Oualata

Oualata ( French spelling ), also Walata, Arabic ولاتة, DMG Walata, in the Middle Ages Gualata, Iwalatan, Oualet, Biru; is an oasis town in the administrative region Hodh Ech Chargui in southeastern Mauritania. She was one of the most important commercial centers of the caravans ( gold and salt trade ), but also the meeting place of pilgrims to Mecca.

In the 15th century the importance of place gradually declined, as the caravan trade shifted further east on a route that passed through Timbuktu. The place is accessible only by a leading of Néma north slopes.

Oualata is one of four cities (next to Chinguetti, Ouadane, Tichitt ) in Mauritania, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of their tightly packed, mud-plastered stone houses. Oualata was built on a high terrace as Ksar and has a particular artistic tradition, which is to this day still taught and practiced by the families living there. Some houses are painted with symmetrical ornaments that have magical meanings.

In the 1980s, only a few families lived on the edge of the ruined city. The 2000 census showed 11,779 residents in 2010 13,787 inhabitants were calculated.

The economic base of the city founded more on trade than agriculture. The fame Oualatas is strongly associated with their Madrasa, which was a leader in all of West Africa for several centuries. This Islamic religious school is still intact part and receives annually about 20 new students from various Islamic countries.