Eritrea Vacations, Eritrea Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Eritrea is the most recent African nation to receive independence, following a thirty year struggle for liberation from Ethiopia. Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa, stretching some 1,151km (720m) along the western shore of the Red Sea (opposite Yemen and Saudi Arabia) from its border in the north and east with the Sudan to Djibouti and Ethiopia in the south. There are four main regions: the arid Red Sea coastal plain (Metahet), the highland plateau (Kebessa), the mountainous regions of Sahel and Senhit in the north, and the semi-arid western lowlands that slopes towards the Sudan. Altitude ranges from 75m (246ft) below sea level in the lunar Danakil depression to 3018m (9900ft) above sea level at Soira. The capital and largest city, Asmara, is situated in the highland plateau at an elevation of 2325m (7628ft) above sea level and is linked by roads to the other major cities of Keren, Massawa, Dekemhare, Mendefera, and Adi-Keyh.

Eritreans number about five million, with about half identifying ethnically as Tigrinya; others identify as Tigré, Afar-Saho, Bilen and Kunama-Nara. Eritreans are roughly equally split between the Islamic and Christian faiths, with the latter belonging mostly to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church.

Attractions include world-class scuba diving along the Red Sea coastline and near the Dahlak Islands, the architecture and city life of Asmara, and numerous sites related to the former Aksumite Empire that once governed the entire region.