_density_km2 = , timezone = , utc_offset = , timezone_DST = , utc_offset_DST = , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = , footnotes = , website = Trans-Saharan routes early

Oualata or Walata ( ar, ولاتة) (also Biru in 17th century chronicles) is a small oasis town in southeast

, located at the eastern end of the Aoukar basin. Oualata was important as a

caravan city A caravan city is a city located on and deriving its prosperity from its location on a major trans-desert trade route. The term is believed to have been coined by the great scholar of antiquity, Michael Rostovtzeff, for his work ''O Blijnem Vos ...

in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a

trans-Saharan trade Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara between sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the early 17th century. The Sahara once had a very d ...

route and now it is a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

History

Oualata is believed to have been first settled by an agro-pastoral people akin to the Mandé Soninke people who lived along the rocky promontories of the Tichitt-Oualata and Tagant cliffs of Mauritania facing the Aoukar basin. There, they built what are among the oldest stone settlements on the African continent. The town formed part of the

Ghana Empire The Ghana Empire, also known as Wagadou ( ar, غانا) or Awkar, was a West African empire based in the modern-day southeast of Mauritania and western Mali that existed from c. 300 until 1100. The Empire was founded by the Soninke people, a ...

and grew wealthy through trade. At the beginning of the thirteenth century Oualata replaced Aoudaghost as the principal southern terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and developed into an important commercial and religious centre. By the fourteenth century the city had become part of the Mali Empire. An important trans-Saharan route began at

Sijilmasa Sijilmasa ( ar, سجلماسة; ; also transliterated Sijilmassa, Sidjilmasa, Sidjilmassa and Sigilmassa) was a medieval Moroccan city and trade entrepôt at the northern edge of the Sahara in Morocco. The ruins of the town extend for five miles a ...

and passed through Taghaza with its salt mines and ended at Oualata. Moroccan explorer

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

found the inhabitants of Oualata were Muslim and mainly Massufa, a section of the

Sanhaja The Sanhaja ( ber, Aẓnag, pl. Iẓnagen, and also Aẓnaj, pl. Iẓnajen; ar, صنهاجة, ''Ṣanhaja'' or زناگة ''Znaga'') were once one of the largest Berber tribal confederations, along with the Zanata and Masmuda confederations. Man ...

. He was surprised by the great respect and independence that women enjoyed. He only gives a brief description of the town itself: "My stay at Iwalatan (Oualata) lasted about fifty days; and I was shown honour and entertained by its inhabitants. It is an excessively hot place, and boasts a few small date-palms, in the shade of which they sow watermelons. Its water comes from underground waterbeds at that point, and there is plenty of mutton to be had." The town's original Mande name Biru had already shifted to the Berber Iwalatan, a reflection of the changing identity of the residents. This would change again with the town's Arabization, and the development of the current name, Walata. From the second half of the fourteenth century

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

gradually replaced Oualata as the southern terminus of the trans-Sahara route and Oualata declined in importance, becoming an increasingly poor backwater in comparison to the previous wealth of the town. The Berber diplomat, traveller and author, Leo Africanus, who visited the region in 1509-1510 gives a description in his book '' Descrittione dell’Africa'': "Walata Kingdom: This is a small kingdom, and of mediocre condition compared to the other kingdoms of the blacks. In fact, the only inhabited places are three large villages and some huts spread about among the palm groves." By the time Leo Africanus visited the region, the composition of the kingdom also seems to have changed greatly to reflect a large Songhai speaking population residing within the town, stating in his book "The language of this region is called Songhai, and the inhabitants are black people, and the most friendly unto strangers." Furthermore, it was under this time that Oualata was a tribute-paying fiefdom under the status of the Songhai Empire; also reflected within Africanus' book '' Descrittione dell’Africa'' explaining "In my time this region was conquered by the king of Timbuktu and the prince of Oualata fled into the deserts, whereof the king granted him peace conditionally that he pay great yearly tribute and so the prince has remained tributary to the king of Timbuktu until this present." The old town covers an area of about 600 m by 300 m, some of it now in ruins. The sandstone buildings are coated with

banco Banco may refer to: Places * Banc (Barcelona Metro), also called Banco, a closed metro stop on the Barcelona metro * Banco, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Banco, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Banco National Park, a nation ...

and some are decorated with geometric designs. The mosque now lies on the eastern edge of the town but in earlier times may have been surrounded by other buildings. The French historian, Raymond Mauny, estimated that in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

the town would have accommodated between 2000 and 3000 inhabitants. Today, Oualata is home to a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

, and is known for its highly decorative vernacular architecture. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 together with Ouadane, Chinguetti and

Tichitt Tichit or Tichitt ( ber, Ticit, ar, تيشيت) is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture. The main agriculture in Tichit is date farming, and th ...

Gallery

Image:Oualata Decorative Entrance 1.jpg, Oualata Decorative Entrance Image:Oualata Mosque.jpg, Oualata Mosque Image:Oualata Decorative Window.jpg, Oualata Decorative Window Image:Oualata Decorative Secondary Entrance.jpg, Oualata Decorative Secondary Entrance Image:Oualata Decorative Secondary Entrance 2.jpg, Oualata Decorative Secondary Entrance Image:Oualata Decorative Entrance 2.jpg, Oualata Decorative Main Entrance Image:View of Oualata 1.jpg, View of Oualata 1 Image:View of Oualata 2.jpg, View of Oualata 2 Image:View of Oualata 3.jpg, View of Oualata 3 Image:View of Oualata 4.jpg, View of Oualata 4

References

* * Extracts are availabl
here
* * * *

External links

*. {{Authority control World Heritage Sites in Mauritania Communes of Hodh Ech Chargui Region Archaeological sites in Mauritania

History

Gallery

See also

References

References

Further reading

External links