Eritrea

by Edward Denison 

Eritrea Travel Guide – Travel tips and holiday advice featuring Asmara hotels and restaurants, food, Italian influence, modernist architecture, coast and mountains, and birdwatching. Also covering cycling and diving, history and ancient sites, steam railway, archaeology, Dahlak Archipelago, the palace of the Queen of Sheba and Massawa.

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About this book

This new, fifth edition of Bradt’s Eritrea remains the only full-blown guide to this intriguing northeast African country. Once again it has been thoroughly updated by Edward Denison, whose expertise draws on nearly a quarter of a century of personal and professional experience working in and with Eritrea, notably preparing Asmara’s successful Nomination Dossier for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, resulting in the city acquiring World Heritage Status in 2017. Eritrea is a unique destination, too often overlooked by all but the most adventurous travellers, but with a peace agreement with neighbouring Ethiopia having been signed in 2018 ending a two-decade long impasse, opportunities for visiting have increased significantly.
This new edition covers everything from background and practical information to an in-depth seven-region breakdown of this comparatively small country, from the capital Asmara to the port city of Massawa, the islands, the southern Red Sea area of Dankalia, Keren and Kakfa, the western Lowlands and the Southern Highlands. Located at the crossroads of three continents, with a mix of African, Middle Eastern and European influences, and a 1,000km coastline and 2,500m high plateau giving rise to outstanding diversity and climatic contrasts, Eritrea offers an astonishing variety of activities and experiences.
Bradt’s Eritrea covers everything from archaeology to modernist architecture, precipitous mountainscapes to outstanding diving around the Dahlak Archipelago, steam railways to Africa’s best cycling community, birdwatching to small game safaris, and amazing cuisine that reflects the nation’s regional and colonial encounters. The country’s astonishingly rich cultural heritage is also covered in detail, including its abundance of ancient historic sites, amongst them the bathing place and palace of the Queen of Sheba. Bradt’s Eritrea offers everything you need for a successful trip.

About the Author

Edward Denison is an Associate Professor of Architectural History at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and a heritage consultant, writer, and photographer. His expertise on Eritrea draws on nearly a quarter of century of personal and professional experience. He has written the previous two editions of the Bradt Guide to Eritrea and has been involved in numerous projects promoting Eritrea’s cultural and architectural heritage, including books, exhibitions, workshops and tours. From 2001 he worked for the Cultural Assets Rehabilitation Project, co-authoring Asmara – Africa’s Secret Modernist City (Merrell) with colleagues in 2003. In 2008, he helped initiate a ?5m European Union Heritage Project and from 2014 he worked with the Asmara Heritage Project (AHP), preparing Asmara’s successful Nomination Dossier for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. In 2016, this work won the RIBA President’s Medal for Research:

Additional Information

Table of Contents

PART 1 GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 Background Information
Geography and climate, History, Government and politics, Economy, People, Language, Religion, Cultural etiquette, Vernacular architecture
Chapter 2 Practical Information
When to visit, Suggested itineraries, Tourist information and services, Red tape, Eritrean embassies and consulates overseas, Getting there and away, Health, Safety, What to take, Money, Budgeting, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays, Shopping, Arts and entertainment, Media and communications, Electricity, Business, Giving something back.

PART 2 THE GUIDE
Chapter 3 Asmara
History, Getting there, Getting around, Where to stay, Where to eat, Nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see: Asmara walks, What to see: other places of interest
Chapter 4 Asmara to Massawa
When to visit, The route from Asmara to Massawa, Massawa, Massawa Island
Chapter 5 The Islands
Geography, Getting there and around, The inner islands, What to see, Business
Chapter 6 Through Dankalia: Massawa to Assab
When to visit, Getting there, What to take, Getting around
Chapter 7 Assab and the South Coast
History, Getting there, Getting around, Where to stay, Where to eat, Shopping, Other practicalities, What to see
Chapter 8 Asmara to Keren and Nakfa
Keren, Keren to Afabet and Nakfa, Afabet, Nafka and environs
Chapter 9 The Western Lowlands
Getting there, Agordat, Barentu, South of Barentu, Tessenei
Chapter 10 The Southern Highlands
Getting there: Asmara to Senafe, Decemhare, Beyond Decemhare, Adi Keih, Senafe, Getting there: Asmara to Ghundet, Mendefera, Adi Qala

Appendix 1 Language
Appendix 2 Further Reading
Index