Eritrea

Visited: March 2023

Duration of visit: 8 days

Capital city: Asmara

Population: 3.6 million (2023)

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

• Drinking macchiato and savoring cake for breakfast in the best cafeterias around the city.
• Flavoring delicious pasta or pizza in one of numerous top Asmara’s restaurants.
• Walking around markets and empty streets in Asmara, while exploring remnants of architectural brilliance that has been defying time.
• Unsuccessfully efforts to challenge the government’s decision to restrict internet access.
• Exploring the old town of Pearl of the Sea and snorkeling around ship wreck off Massawa
• Chatting with locals on Camel market in Keren.

The State of Eritrea is a unique country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti, possessing an extensive coastline along the Red Sea toward the East. The Kingdom of Aksum covered much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia during the first century AD, adopting Christianity around the middle of the 4^th century and started to decline in the 7^th century.

Eritrea witnessed a very slow, but steady conversion to Islam. Arabs and Ottomans were controlling the area until the arrival of Italians at the end of the 19^th century.

The Italian Eritrea administration opened a number of factories which produced buttons, cooking oil, pasta, construction materials, packing meat, tobacco and other household commodities. In 1939, there were over 2,000 factories and most of the employees were Eritrean citizens. My local friend kept talking about those times of economic prosperity, incomparable with today’s lack of any production activities in the country.

Italian Asmara was populated by a large Italian community and the city acquired an Italian architectural look. After the defeat of the Italian colonial army in 1942, Eritrea was administered by the British Military for ten years, until 1952. They didn’t leave much of an impact. The Eritrean secessionist movement organized the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1961 and fought the Eritrean War of Independence, until Eritrea gained de facto independence in 1991 (officially 1993).

What happened later was a complete disaster that turned Eritrea into a North Korea of Africa. A unitary one-party presidential republic in which national legislative and presidential elections have never been held.

Isaias Afwerki has served as president since Eritrean official independence in 1993. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean government’s human rights record is among the worst in the world.

Constant preoccupation with hostile neighboring countries (especially Ethiopia), one-party system, socialist market structure, complete control of people’s activities and lack of interest to progress as a society, have caused an irreparable damage on the country development. Perpetual fear of being recruited, imprisoned or limited is present among people, who only want to live a normal life.

The one-party state last held regional elections in 2004 and hasn’t convoked a presidential election since 1993. The country is governed under the constitution of 1993. The president Afwerki has repeatedly voiced his disdain for western-style democracy.

The majority of people I talked to disagree with the current politics or social-economic environment, but it seems that there is not much that can be done. Bullying and consequently imprisonment is a common practice that takes freedom away from highly educated people without being judged for decades.

The black sandals worn by Eritrean fighters during the struggle for independence and now staple footwear in every Eritrean household are the best proof of the fearless army. Eritrean Defense Forces have been known throughout Africa as extraordinarily disciplined corps with decidedly self-reliant attitude, able to fight in inhuman conditions, and most importantly, documented military successes against the bigger and much better equipped army of Ethiopia.

Eritrea’s army is one of the largest (per capita) in Africa. Compulsory military service was instituted in 1995.

Male and female must serve for 18 months minimum, which includes six months of military training and twelve months during the regular school year to complete their last year of high school at the age of seventeen.

As my new local friend Salma explained to me, conscripts gather in a sole training camp that cannot be left during the whole project of training. At the end of the 1½-year national service, a conscript can elect to stay on and become a career military officer. Conscripts who elect otherwise, may, in theory, return to their civilian life but will continue to be reservists.

The best students are allowed to enter university, study and get professional education, while all others need to find a way through a complicated system of continuous recruiting, work for the government and becoming free from official obligations to the country. In practice, graduates of military service are often chosen for further national service according to their vocation.

Teachers, doctors and public employees may be compulsory seconded to work for several years in an unfamiliar region of the country. Most of them never gain complete independence; only the luckiest get to the highest level of freedom, where passport, international travelling and private business opportunities become part of the liberation.

I arrived to Eritrea by Turkish Airlines through Istanbul with only an hour available for connection. Running through the airport I managed to board just before the gates closed, but on landing at Asmara airport I realized that my luggage didn’t make it. Expected!

