Keren Eritrea - October 12th 2003

 

At 6:30 I arrive at the bus station for my trip to Keren. It seems there are only two seats left, so the bus will leave in a few minutes. On the last pair of seats before the rear entrance of the bus lays some kind of rag at the window side. When no one claims it when I show it to the other passengers, I assume someone has forgotten it. A veiled Muslim girl takes the last seat next to me. I have some kind of breakfast of biscuits and mango juice and share the biscuits with the passengers on the surrounding seats.

At 7:00 the bus sounds its horn to announce its departure. An old man hastens to get in and suddenly there is a lot of confusion about the two seats that I and the Muslim girl occupy. Than I realize tat the rag actually was a claim for the seat. It belonged to the old man. The solution is made: The Muslim girl should leave the bus and I am to take her seat. I feel guilty and offer her my seat, prepared to take the next bus if necessary. The offer is rejected by all passengers involved. The European guest should not leave the bus. The Muslim girl will have to wait for the next bus and I have to make the trip next to the old man, who may very well feel insulted by my lack of respect for his cloth.

The sunny side of the bus is quite hot, in spite of the curtains. Half way we have a pause to drink some tea. There is a run on the bus of little boys and girls, trying to sell atar and other small food to the passengers. Adults are selling fruits like watermelons. When I point the camera at them they hide.  Obviously non of the kids want to be pictured while trading. When I offer them some Nakfa's, I suddenly am surrounded by volunteers, but since it was my intention to picture the kids selling atar and not to make a group photo, I have to disappoint them.

At 10:15 we arrive in Keren. Habte is waiting for me. Yesterday I called Hansu to announce I was coming. I will stay with her and Afworki in their house. I could have booked a hotel, but it would have been an insult not to sleep i their house. And it gives me the feel of being "home". I will sleep in the guest room in a good bed under a mosquito net.

First thing we do is visit the shrine of Mariam Dearit. We buy some candles to light in front of the Maria statue. For 80 Nakfa we find a taxi to take us to the place. The taxi will wait and bring us back. There is many people either to visit the shrine to pray, or to picnic at the compound. After our visit to this holy place we return to Keren to visit other places of interest. 

In bar Estefanos I meat one of the passengers of the plane.  She is from Rotterdam like me. Her family owns the place her in Keren. I get acquainted with her family and we have some rest and Coca Cola. The pace of life is slow in Keren and I have to temper my enthousiasm, because Habte is not used to rush next to a tourist. No reason to be in a hurry when life is dull. For the children of Keren, the passing of a tourist is a welcome interupt in their daily routine. "Se'alena, se'alena" (picture us). Before we know we are surrounded by a lot of kids.

I spend the rest of the day visiting friends and their family. Since it is almost impossible to refuse to eat, I only do my best to avoid eating meat. So I eat injera with shuro, a chickpea  stew, to fill my stomach, and some oranges for the vitamins. And lots of tea. And Eritrean coffee (almost impossible to refuse, before you realize it, the host is roasting the coffee beans). Of course I visit the neighbors as well. If Hansu and Afworki are at work, I am their guest. "You have to come back tomorrow to picture me and my dog", Yohanna, the neighbors daughter says.

Afworki has to to some business down town. I join him on his walk. When we return is is completely dark. In Keren this means you have to navigate with the moon light and some rare street lights after leaving the town center.

 

Boy selling atar (roasted chickpeas) at the stopover to Keren.

Boarding of the rough road bus -Keren bus station.

The landscape of Keren Eritrea on our way to Mariam Dearit.

Keren - Mariam Dearit - an ancient baobab tree, containing . . . . .

. . . . . the shrine of St. Mariam Dearit, a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Silver smith and souvenir shop - Keren Eritrea.

Chapel of the Italian war cemetary - Keren Eritrea.

Graves of the unknown soldiers - Italian war cemetery - Keren Eritrea.

Hansu.

Afworki.

(Neighbors daughter) Fortuna - Keren Eritrea.