Arkiko ( ar, حرقيقو,
Afar
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Afar language, an East Cushitic language
*Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
*Afar Region, a region ...
and
Saho: ''Hirg-Higo'', alternately Archigo, Arqiqo, Ercoco, Hirgigo, Hargigo or Harkiko) is a town in the
Northern Red Sea region of
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
. Situated on the
Red Sea, it lies on the mainland across from the city of
Massawa
Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak ...
.
Overview
Arkiki or known by the locals Saho tribe; the clans of Dasamo, as Hirg-Higo. The clan of Dasamo are the inhabitant of this area, it is also known by the name Dahano, from either the
Saho or
Afar
Afar may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Afar language, an East Cushitic language
*Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
Places Horn of Africa
*Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia
*Afar Region, a region ...
word for "elephant". The meaning of Higo is legend of legends in Saho language.
Richard Pankhurst explains this etymology to the importance of the
ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants.
Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...
to Hirg-Higo or known as Arkiko.
In 1826–48 (during the
Ottoman period, but not the phase under de facto
Egyptian rule), parts of Eritrea were ruled by the
Naib
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
(or deputy) of Hirg-Higo, according to some sources part of the time cumulating with the office of
wali (regular military governor) of Massawa, the present
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
.
This town was the site of a terrible massacre by the
Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
ue
military junta of
Ethiopia in 1975, during the
Eritrean War of Independence. Also located in this town is Eritrea's largest
power generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...
facility. This facility was partially destroyed during the
Eritrean-Ethiopian War, but has now been fully repaired.
Climate and habitat
The region is reputedly one of the hottest inhabited places on earth, with temperatures soaring well above 40°C (104°F) for much of the year, combined with an average annual rainfall of less than two centimetres (an inch).
Formerly covering significant portions of the Eritrean coast, original
mangrove forest was destroyed by
overgrazing by camels or cutting for firewood or the building of homes and boats.
Economy
Today, Arkiko is the site of the artificial planting on mangrove trees with the help of low-cost slow-release fertilizer packs of
nitrogen,
phosphorus and iron, allowing the plant growth in areas previously uninhabited by trees. It is supported by the Eritrean Ministry of Fisheries, in the hope to restore mangrove coastline boosting the numbers of livestock, fish and seafood.
[https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080414/sc_afp/eritreaenvironmentpovertyfishing]
Notes
{{Reflist
Geography of Eritrea
Populated places in Eritrea