Given that the entire content of the suitcase was intended for donation, I was not worried at all. It was planned to arrive in three days, with the next Turkish airline’s flight. There are not many flights to Eritrea, land borders are closed and I haven’t heard of possibilities to enter the country by sea.

After Italy invaded the country in 1890, Mussolini built over 400 Italian-style buildings in a bid to transform Asmara into an Italian city. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture.

UNESCO describes the city as a Modernist African city, exceptionally well-preserved example of a colonial planned city.

Today, Asmara is well- known for its early twentieth-century Italian buildings, including the Art Deco Cinema Impero, Cubist Africa Pension (where I was accommodated), eclectic Orthodox Cathedral, former Opera House, the futurist Fiat Tagliero Building, the neo-Romanesque Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and the neoclassical Governor’s Palace. Most of the buildings are either closed or in extremely bad conditions due to lack of maintenance or interest in their use.

My first impressions of Asmara are mixed. It is almost a unique city, where there is hardly any internet access, electricity usually available only at night and access to running water from the outdated plumbing system sporadic.

The city, country and general atmosphere seem to have been frozen in time for a few decades. Most Eritreans walk or ride bycicles, buses are random, shared taxis expensive. Private cars are a luxury, only accessible to entrepreneurs, well-connected and adventurers who are at risk to be exposed in front of the government.

The Italian influence is visible even eighty years after the original colonizers left the country. Old decayed buildings in downtown don’t reach more than a few floors. Bars, restaurants and cafeterias are the only fully operating business, constantly attracting mostly male visitors. Excellent coffee, snacks, delicious pizzas and pasta are the popular option. At some restaurants, pizzas could be as tasteful as anywhere around Italy.

I stayed in Asmara for a few days, exploring the city as much I could. There is not many traditional sightseeing in a form of museums, architectural creations, parks or historical monuments. It is all about the unique, somehow bizarre atmosphere, where one side wants to keep people uneducated, passive, depressive and afraid of constant fighting desire with foreign forces while, on the other side, people are dissatisfied, but trying to find the best way to progress, avoiding outstanding from the rules and restrictions.

I met a local entrepreneur who is used to deal with foreign visitors and helped me to understand the modus operandi. I settled down in a centrally located hotel, Africa Pension, next to the Italian ambassador residence, in a quiet neighborhood. Actually, the whole city seems to be very quiet.

With so little traffic, few people and limited activities, even the markets are rather desolated. I am not sure, if it is the attitude of people or general perception that effort doesn’t bring any reward in life.

There are two main facts that distinguish Asmara: power shortages and controlled (non-existing) internet access. Most of the day, the city doesn’t have electricity and only the most lucrative businesses can afford to have power plants or generators.

To access internet, cyber cafes are the only options. However, most of them offer only VPN connection that is slow, unreliable and often unavailable. I was quite worried at the beginning, but soon realized it is not going to be the end of the world if I go with the flow in an old traditional way: inaccessible, disconnected, walking around, relaxed, without planning, nor timing.

People are friendly and with good knowledge of English. This is another surprising fact of the country that has been isolated from international community, developing in another direction. From 6^th grade all education is in English, so, theoretically, all younger people are able to communicate with foreign visitors. Older generations learned Italian at school, but the government seems to take an irrevocable decision to orientate towards English language in order to attract foreign investments and/or tourists.

A few international schools operating until recently were closed and only public education is available now. How bizarre, the government wants to open to the world, but, on the other side, doesn’t want to give an opportunity to its residents to progress, learn and grow.

Eating and drinking in Asmara is one of the most important topics. Since locals are limited with activities, entertainment and money, the most popular option is sitting in a bar, drinking tea or coffee to talk for hours, at any time of the day! Bars, coffee shops and cafeterias are everywhere around central Asmara. Some are dedicated to men only, others are specialized for younger generations or offering breakfast. The range of cold or hot drinks is the same, prices pretty much aligned, the system similar, but, according to my hosts, the quality deviates.

Waitresses are dressed in uniforms, extremely nice and polite, cake selection usually uninspiring and rather plain. Nobody seemed to be too interested in few foreigners that walk around the city.

I was invited to different bars or restaurants, depending on my hosts. The local fellow suggested the best inexpensive Italian gelato (ice cream). The evergreen tourist operator Tekeste proved to be by far the best entertainer. When he invited me for lunch, I thought that he was joking. Since I wasn’t coming for midday meal, he called me to the hotel and insisted that the fish would be waiting for me in the evening, for dinner.

