Lesotho

Lesotho is a small country in Southern Africa with a unique geography: it is entirely surrounded by South Africa, one of only three countries in the world in that position, along with San Marino and the Vatican. It is a kingdom of mountains, the only country in the world lying entirely above a thousand metres, hence its nickname, the "Kingdom in the Sky". About 2.3 million people live there, almost all of them Basotho; the capital is Maseru. A land of herders on horseback wrapped in their blankets, Lesotho has an identity forged in the mountains.

Lesotho is a fortress of mountains. The high ranges of the Drakensberg and the Maloti cover it with peaks, high plateaus and deep valleys, rising to nearly 3,500 metres. It is one of the few places in Southern Africa where it snows regularly, and there is even a small ski resort. These highlands are the region's water tower: the country sells its water, its main resource, to neighbouring South Africa. The great Orange River also rises here.

Lesotho owes its existence to one man: King Moshoeshoe I, who in the early 19th century, amid the turmoil of the wars of the time (the Mfecane), gathered scattered peoples and made them into the Basotho nation, relying on an impregnable natural fortress, the Thaba Bosiu plateau. To protect his people from the Boer settlers, he placed them under British protection, which kept the country from being swallowed by South Africa. Lesotho became independent in 1966 and kept its monarchy: it is one of the region's two kingdoms, with Eswatini, and is proud never to have been conquered by the Boers.

The country has two official languages: Sesotho, the Bantu language of the Basotho, spoken by almost everyone, and English. Lesotho is overwhelmingly Christian, mostly Catholic and Protestant, a legacy of the missionaries who arrived in Moshoeshoe's time. This faith sits alongside respect for the ancestors and old traditions, especially in initiation rites.

Basotho culture is bound up with two national symbols. The blanket (the seanamarena) is worn against the mountain cold but is also a national emblem, and its patterns signal status and occasion. The conical woven-straw hat (the mokorotlo), modelled on a mountain, even appears on the flag. There is also the world of the horse and the Basotho pony, essential for getting around the mountains, and music, songs and dances. Life revolves around maize porridge (papa), livestock and village life.