| Eritrea May 2001 | ||||||
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| Celebrating 10 years liberation | ||||||
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Asmara May 26th 2001
It still is very hot. The usual temperature in Asmara in May is 20-25C. This week the temperatures are 30 C and more. I decide to take the bus instead of walking. At Mede Ertra bus station I chose number 8 to Akria. I get out at Adaga Arbi where I see some very nice traditional shops. Walking back to the center of Asmara, I see a very old man lying on the street, covered with blankets. He is eating injera. He is obviously in a to bad condition to eat sitting. I think this is one of the last days of his life. I give him 50 Nakfa. He is glad and wants to be my friend. But I cannot talk with him. I do not speak Tigrinya.
I buy some tomatoes from a woman sitting on the street. When I eat one of them, a boy next to me warns me by rubbing his hands on his stomach. The message is clear: They are contaminated. So I enter the first bar I can find to drink some "araki", the local anise liquor to disinfect my belly.
I always try to share a table with one of the Eritrean men. It is easy to explore the city on your own, but I always hope to meet some interesting people or to encounter the unexpected. The Eritrean people are very cordial and are very willing to get acquainted to foreigners. More then once one of the locals paid for my cola before I had the chance to settle. Although this is a very clear way of showing their hospitality, it embarrassed me a bit that the drinks of a rich tourist were paid by people who earn a subsistence income. On the other hand, the fact that Eritrea is such a lovely country is exactly the reason why I am writing this story.
In the afternoon I visit an exhibition at Harnet Avenue of paintings made by soldiers of the Eritrean Defense Forces. Their work is clearly influenced by the many years of war.
Two little girls waiting for the bus.
Little textile shop in Edaga Arbi.
Woman in a shop in Edaga Arbi.
Paintings at the exhibition of art made by the Eritrean Defence Forces.
Paintings at the exhibition of art made by the Eritrean Defence Forces.
Paintings at the exhibition of art made by the Eritrean Defence Forces.
Paintings at the exhibition of art made by the Eritrean Defence Forces.
Paintings at the exhibition of art made by the E.D.F
