Mauritanias ancient libraries could be lost to the expanding desert

Deep in the Sahara desert, in the former trading hub of Chinguetti, lie libraries that hold literary treasures from centuries ago.

This Mauritanian city, once a stop along the trans-Saharan trade route, boasts 13 libraries and some 6,000 manuscripts. Their teachings range from Islamic law to poetry to mathematics.

Preserving the documents, some of which date back to the 12th century, is no small feat.

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