Asmara Profile

Asmara, with its population of 963,000 (2020), became the capital city of Eritrea in 1897 following Italian occupation from 1889, although its origins can be traced back some 700 years. (Legend recalls that the Queen of Sheba gave birth to the son of Solomon, Menelik I, close to Asmara.) The Italians called it 'Little Rome' with the intention of it becoming the capital of a Second Roman Empire in Africa and in the 1930s they carried out significant changes to the city's structures and buildings to reflect that aspiration. They used it as their main base for their invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 however Italian defeat in 1941 during the Second World War by the British led to Asmara coming under British military control and the end of Italian colonisation and involvement. It then remained under British administration until Eritrea's federation with Ethiopia in 1952.

The thirty-year occupation of Eritrea by Ethiopia and its concurrent war, saw a deterioration of Asmara, although it remained undamaged by warfare as Ethiopian troops made a hasty retreat at the end of that period. Since independence in 1991, Eritrea has re-invested in its capital, creating new buildings and refurbishing others. It retains a southern Italian feel with palm lined streets where the Roman Catholic Cathedral and Grand Mosque (approximately, half of the city's population are Christian, the other half Muslim) are located close to the former palace, legislative assembly and the municipal buildings. The centre of Asmara is also home to the main Ethiopian Orthodox church in Eritrea, St. Mary's. Visitors to Asmara can also enjoy the numerous shops, restaurants and cafes as they stroll around the city which has been described as one of the cleanest and safest in Africa.

Asmara can best be reached through Asmara Airport just a mile from the city however the more adventurous might want to travel there using the Eritrean Railway that was constructed during the Italian colony era and was built between 1887 and 1932 to connect the Port of Massawa with Asmara. Sadly the forty-five mile Asmara-Massawa Cableway, which was the longest of its kind in the world when opened in 1937, was dismanted by the British in 1941 during the Second World War but had been used by the Italians to move food and war materials to replenish the Imperial Italian Army which had also conquered Ethiopia in 1936. Check out Asmara in the video (below) then make a virtual landing at Asmara airport using our airport profile article below.