Massawa, formerly known as Mitsiwa is a port on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Important for many centuries, it has been colonised by Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Britain and finally Ethiopia until 1991. It became the capital of the Italian colony of Eritrea until this was moved to Asmara in 1900.
For most of its history, it was little more than a seaside village, lying in lands that pertained to the Kingdom of Axum in ancient times and overshadowed by the nearby port of Adulis about 50 kilometres (31 mi) to the south. Following the fall of Axum in the 8th century, the area around Massawa became embattled by the Islamic forces emerging in the region (Arabs and later Beja peoples) and mutually rival post-Axumite christian forces from the region of Midri-Bahri, a Kingdom in Eritrea. In this time, Eritrea's oldest mosque, the Sheikh Hanafi mosque, was built on Massawa Island along with several other works of early islamic architecture both in and around Massawa (in the Dahlak archipelago and Zula peninsula). Venetian Merchants were said to have lived here and in Suakin in the 15th century.
Massawa is also home to a naval base, large dhow docks, the Massawa International Airport and a railway line to Asmara. Ferries sail to the Dahlak Islands and nearby Green Island.
Notable buildings in the city include the shrine of Sahaba[5] and the fifteenth century Sheikh Hanafi Mosque and various houses of coral. Many Ottoman buildings survive, such as the bazaar. Later buildings include the Imperial Palace, built in 1872 to 1874 for Werner Munzinger; St Mariam Cathedral; the 1930s Villa Melotti and the 1920s Banco d'Italia. The Eritrean War of Independence is commemorated in a memorial of three tanks in the middle of Massawa.
PLACE TO VISIT
Massawa's oldtown sits on an island (Batsi) that it shares with the country's busiest deep-sea port (not very busy), a free trade area and as the name indicates; an oldtown consisting of medieval Ottoman style coral buildings separated by narrow alleys as well as an ancient mosque. The island is connected to the mainland via another island called Tualud, both separated by a causeway. On Tualud you will find most "downtown" hotels like the Dahlak, Red Sea, Central, Corallo etc. Tualud also hosts St. Mary's catholic church and the famous tank monument.
The Dahlak hotel offers boat services to the Green Island, a natural park in Massawa Bay within sight of the city and less than a 20 minute ride away. The Green island has a pristine beach, mangroves and ruins of an ancient mosque and an abandoned pearlfishing settlement. Bring plenty of water, refreshments and sunscreen as there is literally nothing on the island. It is a natural park. Collect all your waste and bring it back with you when leaving the Green Island!!
From Tualud Island where all the main hotels are, there is another causeway to the mainland, where there isn't much at all besides the central bus station, Segalet open air cinema and some public administration and residential buildings of varying standard.
Beaches To get to the closest (mainland) beach however, you'd have to head north of downtown Massawa along the mainland coast to Gurgusum Beach and Hotel of the same name, with the adjacent Hamassien hotel to its north. The GB Hotel has all amenities like beach chair with parasol, showers, cafe, restaurant and even air-conditioned bedrooms if you'd like to spend the night. The beach isn't much to write home about though. To get to the nicest beaches you have to head out to the farther Dahlak islands, on a chartered boat (expensive) or take the bus alt. drive a rental car south of Massawa for a couple of hours to the Gel'Alo resort in the volcanic Danakil region on the way to Assab.
WHAT TO DO
Massawa's surrounding islands (the Dahlak and nearby Green Island) offer excellent snorkeling and diving opportunities and have pristine beaches with turquoise waters. But going there requires chartering a boat or joining one of the pricy diving tour groups which tend to be rather costly and to date there are no cheap alternatives. There is a decompression chamber in Massawa if you were to have any problems and you should obviously not get on a flight or travel up to Asmara at 2600 meters above sea level too soon after diving. Give it a day or two (of staying on land). There aren't many extraordinary beaches in or around mainland Massawa or the bridge-connected islands (apart from the Green Island). Gurgusum beach which lies only 14 km north of town on the mainland is an average beach with adequate facilities.
The town itself comes to life after dark when temperatures cool down slightly. The oldtown becomes a bazaar of sorts with shops, bars, restaurants and brothels opening up to customers. Bring tankloads of sunscreen and a good pair of sunglasses because the Red Sea sun is merciless. You will not find good sunscreen in Eritrea, if at all it will be too expensive and/or expired. Also bring plenty of insect repellent and mosquito net to place above your bed, especially in the winter months (November to February). Although you may be taking anti-malaria treatment, there are other insect-borne diseases for which there is no prevention or treatment other than avoiding insect bites, such as Dengue fever. This is especially prevalent in the tropical climate zone along the Eritrean coast.
HOW TO REACH
Massawa International Airport (IATA: MSW), (ICAO: HHMS) is a newly built international airport with a greater capacity than Asmara, no regular international services have begun as of yet so flying in from abroad is out of the question as of March 2007. Domestically Massawa is served by flights on Nasair (local airline) from Asmara and the other port city of Assab a couple of times a week. By road, Massawa is accessible from Asmara and the rest of inland Eritrea via the Asmara-Massawa highway. Buses run many times daily (before dusk) between Asmara and Massawa. Minibuses also run as soon as they are full (which takes very little time) between the Asmara bus station and Massawa. Regional buses run from the Massawa bus station and around the area a couple of times a week. But other than the long coastal two-day voyage to the other port city of Assab and to the inland via Asmara, there is not much to see beyond Massawa within the region. Massawa also connects to Asmara by narrow gauge rail, but it is not open to any regular service as it is more or less a museum railway with trains running on a steam engine and only open to chartered tours.
