Home to some of the world’s most important medieval Quranic texts, this desert oasis was once an intellectual hub. But after more than 1,200 years, it may soon vanish. Rising like a mirage on ...

Supported by By Ruth Maclean Photographs by Laura Boushnak Reporting from Ouadane, an ancient desert city in Mauritania The henna artist bent over her client’s hand, glancing at the smartphone ...

Chinguetti, Mauritania is home to some of West Africa’s oldest Quranic texts and manuscripts. It could soon be swallowed by ...

This Mauritanian city, once a stop along the trans-Saharan trade route, boasts 13 libraries and some 6,000 manuscripts. Their teachings range from Islamic law to poetry to mathematics. Preserving ...

Mauritania's Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture as well as European-funded NGOs have floated projects to plant trees to insulate the city's libraries and manuscripts from the ...