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Country of the Day: The Gambia
Feb. 25th, 2010 09:43 amOne of my co-workers took off for The Gambia today to give language workshops for the Peace Corps for a week. I regret to say that I didn't know anything about that country, other than it's in Africa. So I looked it up on Google maps. Just type in The Gambia. It's this really nifty "finger" of a place, poking in off the Atlantic on the West Coast, surrounded by Senegal, along the Gambia River.
So I clicked over to Wikipedia. Smallest country in Africa, it was a British Colony until 1965, now a relatively stable multi-party democracy. 1.7 million people. Fishing, farming, tourism. 90% Sunni Muslim, 10% Christian. There are several tribes, with the Mandinka the largest. If you have heard of it, it may be because Alex Haley traced his ancestry to the area and wrote a book called "Roots."
So I clicked over to Wikipedia. Smallest country in Africa, it was a British Colony until 1965, now a relatively stable multi-party democracy. 1.7 million people. Fishing, farming, tourism. 90% Sunni Muslim, 10% Christian. There are several tribes, with the Mandinka the largest. If you have heard of it, it may be because Alex Haley traced his ancestry to the area and wrote a book called "Roots."
