Djibouti. Information.
DJIBOUTI (officially the Republic of Djibouti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, Somalia in the southeast. Arae - 22 000 sq.km. Poplation - 476 703 (2005) Capital - Djibouti. The history of Djibouti is recorded in poetry, songs, and folklore of its nomadic people and goes back thousands of years to a time when Djiboutians traded hides and skins for the perfumes and spices of ancient Egypt, India, and China. Through close contacts with the Arabian peninsula for more than 1,000 years, the Somali and Afar ethnic groups in this region became among the first on the African continent to adopt Islam. French interest developed in the nineteenth century when the area was ruled by the sultan of Raheita, Tadjoura and Gobaad. The French bought the anchorage of Obock in 1862 and expanded it eventually to a colony called French Somaliland with essentially the current boundaries. In 1967, the area became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti gained its independence from France on June 27, 1977. Djibouti is a Somali, Afar and Muslim country, which regularly takes part in Islamic affairs as well as Arab meetings. Currency : 1 Djibouti Franc (DJF) .
