Oualata

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Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Image:Oualata 02.jpg Typical architecture of Oualata
State Party	Mauritania
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv, v
Reference	750
Region†	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1996  (20th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Oualata (Arabic: ولاته) is a town in south east Mauritania. It is believed to have been first settled by an agro-pastoral people akin to the Mandé Soninke who lived along the rocky promontories of the Tichitt-Oualata and Tagant cliffs of Mauritania. There, they built what are among the oldest stone settlements on the African continent. The modern city was founded in the eleventh century, when it was part of the Ghana Empire. It was destroyed in 1076 but refounded in 1224, and again became a major trading post for trans-Saharan trade and an important centre of Islamic scholarship.

Today, Oualata is home to a manuscript museum, and is known for its highly decorative vernacular architecture. It is also a World Heritage Site.

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References

• Mauny, R. (1971), “The Western Sudan” in Shinnie: 66-87.
• Monteil, Charles (1953), “La Légende du Ouagadou et l’Origine des Soninke” in Mélanges Ethnologiques (Dakar: Bulletin del’Institut Francais del’Afrique Noir).

Coordinates: 17°18′N, 7°01′Wde:Walata es:Oualata fr:Oualata ja:ウアラタ no:Oualata pl:Walata fi:Oualata sv:Oualata