Asmara - the capital of Eritrea
Not so long ago, in 1993, on the map of the Black Continent, a new state appeared on the Red Sea coast with the beautiful name of Eritrea. Due to the political and military situation in the region, today the capital of Eritrea and the country itself are outside the zone of attention of tourists, although there are many attractions and interesting places..
Asmara's story
Originally, the name of the city was pronounced through «but», that is, Asmara, the toponym had a very beautiful explanation «blooming forest». On the site of modern city buildings there were four villages, the history of which dates back to the 12th century. This place was chosen by merchants from different countries, and a little later the settlement received the status of the capital of Ras Alula.
At the end of the 19th century, the territory of present-day Eritrea was colonized by Italians, the title of the capital remained with Asmara. Guests from Europe had a significant impact on the development of the city's infrastructure, changed its appearance, erected many new buildings and structures, for which the city began to be called «little Rome». Therefore, a walk through the modern capital of Eritrea at certain moments turns into an amazing journey through Italy, many shops and restaurants have retained their Italian names.
Cultural Center
Today, the Asmara authorities are striving to develop the tourism business, knowing how to interest the guests of the capital. First of all, this is architecture, there are buildings, the legacy of the Italian colonists, from which you can study the development of architectural art. The main attractions of the city today are:
- the governor's palace, built in the neoclassical style;
- futuristic building «Fiat Taglier»;
- a Catholic cathedral built by fans of the neo-Romanesque style;
- cinema «Impero», bright representative of the direction «art deco».
The authorities of the country are applying for the inclusion of Asmara in the list of important sites for the planet of historical and cultural heritage of UNESCO.
Treasury of the country
This name was given to the Asmara National Museum, founded in 1992. Despite the rather young age of the institution, it contains artifacts reflecting the historical events of the last six thousand years..
The museum funds contain unique archaeological finds, manuscripts, ancient household items, weapons. Most of the valuable items are presented in exhibitions where you can see ancient unique tombstones, artifacts associated with various ethnic groups living in Eritrea today..
