We hear that now, finally there may be peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia, after decades of on-again off-again war. This reminds me of our visit to Eritrea during our millennium circumnavigation by ship in 1999/2000. (See blog posts of December 2008 for more about that remarkable voyage.)
We docked at Massawa. Natasha
and I had decided not to take one of the package shore excursions, since we
knew this was such a rare visit, we wanted to have some freedom. It was a bit of pandemonium at the dock,
since no passenger ship had visited Massawa in a very long time because of the
war. The locals were surprised to see
this shipload of foreigners. A group of
women sang a welcome song.
It was hot, and dry. Soon we found a driver and van, and gathered
up some fellow passengers to share the costs.
None of us had ever been to Eritrea, or had any idea how long it would
take to drive to the capital of Asmara, up in the mountains.
Off we went. First thing we spotted were the holes
everywhere in the buildings and houses – scars and ‘souvenirs’ from the deadly
conflict. During the 1998-2000 war, over 80,000 people
were killed.
One of the many war-ravaged buildings in Massawa, the
port city of Eritrea.
The dwellings were in a
miserable state -- this was one of the poorest nations in the world.
Driving out of Massawa,
the land was brown and barren. Here and
there a camel could be seen, tied to a tree.
Houses were more like huts. But we had an excellent view of the coastal
desert of the Red Sea.
Along the roadside, people
stopped and stared at us. Some with
upheld fists and angry faces at this luxury van carrying ‘rich’ tourists.
When we asked our driver
what had caused this ongoing hostility and war, he did not commit himself,
other than saying access to a sea port, amongst other things, may have had
something to do with it.
The official word was the
war was “over claims to border towns largely due to cultural and historical
differences in the aftermath of Eritrea’s independence. The disputed border towns had no significant
economic value, with the fight once described as “two bald men fighting over a
comb.”
About an hour into our
journey, and it was still very hot. Our
driver stopped at a small fruit stand.
Soon it was clear we were not welcome, the women outside, some in army
fatigues, started to throw rocks at the van.
Needless to say we went on our way, leaving this hostile group.
From that point on for the
rest of the day, we did not encounter any more aggression. Instead, as we climbed higher and higher
through a lusher, green landscape, we noticed a lot of baboons near the
roadside. Also lots of wildflowers, and overhead – eagles, ravens, and weaver
birds.
Curious baboons along the roadside
We climb higher and higher towards the capital, Asmara
The route up to Asmara
seemed to be taking forever, and there was no sign of any village or town along
the way. Endless winding, switchback
roads and dramatic vistas, with the occasional camel.
We marvelled at the excellent
condition of the road – smooth, looking like new. It had been constructed by the Italians many
years ago during the days when Eritrea was a colony of Italy from 1880 to 1947.
Since our stopover in
Eritrea was just for one day, we were starting to wonder whether we would make
it back to the ship in time. Since we
weren’t booked on one of the ship’s official shore excursions, if we were
delayed, the ship would not wait.
Finally we entered Asmara,
the capital and the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude, at 2,325
metres (7,628 ft). Seventeen years after our visit, Asmara was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage site.
Since time was short, our
driver took us first to a special restaurant known for its local cuisine. We were presented with a delicious lunch
served on large ceramic plates, with intricately and brightly coloured designs.
Market, Asmara
We asked the driver to
take us to the local market which was in full swing. Out of the corner of our eyes, Natasha and I
noticed a bundle under one of the vendor’s tables. Curious, we asked the woman to show it to
us. Turned out to be two parchment
scrolls of the saints.
Panel one of two parchments of saints, discovered in the market, Asmara
Strangely, all
the eyes of the saints were covered over.
A mystery. We later asked a
couple of experts and they were stumped too.
The journey from Massawa
up to Asmara seemed to take forever, but our return trip felt like it was
short. The driver accelerated when he
came to that fruit stand where the women threw rocks at us.
We had an hour to wander
around the streets of Massawa. Everywhere reminders of the conflict, bombed
buildings, holes in the walls of the very simple houses. By now, word had gone around that the people
on the ship were well-intentioned bearing no threat, and so we received many
smiles and waves.
Let’s hope the latest
peace settlement prevails, between Eritrea and Ethiopia, ending decades of
hostilities.
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