Top Attractions in Maekel Region

Maekel Region Highlights

The Maekel Region, centered on the UNESCO World Heritage city of Asmara, preserves one of the world's most concentrated collections of Modernist architecture. This selection features iconic Italian colonial-era structures, including Futurist service stations and Art Deco cinemas like Cinema Impero. Beyond the architecture, the list highlights the region's cultural depth through its archaeological museum, the symbolic Shida Monument, and the industrial ingenuity of the Medeber Market, where traditional metalworking remains a vital local trade.

Maekel Region Highlights — Map

sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0

A

Fiat Tagliero

The Fiat Tagliero Building is a Futurist-style service station in Asmara, Eritrea.

Reinhard Dietrich / CC0

B

St Mariam

Enda Mariam Cathedral is an Eritrean Orthodox church in Asmara, Eritrea. The cathedral is located on Arbate Asmara Street.

C

Cinema Impero

Built in 1937, this is the largest cinema in Asmara and a premier example of Art Deco architecture. Its facade features forty-five circular windows and stylized motifs that remain largely unchanged from the Italian colonial period.

sailko / CC BY-SA 3.0

D

Nation Museum of Eritrea

This museum displays archaeological artifacts from ancient sites like Adulis and the Aksumite Empire. Exhibits include Sabean inscriptions, centuries-old pottery, and ethnographic displays representing Eritrea’s nine ethnic groups.

E

Medeber Market

An open-air workshop located in a historic caravanserai where artisans recycle scrap metal into tools, stoves, and household goods. It offers a unique look at local craftsmanship and industrial repurposing.

F

Cinema Roma

Completed in 1937, this cinema is noted for its marble-clad exterior and original Art Deco interior. It continues to serve as a cultural hub, housing a popular café and screening films in a historic setting.

G

Shida Monument

A large-scale sculpture depicting the simple plastic sandals, known as 'shida,' worn by Eritrean independence fighters. The monument serves as a national symbol of the thirty-year struggle for sovereignty.

H

Covered Market - fruits, vegetables, bags

A central commercial hub featuring colonial-era architecture where vendors sell fresh local produce, spices, and traditional hand-woven baskets. The market is organized into specific sections for fruit, vegetables, and household wares.

Grullab / CC BY-SA 4.0

I

University of Asmara

The University of Asmara was a public university in Asmara, Eritrea. The nation's first university, it was founded in 1958 by the "Piae…

J

Pushkin Monument

A bronze statue dedicated to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. It commemorates his African ancestry, as his great-grandfather, Abram Petrovich Gannibal, is believed to have been born in the Loggo Sarda region of Eritrea.