Nouakchott (Arabic: نواكشوط‎ Nuwākshūṭ, originally derived from Berber Nawākšūṭ, "place of the winds") is the capital and by far the largest city of Mauritania. It is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city is the administrative and economic centre of Mauritania.Nouakchott was a small village of little importance until 1958, when it was chosen as the capital of the nascent nation of Mauritania.