Eritrea proves to be a great place for
tourists: temperate weather, affordable prices,
friendly people, safe and hassle-free streets that feel
untouched by tourism. We pretend we're
'discovering' this country, especially since we've
never thought of it before. Its history combines a
mix of Ethiopian, Arabian, Sudanese, Turkish, and
Italian influence. Sometime during the ages of
passing conquerers, Eritrea gained a national
conscious and fought for its independence. Nine years
ago it won freedom from the last occupier, Ethiopia,
after waging the longest war in African history, over
30 years. Burned wrecks cover the countryside.
Eritrea derives its name from the Greek word,
erythrea, meaning Red, coined by the author of the
Periplus of the Erythrean sea, a trade manual written
about seafaring on the Red Sea in the 1st century AD.
Many ethnic groups comprise this region, referred to
as a 'museum of people.' The largest groups are
Tigrinya (50%) and Tigre (30%). These groups have
their own language and script. Luckily, many people
speak English and most signs have an English
translation - the Tigrinya script looks like a cross
between Amharic and Latin and it's incomprehensible to
our eyes.
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