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Mauritania

A raw journey into one of Africa's least visited nations reveals an enigmatic land lost in time - where ancient Saharan trade routes, historical Quranic libraries, and vast camel markets paint a backdrop to an epic 22-hour journey atop an iron-ore train through the endless Sahara Desert.

Mauritania

In Australia, my childhood mornings on the way to school in a mining town were often disrupted by massive iron ore trains stretching 2-3 kilometers in length, blocking the road for 20 minutes at a time. I would watch in wonder, dreaming of what it might feel like to ride ontop of those endless carriages. Years later, that childhood fascination would draw me to one of Africa's least visited nations. Mauritania existed as little more than a name on a map to me until I discovered a photo essay from Jody MacDonald, which instantly etched a new idea into my mind - a 750km journey through the Sahara Desert on top of the world's longest iron ore train. After one failed attempt in 2022 due to hospitalization in Egypt, my friend Shane and I finally found ourselves on a flight from Casablanca to Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital city, wide-eyed and curious about what lay ahead.


What we discovered was a land seemingly suspended in time. In this vast country, almost entirely claimed by the Sahara Desert, we found ourselves immersed in a world where traditional life continues unchanged. We wandered through enormous camel markets, where traders conducted business as their ancestors have for generations, explored remote oases that have sheltered desert travelers for centuries, and discovered ancient villages that once anchored trans-Saharan trade routes. Beyond the epic train journey that first drew us here, we had found ourselves in a place distinctly removed from the modern world. It felt like visiting a land lost in time. This raw journey transformed our understanding of what travel and adventure can mean. 

 Copyright 2025 Matthew Birch Media, All Rights Reserved

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