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2008 Dakar Rally
The 2008 Dakar Rally would have been the 30th running of the annual off-road race. The rally was to start in Lisbon, Portugal on 5 January 2008, running through Europe and Africa until the finish in Dakar, Senegal on 20 January. The event was cancelled one day before the intended start date, due to concerns over a possible terrorist attack aimed at the competitors. Cancellation The rally was cancelled on 4 January 2008, due to safety concerns in Mauritania, following the killing of four French tourists there on Christmas Eve, December 2007. France-based Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), in charge of the rally, said in a statement they had been advised by the French government to cancel the race. They said direct threats had also been made against the event by "terrorist organizations". Before the start of the race, rally director Étienne Lavigne had approved the Mauritanian legs only after two stages planned for Mali were scrapped. An Al-Qaeda affiliate organization was blamed ...
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Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal, but due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, amateurs typically making up about eighty percent of the participants. The rally is an off-road endurance event. The terrain that the competitors traverse is much tougher than that used in conventional rallying, and the vehicles used are typically true off-road vehicles and motorcycles, rather than modified on-road vehicles. Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and erg among others. The distances of each stage covered vary from ...
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Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the remaining 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara. Occupied by Spain until 1975, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after a Moroccan demand. It is the most populous territory on that list, and by far the largest in area. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonize the territory. One year later, a new resolution was ...
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Kiffa
Kiffa () is a large town in the far south region of Mauritania, and the name of an administrative area within the local Assaba Region. Kiffa is located at , some from the coast and at the western end of the Aoukar sand sea of southern Mauritania. Climate Kiffa has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh''). The climate is Sahelian, with April to June as the hottest months and eighty-five percent of the low annual rainfall occurring from July to September. In the 1990s and early 2000s Kiffa benefited from higher rainfall levels than elsewhere in the western Sahel. While Kiffa benefits from the ongoing "greening of the Sahel" the area's rangeland forage ecosystems remain vulnerable and can be subject to damaging overgrazing. Population, infrastructure and agriculture Kiffa was allowed to grow haphazardly and to sprawl during the later 20th century, and it has continued to do so. Near Kiffa is Kiffa Airport which has a tarmac runway of over 1,600 yards in len ...
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Tidjikja
Tidjikja () is the capital of the Tagant region of central Mauritania, lying on the Tagant plateau. Founded in 1680, it has a population of around 11,000 people. The town is known for its palm trees and its vernacular architecture. The town is also home to an airport. It is the birthplace of Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly, who served as President. The city annually welcomes hundreds of tourists from all over Mauritania for the Date Festival. It is marked by its stands, concerts and recreational evenings. Several tents are set up in the large Bathaa of Tidjidkja, each of which is reserved for a theme linked to oasis life (agricultural popularization, traditional medicine of Ehel Maghary, exhibition of dates ...). The city is famous for its delicious dates. An NGO called 'Association for the Safeguarding of the Ghadima (ASG) was approved by the Ministry of the Interior by decree n ° 230 MID of August 30, 2017, since it has been working on the restoration of the heritage and the c ...
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Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou (; ar, نواذيبو, Nwādībū, Berber: Nwadibu, formerly in French: ) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial centre. The city itself has about 118,000 inhabitants expanding to over 140,000 in the larger metropolitan area. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou (Berber: ''Ighef Nwadibu''), , or , of which the western side has the Western Saharan city of La Güera. Nouadhibou is consequently located merely a couple of kilometres from the border between Mauritania and Western Sahara. Its current mayor is Elghassem Ould Bellali, who was installed on 15 October 2018. Overview The city consists of four major areas: the city centre, including the airport; Numerowatt to the north; Cansado, the main residential area, to the south; and a dormitory town for the workers of the harbour facilities which are located a few kilometers south of the city, near the tip of the Ras Nouadhibou peninsula, at Por ...
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Atar, Mauritania
Atar ( ar, أطار, Berber for ''mountain'') is a town in northwestern Mauritania, the capital of the Adrar Region and the main settlement on the Adrar Plateau. Situated on the oued Seguellil, it is home to an airport, a museum and a historic mosque, constructed in 1674. In 2013 it had a population of 25,190. Geology and geography The Adrar's mountains are from the primary era against the precambrian Tiris Zemmour. Near Atar, you can find stromatolites. In the North, you can find Choum with the train that comes from Nouadhibou and goes to Zouerate. East of Atar, through Amojjar Pass, is the difficult way to Chinguetti, Ouadane and the astonishing Richat Structure. Climate Atar has a hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification ''BWh'') typical of the Sahara Desert, south of the tropic of Cancer. The weather is usually very hot, very sunny and very dry but it can be overcast sometimes. The annual average temperature is close to 30 °C (86 °F), meaning ...
