Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNDERSTAND DJIBOUTI
Djibouti Today
Djibouti's stability and neutrality, combined with its strategic position, have brought lots of
benefits. In an effort to combat piracy off the Somali coast, the Americans have reinforced
their military presence. As if this wasn't enough, the Japanese set up a huge military base
near the international airport in 2011. The total number of foreign soldiers on the Dji-
boutian territory is estimated at 7000.
Foreign investors from Asia and the Gulf are increasingly active in Djibouti, and there
are building projects springing up all over the capital. There are also plans to build a port in
Tadjoura and to upgrade the road system throughout the country.
History
From Aksum to Islam
Around the 1st century AD, Djibouti made up part of the powerful Ethiopian kingdom of
Aksum, which included modern-day Eritrea and even stretched across the Red Sea to parts
of southern Arabia. It was during the Aksumite era, in the 4th century AD, that Christianity
first appeared in the region.
As the empire of Aksum gradually fell into decline, a new influence arose that would
forever supersede the Christian religion in Djibouti: Islam. It was introduced to the region
around AD 825 by Arab traders from Southern Arabia.
European Ambitions
In the second half of the 19th century, European powers competed to grab new colonies in
Africa. The French, seeking to counter the British presence in Yemen on the other side of
the Bab al-Mandab Strait, made agreements with the Afar sultans of Obock and Tadjoura
that gave them the right to settle. In 1888, construction of Djibouti City began on the south-
ern shore of the Gulf of Tadjoura. French Somaliland (present-day Djibouti) began to take
shape.
