Massawa

Massawa, also known as Mits’iwa, city in northeastern Eritrea. A Red Sea seaport, the city is located on a bay and occupies two small islands, Massawa and Taulud, and two peninsulas, Gerar and Abdel Kader, linked by causeways. The old town and modern harbor facilities are located on Massawa Island. The harbor, formed by a channel between one of the islands and the mainland, is the largest natural port on the Red Sea. Massawa ranks as one of the hottest places on Earth, and rainfall is irregular in the area.

Massawa exports agricultural products, salt, fish, and pearls. Local industries include a saltworks as well as fish- and meat-processing plants. The city has an airport and is connected by highway and rail with Eritrea’s capital, Asmara (Āsmera), 64 km (40 mi) to the southwest.

For many centuries Massawa was a dominion of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), and from the 1500s to the 1800s it was a possession of the Ottoman Empire. In 1864 the Ottomans ceded it to Egypt. Massawa was occupied in 1885 by Italian troops and became part of Eritrea, serving as the capital for several years. In 1941, during World War II, Massawa was taken by the British, and the city became an important operations base for Allied forces in the area. The city grew significantly after World War II. It remained under British administration until 1952, when Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia. Ten years later Ethiopia declared Eritrea an Ethiopian province, and Eritreans began fighting for independence. In 1993 Eritrea declared itself an independent nation. Massawa was nearly destroyed by Ethiopian bombing during the final stages of the 30-year war for independence; in the early 21st century, Massawa’s war-torn structures still testified to decades of foreign occupation and war. Population 39,098 (2005 estimate).