Ancient Cities of Wagadu Empire: Oualata Libraries

Sunrise at the hotel in Oualata rocks!

Sunrise at Hotel in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Sunrise at Hotel in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Sunrise at Hotel in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

I enjoyed Mr. Moulay’s tour of the interior of Oualata homes. The alcoves in Oualata have a unique shape. Traditional families often have staffs mounted to use to hang objects in their homes.

Staffs and Alcoves in Homes of Ancient City of Oualata Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Home in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Prayer Spot on Wall When Water Unavailable, Home in Oualata, Mauritania City View of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania City Entrance of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Mr. Moulay showed me the door of the mayor’s house in Oualata, at an old entrance of the city. We entered the library for a look at the painted interior with those uniquely shaped alcoves and, of course, the incredible book collection.
House of the Mayor, Entrance to Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania City Entrance of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Old Door to Residence of Mayor in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Interior Doorway of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Outward View From Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Interior of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Label on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Damaged Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Label on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Label on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Label on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Doorway of Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Label on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Labels on Book Repository at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Termite-Eaten Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Book at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Books at Library in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Next to the library was a museum of traditional objects of Oualata.

Pouch and Elaborate Door Key at Museum in Oualata, Mauritania Mr. Moulay Showing Me How He Says Traditional Women Play Gourd in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Maybe Traditional Jewelry Box in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Maybe Cowrie Shells at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Traditional Staff at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Traditional Bag at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Maybe Door Key in Museum at Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Traditional Bracelet or Anklet at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Maybe Tobacco and Pipe Pouch at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Unknown Object at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Amulet at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Unknown Object at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania

Pipe and Tobacco Pouch at Museum in Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Traditional Water Container at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Traditional Sandals at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Pottery Object at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Traditional Stools at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Traditional Camel Saddles at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Traditional Camel Saddle at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Mr. Moulay Showing How Staff Used as Authority Symbol, Museum at Ancient City of Oualata, Mauritania Traditional Bed Platform at Museum in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

City View of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania City View of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania City View of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania City View of Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania Interior Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

Doorway in Ancient City of Oulata, Mauritania

4 thoughts on “Ancient Cities of Wagadu Empire: Oualata Libraries

  1. Hello, I have been surching for some time any information on a camel saddle I have, it is exactly like the ones in the photos in this site. Mine has a cover that has many artistic drawings. If you any information on them it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
    John

  2. I would like to know the time periods to the written manuscripts and other documents you took photos of. I have discovered 17 pre-European and pre-Arab Ancient African alphabets and writing systems. From what I make out of the documents you took photos of, the language looks Arabic. Nevertheless, if you had the dates (centuries) of those documents, that would be a great help to me. Moreover, if you have any additional photos of the documents and manuscripts within the library that are from the Ancient, Classical, Post-Classical, Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, Late Middle Ages, Modern and or Post-Modern Historical periods, it would be a great help to me if you post those on this site, with the dates included.

    I am doing a lot of research on all 54 countries within the continent of Africa. Taking into the following:

    1. The continent of Africa is four times (4x) the entire physical size of the United States.
    2. Each of the 54 countries within the continent of Africa has its own:

    Prehistory
    Ancient History
    Classical History
    Post Classical History
    Early Middle Ages (History)
    High Middle Ages (History)
    Late Middle Ages (History)
    Modern History
    Post Modern History
    Contemporary History

    It all makes for a lot of research, but that is one of my primary personal missions in life, to conduct Historical Research, coupled with Historical Preservation and Conservation.

    Kindest regards,
    VonVictor Valentino Rosenchild
    New York, NY 11233 (USA)

  3. Hi VonVictor, I’m sorry, but I have no further information on the dating of the documents. Feel free to look around the site to find other documents. The one thing I can offer is that I probably have higher-resolution versions of the photos. If you send me the specific URL for a given photo, I can try to email you a higher-resolution version of that photo. Best of luck with your awesome project!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.