5 things that most people (including Africans) do not know about Africa!

Did you know that the capital of Tanzania is NOT Dar es Salaam, there are penguins in South Africa and the country with the most pyramids is NOT Egypt. I'll show you!

My People,

I’ve missed you because I have been working on this. How have you been?

Today, I’d like to share some common facts about Africa that many people get wrong (including Africans!) Yes, we know that Africa is a continent (not a country) with 54 or 55 different countries (depending on who you ask) and thousands of languages and cultures. The continent is vast and like every other continent, there’s so much diversity here. But do you really know this continent?

Last weekend, our team hosted a ‘play and shoot’ event for our new map of Africa puzzle called Fill in the Map. This large floor or table puzzle allows children discover the continent with colorful puzzle pieces, and have a lot of fun while doing it. We designed every bit of it with a lot of love and a lot of enthusiasm for the world. As a trained geographer, it is my mission to help people discover the world around them so that we can bridge cultures and shrink borders. This is our team’s dream for everyone who plays this puzzle. We also made sure that the puzzle includes the country names, capital cities and flags of each country as well as interesting cultural landmarks. The best part of this puzzle is that the adults love it too! The play event was full of much laughter because even the well-travelled adults were surprised by all the cool things they did not know about Africa.

Here are 7 cool Africa facts you may be getting wrong:

1. The capital city of Tanzania is Dodoma, not Dar es Salaam. That’s right! The story goes that in 1974, the Tanzanian government announced that the capital will move from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma. However, it was not until 1996 that the declaration was brought to life. The change was resisted and many government offices and embassies stayed in Dar es Salaam and have refused to move. So, in reality, Dar es Salaam operates as the commercial and ‘de facto’ capital even though on paper, Dodoma is the official capital of Tanzania.

2. There are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt. This is a testament to the power of PR and the importance of storytelling and history preservation. The 110+ pyramids in Egypt are much larger and much more popular, but in Sudan, there are over 200 hundred pyramids left over from ancient Nubian civilization.

   

3. There are penguins in South Africa. The colony of African penguins are mostly found at Boulders Beach in South Africa and stretch all the way up to Southern Namibia. These penguins are becoming more and more popular and attract almost 60,000 visitors each year. They are also endangered and the beach now serves as a conservation area to protect them from extinction. It was reported widely when dozens of them were killed by bees last month. Oooh, there are also ski resorts in Africa in South Africa, Morocco, Lesotho and Algeria. Yes, you can hit the slopes on the continent.

4. Seychelles is a very tiny island. Yes, the popular island is gorgeous and full of spectacular resorts. However, most people do not realize that the smallest country in Africa is only 459 square kilometers and is an collection of many islands (archipelago) rather than one island. There are less than 100,000 people in the entire country. That’s the size of the population of some small towns in other countries.

5. Mount Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, NOT Kenya. I was surprised when lots of people mentioned Kenya when we started leading group hikes to Kilimanjaro - Africa’s highest mountain. I am not sure why lots of people make this mistake but it could be because the best and most popular photos of the mountain actually come from Kenya, where visitors to Amboseli National Park can see the majestic mountain and the the snow-capped crater in all its glory.

Look at that view! Cool, right?

Get the puzzle now in Nigeria, Canada, the UK and the USA. This is the best gift for the holidays for kids this year. Let them discover the world with a fun puzzle and get their minds opened to all that there is. You’ll love it too! You can either order online on our website or send a reply to this email if you’d like to order by bank transfer.

So, tell me: what’s the most surprising fact on this list? If you’ve travelled across Africa, what was the biggest surprise?

I’d love to hear all your stories. I’d also love for you and your kid(s), nieces, nephews and friends’ kids to own a copy of Fill in the Map puzzle.

Before you go, please share this newsletter with other curious minds. There’s something pretty cool to discover (almost) every week!

Love,
Funmi!