Eritrea – Hot, dry desert strip along the Red Sea coast; is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Eritrea has several species of mammals and a rich avifauna of 560 species of birds. It is also home to an abundant amount of big game species. Its capital, Asmara, is known for its well-preserved colonial Italian modernist architecture.
During the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri ("sea-land"). The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for Red Sea (Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα Erythra Thalassa, based on the adjective ἐρυθρός erythros "red"). Together with Djibouti, Ethiopia, northern Somalia, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the Ancient Egyptians as Punt, whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC.
