It keeps 700 of some 6,000 manuscripts preserved in the thirteen libraries of Chinguetti, jewels of this former commercial crossroads located in Mauritania in the heart of the Sahara and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sitting cross-legged on a sheepskin, dressed in a blue boubou, Mauritania's traditional male dress, Saif handles the thin pages he holds in his hands with thick cotton gloves.

He explains that charcoal and gum arabic-based ink safeguards ancient stories and knowledge about religion, astronomy, laws, mathematics and poetry.

The city of Chinguetti, March 17, 2023 © MARCO LONGARI / AFP

"We preserve the memory of the world that crossed these same ancient alleys," he says with a theatrical wave of his hand.

Chinguetti is located on the trade route connecting the western shores of the African continent to Mecca, the spiritual center of the Muslim world.

The alleys of the old town bear the scent of this centuries-old history, that of the thousands of pilgrims and traders who walked them.

In the main square of the old city, Abdullah Habbot, 45, opens the doors of his library. He explains that his family acquired their more than 1,400 documents thanks to travelers who stopped in the city.

He shows on a wooden window a text with tight writing, black and red. "See? There is no numbering on any of the pages," he said.

Ahmed Salah, 40, from the Moulaye Mhamed Ould library Ahmed Sherif, with a manuscript, in Chinguetti, March 17, 2023 © MARCO LONGARI / AFP/Archives

"Page numbers are a modern invention," he explains. "To navigate between all these pages, the last word indicated at the bottom left is the first rewritten at the top right of the next page", this helps the reader to navigate if the sheets are accidentally scattered.

But there is a threat to these treasures. The Sahara Desert is expanding rapidly. Climate change causes seasonal flash floods that undermine the foundations of library structures and jeopardize the Islamic treasures they contain.

Bathed in a light filtered by a skylight on the roof, Ahmed Salah, owner of the Moulaye Mohamed Ould Ahmed Sherif library, walks through the row of old books displayed on wooden planks attached to the walls.

Like his colleagues, he is aware of the fragility of this heritage and asks for help to continue his conservation work.

© 2023 AFP