Located on the west coast of the African continent, surrounded by four other countries, Mauritania has been described as “a poor desert nation that straddles the Arab and African worlds”. Much of its 400,000 square mile landscape consists of vast arid plains that are occasionally broken up by long, southwest facing escarpments.

More than half a century after gaining independence from France in 1960, the country is still politically unstable, as demonstrated in 2008 by the overthrowing of the government in a military coup d'état.

Nouakchott, the capital, is home to more than half of Mauritania’s population of three million people. It lies on the Atlantic coast, where a deep sea port allows cargo to be (mainly) imported and exported. It’s said that golfing fairways once operated within the city but, try as we might, we cannot find any present day trace of the Nouakchott Golf Course – if you can help us track down this elusive layout, we’d be delighted to hear from you.