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Watch for "DYNAMIC DJIBOUTI- AFRICA'S RED SEA MIRACLE" by the Editors of Africa Travel Magazine . Click on above for photos..k
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...Are you ready for ATA's coming event in Djibouti,
Jan. 19-23,
2008?.......
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For views of this exotic African destination- Click
here!.
About Djibouti History France considered necessary
to have a supply base for it's navy between Suez and Saigon,
on the southwest bank of the Red Sea. In March 1885, the
leaders of Djibouti Province signed a treaty of protectorate
and Eternal Friendship with France. The choice of Djibouti
was commanded by the existence of abundant drinkable springs
in Dorale and Ambouli. The works of reconstruction of the
railway between Djibouti and Addis Ababa, began in 1898
under the orders of famous architects like Gustave Eiffel. A
new town emerged on the other side of the border with
Ethiopia, Dire Dawa, and after the complete opening of the
line, in 1917, the railroad became a major attraction for
the adventurers of the rail. The line as as important and as
prestigious as the railways of Asia or Africa. Hotels were opened,
marvelous houses were built, in the centre of the city where
some of them can still be found. In fact, in Djibouti, there
is still a part of a building dating back to these days,
typical hotels, mosques, broad houses market places, a
marvelous inheritance! Djibouti was supposed to
become the rival of Aden and be the "Hong Kong' of the Red
Sea. Djibouti was given a status of frank port. The
Independence of Djibouti was declared on the 27th June 2977
and in January 2000, the Republic of Djibouti adopts a
Strategic Plan of Development for tourism with a certain
number of objectives and strategies fixed by the President
of the Republic His Excellency Ismail Omar
Guelleh Thanks to is harbor, made of
modern installations, the railway and the international
airport, and the performing telecommunication, there is a
great development of Banks, commerce and insurances,
depending on the transport. In addition, the country
possesses a liberal commercial and financial regime which
helps the exchanges with foreign country and insure a
stability for its money. Scuba diving and fishing are
one of the main resources of the country, because the
abundance of fauna and flora in the Gulf of Tadjourah makes
it a paradise for photographers. They can dive among
beautiful, delicate and colored tree-like coral reefs,
specific and privileged shelters for shells of more than
twenty species of magnificent fish. The reefs of the
Republic of Djibouti are classified among the most beautiful
jewels of the tropical underwater world. Underwater hunting
is prohibited. The Island of Musha and
Maskali in the middle of the Gulf offer to the visitors the
pleasures of windsurfing and water skiing, in addition to
their marvelous beaches of white and fine sand running
between the mangrove swamps and coral reefs teeming with
fish that you can gaze when snorkeling or scuba
diving. At Bock, scuba diving also
turns out to be essential to discover the wonders of the
most beautiful undersea "Cliff" of the Gulf. To the North,
on the Western bank of Bab-el-Mendeb, a trip to the
archipelago of "sept Frere" (seven brothers) is a must to
complete this marine tour. At the junction of the Red Sea
and the Indian Ocean, its six islands set in a curved
extension of Ras Syan peninsula, are considered by the
specialists as one of the "seven wonders" of deep-sea diving
and are world famous for being the paradise of game fishing;
you can find there rocklings, manta skates, carrangues,
barracudas and sharks, the lords of the seas with their
powerful and elegant stoke. The Djiboutian bush holds
the traveler spellbound because of its diversity but also
because it evokes the chaos of the first geological ages
volcanic areas alternate with desert extent, however not
devoid of wildlife. The squirrels of the sands run in search
of provisions; the gray spots of he dig-dig stand out
against the hostile environment; the gazelles stop gazing,
attentive to the least gesture, and launch heir legs in the
stone fields at the first noise they hear; sometimes packs
of cynocephali cross the road. In the wadis inhabited by
tamarisks and beautiful aloe, rupestral engravings sometimes
appear on the smooth surface of the rocks. Geological discovery,
ornithological observation and archaeological tours
represent privileged focus for passionate tourists who want
to mix business with pleasure. To learn more about the
Djiboutian bush, several weeks are necessary, during which
you go on foot towards the campings moved away. you follow
the herds in their search for pastures, in a word, you have
live like shepherd. A nomad family's life occurs
essentially moving behind the crowd of goats and dromedaries
which constitute their only wealth. The always transitory
camps, include several toukouls or huts mad up with
dismountable and transportable elements on back of
dromedary. The reinforcement of branches is covered with
braided plaits or boiled tree-barks which, once stretched in
fine thin straps, can be easily braided. Plaits, dromedary
skin, wooden domestic utensils, goatskins used as water
bottles, and traditional weapons (lances, daggers, axes,
shields et...) are the only usual objects of nomads. Their
food is very frugal, they eat a little and keep wandering,
satisfied with only one meal per day, containing products
provided by the herd. In spite of an extremely abundant game
in certain areas, nomads do not hunt, because they express a
kind of undeniable respect towards inoffensive
animals. The Lake Abbe There's an absolutely
unusual scenery before the traveler's eyes, taken right out
o a fantastic world with hundreds of peak framed limestone
chimneys, rising towards the sky up to 150 meter. Here and
there are permanent hot water sources some of which are
boiling and developing pastures elsewhere unseen in the
Republic of Djibouti. The Lake Assal On matters of tourism as
well as geology. Lake Assal cannot be dissociated with Lake
Goubet-Al-Kharab. To discover those wonders, just a day long
trip that must not be missed under no circumstances when
visiting the Republic of Djibouti, not even for the most
hurried traveler. Lake Assal is an extremely beautiful
natural curiosity, in a setting of volcanoes and black lava
153 meters below the sea level, bordered with dazzling white
floes made of salt and gypsum. The Republic of Djibouti has
tried to vary its regional and international service
economy: port, airport, railways and modern
telecommunications are the lungs of this economy. The
Djiboutian nation, thanks t its capacity of openness and
adaptation, has succeeded to make itself a particular
identity and personality on the grounds of tourism, service
economy, culture and human resources.
From National
Tourist Authority of Djibouti
Soon
as the canal of Suez was opened, the Red Sea became one of
the most important maritime ways on the road to India and
the Middle East.
Where is Djibouti?
At seven hours flight from Europe, right at the junction of
the African continent, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean,
the Republic of Djibouti holds indisputable tourist assets:
sea depth of an exceptional richness, impressive landscape
providing home for men and women of a savage beauty. The
climate is comparable to a Mediterranean summer from October
to April, while the hot season, from May to September, knows
an average temperature of 35 degrees.
