After the armed conflict, Mauritania is trying to revive tourism | Tourism

Guelber-Richat, Adrar Region, Mauritania – From inside her thatched-roof tent, Fatima Cheikh Mohammad Bouya looks out over a large, rocky area, hoping to see visitors arriving, travelers who want to sleep.

The 49-year-old is in charge of one of Africa’s most impressive natural sites, the Richat Structure, also known as the “Eye of Africa.”

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A circular shape about 40km (25 miles) in diameter, Richat is located in the mountainous region of the Adrar Plateau in Mauritania, west of the Sahara. It is only visible from the sky, where its pointed rings resemble a large eye, which makes it so called. Some legends say that it is a symbol of the lost city of Atlantis, which increases its interest among sports enthusiasts.

It is these travelers, who often arrive in groups and carry foreign currency, that Bouya hopes to attract today. He can sell them a small stone that looks like Richat himself, or help them spend the night under the desert sky, renting tents and serving dinner.

“This whole region is my family’s land,” Bouya said proudly in his Hassaniya Arabic, sitting on a red carpet inside his desert camp and pointing to a map laid out in front of him.

He is one of hundreds of locals who are now benefiting from Mauritania’s gradual revival as a little-known travel destination.

Spanning a vast area that is 90 percent desert, Mauritania is at the crossroads of North and West Africa. Its landscape combines the Sahara and the Atlantic coast, while its cultures reflect influences from both regions.

About 30,000 visitors he used to stream here every year, but a sad event in the history of the country prevented that journey.

The government is now expanding the advertising campaign, with early signs of success.

“Mauritania is having a bit of a moment in the travel world,” said Sean Connolly, a travel expert who called it a 2026 destination for The Times of London, speaking to Al Jazeera.

Connolly also wrote the first English a reference book for Mauritania. The main attraction of tourists, he said, is its security.

“Mauritania has been left at the top of the short list of places where you can comfortably explore the Sahara,” Connolly said.

Insecurity creates problems

Tourism in Mauritania enjoyed a boom in the early to mid-2000s.

In those years, visitors arrived in large numbers during the winter months between November and February, mostly from France. Many came to the Dakar Rally, a car race that once ran from Paris through the desert to Dakar.

But since the mid-2000s, armed groups, including al-Qaeda in Algeria in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Salafist group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), began targeting areas across the country, including the capital Nouakchott.

On Christmas Eve 2007, AQIM fighters killed four French tourists near the western town of Aleg, shocking the world. The victims, members of the same family, were shot while painting on the side of the road.

They were later arrested and sentenced to death in 2010. However, at that time, Mauritania had already faced several threats, including an attempted attack on the French embassy.

Tourist arrivals dropped significantly. The Dakar Rally was moved to the Middle East, and flights that brought French tourists to the Adrar region were suspended.

In response, the government strengthened its security apparatus. Elite military units were sent to the border areas, many of which were war zones. At the same time, the authorities asked religious leaders to preach against extremists, including in prisons where suspected criminals were held. Koranic schools were heavily scrutinized, while educational methods were expanded.

Recently, attention has shifted to rural poverty reduction. Government officials have expanded the register of vulnerable families to receive monthly payments, while water, electricity, health care, schools and mobile networks have gradually reached remote areas.

No violence has been reported since 2011.

Despite recent reports of tensions between the government and armed forces, these have not been confirmed, said Mauritanian researcher Baba Adou of the University of Florida. The collapse of security in neighboring Mali since 2012, he said, was in favor of groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and ISIS (ISIS), and may have helped them leave Mauritania.

But “Mali’s border areas will also be difficult,” Adou warned, as the situation progresses.

Government officials have been focusing on participating in international tourism events, and inviting tourists to come to the country.

Tourist arrivals to Mauritania increased by 166 percent between 2018 and 2019 after the visa fee was reduced from 120 to 40 euros ($139 to $46), bringing in nearly 4,000 tourists that season, according to government statistics.

About 7,000 tourists have come this year alone, said Alioune Cheikh, who runs his own tour company.

These numbers are still low compared to the past, but in a country where almost one in three people live in poverty, tourism has become an important source of income.

A new rocking start

Walking in the desert between attractions, it is difficult to imagine that this place had real dangers.

For miles, only moving dunes dot the horizon. Sometimes, a herd of camels slowly passes by, or a herd of thin and tall goats walks on the sand.

On social media, it is the Iron Ore Train that has become the most popular symbol of Mauritania’s attraction. The 640km (400-mile) route runs daily between the mining town of Zouerat and the Atlantic port of Nouadhibou. Most of the time, travelers ride in his open cargo trucks, clinging to the cargo wagons as they travel through the desert.

But beyond the train, other places are attracting tourists, especially in the mountainous region of Adrar, a place of canyons and oases.

In the ruins of the ancient city of Ouadane, tourists wander through stone doorways, awestruck by the remains of ancient civilizations.

“I didn’t expect anything, I wanted to go to Senegal, but it was a surprise,” said Martha Capa, a visitor from Belgium, speaking to Al Jazeera about her time in Mauritania.

But the 30-year-old also saw other opportunities in construction. There were no security guards at the venue, nor was there a ticket office. The leader only appeared to lead his group through the ruins.

“Mauritania is beautiful. It has a lot to offer, but maybe it would be better if there was more care; maybe some of the sites would be a little more protected,” he said.

Another tourist, Mattheo Zuchelli, 44, who helps run his family’s travel agency in Italy, said he came to Mauritania after repeatedly hearing stories from other travelers. But he added that many of his customers would prefer the smooth desert roads and luxurious accommodations, such as those found in neighboring Morocco.

He said: “Italians love comfort and luxury.

Travel expert Sean Connolly said it is the proximity of Mauritania’s landscape that makes it unique. Until recently, he said, most Mauritanians lived as nomads, creating a culture based on travel and hospitality.

He said: “People came with their tents, and if a stranger passed by without his tent, they would welcome and feed them. This hospitality in the desert means that in the past there were no luxury hotels in the country.”

This is slowly starting to change. In April, the first international hotel, the Sheraton, opened in Nouakchott.

Back at the Richat Structure, Fatima Bouya continues to wait for incoming visitors.

“I have been in business since I was a child, but we stopped because of security,” he said, recalling how his father welcomed the French explorer Theodore Monod to his camp.

With a population of 5.5 million, Mauritania is so sparsely populated that families like the Bouyas are able to manage the surrounding areas like Richat.

Bouya said he has restarted the business to generate income. Sitting on a faded rug, she prepares zrig, a fermented goat’s milk drink, and boils sweet ataya tea on a small gas burner.

Although the number of tourists is increasing slowly, he said that attracting tourists is still difficult. In the past, he said, travel agencies coordinated trips reliably. Today, the system is loose and unpredictable.

“Tourists are like goods that we have to fight for now,” he said. “The last time I received guests was three nights ago when 7 Italians came. But I have kept 100 tents.”