And so I am on the move again on the African continent and made a whistle stop at the little country of Djibouti on the so-called Horn of Africa. The horn juts out from north-east Africa with its seaside neighbours being Saudi Arabia and Yemen across the Red Sea on the Arabian peninsula. Now that you’ve located me you can also picture the melting pot of influences that have shaped the land. Much of north Africa is Islamic and Djibouti also fell under French colonial control. I was travelling during Ramadan at the moment so the streets come alive with energy as everyone prepares to break the fast at sunset call to prayer.
Geopolitics is always key and no matter that Djibouti is one of the smallest countries in the world it controls a strategic coastline on the Red Sea. It provides for more than half a dozen foreign military bases, provides safe port and refueling in the region and has major controls over import and export from the African continent via its ports. It’s an arid volcanic landscape but I guess you have to flaunt what you’ve got! Still I have never taken a tour with the highlights being key military, railway and port infrastructure!
What it lacks in natural environment it makes up for with heart. A warm, tolerant welcome from a little nation with powerful alliances that makes a living directing traffic on the Red Sea.
