Exploring West Africa: Facts About Eritrea
What inspired me to begin this new journey of learning more about the many countries that reside within the African continent. It all started a few days ago with me editing a photo of a friend I was featuring on my ‘Revisions of Us‘ project. For 2016 I wanted to switch things up a bit in regards to the photo-series. I decided to add the country where the individual was born. Normally, with many Africans I come across I normally can pin point where they are from by features. With Tighisti, I guessed Ethiopia but of course I was waiting for her response. A few minutes later, I get Eritrea and felt so silly because, although I was right I had never heard of Eritrea. This is common among many of Africans. Many of us Africans in the 21st century know very little about other countries besides the most popular with — Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia,Egypt, Morocco (Hate to break it to those in-denial but yes, Egypt and Morocco are African countries.) Often times you ask an Egyptian or Moroccan individual where they are from they’ll simply mention the name and avoid it’s association with the continent as if it’s not part of it. (That’s another post.) I think it is essential to acknowledge this and learn about other African countries. We should begin to hold ourselves accountable in learning a handful of the countries in Africa. Especially, the entrepreneurs out there.
Destination, was added to this category because I think it’s best to discuss countries rarely mentioned in schools and/or in the media.
Overview
The land that is now Eritrea was reined by countless powers around the Red Sea area for most of history. In 1885, the Italians took control and made Eritrea a colony. They tried to use the land as a center to take over Ethiopia. They failed. After World War II, Italy lost the land to Great Britain and in 1952 the land was combined with Ethiopia into a single country. The Eritreans wanted their own country as they felt they would not be treated fairly by the Ethiopians. They were denied, however. The Eritreans revolted and struggled for their freedom for thirty years. They finally attained their independence in 1993. They still have conflicts with Ethiopia and a dispute over the border between the two countries.
That is a little summary of Eritrea and after several hours of research in hopes of learning a little bit about Eritrea; here are 6 interesting facts about Eritrea and hopefully, these facts will inspire you to invest!
6 facts about Eritrea
1) Eritrea literally means “red”, and gets its name after the Red Sea.
2)The most spoken language in Eritrea is Tigrinya.
You will of course find another common language especially in the eastern area, Arabic and shockingly enough, English.
3) Three of Eritrea’s largest rivers are speculated to be named after ancient Yemeni places
“Three of the largest rivers of Eritrea carry a name that sounds very familiar to people accustomed to the geography of Southern Arabia. First of all and well known is the Mereb which corresponds to that Sabean capital Ma’rib. The river Haddas finds its equivalent in the village of Hadda near Sana’a and the Anseba is closely related to the ancient town of Nisab in the Wadi Hammam southeast of Ma’rib” (2005, Raunig, Wenig, p. 2005)
4) Asmara
Asmara is a name of a country in Eritrea. Natives identify this city as a New Rome or the Italy’s African city. This city has countless Italian touches. You need to visit Asmara to see for yourself.
5) Kingdom of Axum
There are many ancient stories that people can find in Eritrea. In the southern part of Eritrea, you can see the Kingdom of Axum. The stories state that it was established by the Queen of Sheba and The Son of King Solomon.
6)People’s Front for Democracy and Justice
Eritrea has only one political party: People’s Front for Democracy and Justice. Isaias Afewerki is the first and the current President of Eritrea. He assumed office on May 24, 1993. It is a very rare view to know that this country only has one political party. It seems that it is the only country in the world which has such system.
I hope this helps some! If you like beaches and tropical humidity, I encourage you to visit Eritrea with your family. Enjoy the hospitality of the local people.