The last day he picked me up at the hotel to take me to the airport and on the way, we stopped for the last macchiato in town.

Restaurants could be divided in the following groups:

• Prestige expensive restaurants offering high quality Italian dishes (pasta, pizza), national food and meat/fish specialties. Prices tend to be high for locals, so only the upper class can access to eat here on a permanent basis.
• Restaurants with traditional local food: injera accompanied by a spicy stew which includes beef, goat, lamb or fish.
• Fast food restaurants: hamburgers, fries, sometimes pizza or pasta.

In general, Italian food is delicious, especially pizzas are outstanding.

As a part of gourmet tasting I also had an unpleasant experience with the best fish soup in town. An Italian restaurant, run by a strong local chef, was supposed to offer the best fish soup in town, according to my friend Philly. The chef personally came to welcome us and listened to my request to avoid adding spicy chilies, that are a must in any Eritrean soup or sauce. It was really delicious, not spicy and rather simple soup with pieces of fish all over.

I ate two portions and extremely enjoyed the taste. But, some hours later, I started to feel my stomach turning around. I couldn’t sleep the whole night. My trip to Massawa the day after was rather unpleasant: sleepy, tired and sensitive stomach which slowly recovered after midday. I stopped eating fish and seafood in Asmara from that moment. A constant lack of electricity could interrupt proper operation of a fridge, so fresh fish is easily rotten if not consumed immediately.

Inquiries in rental agencies, talking with taxi drivers and a local guide, led me to the conclusion that I was not willing to pay a minimum of 200.00US$ to drive 120 kilometers away to coastal city of Massawa. The high amount was ridiculous to me, especially considering the fact that Eritrea is a rather inexpensive country to visit.

The only opportunity was to find another person who would share the costs with me. It took me two days to finally locate a Norwegian guy with a similar agenda, willing to share a vehicle. We quickly agreed to share costs of travelling, use the same guide and adjust the schedule. We were accompanied by a local guide Salma, who started her career as a tourist guide after she lost her previous job as a teacher in international school, which was closed the previous year.

Three seasons in two hours is an official logo of the Ministry of Tourism to promote Eritrea as a tourist destination. The best way to live this experience is on the road from Asmara to Masawa, where a curvy highway drops from over 2,200 meters to sea level in less than two hours. The countryside changes from peeled rocky mountains to green blossoming area full of plants, trees and crops, to deserted coastal area. The temperatures increase and humidity level change can be a challenge for any human body.

Driving from Asmara to Massawa was quite an experience for me. I was sick after the previous evening consumption of fish soup that left me sleepless through the whole night.

It was impossible to enjoy the ride on a curvy road, descending over two thousand meters from Asmara highlands to Massawa lowlands. We stopped in a roadside restaurant for breakfast, but I was still feeling too weak for eating. Based on my previous stomach’s turmoil experiences I ordered cold Coke and bread to calm down diarrhea.

The city of Massawa has a turmoiled history dating back thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians regarded it as a trading point along the Red Sea. The Ottoman empire established control over the city in the 16^th century, converting it to a mayor trading point for pearls, hides and fishes. Italian colonizers added extravagant villas, hotels, restaurants and cafeterias. Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until the seat of the colonial government was moved to Asmara in 1897.

If the British impact was relatively insignificant, the Ethiopian occupation reflected first in luxury and abundance topped with emperor Selassie’s residence and ended with destruction and several damages in fights with the liberation army of Eritrea.

Massawa is recognized for representing a route for the different religions and civilization that passed through. Mosques and churches are rather in bad shape today, but they coexisted peacefully in the old town for many years.

The Old Town of Massawa these days reminds of an open-air museum of mixed architectural styles that were applied in solid constructed buildings that survived all conflict, fights, wars and natural exposure over the last centuries. It is actually a miracle that they still stand. And even more surprisingly, some of them are inhabited.

It was hot on midday, when we walked around, the town seemed deserted. Nevertheless, random people were friendly and smiling when seeing rare foreign visitors. A lady brewed coffee in a traditional way, men resting in a shadow where smiling at my request for a photo with them.

