Massawa

Massawa is an important port city on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Over the centuries it has had an impressive list of rulers: the Axumite Empire, Medri Bahri Kingdom, Umayyad Caliphate, various Beja sultanates, the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Italy, Britain, and Ethiopia, until Eritrea's independence in 1991. Massawa was the capital of the Italian Colony of Eritrea until this was moved to Asmara in 1897. Today the city is in slow neglected decay, and many prominent buildings still bear the horrific scars of the recent war for independence.

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Asmara and Massawa are only 41 miles apart as the crow flies, but with that deceptively short distance comes a 7,000 foot drop in elevation and several hours' worth of driving back and forth on seemingly infinite switchbacks.

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Stopping for a coffee break to admire some of the cliffside villages that line the road on the steep descent from Asmara to Massawa.

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Ever wanted to know what one of these little villages looks like up close? We decided to have an impromptu walk a check one out at random. Thankfully the local families living there were quite accommodating of our presence and our cameras once they got over the initial shock of our sudden appearance. The poverty was palpable, but we couldn't help but admire how these people were able to create such beautiful and symmetrical homes out of just stones and wood.

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Pretty little random roadside church, typical of what one sees in the Eritrean countryside.

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The atmosphere becomes more conservative and more Muslim as we get lower in altitude. T-shirts give way to colorful robes. Cars give way to camels and donkeys. The landscape becomes noticeably drier and humidity begins to spike.

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Quick stop for lunch and a swim in the bathtub-warm waters of the Red Sea. Local guy zooms in with jewelry and camel rides for sale.

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Massawa port's formal entrance is marked by a massive tank memorial that commemorates the victory in the war for independence from Ethiopia.

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A few buildings on Massawa's main road: church, government office, traditional-style structure way beyond its prime.

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Massawa's rapidly disintegrating, bullet-riddled "imperial palace". Eritrea has a bewildering permitting process in order to get advance approval to visit certain sites. Since this building wasn't on our itinerary, I wasn't sure if a permit was required or not. I decided to leave the group behind and explore it by myself early one morning, hoping that the early hour and the fact that I was alone wouldn't attract too much unwanted attention. Photographs from a few years ago show the remains of a giant dome on top; now unfortunately it has completely collapsed. As I walked around the structure and climbed the stairs to the second level, I knew I was fortunate enough to be able to explore this building before history reclaims it completely.

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Massawa's old historic quarter lies across a causeway and is spread out over two separate islands just offshore.

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At the entrance to Massawa's old city, a reminder of the war in the not-so-distant past.

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Panoramic view showing the old (left) and new (right) of Massawa in one shot.

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Closeup of the Eritrean government's "Office of Immigration & Nationality Northern Red Sea Region."

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The spectacular ruins of the Banca d'Italia (Bank of Italy) in Massawa. Severely damaged during the war, today the structure is streaked by bullet holes, collapsing roof tiles, and ever-widening cracks along nearly all of its supporting pillars. There has been talks in recent years about trying to save this historic building before it is swallowed up forever by the onslaught of time, but so far those efforts have produced nothing concrete (pardon the pun).

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As poor and dilapidated as Massawa is, I found it to be an incredible place to wander around and photograph.
Some of the old buildings are truly breathtaking.

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Kids having fun mimicking me trying to take their picture.

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More war damage.

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Local woman sleeping outside under a mosquito net to try to take advantage of the slight breeze. Massawa has a hot desert climate with soaring temperatures during both day and night. The annual mean temperature of 86 degrees F is one of the highest averages in the world. The city is noted for its very high summer humidity despite being a desert city, and the combination of the desert heat and high humidity makes the temperatures seem even more extreme.

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A few final glimpses from my walk around the islands of Massawa's historic old city.