Northeast Africa
The dominant feature of the northeast region of Africa is the fertile river valley of the Nile, the world’s longest river, at 6695 kilometres. Adjacent to this are the mountainous Ethiopian Highlands and the Horn of Africa, a peninsula jutting hundreds of kilometres into the Arabian Sea, resulting in a huge Arab influence in region. The Red Sea on the east coast of the region separates Africa from the Arabian Peninsula in Asia.
The Danakil Desert lies in northeast Ethiopia, southern Eritrea and Djibouti and is one of the hottest places on earth. It is home to the Afar people and often described as the cruelest place on earth.
Many countries in this region have been devastated by civil wars and periods of drought, crop failure and famine.