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Somalia and Eritrea

Massawa

It’s difficult to imagine that this was the prize that the Ethiopians and Eritreans fought over  all those years ago. There is a substantial port here for sure but it is quiet and the surrounding town is crumbling and devoid of life. In the two days we are there only two ships are unloaded but if one looks at the depths of Eritrea’s world economic rankings it’s probably not too surprising. Technically these two countries are still at war and the closure of the land border between the two is a classic case of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. An open border would give the Ethiopians the optimum sea port and the Eritreans a needed boost to their economy. Massawa is totally unlike Asmara. Muslims predominate here and the architecture, what’s left of it is Arabic. Sadly, as with Berbera in Somaliland all too many buildings are falling apart and there is no effort made to even clear the collapsing mess. Most of the buildings in town were shuttered and there were very few people in the streets. In fact our group of 20 wandering through the interesting back alleys easily matched the number of locals. 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Our afternoon was at a beach resort just out of town. As it was Saturday afternoon there were a few Eritreans swimming enjoying the hot turquoise coloured Red Sea water and golden sand beach. With the temperature in the high 30s this was a refreshing way to complete our day. 20 21 22 23 24