Mauritania is the country of contrasts par excellence, both on the human level and on the cultural, geographical and climatic one.
Crossing Mauritania from north to south, you pass from the Sahara desert, dotted with a multitude of oases, paradises of serenity and lush vegetation, towards the Sahel savannah to a more humid climate on the edge of the Senegal River.
Mauritania also has a maritime outlet on the Atlantic Ocean, over 700 kilometers long.
These coasts are among the richest in the world in terms of fish stocks.

On the human level, Mauritania has about 4 million inhabitants representing 4 human and cultural communities that coexist in harmony despite their linguistic differences and ways of life: the Arabs, the Pulhar, the Soninké and the Wolof.
They all share the same Sunni malekite rite Muslim religion, known for its tolerance.

More than 80% of Mauritania's surface is covered by the desert. Only date palms, dromedaries and goats have adapted to this arid climate whose food products, since time immemorial, have allowed man to live in these regions and to maintain a welcoming and hospitable standard of living.
The main foods, produced and consumed by the inhabitants of the oases since ancient times, are: dates, milk, cereals, such as wheat and barley as well as sheep and camelid meat.
More recently, vegetables are grown under palm groves, such as carrots, cabbage and turnips.
Green tea with fresh mint, produced in the shade of palm groves, has become the indispensable drink of the Mauritanian people.

Fish and its derivatives are quite well known and consumed by all the populations present on the coasts, such as the Imraguens. These traditional fishermen are helped by dolphins who divert the shoals of mullets towards the shore, allowing the fishermen to jump into the water and catch fish in the nets carried on the shoulders of men. The mullets will then be cleaned and dried by the Imraguens women. With the eggs taken from the females during the breeding season, bottarga is produced.