Africa

Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the largest landmass of the Earth. Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, it is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (transected by the Suez Canal), 163 km (101 miles) wide.[46] (Geopolitically, Egypt's Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal is often considered part of Africa, as well.)[47] From the most northerly point, Ras ben Sakka in Tunisia (37°21' N), to the most southerly point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa (34°51'15" S), is a distance of approximately 8,000 km (5,000 miles);[48] from Cape Verde, 17°33'22" W, the westernmost point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, 51°27'52" E, the most easterly projection, is a distance of approximately 7,400 km (4,600 miles).[49] The coastline is 26,000 km (16,100 miles) long, and the absence of deep indentations of the shore is illustrated by the fact that Europe, which covers only 10,400,000 km² (4,010,000 square miles) – about a third of the surface of Africa – has a coastline of 32,000 km (19,800 miles).[49] Geologically, Africa includes the Arabian Peninsula; the Zagros Mountains of Iran and the Anatolian Plateau of Turkey mark where the African Plate collided with Eurasia. The Afrotropic ecozone and the Saharo-Arabian desert to its north unite the region biogeographically, and the Afro-Asiatic language family unites the north linguistically.

Culture

Modern African culture is characterised by conflicted responses to Arab nationalism and European imperialism.[citation needed] Increasingly, beginning in the late 1990s, Africans have been reasserting their identity.[citation needed] In North Africa, especially because of the rejection of the label Arab or European, there is now an upsurge of demands for special protection of indigenous Berber languages and culture in Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.[citation needed] The re-emergence of Pan-Africanism since the fall of apartheid has heightened calls for a renewed sense of African identity.[citation needed] In South Africa, intellectuals from settler communities of European descent increasingly identify as African for cultural, rather than geographical or racial, reasons. Famously, some have undergone ritual ceremonies to become members of the Zulu or other communities.[citation needed] The Great Mosque of Djenné is built in an architectural style prevalent in the interior regions of West Africa. The vast majority of the scholarship on Africa was extraneous and catered to the demand for exotic and outlandish representations of Africa. The enforcement of government decrees and policies tended to produce effects that confirmed the prejudices of the European colonialists.

Food

Traditionally, as in almost all cultures, the food of Africa uses a combination of locally available fruits, cereal grains, and vegetables, milk and meat products. In some parts of Africa, the traditional African diet has a predominance of milk, curd, and whey. In much of tropical Africa however, cow's milk is rare and cannot be produced locally (owing to various diseases that affect livestock). Yet, differences, sometimes significant, are noticeable in the eating and drinking habits across the continent of Africa - African food differs in different parts of Africa, and East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa and Central Africa each have their own distinctive foods. They are very well known for their distinctive cooking styles.