ironmanjt

Wow, great report as usual - and looks like a great find on the tour company - the one I used was decidedly ...less helpful.

Looks like the Sunshine Hotel has also spruced up a bit in the meantime....back then they were renovating and didn't have curtains for any of the windows which meant a 5a wakeup when the sun made it in!

DanielW

Thanks, stevie. I've been to a few francophone African countries so was really interesting to see an ex-Italian one too.

Thank you, Parterre. It certainly is a very unique and amazing place to visit. I have not been to Havana yet, but the similar comparison that has been made, i.e. 'frozen in a different' era seem to be a very apt description.

Mehritab, my guide, seemed to be quite sentimental about the past when the Italians were living in Eritrea. From the buildings and infrastructure that they built, to the businesses they used to run, such as the water mineral plant, Italian restaurants, bars and agricultural farms that exported produce to Europe.

Thanks, 757. Just booking my next trip to Africa now, a bit more of a vacation than an adventure this time though.

Many thanks, ironmanjt. The price that Damera tours quoted me was quite a bit less than the other two companies I inquired, surprisingly so. But had no problems whatsoever and they were really great.

Yes, the Sunshine looks like it had had a bit of a spruce up. Nothing too fancy, but it was the only hotel out of the three on my trip that had hot water so it was really appreciated!

ChiefNWA

Another fantastic TR! I didn't realize Eritrea had such an Italian influence.

DanielW

Thanks, ChiefNWA. Yes, I was quite surprised too, from the Italian language schools to the pasta and pizza.

capedreamer

Wonderful report, illuminating photography, and fascinating storytelling as always!

I've noticed most of your trips tend to start with a pre-dawn departure. Is that a personal preference or does DXB's geographic location have some sort of implication on the availability/abundance of these early-morning flights?

MatthewLAX

^

Thanks DanielW! Another superb report.

rob_flies_ua

Yet again, a wonderful report of what looked like a great trip. Thanks for sharing!

DanielW

Many thanks, capedreamer. Apparently 3am is DXB's rush hour for flights. More informed people here will be able to elaborate on the reasons why (for connecting/scheduling?). I prefer late-night / early morning flights though so I can minimise the leave from work I need to take.
Thank you, MatthewLAX. I'm running out of places closeby to visit with these long weekend trips so are having to savour them now.
Thanks, rob_flies_ua. Just writing up my next TR now so hopefully another shortly.

sinbac

Thanks,Daniel for this fabulous TR!

RTW00

Great report. Don't see much of the reporting on Eritrea and you have done a great job with awesome pictures.

gaobest

Fabulous TR! I love injera and the stews - I was definitely craving Ethiopian / Eritrean food while reading this. There are only a few places in my city with this cuisine.
I noticed that you said that Eritrea was your 100th country but your sig says 102 countries.
I also noticed that you have a lot of night flights, but I assumed it was related to getting good fares, combined with Dubai (and the other major ME3 airports) actually operating all 24 hours of a day.
Is African pizza similar to Italian pizza? I couldn't tell from the picture.

DanielW

Thanks, sinbac.
Cheers, RTW00. Yes, I think this is only the 4th Eritrea TR on FT.
Many thanks, gaobest. Yes, I really liked the injera too. I had heard about it before quite a bit, but was great to finally try it.
Two more TR's coming soon (for countries #101 and #102) for Romania and Djibouti.
African pizza was really good, super tasty .

gaobest

Wow I'm shocked that you haven't had injera before! I imagine that you've known about Eritrean & Ethiopian food forever, esp with the injera. And I assume that you can get this in Dubai.
I've only had it here in San Francisco, where the size of injera is based on table sharing. So a party of 4 will have a larger shared injera than a party of 2, as the course will be on top of the injera.
Was the injera / course shared by other tables at the restaurant? It would be interesting if people don't share the injera in Eritrea.
Anyway glad you had it - hope you can enjoy it again.

Fa Hz

Impressive pics and fabulous report, thanks for sharing

Seat 2A

As lovely as are your pictures of the land, the buildings and the food, I like your people pictures the best. Thanks for such unique and entertaining trip reports over the years, Daniel! You are a real pro! ^