Tse'azega Eritrea - December 05 2007

 

Today I have planned a walk from Tsa'edakristyan to Tse'azega, starting with an early bus number 19 from the bus station at Eritrea Square to Tsa'edakristyan. From the last bus stop it is a one hour / six kilometers walk to the next village, Tse'azega.

Mebrats mother warned me not to walk alone. She is afraid I might be in trouble, when meeting the wrong people. But Eritrea is a safe country with a generally friendly, honest and peaceful people. Law and order is compelled by a strict police force,  assisted by the military. And if anyone is offending a tourist, he or she is always corrected by other Eritreans. Penalties for criminal offences are high, and prisons are hell. So crime does not pay in Eritrea.

Young students and their teachers pass in the opposite direction, either on foot or by bike. Farmers with a horse cart and women with donkeys. No motorized traffic, except one bus. From a distance I can see the former railway track from Asmara to Keren.

When I am close to Tse'azega, I pass some water reservoirs. Children accompany donkeys with rubber sacks on their backs to collect water from the pool.

I make a one hour walk through the village with its traditional houses (hidmo's) and cube shaped yellow concrete houses. When people ask me where I am going, I point straight ahead. (I don't know where I am going, except going uphill. Overlooking Tse'azega from its highest point, I will receive my inspiration to choose my final destination).

Walking back to Tsa'edakristyan, I am accompanied by a student on his bike. In Tsa'edakristyan he will take the bus to Asmara, to go to school.

After my lunch in the Cathedral Snack Bar, I spend the afternoon, as usual on the streets of Asmara, drinking mineral water or a fruit juice in one of the many bars, meeting friends and gathering and checking data for my Eritrean information pages.

 

The road (from Tsa'edakristyan) to Tse'azega.

Traditional house under construction - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Tap water supply - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Traditional house (hidmo) - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Billboard of the AIDS awareness campaign - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Traditional house (hidmo) - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Water-carriers - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Water-carriers - Tse'azega Eritrea.

Local bus - road (from Tsa'edakristyan) to Tse'azega.

The road (from Tsa'edakristyan) to Tse'azega.