Nouakchott

Nouakchott (Arabic:  or  (believed translation frae Berber "The place o the winds", Nawākšūṭ)) is the caipital an bi far the lairgest ceety o Mauritanie.  It is ane o the lairgest ceeties in the Sahara. The ceety is the administrative an economic centre o Mauritanie.

History
A tiny fishin toun till 1958, Nouakchott wis mentioned little durin pre-colonial an colonial history.  It is possible that the Berber Muslim Almoravids wur oreeginally frae the aurie.  Despite its name, based on a Berber expression meanin "place o the winds", the ceety wis selectit as the caipital ceety for its moderate climate an central location athin the kintra.Cities of the World, Vol. 1, p331; Brian Rajewski, ed., for Eastword Publications Development Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; Gale Research, Detroit, 1999. ISBN 0-8103-7692-X. It did, however, sit on ane o the maist valuable trade routes tae West Africa.
Mauritania wis pairt o the lairger French colony o French Wast Africae, an as such haed nae caipital durin the colonial period: Saint-Louis, in Senegal, held that position. In 1957, this small port toun wis chosen tae be the caipital o the new kintra, an an ambitious biggin program wis begun tae increase its population tae 15,000, stairtin a year later.Nouakchott . Questia. Accessed 25 August 2009. In 1958, Mauritania wis formed as an autonomous republic in the French Community, an in 1960 it became an independent kintra, wi Nouakchott as its caipital.

Since independence
The ceety wis attacked in 1976 bi the Polisario Front, as pairt o the Wastren Sahara unthirldom movement.Nouakchott . LookLex. Accessed 25 August 2009. Atween 1988 an 1989, racial tensions atween Arabs an blacks escalatit. Thare wis discrimination an retaliation bi Arabs an blacks.Mauritania:History . LookLex. Accessed 25 August 2009. The wur an aa three days o "bread riots" stairtin Januar 21, 1995.

The ceety haes haed rapid growth, driven bi the north African drocht syne the beginnin o the 1970s: mony hae moved tae the ceety in search o a better life.  The population is estimatit tae hae been juist unner 1,000,000 in 2000, an tae hae grown tae abuin 2,000,000 as o 2008.Nouakchott Travel Guide . World66. Accessed 25 August 2009.

Thare is currently a lairge amount o Cheenese investment in Mauritanie, focused on the ceety.

Climate
Nouakchott featurs a het desert climate (Köppen: BWh) wit lang het simmers an short wairm winters. Acause o its location, temperaturs are het for maist o the year. However, Nouakchott possesses a mild temperature range compared tae ither ceeties in this climate. While average heich temperatures are relatively constant at aroond , average law temperaturs can range frae  durin the simmer months tae  durin the "winter" months. Average law temperatures can be as law as  durin winter months in Nouakchott. Average rainfaw in the ceety is  a year. The bulk o the precipitation typically faws within August, the ane month that fairms the ceety’s very brief wet saison.

Internaitional relations
Twin touns - Sister ceeties
Nouakchott is twinned wi:
  Madrid, Spain
  Tucson, Arizona, USA
  Lanzhou Municipality, Cheenae.Gansu Province Website-International Exchanges-Sister Cities. Accessed 25 August 2009.
  Amman, Jordan. (1999)Amman’s Relations with Other Cities. Municipality of Greater Annam. Accessed 25 August 2009.

References


Category:Populatit coastal places in Mauritanie
Category:Caipitals in Africae
Category:Populatit places in Mauritanie
Category:Planned ceeties
Category:Regions o Mauritanie