Massawa

Massawa, Eritrea's historic port on the Red Sea, is an atmospheric coastal city built across coral islands linked by causeways, long known as the Pearl of the Red Sea. For centuries a key trading gateway between Africa, Arabia and beyond, it wears its layered past in a distinctive old town of coral-stone buildings graced with elegant Ottoman and Egyptian-influenced arches, carved wooden balconies and shaded courtyards. Reached by a dramatic descent from the highland plateau, the city fronts the warm turquoise waters of the Red Sea, with the coral islands and reefs of the Dahlak Archipelago just offshore. Weathered, evocative and richly historic, Massawa is a captivating window on the old Red Sea world.

What you actually see

• The coral-stone old town - the Ottoman and Egyptian-arched quarters.
• The carved balconies - the elegant wooden balconies and courtyards.
• The island causeways - the historic port spread across coral islands.
• The Red Sea - the warm turquoise waters and offshore reefs.

When to go

November to February, the cooler months, are the most comfortable in this famously hot coastal city, when the sea and old town are at their most enjoyable; Massawa is intensely hot in summer. The mild winter is ideal for wandering the atmospheric coral-stone quarters.

Honest expectations

Massawa's historic old town is weathered and parts remain damaged from the past, so its appeal lies in atmosphere and layered heritage rather than pristine monuments, and the coastal heat can be fierce. As the atmospheric Pearl of the Red Sea, a coral-stone port of elegant arches spread across islands with warm turquoise waters, though, Massawa is a genuinely evocative and captivating place.

Nearby

The Dahlak Archipelago lies just offshore in the Red Sea.