内容摘要：“We’ve grown a lot this season and the players have progressed a lot. I think the strength of the team is the most important thing. You learn something every day after many years of experience as a coach, and I’m improving all the time with this group.”

“We’ve grown a lot this season and the players have progressed a lot. I think the strength of the team is the most important thing. You learn something every day after many years of experience as a coach, and I’m improving all the time with this group.”

Depopulation has only accelerated Oualata’s decline.“The houses became ruins because their owners left them,” explained Sidiya, who is a member of a national foundation dedicated to preserving the country’s ancient towns.

For generations, Oualata’s population has steadily dwindled as residents depart in search of work, leaving the historical buildings neglected. The traditional structures, coated in reddish mud-brick known as banco, were crafted to withstand the desert climate, but require maintenance after each rainy season.Much of the Old Town now stands abandoned, with only about one-third of its buildings inhabited.“Our biggest problem is desertification. Oualata is covered in sand everywhere,” Sidiya said.

According to Mauritania’s Ministry of Environment, approximately 80 percent of the country is affected by desertification – an advanced stage of land degradation caused by “climate change (and) inappropriate operating practices”.By the 1980s, even Oualata’s mosque was submerged in sand. “People were praying on top of the mosque” rather than inside, recalled Bechir Barick, a geography lecturer at Nouakchott University.

Despite the relentless sands and wind, Oualata still preserves relics from its days as a key stop on trans-Saharan caravan routes and a renowned centre of Islamic learning.

As the town’s imam, Mohamed Ben Baty descends from a distinguished line of Quranic scholars and is the custodian of nearly a millennium of scholarship. The family library he oversees houses 223 manuscripts, the oldest dating back to the 14th century.Few draws for young people

“In our city, the weekdays are busier than the weekends,” Jace Kim, a restaurant owner who came to Sejong in 2015, told Al Jazeera.“Most public workers who work within the city spend their time and money outside of the city limits. Our city is relatively small and newly built, so it’s ideal for mothers and children. But we don’t have any universities or major companies that will attract young people to come here.”

Moon Yoon-sang, a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), said Washington, DC, could be a model for Sejong’s growth and development.“If the centre of the government moves to Sejong, it’s the hope that conventions and important meetings will happen there instead of in Seoul,” Moon told Al Jazeera.