Massawa Old Town (Batse Island)
ምጽዋዕ ጥንታዊት ከተማ
A Red Sea old town of coral-stone buildings, where Ottoman and Egyptian-era houses with carved wooden lattice windows, mosques, and Italian arcaded buildings intermingle.
The old town lies on Massawa Island (Batsi Island), connected to the mainland by a causeway, and for centuries it was an important Red Sea port. It preserves buildings from the Ottoman, Egyptian, and Italian colonial periods: coral-stone walls, carved wooden balconies and mashrabiya lattice windows, arcaded streets, and small squares. The 1921 earthquake and the bombing during the 1990 independence war left many houses in ruins, which has given the area a distinctive beauty of decay. It is best explored on foot in the early morning or evening, and at night you can eat Red Sea grilled fish by the harbor. Photographing the harbor and government buildings requires caution.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Former Banco d'Italia Building
- Sheikh Hanafi Mosque
- Mosque of the Companions
- Imperial Palace, Massawa
- Massawa Tank Memorial
- Green Island
- Northern Red Sea Regional Museum
- Gurgusum Beach