Places stenaavel Wants to Go

A smoky doorway in Dakar leads to one of the city’s great communal eating experiences.

This giant statue is the product of a mixture of corruption, Stalinist architecture, and North Korean manpower.

Despite a fraught and controversial history this African island holds a powerful monument to the tragedy of the slave trade.

This deceptively salty lake looks like blushing pink lemonade.

The second largest monolith in the world was once betrayed by its lover, Ben Aicha.

On a secluded beach is one of the few shipwrecks left on the shores of Mauritania.

An architectural relic that survived the hands of time.

The quaint gallery displays works by artists from all across Mauritania.

Thousands of colorful pirogues showcase ingenious craftsmanship at the largest fishermen port in Nouakchott.

The beehive-like buildings of this abandoned resort reside near the border of Mauritania and Senegal.

This remarkably well-preserved mosque stands amid an 11th-century caravansary.

Five ancient libraries, little changed for centuries, preserve a medieval archive of Quranic lore and civic documents

Climb atop one of the world's longest and heaviest trains for an unbelievable journey across the Sahara Desert.

These mysterious 1,000-year-old walls have revealed little about their past.

In this African village, the walls of the chief's compound are painted with beautiful traditional designs.

One of Western Africa's oldest mosques, this Timbuktu icon has stood for nearly 700 years.

The most important and best preserved remnant of West Africa's powerful Songhai Empire.

These homes carved into the mountains seem to defy the laws of nature.

The central mosque of this Mali town is entirely built from mud.

These ancient giraffes are the largest known animal petroglyphs in the world.

The world's most remote memorial to the victims of the UTA Flight 772 disaster.

The tallest mud-brick structure in the world has been standing since the 1500s.

These natural wonders have taken millennia to form into the stunning marvels they are today.

Camels and crocodiles share the black waters of this stunning Saharan oasis.