Oualata

Oualata is the most remote of Mauritania's four ancient caravan towns, in the far east of the country near the border with Mali, famous for the facades of its houses, hand-painted with geometric motifs in ochre, white and black — a decorative tradition passed down by women from generation to generation. It was an important center of Islamic learning in the 13th-14th centuries. Getting there requires a long journey on dirt tracks, so it gets far fewer visitors than Chinguetti.