Preserving Oualata’s fragile manuscript legacy amid desert threats | Arts and Culture

Oualata forms part of a quartet of fortified towns, or ksour, granted World Heritage status for their historical significance as trading and religious centres. Today, they preserve vestiges of a rich medieval past.

Throughout Oualata, doors fashioned from acacia wood, adorned with traditional designs painted by local women, punctuate the earthen facades. Family libraries safeguard centuries-old manuscripts, invaluable records of cultural and literary heritage passed down through…