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Asmara is, although on a minor scale, an international city. There are
embassies, UN offices, company headquarters, international NGOs, an
international airport, an international class hotel and the like. There
are no official population statistics in Eritrea, but a possible
estimate would suggest that there are around 400,000 people living in
Asmara. Asmara is arguably the safest capital anywhere. Violent street
crime barely exists and theft is rare.
Asmara is the only settlement in Eritrea that, arguably, qualifies as a
city. It is only about 110 km by road from the Red Sea port Massawa, and
it takes about two hours to drive this distance by car. Italian settlers
largely built the old Asmara in the early-mid twentieth century, and
these sections of the town therefore resemble a regional town in
Southern Italy rather than an African capital. Pizza and pasta dominate
the Western restaurant menus, Italian architecture meets the eye
everywhere, and many members of the older generation still speak
reasonable Italian. There is also an Italian school in Asmara, and the
Italians are probably the largest individual expatriate community.
The Italian days in Eritrea are, however, long gone. Eritrea spent
periods of its history under British rule and under Ethiopian rule
before gaining independence in the early 1990s, and it is now a nation
in its own right. Ethnic Eritreans, mostly of the Tigrigna tribe,
dominate street life in Asmara, and they have made it into a beautiful
and attractive place to live. The town is distinctly urban. The streets
are mostly neatly swept and asphalt covered. Most features are
definitely urban with an old-fashioned twist to it. There are no modern
skyscrapers or other out of place buildings throughout the town, and art
deco still dominates the architecture.
The climate is well suited for human habitation – neither warm nor cold
and sunny most of the time. The temperature fluctuates and rarely rises
above 27 C even on the warmest day in early summer, and rarely falls
below a daily maximum of 15 C even in winter.
Asmara’s altitude is about 2,700 meters on a highlands plateau. The
escarpment down to the Red Sea is nearby, but not within sight from the
town. The topography of the area is hilly rather than mountainous. The
rainy season is in the summer from mid June till early September. During
then it rains on and off usually with heavy afternoon showers rarely
lasting more than two hours.
Domestic transport systems depend heavily on the road network, which is
reasonably good both within and out of Asmara. The bus lines in Asmara
are very good with new Korean and Brazilian buses, and there are bus
services between all major towns with vintage bus models. These are
reliable and interesting, though not necessarily fast. There is an
ancient train track from Asmara to Massawa, built by the Italian
colonialists in the first half of the century. Train enthusiasts are now
working to restore the tracks with its steam and diesel locomotives and
to restart the service. The year 2004 looks a possible starting year for
the completed line. International travel beyond the crossing of the Red
Sea is by plane, and half a dozen international airlines ensure that
there are daily connections from Eritrea to the rest of the world.
Travel to Assab, the southernmost coastal town, is also normally done by
plane. But it is increasingly possible, though difficult and strenuous,
to go by road.
Written contacts between Eritrea and the rest of the world are by mail
and e-mail, and both systems function well. Internet service is
available though the connections are slow and cumbersome. It happens
that ordinary mail may be lost or seriously delayed, but these are
exceptions. Mailed letters and printed matters most often arrive safely
and on time. Telephone services from Asmara to the rest of the world are
good - though expensive.
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