Gahtelai () is the name of a river, town and plain situated in the Northern Red Sea administrative

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. 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 refers to the unpredictable rainfall patterns in the village. A long time ago, the rainy season was not consistent; it rained and stopped raining at any time of the year. So, people in Gahtelay uttered the word ‘Gahteley’ or ‘water is back’ whenever it started raining to express their feeling of relief. The town was then named Gahtelay. 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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

and

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

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 () 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 Independence. The entire ...

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