Traditions of Asmara
A highland city of art deco and modernist buildings, where coffee ceremonies and Orthodox feasts keep their place.
Asmara is the capital of Eritrea and a World Heritage Site for its early twentieth century Italian architecture. The city is known for its slow, café-based life. Eritrean culture mixes Tigrinya, Tigre, Bilen, Afar and other peoples, with strong coffee ceremonies and Orthodox, Muslim and Catholic observances.
Coffee and Meskel
The coffee ceremony, bun, is an important sign of hospitality, with roasted beans, incense and three rounds. Meskel is celebrated with bonfires in September, and Eritrean Orthodox Christmas is on 7 January. The Festival of Eritrea held in summer brings together all nine ethnic groups with dance and food.
At the table
Zigni, a spicy stew of beef or lamb with berbere, is eaten with taita, flatbread, or injera. Hamli, a green vegetable dish, and shiro are common on fasting days. Italian influence is found in pasta, cappuccino and pastries in the old cafes. Mies is a honey wine.
Signature traditions of Asmara
Also part of it, and being written: Eritrean coffee ceremony (The bun ritual.), Zigni (The spicy stew.).
A trail idea for Asmara
- Fiat Tagliero Building A famous modernist garage.
- Medeber Market Buy spices and crafts.
- Cinema Impero An old art deco cinema.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Meskel: DanielGirmaTsige, CC BY-SA 4.0, source