Eritrea stretches along the Red Sea and is a low-lying coastal area with a mountainous interior. The Turkish and Egyptian colonial periods left their legacy in the form of numerous interesting buildings and sites, and the cuisine reflects the period of Italian rule.

Eritrea was largely an independent country until coming under Ottoman rule in the 16th century. Over the next 300 years, control of the territory was disputed between the Ottomans, Ethiopia, Egypt and Italy. In 1889, a treaty between Italy and King Menilek of Ethiopia recognized Italian possessions on the Red Sea coast, which were formally adopted as Italian colonies the following year. Eritrea then became one of the six provinces of Italian East Africa, until the Italians were expelled by the British in 1941. After the departure of the British, Eritrea was merged into Ethiopia in a federal arrangement brokered by the UN in 1952 and incorporated fully into Ethiopia 10 years later.

After a decade of changing fortunes for both the Eritrean government and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), fighting against the Communist government within Ethiopia, the guerrillas finally expelled government forces from Eritrea in early 1991. In 1992, the EPLF-controlled Provisional Government of Eritrea announced a referendum over the future status of the area. With 99.8 per cent support registered in favor of independence at an UN-supervised referendum in April 1993, full nationhood was declared the following month.

Despite its many vicissitudes, Eritrea boasts an abundance of natural attractions, including a vast array of wildlife. Native to the country are elephants, lions, baboons, gazelles, leopards, ostriches and turtles. Off any of Eritrea's stunning beaches, it is not uncommon to see angelfish, barracudas, butterfly fish and several varieties of crabs, sea cucumbers and jellyfish beneath the azure ocean waters.

Geography
Eritrea stretches along the Red Sea for almost 1,000km (625 miles). To the south and west it borders Ethiopia, to the southeast Djibouti and to the northwest Sudan. The low-lying coastal area is very humid. The mountainous interior is largely cultivated.