A continent with unmatched wealth in natural resources and, however, mistreated by the continuous colonization suffered, the exploitation and abuse of different leaders. This is Africa, the third largest continent in the world that, despite its size, is home to less than 15% of the planet’s population. A land that has deserts, large lakes, deltas, jungles, valleys, savannahs… And that still today continues to make us dream of exploring it. In addition, it is the homeland of personalities who have changed the course of history, such as Nelson Mandela. For all these reasons, it is not surprising that we wanted to investigate curiosities of Africa. The continent promises!
Let’s dive headfirst into the African culturevery diverse, since it is a continent with 54 countries of the African Union, 2 unrecognized territories and 2 dependent territories. Therefore, we will discover the most surprising curiosities of Africa, investigating some of its most globally known countries.
By the way, if you were wondering what the language of africa, we will remind you that before colonization there were an enormous number of languages, spoken by different communities. Today, broadly speaking, the most spoken language in Africa is Arabic. After this comes English, then Swahili, French, Berber, Hausa language, Portuguese and Spanish, ordered by number of speakers. Will you join us to discover more curiosities of Africa?
Curiosities about Africa that you may not have known about
Curiosities of Egypt??
1. Among the curiosities of Africa, those dedicated to the mysterious Egypt could not be missed. This country is best known for having the calls Egyptian pyramids in it and having been the land where the culture of Ancient Egypt developed. The people who built the pyramids have aroused the interest of historians and not so historians around the world because of how surprising it is. They had 1,400 gods, they worshiped their pharaohs as such and they had characters that even today continue to captivate us, such as: Nefertiti, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra, Queen Hatseput…
2. Did you know that of the Egyptian pyramids, Cheops was built with approximately 2.3 million stone blocks, which of course had to be transported and placed? To carry out this incredible architectural feat, the historian Herodotus wrote that it only took 20 years and the participation of 100,000 men. However, today archaeologists believe, from their research, that there could have been around 20,000 workers.
3. It was in Egypt where the oldest garment in the world was found. It’s not the most spectacular thing you’ve ever seen, but this woven piece is 5,000 years old!
4. Although the pyramids of this country are the best known, it is not the one with the most examples of this type of construction in it. There are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt.
5. There are curiosities in Egypt that are truly surprising, such as the fact that a woman posed as a man for 43 years, in order to be able to provide financial support for her family.
Curiosities of Kenya??
6. As you know, there are many african tribesbut perhaps the one that attracts the most attention and is most popular is the masai. Precisely its presence is one of the curiosities of Kenya, which this country shares with Tanzania.
Regarding the Maasai, you may be interested to know that there are more of them than you perhaps thought. It is estimated that there are currently more than 1 million Maasai between Tanzania and Kenya. You should also be aware of how important their cows are to them. Their entire economy revolves around them and they are their great pride.
7. In Kenya 75% of the population is dedicated to the agricultural sector.
8. It is striking that in Kenya so much of the population is dedicated to agriculture, especially considering that 90% of African soil is not arable.
9. The safaris in kenya They are famous, because in this country you will find lions, leopards, elephants and other impressive wild animals, running free. In fact, most of the tourism that comes to the country is attracted by its nature.
10. Economic inequalities are extreme in Kenya. The majority of the population is divided between the very rich and the very poor, there is barely a middle class.
11. This inequality, unfortunately, reigns throughout Africa and is very evident when we find data such as that more than 200 million Africans suffer from chronic malnutrition.
12. You may be surprised to know that the majority religion in Kenya is Christianity. Just over 84% of Kenyans claim to profess this faith.
Curiosities of Morocco??
13. In Morocco it is typical to share sweetened mint tea with family and friends invited home. This is usually served in arabic teapotswhich are very striking to tourists due to their delicacy.
14. If, being in a city in Morocco, they invite you to visit the «medina», they will be offering you to visit the old quarter. The medina is usually the most important nucleus of the towns, so around it you can find essential buildings such as the main mosque of the city, the souk…
15. The national animal of Morocco is the Atlas lion. This is a species that no longer exists in the wild, but does exist in captivity, although it is something that some question since many of the individuals considered Atlas lions are not pure, but crosses with other types of lion.
16. One of the most important cities in Morocco is Marrakeshwhich is also known as «the Red City«. And so? Simply because many of its buildings are painted salmon. When the sun sets and the light that surrounds the city is orange, bordering on crimson, and settles on the buildings, the sensation is created that a large part of the city is red.
