Nouadhibou its the first city after the border with Moroccan Western Sahara. From here arrive by land hundreds of stolen vehicles, man slavering and all kind of goods, even vegetables can be passed illegally at the border.
Nouadhibou is a place never constructed to fit the needs of tourists.
What to say a bout this city…what to say about Mauritania in general… its indeed a different country from whatever you’ve been used to. Its full of poverty, racial conflicts, garbage and worldwide mafia.
There’s this huge worldwide terrorist organization that is very active in this city, more than in the capital which the presidential control is bigger. This organization which i don’t have the need to write the name is very powerful here in Nouadhibou and takes control of almost every single facility related to Islam. Huge and good quality mosques (Mauritanian speaking of course) are visible and you even notice the leaders mansions near by with grand cars BMW and big expensive SUVs 4 wheel drive cars at their door, in a country that the normal salary is not more than 15000 UM, about 40- 45 euros, which usually 6000 go to pay the monthly rent of a single room no electricity and proper toilet facilities.
Specially here in Nouadhibou, various organized mafia groups and underground organizations find refuge to make business. Korean, Russian, Chinese, Nigerian, Senegalese and also White Moors underground organizations are settled here with their business of drugs, prostitution, car export, fish export, guns and even man slavery working at day light.
There is much to see inside the city of more around 60,000 people, but the nature here is great.
Nouadhibou like many desert cities, is large, and comes in three parts. The first is the new quarter of Numerowat in the north, with mess of construction sites. This is where the majority of people live. The various quarters of “Numerowat” are identified by robinets (premiere robinet or deuxieme robinet etc) according to the nearest public water standpipe, which come at 500 metre intervals along the asphalt road to downtown Nouadhibou.
Downtown is “Ville”, with all the usual services and shops and the city main market. On the south side of town, a full 10km from the city centre, is the iron ore company’s dormitory town of Cansado.
Nouadhibou is stretching along a thin peninsula running out from and parallel to the mainland in southern direction. Everything is more or less sand, shaped by the wind, meeting the sea in several bays without any vegetation destroying your impression of really being in Sahara.
