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Although the country is quite small it is surprisingly diverse. Eritrea is bordered on the east by the Red Sea, on the south-east by Djibouti, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the north-west by Sudan, it has an area of 121,144 sq km (46,774 sq mi).

Asmara is the capital and largest city. Eritrea's land is highly variegated. Running on a north-south axis through the middle of the country are the central highlands, a narrow strip of country some 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) above sea level that represents the northern reaches of the Ethiopian Plateau.The upper layers have been highly dissected by deep gorges and river channels, forming small steep-sided, flat-topped tablelands known as ambas. The highest point in the plateau is Mount Soira, at 9,885 feet.

The most widely used languages are Tigrinya,Tigre, and Arabic. Half of the population are Muslims, but these are divided among several ethnic and linguistic groups. In 2001 Eritrea had an estimated population of 4,298,269, giving it a population density of 35 persons per sq km (92 per sq mi). The major cities of Eritrea include the capital and largest city Asmara, the seaports Massawa and Assab , Keren ,Nak’fa, Akordat, and Teseney, Dekemhare.

On the southern part of the coastal region live Afar nomads, whose relatives live across the borders in Djibouti and Ethiopia; they are also called the Denakil, after the region that they inhabit the Danakil depression. The coastal strip south of Massawa, as well as the eastern flanks of the plateau, are occupied by Saho pastoralists. In the western plain, the dominant people are pastoralists of the Beja family, whose kin live across the border in The Sudan. Two small Nilotic groups, the Kunama and the Nara, also live in the west.

Asmara is the capital of Eritrea. It is located some 60 km inland at an altitude of 2432 meters. It is a lot cooler and more pleasant than Massawa on the coast.Temperature ranges from -5° C (winter night-temp.) and +35° C ( summer day-temp.)

The city is a nice mixture of Italian colonial buildings and Eritrean architecture. Asmara's very diverse cultural heritage is obvious: three of the most prominent landmarks in the city are the Catholic Cathedral, the Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin Mosque and the ENda Mariam Coptic Cathedral.

Not far from the Cathedral is the very buzy shuq district, with its stalls of fruits and vegetables, spices, chickens and eggs, used furniture, ceramics, and clothes. Side by side with the stalls are small workshops and shops.

The city is the cleanest city in Africa. Walking in the streets of Asmara surrounded by palms colorfull trees makes you feel in pardise.It is a place that must be visited.

Massawa
The Red Sea harbour port of Massawa, to the northeast of Asmara, has long been used by various foreign traders and invaders all of whom left their own individually exotic architectural legacies. Though no longer the 'Pearl of the Red Sea', Massawa is still an engaging and hassle-free place to visit.

Massawa was bombed into the dust by Ethiopian forces during Eritrea's struggle for independence, but the town was rebuilt during peaceful pauses throughout the 1990s and much time has been spent trying to replicate the original feel of the town as much as possible.

Culture

The nearly 4.5 million people of Eritrea, a third of which are nomadic or semi-nomadic, are ethnically divided into nine groups: Tigrinya (the largest group), Afar, Bilen, Hedareb, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Saho and Tigre. Only 20% of the population reside in urban areas and, most depressingly in terms of statistics, a paltry 13% have access to sanitation and waste disposal. Though much has been done domestically to recognise women's rights, the country still has a rigid conservative core which has yet to fully acknowledge the full equality of both genders.

Tigrinya is spoken mainly in the highlands, while Arabic has entrenched itself along the coast and the Sudanese border, and English is primarily the language of the urbane. In other areas, the dominant language depends on the dominant ethnic group, each of which have their own native tongue. Amharic, which Ethiopia tried to institute as the language of non-choice in the 1950s, is still widely spoken around the country. Both Christianity and Islam vie for religious supremacy in Eritrea, with neither one a clear winner. The Christians are primarily Orthodox, with small numbers of Roman Catholics and Protestants; the Muslims are primarily Sunnis, with a small Sufi minority.

Eritreans like to dance, particularly when confronted with a new birth or marriage and during cultural and religious festivals. They also like to play traditional instruments such as the stringed krar and the wata, both of which are derived from Ethiopian musical instruments. There's plenty of variety in the music played around the country because each of the ethnic groups keeps a different beat and dances to a different tune. Locally favoured singers and musicians include Atewebrhan Segid and Berekhet Mengisteab.

One thing that Eritrea does share harmoniously with Ethiopia is a love of the same types of traditional food. For a morning pick-me-up, try silsi, a peppery fried tomato and onion sauce usually served for breakfast, or get a serve of legamat (deep-fried dough) from vendors in the western lowlands towns. You won't be able to avoid tsebhi, the region's fiery and ubiquitous sauce, but it'll be entirely up to you if you want to try some capretto (roast goat). Vegetarians should ask for nai tsom, a selection of non-meat dishes. Drinks include the rough Asmara gin, local beer Melotti, and mies, which is wine made from honey.