Djibouti, << jih BOO tee >>, is the capital of Djibouti, a country in northeastern Africa. About 600,000 people, more than half of the nation’s population, live in the city of Djibouti. The city lies on the Gulf of Aden and has one of the best ports on the eastern coast of Africa. A railroad connects Djibouti with Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and many Ethiopian exports and imports pass through Djibouti’s harbor.
In 1888, France took control of the Djibouti area, which was then uninhabited. The French founded the city that year. In 1896, they made it the capital of French Somaliland (now the country of Djibouti). They developed the city as a well-planned colonial capital with many fine public and commercial buildings. Djibouti’s population has grown rapidly since the mid-1900’s, and large slums have developed.
