FAIDHERB FORT

Built in 1744 by France, the first fort served as a store for the storage of goods. It was then in the hands of the English, before being taken over by the French. Abandoned for 66 years after the French Revolution, it fell into ruin. Then the Holy War, led by El-Hadj Oumar Tall, worried. The French came back in force and the old store became this war fort under the supervision of Faidherbe. It is prudent to try to contact the curator, Thiam, before considering a visit, as there is often a closed door. The building was officially inaugurated in March 2006, after some restoration work financed by France. But there is still a lot of work to be done to give it a real facelift. The fort is home to a museum that traces the past and shows some photos by Oumar Ly, a Senegalese photographer who died in February 2016. Unfortunately, the museum is not maintained and it has been almost abandoned for a few years. It is also very difficult to visit the fort except on the day of the stopover at Bou El Mogdad where the curator is present. Climbing up to the attic of the fort gives an idea of the strategic location of this citadel. The view extends to Mauritania and embraces the entire valley of Podor. The atmosphere of the fort, the skirmishers of Governor Louis Faidherbe, the surrounding forest that isolated it, all this is within the reach of the imagination, very close, once inside the walls of the fortress.