Apparently the ocean in Massawa is beautiful and very clear. Cruise ships used to call there but no more.

So many Eritreans have left.

Fascinating. Thank you.

Great report. You did bring back memories.... I grew up in Kenya and my parents had friends in Asmara who moved back to Italy in the early sixties. I have been to Asmara and Massawa as a child. I have a photo outside the Italian Commercial Bank building in 1961 (I was 8)!
They seem to have done some sort of work to keep tha Asmara art deco building. A shame for the bombed building in the old city of Massawa.

Happy new year, Daniel - thanks for another awesome TR about a place I knew nothing about. And thanks to your narrative and typically wonderful photos, I now know some cool things about Eritrea.

Fascinating. Thanks for posting. ^

Thanks. do you know if there is diving in Massawa? I have wanted to go but from what I read it was impossible to leave Asmara. So, I am hoping to get there.

Yet another phenomenal report from this forum's most interesting traveler (just IMO).

Thank you, as always, for sharing.

Hats off Daniel, trip reports on FT tend to focus too much on the aviation side but yours are very comprehensive and truly on another level.

Thank you again.

nice report as always, Daniel. destination based-TR like this is always my favourite.
Asmara looks beautiful, and Eritrea in general seems relatively more orderly than other African countries.

I'm a bit lost with the visa situation. If I understand it correctly, you applied to Eritrean embassy to get their approval letter, then use it as reference for visa on arrival in Asmara airport?

Amazing!!! Thank you for sharing such a unique adventure. The food looks delicious. Noticed that one of the boys of the local family you visited had a Toronto T-Shirt on :D

Thank you, rapidex:). Asmara must have been an interesting place to stay for 7 weeks. Decent pizza and coffee and some tasty local food too. Yes, European football seems to be pretty popular across Africa, I guess in part because of the African players playing there.
Thanks, 13900:). Yes, I was quite amazed by the strong Italian heritage and cultural links. I have been to Mogadishu (also an ex Italian colonial city) and it was very had to see in comparison.
Cheers, roadwarrier:). Yes, TK always seems to fly to the unusual places, e.g. Mogadishu. Looks like QR has halted their flights to ASM now though(?). I didn't have to worry about the forex form / currency declaration so I guess it is not required now(?).
Many thanks, MA330:). This TR took a little longer to finish. It was my first trip with a new UWA lens and have been waiting for Adobe to support it in Photoshop. No problems with taking photo's at all. The ladies were a little shy (i.e. covering their faces when I pointed the camera in their direction) but nothing out of the ordinary for Africa.
Thanks, YuropFlyer:). I didn't really see any serious repression etc. so can't really judge on that. The country obviously has it's problems but it doesn't seem to be much worse than its neighbouring countries though, i.e Sudan, Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia etc.
Thank you, bitterproffit:). Yes, a very interesting country. I have visited over half of the countries in Africa now but Eritrea was still a very unique and new experience.
Many thanks, PWMTrav:). Eritrea must have been an interesting place for your grandmother to grow up in. Safety was fine. Tourists are very rare so you're treated very well.
Cheers, as219:). Next TR will be a bit more normal, Wizz Air to Bucharest:).
Thank you, HawaiiTrvlr:). I don't ask what kind of doctor he was, probably the academic kind though. Mehritab was very friendly and perfect as my guide, Damera tours is highly recommended^:).
Thanks, flo-e:).
Thanks, Bretteee:). Apparently the UAE has just started using the port in Assab in the south now. For Yemen operations rather than cruise ships though.
Many thanks, londonfog:). Wow, visiting Eritrea before the war/independence/Derg must have been quite experience. Mehritab said that the Old City in Massawa used to be quite a happening place, with Italians partying in the bars etc. Shame it has been neglected now though.
Happy new year too, lb8001:). Yes, Eritrea is definitely a place some of my friends and family had to ask twice where/what it was:).
Thank you, Betteronacamel:).
Diving is possible, but it is expensive if you don't go with a group (due to boat hire). Another tour company gave me an itinerary which included diving, but it wasn't cheap ($1500 for the three days). There is also no decompression chamber in Massawa (and the country?). I just did some diving down the coast in Djibouti and the cost was much more reasonable though.
Many thanks, aa213bb:). I'm probably quite boring if you met me in real life:).
Thanks, redadeco:). I like to explore and take lots of photo's, and travelling to new places is the perfect way to do this:).
Cheers, blueferrari:). There is a Eritrean Consulate in Dubai, and I think technically I had to apply for my visa through there. However, as the visa process is not often easy, I decided to just use my NZ address (where there is no embassy/consulate) and get a visa on arrival. To do this, I just had to send my passport copy to Damera tours beforehand and they organised the pre-approval for the VOA and emailed it to me via PDF before the trip.
Thank you, SKYEG:). Didn't notice the Toronto t-shirt. Maybe he has cousins there:)?

Another fascinating TR. It looks like a truly beautiful country.

Fascinating look into a country few visit. It really does appear to have slowly frozen in time as a mid-sized Italian town; both in terms of the buildings and in the lack of bustle. I would visit, but as someone with an Ethiopian background I have rather... strong feelings about it and its government that would probably make travel inadvisable. :D

That said, a look at Addis Ababa makes one wonder if being frozen in time is necessarily a bad thing. The quality of construction there is not as awful as it used to be, but it's still pretty sub-par, and I'd hate to see Asmara's unique cityscape marred by shoddy concrete and cheap glass. I remember hearing stuff about tourist developments on the coast, but those look pretty thin on the ground. Hope the Palace in Massawa is eventually restored!

In this regard the pictures are deceiving. Eritrea is a one party-state, and no national elections-- not even show elections-- have been held since independence. Reporters Without Borders lists Eritrea as having the least free press in the world-- even below North Korea. Starting in their teens, Eritreans are drafted for national service, in which they perform public works for nominal pay, and which can last virtually indefinitely until the age of 50. Certain ethnic groups deemed disloyal to the state have been subject to ethnic cleansing, while religious persecution is near-universal-- even the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church has been under house arrest for over a decade. While some asylum-seekers' claims may be questionable, Eritreans certainly are not amongst their number. I suppose any more detail would be for OMNI-- which I've never seen, anyway! :D

I hope you're still in this thread and wouldn't mind answering a couple of questions -

What's the general sentiment on Italians in Ethiopia and Eritrea (if you know much about the latter)? If one visits, would it be advisable either way to enter on a US or an Italian passport? Do the residents themselves care much? I imagine both could still have hard feelings against Italians, but anything worth worrying about if traveling?

No Ethiopian (or Eritrean) I know has ever exhibited any kind of meaningful anti-Italian sentiment. To this day, despite the brevity of the occupation, we remain fond of pasta, are utterly addicted to cafe macchiato, and say ciao to one another (which admittedly irks me a little!). After the war, Haile Selassie even allowed the Italian migrants to Ethiopia to stay in the country, and many did, although most left after the Derg took power. Although they've recently been overshadowed by the Chinese, Italians do a considerable amount of business in Ethiopia; the dam on the Nile is being built by an Italian firm.

There is virtually no chance you will run into any problems as an Italian travelling in Ethiopia, unless you happen to meet a particularly grouchy veteran arbegna (partisan) from the war. :p In Eritrea, probably even less so.

Another great report, Daniel! Thank you for sharing and beautiful photos as always.