Abasmara: April 2011

Asmara Eritrea - September 26th 2004

Sleeping from 5:00 to 8:00 is to short have a good rest. I buy myself some breads in a nearby supermarket. It is open, even though it is Sunday. Four breads for 1.40 Nakfa. I wonder if there is any profit for those who have to wake up early to bake and distribute them. I have heart that it is the government that fixes the price, to protect the poor peoples purchasing power.

With no program today, I just take the bus to one of the bus terminals, trying to pick up ideas. But even on the bus terminals it is quiet. There is only a limited number of buses to nearby villages (and back!). When I see one of the more unusual buses, the heavy duty bus to Haz Haz (has to climb a hill in Asmara), I decide to board.

In Haz Haz I do my best to explore even the remotest places, and more than once the people are wondering where I am going. "To Haz Haz", I tell them, to avoid any unwanted help. They do not understand. "This is Haz Haz", they reply. "I know". I watch the people living their everyday life, the children leave their houses to anounce the white man in their street. And after a while a group of ten children is following me. Untill one of the parents tell them not to do so.

After a few hundred meters the story repeats itself. I turn around and start walking in the opposite direction. The children are confused. Now they are the one's being followed. They want to shake hands, or want me to picture them: "se'alena, se'alena '" Some want some money. I wisely do not give them any. If I would, the whole village would be following me.

Some of the children are preparing torches for the eve of Meskel. Tonight they will soak them in gasoline and light them. "What is your name?", they ask. I ask them their name. Shake hands with them, and greet their parents when they appear in the door opening to see what is happening.

I walk to every edge of this little village, to enjoy the views, the sun, the freedom to walk without any fear for harassment. In one of the small shops I buy a bottle of mango juice. When I start drinking, the girl offers me her chair. As her guest I should sit.

Descending the hill and entering Mai Temenai, I hear the drums indicating a wedding ceremony. Eritreans have an open wedding policy. Anyone who passes the ceremony is welcome to attend it. And hospitality towards foreigners is expressed by making you the honored guest.

So I HAVE to come in. Eat injera and drink suwa. And drink more suwa. The boys tell me how they admire the famous Dutch football players. The men want me to share their group and eat and drink with them. The women give me their smiles. Small children want to see the display of my camera. Their parents direct them very strict to their own corner of the tent.

The family of the bride and bridegroom are negotiating the details of the wedding a few blocks from her, dressing the bride, preparing the wedding cake. In the meantime the audience will wait. And chat for hours. At 19:00 the band starts to play their wedding repertoire, and the bride and bridegroom enter the tent.

Abune Tekle-Haimanot Coptic Church - Haz Haz Asmara Eritrea.

Children preparing their torches for Meskel eve - Haz Haz Asmara Eritrea.

View from the plateau - Haz Haz Asmara Eritrea.

Traditional houses (Agdos) - Haz Haz Asmara Eritrea.

Welcome at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai Asmara Eritrea.

Beating of the drums at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai.

Family gathered at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai Asmara Eritrea.

Signing the guest book at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai.

Drinking Suwa at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai Asmara Eritrea.

The band at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai Asmara Eritrea.

Bride and bridegroom at the wedding ceremony - Mai Temenai.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esl0mOD89BU

About Asmara

History of Asmara

Although it would be easy to think of Asmara, the Eritrean capital, solely as an Italian built colonial city, its origins actually reach back some 700 years. Originally, it is said, there were four clans living in the Asmara area on the Kebessa Plateau: the Gheza Gurtom, the Gheza Shelele, the Gheza Serenser and Gheza Asmae. Encouraged by their women, the men united the four clans and defeated the bandits who preyed on the area. After the victory, a new name was given to the place, Arbaete Asmara which literally means, in the Tigrinya language, "the four are united." Eventually Arbaete was dropped and it has been called Asmara, though there is still a zone called Arbaete Asmara. Another legend tells that in this region the Queen of Sheba gave birth to the son of Solomon, Menelik I.

Asmara was made the capital city of colonial Eritrea in preference to Massawa by Governor Martini in 1897. The city therefore bears many traces of the Italian colonial area: in its infrastructure, its architecture and some culinary traditions. Asmara is by far the largest city in Eritrea, with a population of some 500,000. Asmara sits atop (2,350m) the Eritrean highlands on the eastern edge of the escarpment.
Unlike many of the other towns in Eritrea it is relatively undamaged, the Ethiopian forces having fled the city without fighting a full-scale battle at the end of the war. Under thirty years of Ethiopian occupation, the city was allowed to deteriorate, but it still retains its essential beauty and since coming under Eritrean control in 1991 it has been undergoing a rapid improvement in infrastructure, building repairs and repainting.
The day begins early in Asmara with the first call to prayer of the muezzin from the tower of Asmara ’s main mosque. Not long afterwards the massive bells of the Catholic Cathedral chime the beginning of the Christian day while the Orthodox Church celebrates early morning mass.
Asmara is possibly the safest African capital for travelers. It is one of the cleanest cities in Africa. The streets are elegantly lined with palms and a string of boutiques, coffee-shops and restaurants reminiscent of southern Italy.

Starting from 1999, I visited Asmara on a yearly basis, and I walked through the city almost every day. I experienced its beauty, both its tranquility and its activity, the hospitality and the friendliness of its people. I have tried to catch the images of these walking tours in a set of 200 pictures and a brief description, as a tourist, for future tourists and visitors to Asmara Eritrea.
© 1999 - 2011 - Hans van der Splinter

Hamasien Hotel 1920 Asmara theatre 1925

Courtesy Sweet Asmara Caffee - Harnet Avenue Asmara