Massawa · ER

Bats'i‘i Desēt

Batsi Island — written on maps as Bats'i'i Desēt, meaning "Batsi Island" in Tigrinya — is the small coral islet at the heart of Massawa, Eritrea's ancient port on the Red Sea. Locally known as the Geri, or Old Town, this is the oldest and most atmospheric part of the city: a maze of narrow alleys and sun-bleached coral-stone houses left over from centuries of Ottoman, Egyptian and Arab trading. A causeway links the island to the neighbouring Taulud islet, where most hotels stand, so the old quarter is easy to reach on foot. Today the island wears its history openly: grand decayed mansions, an old bazaar, the country's oldest mosque and shrines steeped in legend sit shoulder to shoulder with Eritrea's main deep-sea harbour, giving visitors a rare sense of a working port that is also a living museum.