Massawa Historic Town

2006 World Monuments Watch

With its deep anchorage, the port of Massawa on the Red Sea served countless traders over the centuries when it was ruled by the Ottomans, Egypt, and more recently, Italy. The city’s complex history is evident in its buildings, including Ottoman fortifications, the sixteenth-century Sheik Hamal Mosque, and a governor’s palace commissioned in 1872. Decades of war during Eritrea’s struggle for independence, which it won in 1991, have taken their toll on Massawa’s buildings, many of which are now on the brink of collapse.