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Smara
Smara ( ar, السمارة ''as-Samāra'', also romanized ''Semara''; es, Esmara) is a city in the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara, with a population of 57,035 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is served by Smara Airport and Smara bus station. History The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. In the center of the city the remains of a stone fortress can be found, the Zawiy Maalainin, which enclosed a mosque. The Maalainin lived there from 1830 until 1912. It was made a capital and religious center in 1902 by shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn, in what was then Spanish Sahara. The location of the city was intended to ensure its becoming a caravan trade hub in the sparsely populated Sahara desert. The enlargement of Smara was carried out by local Sahrawis as well as craftsmen sent by the sultan Hassan I. In 1902, shaykh Ma al-'Aynayn moved to Smara and declared it his holy capital. Among other things, he cr ...
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Guelmim
Guelmim (in ber, Agʷelmim, ⴰⴳⵯⵍⵎⵉⵎ, in ar, ڭلميم, also spelled in European sources: Glaimim, Goulimine or Guelmin), is a city in southern Morocco, often called ''Gateway to the Desert''. It is the capital of the Guelmim-Oued Noun region which includes southern Morocco (south of the Souss-Massa region) and the northeastern corner of Western Sahara. The population of the city was 187,808 as of the 2014 Moroccan census, making it the largest city in the region. The N1 and N12 highways cross at Guelmim and link it to the nearby region of Souss-Massa. Guelmim is located just north of Asrir, which was the site of an important trade-route city and the capital of the Saharan tribes. It was known in Arabic sources as Noul Lamta. It is home to a camel market. Most of the inhabitants speak either the Tachelhit language or the Hassaniya dialect of Arabic, as it is part of the Sahrawi-inhabited southern region of Morocco. Climate Guelmim has a hot desert climate (Kö ...
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Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label=Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is at an elevation of in the middle of a bare plateau south of the High Atlas Mountains, with a desert to the city's south. Berber-speakers make up the majority of the town's inhabitants, who were responsible for the creation of many of the prominent kasbahs (locally referred to as: ''iɣeṛman''). Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as a starting point for excursions into and across the Draa Valley and the desert. Aït Benhaddou (a fortified village) west of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Ouarzazate area is a noted film-making location, with Morocco's biggest studios inviting many international companies to work here. Films ...
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Er Rachidia
Errachidia ( ar, الرشيدية, Berber: ⵉⵎⴻⵜⵖⴰⵔⵏ Imetɣaren) is a city in Morocco, located in the Errachidia Province, and is the capital of the Drâa-Tafilalet region. The city's residents speak Berber and Moroccan Arabic. Toponymy Formerly known as "Ksar Es Souk" (), the city was renamed Errachidia around 1975 in honor of the second son of Hassan II, Moulay Rachid. Culture The city was part of the route of the 2006 and 2007 Dakar Rally. Climate Errachidia has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification ''BWh''). The highest temperature ever registered in Errachidia was , on July 17, 2021. Notable people * Abdalaati Iguider - 1500m runner * Rachid Neqrouz - Former footballer * Mohamed Ounajem - professional footballer References External links * * Ksars Populated places in Errachidia Province Errachidia Errachidia ( ar, الرشيدية, Berber: ⵉⵎⴻⵜⵖⴰⵔⵏ Imetɣaren) is a city in Morocco, located in the Errachi ...
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Nador
Nador ( Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⴷⵓⵔ) is a coastal city and provincial capital in the northeastern Rif region of Morocco with a population of about 161,726 (2014 census). Nador city is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a salt lagoon named ''Rbḥar Ameẓẓyan'' in Berber (''Mar Chica'' in Spanish) and is south of the Spanish city of Melilla. Nador was founded in the 19th century by local Berber tribes and was under Spanish occupation from 1912 until Morocco's independence in 1956. The Nador Province has over 600,000 inhabitants, predominantly of Rif- Berber ethnicity. Nador is considered the second largest city in the Oriental East after Wejda. Etymology The city name originated from the local Amazigh tribes of Has Nador, which was a small village near the Nador lagoon. Overview The economy of Nador and Nador province includes fishery, agriculture, some light and heavy industry. In the summer months of June to August thousands of people originating from t ...
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Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most populous in Spain. It lies on the Costa del Sol (''Coast of the Sun'') of the Mediterranean, about east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about north of Africa. Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. According to most scholars, it was founded about 770BC by the Phoenicians as ''Malaka'' ( xpu, 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤀, ). From the 6th centuryBC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, and from 218BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and then empire as ''Malaca'' (Latin). After the fall of the empire and the end of Visigothic rule, it was under Islamic rule as ''Mālaqah'' ( ar, مالقة) for 800 years, but in 1487, th ...
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