Almost everyone who came to know that I'm planning a trip to Eritrea wanted to know why on earth I'd wanna go for holidays in a country from where thousands are trying to flee? Every day Eritreans along with people from many other African nations are trying to cross the Mediterranean sea for refuge in Europe.
Well, the answer to this remains unclear even to myself! All I can say is that I have always been interested in other cultures and I do not feel like I go for holidays when I travel. I rather do that for my own growth and in order to understand other people better.
Applying for the Eritrean visa seemed at first a little difficult. The Embassy in Frankfurt wanted to know whom I visit and they also wanted the contact address of that person. I was not able to provide such information because obviously if I go to a country for the first time I don't know anyone.
Likely they wanted to know about my air ticket which I also didn't have yet: why would I buy a ticket unless I know that I'll be getting a visa?
However, after intervening a few times and after paying the mandatory 50 Euro I got the visa and could also proceed getting my ticket and prepare for the journey. I flew in to Asmara via Cairo with Air Egypt. I reached to Asmara Airport very early in the morning.
At the immigration counter I was asked again for a contact number of my contact person in Asmara. I told them that there is no such person but they kept refusing to give me the immigration stamp. I had to actually give them a fake mobile phone number to get through, I guess the officer knew that but had no choice either.
After landing I was picked up by someone whom I had come to know via the internet platform www.couchsurfing.com He became a very good friend during the next weeks. He was not able to host me personally but he helped me around a lot. I was lucky enough to have a guest room organized for me in a flat of a lady who had lived in Germany at walking distance from the airport. After resting for a while after arriving in her flat my new friend took me for a walk into town. I was excited like a child seeing the city about which I had heard so much beforehand: being build by Italians in the 30s of the last century, many buildings build in Art Deco style etc. What I found very impressive was the cleanliness everywhere. I had traveled in Ghana years before, lived in India for many years and had seen many other third world countries. Accordingly I was prepared to see a much worse scenario than I actually encountered: streets very clean, people pretty disciplined, air not nearly as polluted as in many other similar countries, no plastic bags and other waste flying around. Particularly those little old Fiat 600 cars (picture) that were obviously used as driving school cars made me very happy a gave me that déjà vu feeling of my own childhood:
I was very happy that my new friend spent time with me showing me around. Soon we also came across that famous Fiat Tagliero petrol station. That was an impressive feeling seeing that very old yet hyper modern building from the 30s of the last century. Still very intact, even though not in use a petrol station anymore:
After that we kept walking towards down town. At the time we had come to the Harnet Avenue I had already seen quite a few Art Deco buildings that would make western architects feel like in a museum:
Cinema Roma in the rising sun:
Then, while omitting a few more buildings worth showing we reached to the main street. Here we see the entrance of the Asmara Opera House with its famous WiFi café:
Why not show a few more pictures of Asmara:
The Post office:
Bonus one: 360° view of the hall in the Central Post Office:
The next days I used for acclimatizing: Asmara is located at a height of about 2.400 meters. That can make you feel short of breath if you try to jump up the stairs like usually in the low land areas. It was after 2-3 days when I thought it was time to put up some travelling schedule and to decide which part of the country I'd like to visit -when learned, that wherever I want to go: I need a permit from the Ministry of Tourism! And that I get that permit only if I hire a car along with a driver! And I also learned that this would cost me a fortune! I wasn't prepared for such news at all and it took me a while to understand and realize, that this was not optional- but mandatory. moreover that a violation of this rule could get me in serious problems, including prison!
The two days to come I spent a lot of time watching my inner rebel arguing with authorities and the slightly older Wendelin was trying to find out the reasoning or any logical grounds for putting such drastic controlling stipulations on travelers. Nobody was able to give me a reasonable explanation for this rule. Neither the staff at the Ministry of Tourism in the Harnet Avenue nor the travel agent whom I later contacted because I was at at my wit's end on how to travel in this country without having to spend thousands of dollars on renting a car with driver. Whoever I asked about this, they all made it clear that there will be no one bothering explaining such rules! I was having the choice to either leave the county under protest, spend a lot of money on an individual car with driver or spending the rest of my time only in Asmara. Well, staying in Asmara only was not really a choice as Asmara is actually pretty small and after a few days at the most one is through with trudging round all the sights.
