Traveling through Africa: Its always interesting to find out more about your next potential holiday destinations, this week our destination starts off with the smallest country in Africa, The smiling coast of Africa: Gambia

About Gambia

Officially the Republic of the Gambia, also commonly known as Gambia, in West Africa. Surrounded by Senegal, apart from a short strip of the Atlantic coastline at its western end. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa.
Situated on either side of the Gambia River, which flows through the country' centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean, its area is 11,295 squared kilometers with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
Bujal is the Gambian capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.

Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of the colony on the Gambia River. In 1965 on the 18th February Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth Nations, since then Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief rule period of military rule in 1994.
The economy is dominated by farming due to the fertile land of the country, fishing and tourism.

Ethnicity and language

There are a variety of ethnic groups living in Gambia, each preserving its own language and traditions. The Mandinka ethnicity is the largest, followed by the Fula, Wolof, Jola, Serahule, Serers and the Bianunkas.
 
The Krio people, locally known as Akus, constitute one of the smallest ethnic minorities in the Gambia. They are descendants of the Sierra Leone Creole people and have been traditionally concentrated in the capital.

There are approximately 3,500 non-African residents including Europeans and families of Lebanese origin (roughly 0.23 percent of the total population). Most of the European minority are Britons, many of whom left after independence.

English is the official language of the Gambia. Other languages are Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Serer, Krio and other indigenous vernaculars. Due to geographical setting French language knowledge is relatively widespread.

Religion

Gamibia's constitution protects the rights of citizens to practice any religion that they choose. Islam is the predominant religion, practiced by approximately 90 percent of the country population. The Christian community represent about 8 percent of the population and the remaining 1.97 percent of the population adheres t indigenous beliefs, such as the Serer religion.

Culture

Even though Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, its culture is the product of very diverse influences. The national borders outline a narrow strip on either side of the River Gambia, a body of water that has played a vital part in the nation's destiny and is known locally simply as "the River." Without natural barriers, the Gambia has become home to most of the ethnic groups that are present throughout western Africa, especially those in Senegal.

Europeans also figure prominently in the nation's history because the River Gambia is navigable deep into the continent, a geographic feature that made this area one of the most profitable sites for the slave trade from the 15th through the 17th centuries. (It also made it strategic to the halt of this trade once it was outlawed in the 19th century.)
Some of this history was popularised in the Alex Haley book and TV series Roots which was set in the Gambia.

National Dishes

Nyombeh Nyebbeh
Is popularly used by many Gambians both in the rural and the urban centres; This is made with cassava and beans and has very rich nutrients. The ingredients that can be found in this local dish are as follows: beans, cassava, oils, onions, chili, and stock cube, salt for seasoning, black pepper, liter water and fried red snapper.

Pepeh Soup
This is a tasty thick stew which is very easy to make. Very spicy and it’s commonly prepared with fish, cow leg or foot wit the  bone into to the stock.

Domoda
This is a typical mandinka dish made from groundnuts in most part of the Gambia. As the name implies, “Domo” means eating whilst Da means the stew pot. The uniqueness is that the flavor of this wonderful piquant dish comes from the main ingredient of concentrated peanut paste. Domoda can be prepared with meat, beef or fish with lot of vegetables. This is a source of high protein and with nutritious value in this Gambian local dish. Ingredients used in Domoda include: salt, small medium onion, fresh tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, medium cabbage, and peanut paste 2 liters of water, tomato paste, lemon juice stock cube and boiled white rice.

Cald Caldo
Similar to Yassa, but usually made with fish. Caldo is very easy to prepared with the same delicious tangy lemon flavoring, but as the fish is steamed, it is much quicker to prepare.
Use one whole fish per serving, jorto or sompat are recommended for this dish.

Tourist Information

Average high temperature in April: 31C
Average hours of sunshine: 12

Just an hour and a half beyond the Canaries, Africa's smallest mainland country offers sandy beaches, fabulous wildlife and virtually guaranteed sunshine.

What to do

Most tourists stay in one of the Atlantic Coast resorts of Kololi, Kotu, Fajara and Bakau, but - if you can tear yourself from the sun lounger - there's plenty to see in the surrounding areas.

Wildlife

The Bijilo Forest Park, on the beachfront near Kololi, is home to red colobus and green vervet monkeys, and well over 100 species of birds, including vultures, falcons, sunbirds, bee-eaters and hornbills.

Farther afield, the Abuko Nature Reserve – some seven miles from Kololi – contains more than 250 bird species, 52 mammal species, pythons, cobras and Nile crocodiles.

Banjul

The Gambia's capital is everything you might expect of an African city, with ramshackle buildings, street vendors hawking unidentifiable meats, roadside welders and even the occasional donkey cart. Chaotic Albert Market, to the east of the city, sells just about everything, from replica football tops to handmade jewellery, and is well worth a visit – but look after your valuables and expect the hard sell. Escape the heat at the quaint National Museum, which has informative displays on the country's past, from prehistoric settlements to the military coup of 1994. The Kachikally Crocodile Pool in Bakau, on the outskirts of Banjul, is a sacred sight for locals (Gambians see crocodiles as a symbol of fertility). It's where dozens of the reptiles reside, many of which are friendly enough to be touched.

Day trips

From Denton Bridge, on the road to Banjul, you can sign up for a range of activities, including water sports and fishing trips. A number of boat tours, which can usually be arranged at hotels on the coast, also begin here. They typically consist of a leisurely cruise along the nearby creeks, where you can spot pelicans, herons and kingfishers while watching women in wooden pirogues picking oysters from the roots of mangroves.

Golf

Golfers should head to Fajara Golf Club, which also houses badminton, tennis and squash courts.

For more information about Gambia, do visit their tourism websites. Links attached below.

Gambia Tourism:
Web: www.visitthegambia.gm/

Tourism and Travel Association Gambia
Web: http://www.ttag.gm/

Content: Wikipedia and Travel giudes, Images: Various sources