Gahtelai ( ar, غاهتلاي) is the name of a river, town and plain situated in the
Northern Red Sea
The Northern Red Sea Region (, it, Regione del Mar Rosso Settentrionale, ) is an Regions of Eritrea, administrative region of Eritrea. It lies along the northern three quarters of the Red Sea, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and the coastal ...
administrative
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of
Eritrea.
It is not the correct meaning of Gahtelai written in Tigrinya.
Because the word is of Saho "gahte" means is back and "lai" means water.
Gahtelai Means back water, because the river is seasonal .
In addition the region is mainly inhabited by the Saho people.
Overview
The name originates in the old
Tigrinya
(; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions.
History and literatur ...
expression ''Gah - Telai'' which roughly means quick death. For travelers in the area, Gahtelai was one of the hottest and driest places they could ever pass through and as if the sweltering heat and dryness was not enough, the vast plain which is surrounded by hills exposed the travellers to attacks from various enemies and bandits. Today, thanks in large to aid from
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the Mashav Centre for International Cooperation, the Gahtelai plain is an agricultural region using drip irrigation technology to harvest melons, tomatoes and various other vegetables and fruits.
There is a market town in the middle of the plain, on the road between
Asmara and
Massawa called Gahtelai, about 80 km from Asmara and 35 km from the port of Massawa. In this town, there is another newly constructed asphalt-road (completed in 2005) that connects Gahtelai with the town of
She'eb She'eb ( tig, ሽዕብ) is a town in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea. It lies on the fertile plain at the foot of the eastern escarpment of the Eritrean Highlands.
History
It was the site of a massacre during the Eritrean War of Independen ...
on the northern end of the valley about 50 km away.
Gahtelai is also the name of a seasonal river that starts as runoff from the eastern escarpments of the Eritrean highlands and snakes its way through the town and plain (with the same names) to empty in the Red Sea just north of Massawa.
Populated places in Eritrea
{{Eritrea-geo-stub