Mauritania: Moor Than a Feeling Quiz

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

Mauritania has about 750km of Atlantic coastline, with the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the north of the country and Senegal to the south. This, historically, has been an important stretch of coast and Arguin Island, just over a mile offshore, has been swapped around many times between Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, England, France, Prussia and local tribal chiefs.

Prior to 1958, Nouakchott was a fishing village but was chosen to be the administrative capital because of its location and climate. Its population is now estimated at over one million.

Answer: France

The Congress of Vienna (1815) assigned to France that part of West Africa which includes Mauritania. It wasn't until 1903, though, that it became a formal French protectorate and a civil territory the following year. The name looks back to an ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania that was then absorbed into a Roman province of the same name. Ironically, neither of these included the territory that is modern day Mauritania. The Berber kingdom derived its name from a tribe called the Mauri and this, in turn, led to Europeans using "moors" or "maures" to describe many different tribes in North Africa.

Mauritania also shares France's sporting passion for soccer, though the country is ranked very close to the bottom of the FIFA world rankings.

Answer: Crocodile

Approximately 75% of Mauritania is desert - Sahara desert and, at present, the desert is expanding. The country is also part of the Sahel - the belt immediately south of the Sahara - and the Maghreb, to its north.

Mauritania's dwarf crocodiles are smaller and far less aggressive than their larger relatives. They live in caves or burrows and estivate, a form of hibernation, during dry periods. They are officially classified as a species of the Nile crocodile but some experts, on the basis of DNA analysis, believe that they should be seen as a separate species.

Crocodiles are not the only interesting feature of Mauritania's wildlife. The Atlantic coastline is a birdwatchers' paradise, being a stopover point for many migratory birds, and, in 2010, a cold water coral reef was found offshore, the first to be discovered at such a latitude.

Answer: A minaret

Mauritania has a proud Islamic history. It was the centre of the Ghana (Wagadou) empire from about 830 AD until this was overrun by the Islamic Almoravids in 1076. For the next five centuries it was a base for Almoravid expansion further south into Africa and, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, into Spain.

Chinguetti was a stopover point for African pilgrims en route to Mecca and, in time, became a holy city in its own right. Its minaret dates back to the thirteenth century. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site but the future does not look bright. It is under threat from the expanding Sahara desert and now resembles something of a ghost town.

Chinguetti is also, confusingly, the name of Mauritania's first offshore oil field which was discovered in 2001. Since then, larger deposits have been found and it is hoped that these, as they are developed, will make a major contribution to the country's economy.

Answer: Admire it - It's a giant depression observable from space

Also known as the Richat structure, the Eye of Africa measures approximately 50km (30 miles) across. It was once thought to have been caused by a meteorite but scientists now attribute it to natural geological processes. If you can spare some time, it's well worth checking out the spectacular images that you'll find online.

Answer: A giant monolith

Ben Amera is a 400m high black granite monolith, variously described as the world's second or third largest. Suffice to say that if Ben Amera were in the middle of Australia it would be a lot better known and visited.

In Scotland, "Ben" is the English form of the Gaelic "Beinn" which means hill or mountain.

Answer: Mauritania is one of only two countries that do not use a decimal currency.

The unit of currency is the ouguiya which sub-divides into five khoums, although these are of such low value that they are rarely used. Madagascar is the other country that does not have a decimal currency.

Nouakchott's markets include a crafts market, silver market and camel market - plenty of choice for you to find that special something to take home.

Answer: To make her more attractive for marriage in a country that prizes plumpness

In Mauritania it is said that the size of a woman indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart. From as young as five, girls are fattened up and this is often reinforced with beatings and other forms of torture. This means that Mauritania is one of the few countries in the world where girls, on average, have received more food than boys.

The rationale is simple. A fat girl is taken to be evidence that her family are wealthy enough not to require her to work. This tradition, known as "Leblouh", was thought to be dying out but, following a military coup in 2008, there have been claims by women's groups that it is once again on the rise.

Answer: He was a former slave

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir is the Barack Obama of Mauritanian politics who has twice run, unsuccessfully, for national president. Slavery in Mauritania is a thorny issue. Officially, it is outlawed. Legislation was passed in 1905, 1981 and again in 2007.
Mauritania's government has also gone as far as banning use of the word "slave" in the media and refuses to register the anti-slavery group, IRA (Initiative pour la résurgence du mouvement abolitioniste). This has meant that several of its activists have been tried for membership of an illegal organisation.

The 'slave' population of Mauritania, or haratine, runs into the hundreds of thousands. As a general rule, slave owners are of Arab or Berber descent (so called 'white moors') and the slaves are of black African descent (so called 'black moors'). Escape is difficult both because of the desert conditions and because most slaves have no education or means of financial self-sufficiency. They are economically dependent on their masters who only need to pay a pittance and declare that their 'employees' are free to leave whenever they might choose, knowing full well that they have nowhere to go.

Answer: Magnetite

The magnetite, a form of iron ore, is guaranteed to send your compass crazy. Probably also a good idea to keep your credit cards well away from it.

Mauritania has substantial deposits of iron ore and it constitutes about 50% of total exports. Most of the mining takes place in the north of the country in the area close to Kediet ej Jill and the border with Western Sahara. Severe problems were caused in 1975, when the Mauritanian government chose to annexe a third of their neighbour's land. For the Western Saharan Polisario guerrillas, it was an easy task to cripple the mining activities until normal service was resumed in 1978 after a military coup deposed the Mauritanian president.

The railway that runs from the mines to the sea, Mauritania's only line, is recognised as having some of the world's longest trains and these are often more than 1.5 miles in length.