Ouadane
Coordinates: 20 ° 56 ′ N , 11 ° 37 ′ W
| Ouadane - Ancient ksour from Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Restored minaret on the old town wall of Ouadane |
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| National territory: |
 Mauritania
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | iii, iv, v |
| Reference No .: | 750 |
| UNESCO region : | Arabic states |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1996 (session 20) |
Ouadane ( Arabic وادان, DMG Wādān ) is a historically significant city in the Adrar region in northwest Mauritania on the Adrar Plateau .
The city is 130 kilometers northeast of Chinguetti at the end of a well-developed piste. To Atar it is 190 kilometers on the same road at the beginning. A sand track leads 30 kilometers to the northeast to the Guelb er Richat , a huge ring-shaped, crater-like structure.
Ouadane was founded in 1147 by the Berber tribe of the Idalwa el-Hadji and soon developed into one of the most important caravanserais and trading posts in the western Sahara . Mainly the traders exchanged gold from the Sudan zone for dates and salt from the northern desert. A Portuguese trading post was established in 1487, but the city gradually declined from the 16th century onwards. Attacks by the Moroccan-Berber Saadians and the ruling Arab Alawids contributed to the economic decline and decline in the 18th century , as well as the shifting of the Trans-Saharan trade routes further east.
The well-preserved ruins of the fortified trading post ( Ksar ) extend over a hill and its slope to the level of the oasis gardens. They are since 1996 along with Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata a place of UNESCO - World Heritage Site .
The small, modern settlement is outside the gates of the old city. In the 2000 census, the population was 3695. There are several accommodations. An entrance fee is required when entering the old town.
literature
- Thomas Krings (text), Beatrice Frehr (photos): Sahel. Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger. Islamic and traditional black African culture between the Atlantic and Lake Chad. 2nd edition DuMont, Cologne 1985, ISBN 3-7701-1202-4 , pp. 236f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Mauritania - Adrar. Administrative units. Geo Hive ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