Massawa is famous for fresh fish and seafood. We found an unattractive local restaurant that didn’t promise a gourmet feast, but according to our driver, it was the best guarantee for fresh seafood. Twenty minutes later, a sizzling casserole with pieces of seasoned fish arrived on our table. It was delicious and my appetite recovered immediately. I was happy that, on that occasion, spicy chili sauce was offered apart from the main dish.

In the afternoon, we hired a boat to the Green island, located a few miles off-shore of the old town. On the way there, we anchored on the side of a stranded cargo ship to snorkel and swim around the coral reef. The visibility was not bad and I spotted over fifteen different species of fish among slightly damaged coral reef.

We continued the ride to the island where I finally got a chance to sleep on the beach. Unused to the heat, after spending time in the highlands of Asmara and tired, I couldn’t even open my eyes properly in the strong sunshine that was burning my skin. The sandy peninsula, extending less than 15 meters in width attracts rich locals or expats for wonderful swimming year-round.

A trip to Keren was much easier than the one to Massawa due to shorter distance and less change in elevation. I was joined by a British backpacker, chasing the last countries to be visited in his run for EPS (Every Passport Stamp) and the same local guide Salma, who accompanied me two days before to Massawa. The driver was much calmer and the ride more enjoyable.

Two and a half hours driving to the northwest took me through changing countryside, architectural styles and major religion adjustment. From the cold and barren highlands of Asmara, through green and fertile agricultural area around Elabered, to dry and hot Keren.

If Elabered is famous for citrus, mango and papaya plantations, Keren has been a trading center with crossroads of many ethnic, religious groups and languages. The predominantly Muslim population is notable for its traditional dresses; men are covered with turbans, while females completely cover their bodies, either in colorful or black chadors. Keren is a place that brings together people of different ethnic groups, languages and religions.

The main reason to visit Keren on a Monday, was the market day.

The camel market started early in the morning, but even at around 11:00am, when we arrived, it was still active with plenty of camels available to be negotiated.

Buyers and sellers were checking the animals’ teeth, flexibility of legs and general strength, before starting long negotiations. Donkeys are also tested by a short ride inside the compound and deals are closed faster, since the price is much lower.

The cattle market was separated by a high wall. Goats and sheep were exhibited outside the market area, where men relax in the shadow, drink tea and observe the slow action around them. The pace is slow, only men participating. I was allowed to take photos from a distance without complains, but more personal approach is not welcome.

Mosques, churches and cemeteries from the World War II are the main attractions of the town itself. The Battle of Keren, in 1941, was a key part of the East African Campaign of the Second World War.

It was fought between the British, Commonwealth, and Free French forces. This decisive battle spelt the end of Italian colonial rule in Eritrea.

Since Italians and British were fighting on opposing sides during the World War II, they also have separated cemeteries.

The Italian cemetery is well organized and perfectly maintained by an old man who was happy to show us around, explained some historic facts and presented us the register of all known soldiers that are buried here: roughly half of them are Eritrean serving in Italian army, while others are of Italian origin.

Mosques are a perfect place to have a midday siesta, when the temperatures rise too high for other activities. The mosque in Keren is the largest mosque in the country, inspired by Turkish, Italian and Arabian influences.

A Catholic Cathedral is the tallest building in town and is painted in a unique color combination. The interior architecture, in ovals at different levels, seems to be the most sophisticated I found in the whole country.

Approximately a kilometer out of town, a shrine dedicated to St. Mary is located. Mariam Da’arit is an open-air shrine inside a large baobab tree, which was inaugurated in 1881. It is actually a large cave inside a baobab tree. Thousands of people gather here every year. During the pilgrimage, they perform prayers and dance. It was quiet during our visit.

Eritrea is one of the most unique countries in the world, an open-air museum, stuck in time. Without internet access, limited transport options, restrictions to travel around the country and main infrastructure that is almost 80 years old, it can be a real challenge.

It is not suitable for everyone and most of the visitors are members of EPS group (Every Passport Stamp), visiting every country of the world.

I was one of the very few who had arranged visa by himself, without tour agency program and with the whole week on disposal to explore the country. I needed some time to understand and adjust to life without internet, being disconnected and flexible in time.

It is amazing how well everything turned out without scheduling it in advance and improvising it constantly. From drinking macchiato in numerous cafeterias, adapting to constant power cuts and lack of water, to walking around or simply doing nothing.

The visit was a unique experience that can be encountered only in Eritrea.