© All Rights Reserved wouterrr The Mauritanian flag features a
crescent moon smiling heartily in a field of green, an image
that is far from appropriate for the country it symbolizes. 60%
is desert, a figure which is growing as the Sahara claims more
land. A small tract of arable land around the Senegal River in
the southwest and the Atlantic coastline offer the only green
scenery. Smiles may be a little easier to come by, but less
intrepid travellers will find the dusty landscape and exorbitant
heat very demanding. It is these conditions which have made
Mauritania almost exclusively a destination for adventurous
spirits, who will be attracted to the archaeological excavations
of Koumbi Saleh (the capital of Ghana, West Africa's first
empire) and the extraordinarily desolate ghost town of Tichit.
Mauritania does appeal to one other type of person: the bird
lover. The small areas of lush land it has are blessed with a
suprising abundance of bird species. French colonization
gradually absorbed the territories o