Eritrea

Asmara is a preserved Italian modernist city and a UNESCO site

Eritrea is one of the most closed countries in the world, with indefinite national service, tightly controlled media and a visa regime that requires permits to travel outside the capital. Independent tourism is possible but limited and slow, and this needs understanding before any planning.

Asmara is the reason people persist. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an exceptional example of early modernist urban planning, built by Italian colonists in the 1930s and remarkably preserved because decades of isolation meant nothing was demolished. There is a petrol station shaped like an aeroplane, art deco cinemas still showing films, and espresso bars serving proper macchiato.

The country won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a thirty-year war. The railway from Asmara down to Massawa on the Red Sea, rebuilt by hand using original equipment, is an extraordinary piece of engineering. The Dahlak archipelago offshore has barely dived reefs. Travel advisories apply to border regions.

Annual events and festivals

• Independence Day (24 May) — marks 1991 liberation and 1993 formal independence. The largest national celebration.
• Meskel (27 Sep) — the finding of the True Cross, with a large bonfire.
• Timkat (19 Jan) — Orthodox Epiphany, with processions and blessings.
• Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (varies) — public holidays in a country split roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.
• Fenkil Day (Feb) — commemorating the 1990 capture of Massawa.
• Genna, Christmas (7 Jan) — Orthodox Christmas.
• Fasika, Easter (Apr-May) — following a long fast.
• Eritrean Festival, Asmara (Aug) — a week of music, dance and exhibitions.
• Martyrs Day (20 Jun) — honouring those killed in the independence war.
• Cycling races (year round) — an Italian legacy. Eritrea is the strongest cycling nation in Africa.