In the Footsteps of Professor Th. Monod

The Amatlich dune massif
Theerg Amatlich is a dune massif of small dimensions (130 km x 5 to 8 km) that stretches from NW to SE, from the palm grove of El Gleitat to the overflow zone of Damane where it takes the name of Dkhaïna.
Despite its fairly reduced surface area (when one thinks of Akchar, Makhteir or Warane, for example), its variety is great with regard to the vast interdunes and rocky zones that frame it.
This erg, moreover, was "sculpted" by waters during the "humid" period, 7,000 years ago. Thus, it was very regularly crossed by a wadi at the level of Foum Tizigui and both to the West (towards Akjoujt) and in the large interdunes that are Ifizouitne and Amlil Bou kerch, the vast overflow zones and wadis are numerous.
Should a "good" rain occur and the ancient hydrographic network will come back to life for a few days, a few weeks. Thus, Damane in the South and Graret el Fras (the cultivable depression of the mare -which testifies to the past presence of horses-) are among others (of lesser importance) among regular sites of subsistence farming.
In the distant past, Neolithic Man settled throughout the Amatlich, his presence was extensive. Neolithic sites are very numerous, some have been well studied such as Khatt Lemaiteg (Vernet, 1985) near Damane and Medinet Cbat (Nicole Lambert, 1970), near the well of El Guechriyé. The proximity of rock, in the form of various guelbs (peaks) or that of the Ibi Noir massif (Ibi el Akhdar) means that the flora and fauna of the erg border are very varied.

The semi-nomadic camp of El Kheouiya is fixed there during major droughts. The camp has been organizing itself for several years: development of goat and camelid herding (from 2 camels in 1993, now a herd of over 70 animals), creation of a school in 1994, birth of a small palm grove associated with gardens in 1999 and, now, some permanent structures.
«But we, we stay under the tent» Atfeil, the camp's leader, assures us …
The links we maintain with the different families of the camp are close and greatly friendly.

The Tanouchert palm grove extends along the edge of the Warane erg. Large sand dunes dominate it. We reach it after a lovely drive.
During the afternoon, we discover what makes our hosts' wealth. The date cultivation, the strategic position of this water point are equally fascinating things.
As evening falls, we stay to sleep in traditional huts.

The ksar of Wadâne, (Ouadâne) which was founded, it is said, the same year as Tichîtt (1141), gets its name from the Arabic word meaning "two riverbeds" (wadân). The details according to which these two wadis would be the wadi of dates and the wadi of sciences are a great credit to the city.
The ancient city is mentioned in writing in the middle of the 15th century in a Portuguese travel report, but it remains difficult to get a precise idea of the city's beginnings despite its position on the western axis of trans-Saharan caravan trade.
Wadâne is a dense urban center, of the ksourian type, formerly surrounded by a very secure fortified wall that resisted all foreign forces until the arrival of the French.
The dominant tribes are the Kounta, the Ida ou El Hadj, the Chorfa, the Amgârîj and the Aghzazir.

Our accommodation is located in the old town of Wadâne. A former restored residence, it is a haven of peace in the midst of this ancient city.

The flattened dome of Guelb Er Richât, which appears during the secondary period, is located at the edges of the black mountains of the Adrâr mauritanien, to the west, and the vast expanses of rocks, rocky slabs and dunes of the Taoudenni basin, to the east.
The strange system of concentric ridges of the Richât is so imposing that it appears today on all maps, even at small scale.
Richât is the plural of richa (feather), a term that well describes the appearance of its ridges whose leeward flanks are striped with tongues of sand and which dominate the deep plains where goats and camels graze… when, by chance, it has rained.
Because of its very size, it was only revealed quite late, by professor Théodore Monod in 1934.
Indeed, no one, whether coming from the rough plateaus of the north or from the dunes of the Majabat Al Koubra (Monod, 1958), to the south and south-east, could imagine that these low ridges are organized in such a perfect concentric system, vaguely elliptical of 22 km and 25 km in diameter, emerging from a buttonhole of 45 km, the Taguenzé, opened in the sandstone plateau.

The El Beyyed corridor presents, over nearly 20km towards El Ghallaouiyya, a considerable quantity of lithic material. The region offers some of the main bifacial and worked pebble sites in western Saharan. The multiple rock art sites here represent samples of so-called "Ethiopian" fauna such as giraffes, elephants, rhinoceros... This fauna is believed to have disappeared from the area approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. El Beyyed is located at the foot of the great dhar of the Adrâr and, to the north, a vast and powerful erg develops: the Maghteïr.

Possible hike of 2/3 hours walking: On foot, in the middle of the dunes, we make our way towards the isolated plateau on the edge of the erg Maghteïr.

In clear weather, from the summit of the Aderg inselberg, the panorama is magnificent. From southwest to southeast stretches the great sebkha of Chemcham then the high cliffs of the Adrâr, with in the south, the wide fault of the Akhmakou.
Then, over the rest of the panoramic view, the waves of the erg Maghteïr undulate as far as the eye can see. In the lee, a vast dune-free area is clear, underlined by small ribbons of trees where passing nomads nestle.

During the morning we stay in Aderg, continuing towards Atar in early afternoon.

The Erg Makhteir is one of these powerful dune massifs running from western Algeria, west of the Saoura to the shores of the Atlantic.
Born under the general name of Erg Chech, it ends its course in the ocean under the name of Azefal.
A cape of the Adrar plateau stands like a ship's bow, the tarf Tazazmout.

The railway line between Zouérate and Nouadhibou makes it possible to transport iron ore extracted from Kediet ej-Jill to the port of the country's economic capital, from where it will be loaded onto ore carriers bound for industrialized countries. This desert train was considered the longest (220 wagons for a length of 2 km), the heaviest (22,000 tonnes, 100 tonnes per wagon), and the slowest in the world (15 to 18 hours to cover the 650 km between Zouérate and Nouadhibou). Only this last point remains valid, because for several years now, an Australian train has become the longest and heaviest in the world.

The Ben Amira monolith is one of the most breathtaking places in Mauritania. The enormous mass of granite rock rises to over 600m.
With the sand dunes surrounding it, it provides an excellent Saharan landscape. Ben Amira is the largest monolith in Africa and the third largest in the world, after Uluru and Mount Augustus located in Australia.