I was in that state of despair when I walked into the office of a travel agent: Explore Eritrea Travel And Tours in Adi Hawesha Street. The guy in the office made it -again- clear to me that there is no way around these rules for foreigners. But then he came up with some good news: he told me that there had been another tourist in his office who asked for a trip around in the country and that he was looking for someone to travel with and share the costs! After having been slightly depressed for a while that was a ray of hope at the horizon! He told me to come back the same afternoon as that other guy would also come back then to check in again.
It was the same noon when a western guy came up to me in the Asmara Theatro where one of the many internet cafés is located. He asked me if I'd be interested in sharing a trip through the country. He turned out to be precisely that person the travel agent talked about. Stephen was his name and it didn't take long for us to be in agreement about the trip and sharing the costs. He already had the places on his list;
After that we kept walking towards down town. At the time we had come to the Harnet Avenue I had already seen quite a few Art Deco buildings that would make western architects feel like in a museum:
Cinema Roma in the rising sun:
Then, while omitting a few more buildings worth showing we reached to the main street. Here we see the entrance of the Asmara Opera House with its famous WiFi café:
Why not show a few more pictures of Asmara:
The Post office:
Bonus one: 360° view of the hall in the Central Post Office:
The next days I used for acclimatizing: Asmara is located at a height of about 2.400 meters. That can make you feel short of breath if you try to jump up the stairs like usually in the low land areas. It was after 2-3 days when I thought it was time to put up some travelling schedule and to decide which part of the country I'd like to visit -when learned, that wherever I want to go: I need a permit from the Ministry of Tourism! And that I get that permit only if I hire a car along with a driver! And I also learned that this would cost me a fortune! I wasn't prepared for such news at all and it took me a while to understand and realize, that this was not optional- but mandatory. moreover that a violation of this rule could get me in serious problems, including prison!
The two days to come I spent a lot of time watching my inner rebel arguing with authorities and the slightly older Wendelin was trying to find out the reasoning or any logical grounds for putting such drastic controlling stipulations on travelers. Nobody was able to give me a reasonable explanation for this rule. Neither the staff at the Ministry of Tourism in the Harnet Avenue nor the travel agent whom I later contacted because I was at at my wit's end on how to travel in this country without having to spend thousands of dollars on renting a car with driver. Whoever I asked about this, they all made it clear that there will be no one bothering explaining such rules! I was having the choice to either leave the county under protest, spend a lot of money on an individual car with driver or spending the rest of my time only in Asmara. Well, staying in Asmara only was not really a choice as Asmara is actually pretty small and after a few days at the most one is through with trudging round all the sights.
I was in that state of despair when I walked into the office of a travel agent: Explore Eritrea Travel And Tours in Adi Hawesha Street. The guy in the office made it -again- clear to me that there is no way around these rules for foreigners. But then he came up with some good news: he told me that there had been another tourist in his office who asked for a trip around in the country and that he was looking for someone to travel with and share the costs! After having been slightly depressed for a while that was a ray of hope at the horizon! He told me to come back the same afternoon as that other guy would also come back then to check in again.
It was the same noon when a western guy came up to me in the Asmara Theatro where one of the many internet cafés is located. He asked me if I'd be interested in sharing a trip through the country. He turned out to be precisely that person the travel agent talked about. Stephen was his name and it didn't take long for us to be in agreement about the trip and sharing the costs. He already had the places on his list;
- from Asmara to Keren and back
- from Asmara to Sageneyti, Adi Khey, Senafe and back again
- from Asmara to Massawa, Adulis/ Zula and back to Asmara again.
 |
| Amazing country |
I was very happy to find such arrangement and was looking forward to starting the trip. First to Keren. We had a pretty big car just for the two of us along with the driver: Toyota Land Cruiser. So it was no problem for us to give people a lift:
that was a mom with her baby on the way to the Keren weekly market; the poor chicken has no clue that it is on its last journey;
...
while I'm having a break writing you can have a look at a few more of the pics:
that was a mom with her baby on the way to the Keren weekly market; the poor chicken has no clue that it is on its last journey;
...
while I'm having a break writing you can have a look at a few more of the pics:
Food and People:
Asmara-City:
https://goo.gl/photos/
...to be continued...
...in the meanwhile: feel free to comment or ask questions...
...to be continued...
...in the meanwhile: feel free to comment or ask questions...