It’s a beautiful picture!
17. A dish that stands out among typical Moroccan food is couscous. It is made from wheat semolina and vegetables, chickpeas and some meat, for example chicken or beef, are usually added. It’s delicious!
Curiosities of Madagascar??
18. To begin, we will tell you that Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and, without a doubt, one of the jewels in terms of curiosities of Africa.
19. One of the curiosities of Africa And Madagascar is that on this island you can find species of animals and plants that only exist there. They are unique to Madagascar and that is why this place is so special. This is because of how isolated it has long been, as an island, from the rest of the world. He thinks that this piece of land separated from what is now India about 88 million years ago.
20. As you can see, nature in this country is incredible. In fact, in Madagascar alone, for example, there are more than 100 species and subspecies of lemurs. This animal is also considered sacred among the inhabitants of Madagascar, as it is traditionally thought that they are carriers of the souls of their ancestors.
21. Seeing the natural wealth of Madagascar, it is not surprising that 25% of the world’s bird species are already found in Africa alone.
22. Another of the curiosities of Madagascar that attracts attention is that they only have two seasons of the year. A dry and colder one that goes from May to October and a warmer and rainier one that goes from November to April.
23. The population of Madagascar is larger than we expected, currently it is almost 25 million people.
Curiosities of Ethiopia??
We continue with the curiosities of Africa, now we head to Ethiopia.
24. In Ethiopia you will find two tribes of women with a plate on their lips, the Surma and the Mursi.
This ornament is considered a sign of beauty. Learn more about them in this article: The Tribe of Women with the Plate on Their Lips.
25. The first evidence of tool use by human ancestors has been found in Ethiopia.
26. The name Ethiopia comes from Greek and would be a compound word arising from two words: αἴθω and ὤψ, «aitho» which would mean «I burn» and «ops», «face». It could be translated as «burnt face» in the noun category and as «red-brownish» in its adjectival form. There is a version that suggests that the origin of this toponym is not this, but comes from «’Ityopp’is», a biblical figure, great-grandson of Moses and founder of the city of Axum.
27. The religion of Ethiopia is mainly Christianity, whether in its Orthodox, Protestant or Catholic aspect.
28. Some tribes in Ethiopia consider the birth of twins as a bad omen, even thinking that they may attract evil spirits or be cursed. As always, everything that is difficult to understand is attributed to magic, in societies that are not so advanced, just as it happened not so many centuries ago in Europe.
29. One of the most striking curiosities of Africa is found next to the Dallol volcano, in Ethiopia. This place holds a Guinness Record for being the location with the highest average temperature, throughout the year, on Earth. The annual average is 34.6 º C.
30. Although it may seem incredible, a mining town was settled next to this volcano, which is currently the warmest inhabited place on the planet.
Curiosities of Equatorial Guinea??
31. Equatorial Guinea is one of the 15 African countries with the smallest population, which does not reach two million inhabitants.
32. One of the curiosities of Equatorial Guinea that stands out among the countries of its continent is that it is the country with the highest literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa.
33. The language of Equatorial Guinea is officially not just one. The official languages of this country are: French, Spanish and Portuguese.
34. The capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, is not in the main territory of the country. It is located on the island of Bioko, one of the 5 islands that belong to the country. Curious, right?
Curiosities of Mali??
35. Mali is the third largest gold producer on the entire African continent, just after South Africa and Ghana.
36. In fact, Africa has the largest reserve of precious metals in the world. It has 60% of the cobalt reserves, 90% of the platinum reserves and 40% of the gold reserves.
37. The average number of births in Mali is over 6 children per woman, and is the third highest in the world, according to World Bank statistics.
38. Although the language of Mali is officially French, the most widely spoken is Bambara, a Mandingo language of this country.
39. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mali is one of the 17 most dangerous countries in the world.
40. Mali is one of the 11 countries where the Sahara desert which is not only the largest in Africa, it is also the largest in the world.
41. It should be said that, surely due to the influence of the Sahara, Africa is the warmest continent on the planet. In fact, 60% of it is covered in desert and drylands.
Curiosities of Cape Verde??
42. Cape Verde is an island country, made up of ten large islands and five smaller ones. Its capital, Praia, is located on the Island of Santiago.
43. The wind has a great presence in these…