The Morocco-Mauritania border is 1564 kilometers (972mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Algeria in the north-east to the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west. �It is currently the only border crossing that is open between Morocco and Mauritania and is at place called Guerguerat;
The Guerguerat crossing is made up of two border crossing points. One on the Western Sahara side in Morocco and the other on the Mauritanian side, with a strip of sandy No Man’s Land in between. (stay on the road) there are lots of LAND MINES in this area!!
From the boarder we will be visiting
NOUADHIBOU which is the second largest city in Mauritania. It’s a major fishing centre and large industrial port for the export of iron ore.
You can ride the iron ore train from Zouerat (in an open carriage on top of the iron ore, for free).
At nearly 2.5km in length, the iron train of Mauritania is believed to be the longest in the world. Their journey extends between Zouerat – the largest town in the country's north, known for its iron ore mining industry – and the port city of Nouadhibou in the west, for a total distance of 652km. ( it takes 18-22 hours to ride the train!!
Nouadhibou is a great transition city for travels in Mauritania, giving a good introduction to sub-Saharan Africa and urban Mauritania.
Language in Mauritania
Hassaniya is the local language in Mauritania. It is a variety of Maghrebi Arabic and is the main language of Mauritania (it is also common in Western Sahara .
It is very polite to give anyone in an Islamic country the greeting of ‘Salam’ and here are a few basic phrases in Hassaniya Arabic.
* Is-selaamu aleykum: Peace be upon you (greeting)
* We aleykum is-selaam: And on you, too (reply to above)
* Ish haalak? How are you?
* Lebaas meshaallaah: I am fine
* Merhbe: Welcome
* Shukran: Thank you
* Ma’a is-selaam: Goodbye
* Yuum sa’iid: Have a good day.
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