Asmara Off The Beaten Path

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Right outside Asmara center is the life different. Solid concrete buildings are replaced with more simple construction material, like stone. Almost no high buildings. Only the main streets have asphalt paving. It's a countryside life with happy children is playing in around the houses.

Another bizarre sight along the same lines is this giant statue of a pair of sandals in the middle of a major crossroads.
These sandals were worn by the Eritrean freedom fighters, and are still very common among the poor.
Appearently there is a tradition in Eritrea of keeping the shoes of the dead to remind the living of them, and this monument commemorates those killed in the fighting in that tradition.

Revolutionary-style murals are also a feature of Asmara, fortunately not obscuring the more tasteful art. They depict typically socialist themes like heroic freedom fighters, rural folks being uplifted from their misery and the like. Their style reflects the style of the current governance of the country better than all the colonial beauties...

Asmara is an excellent place to wander around aimlessly. The area south of Harnet Avenue was the old European quarter, and is particularly likely to reward walkers with pleasant vistas of quiant streets and fine old residential buildings.

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An incredible zig zag road provides the nicest alternative tour to Massawa!

If the architecture alone isn't enough to remind you of old Italy, there are the cars, too!
Cute oldies like this little Fiat 600 are still proudly roaming the streets of Asmara.