![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Asmara2.jpg/640px-Asmara2.jpg&w=640&q=50)
History of Asmara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, first rose to prominence in medieval and post-medieval times. Though it had long overshadowed by nearby Debarwa, the residence of the Bahr Negash or the governor of the coastal province, it still existed as a major settlement for over half a millennium and enjoyed some importance as it stood on the trade route to Massawa. During the 20th century it was a staging ground for Italian initiatives in East Africa, collateral of Britain's colonial politics, and the subject of the expansion of Ethiopia until 1993, when the sovereign state of Eritrea was established. Despite the passage of over seventy years, the city (apart from a large group of buildings of avant-garde design) has remained mostly unchanged in structural design, likely influenced by its position as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1]
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Location | Asmara |
Part of | Eritrea |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Asmara2.jpg/640px-Asmara2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Asmara_in_the_1940s.jpg/640px-Asmara_in_the_1940s.jpg)
Asmara — developed similarly to a European city — is today, an Eritrean city. Although the city's planners, architects, and engineers were largely European, members of the indigenous population were used as construction workers. People who live in Asmara still strongly identify with their city's legacy.[2]