Fortified cities of Mauritania

▲ Photo AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Saturday, June 7, 2025, p. 4

Oualata, in southeastern Mauritania, located in the Hodh el Charqui region, is part of a quartet of ancient fortified cities or ksour , declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 1996, for their characteristic buildings made of reddish adobe and decorated with traditional paintings from the region. For decades, its population has been dwindling as residents move away in search of work, with no one taking care of the maintenance of the historic buildings.