Portal:The Gambia

The Gambia Portal

The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, the Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.

Its territory is on both sides of the lower reaches of the Gambia River, which flows through the center of the country and empties into the Atlantic. The national namesake river demarcates the elongated shape of the country, which has an area of 11,300 square kilometres (4,400 sq mi) and a population of 2,422,712 people at the 1 May 2024 Census which is a 30.45% population increase from 2013. The capital city is the island Banjul, formerly called Bathurst during the colonial era, which is the most extensive metropolitan area in the country. The second- and third-largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama. Other significant cities are Kanifing and Farafenni in the north bank, Basse in Upper River Region, and Soma in lower river region.

Arab Muslim merchants traded with indigenous West Africans in the Gambia, under an arrangement known as the trans-Saharan trade, using a barter exchange system. Throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, Islam was introduced by the Arab traders to Western Sudan. In 1455, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter the Gambia, although they never established significant trade there. The British Empire established a colony in 1765. In 1965, 200 years later, the Gambia gained independence under the leadership of Dawda Jawara. Jawara remained the president, winning several elections, until he was overthrown by Yahya Jammeh in a bloodless coup on July 22, 1994. (Full article...)

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Serer cultural vigil in Senegal.

The Serer people (Serer proper: Seereer or Sereer) are a West African ethnoreligious group and nation, "today scattered in several small states on the coast or pushed back into the woods of the interior, must be one of the oldest in Senegambia." They are the third-largest ethnic group in Senegal, making up 16% of the Senegalese population. They also reside in northern Gambia and southern Mauritania.

The Serer people originated in the Senegal River Valley, at the border of present-day Senegal and Mauritania, and moved south in the 11th and 12th century. They migrated again in the 15th and 16th centuries as their villages were invaded and they were subjected to religious persecution by Islamic forces. They have had a sedentary settled culture and have been known for their farming expertise and transhumant stock-raising. (Full article...)

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Image 1A donkey cart at a beach in The Gambia
Image 2A view of Janjanbureh, Gambia
Image 3Fish being smoked in Tanji
Image 4Front and back view of the Gambian dalasi and coins from 5 bututs to 1 dalasi
Image 5Banjul International Airport
Image 6Gambian postage stamps from 1953
Image 7Gunjur is a small coastal town in south-western Gambia.
Image 8A Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) in the Abuko Nature Reserve in The Gambia
Image 9Arch 22 in the Gambian capital city of Banjul
Image 10Life in Serekunda
Image 11Traders at a fish market on the Gambian coast

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... that the Bateleur (pictured) is the official symbol of Kiang West National Park in The Gambia?

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The Gambia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its eighth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included two athletes, Suwaibou Sanneh and Saruba Colley, the former had qualified by setting a qualifying time that fell within the required standard and the latter entered via a wildcard place. Sanneh was selected as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Sanneh became the first Gambian athlete to advance into the semi-finals of the men's 100 metres, while Colley was eliminated after the quarter-final stages of the Women's 100 metres. (Full article...)