Asmara Shopping

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Local craft and souvenirs can be bought on the streets or at the market in Asmara. Souvenirs are not cheap in Eritrea. Expect the prices to be higher here than f.ex Ethiopia.

The photos here are taken at the souvenir shop in Asmara airport.

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This isn't actual what tourists are looking for... Used clothes and other belongings from the estate of deceased persons. It's sold for a very cheap price so the poorest people can buy clothes.

Bruma flea market in Johannesburg, S-Africa is small compared to this marked.

"Shida" is the Arabic word for sandals. It is a cheap plastic sandal. But it has a great symbolic value for the Eritreans. It was the footwear that EPLF fighters wore in their 30 years struggle to liberate Eritrea from Ethiopia. Tha sandals were inexpensive, easy to repair by melting the material together, and allowed air to circulate around the feet.

The Eritreans said: "While the Ethiopians got tired, walking many miles in their heavy boots, getting perspiring feet, our fighters had the power of endurance and mobility in their airy sandals".

I got a pair of the sandals as a present when I was in Asmara. And I tried to use them, but they were not too convenient for my feet.

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The Eritreans like their food spicy. You can buy different kind of spice at the markets, like the big market "Shuk".