The Highway From Asmara To Massawa Drops Over 8000 ( 2500m) Feet In Just 100 Kilometers. We left early morning temperatures not far above freezing arriving to close to 90 ( 32C) on the coast.

At the entrance to the city is the Palace of Emperor Haile Selassie. Though he was murdered by the Communist Derge in 1975, his palace continued to be used by officials until it was bombed by the Ethiopian Air Force in 1991, when Eritrea began its’ War of Independence. To this day, it is still in ruins, like much of Massawa , in contrast to well preserved Asmara.

The visa to enter Eritrea is only good for Asmara itself. To travel anywhere else in the county , an interior Travel Permit is required. This took about 2 hours to acquire the day before. One must arrange transport as well. The driver’s name and the car’s license number are listed on the permit . TotalAdventure passport number deleted for security purposes.

One must carry the receipt as well, to prove that the 51 Nafka ( $3 ) fee was paid.

Along the highway there may be toll collectors.Baboons demand bananas in order to allow cars to pass without harassment.

Massawa architecture is more Ottoman than Italian.

Statuary Of The Lion King.

Barbed wire – possible live bombs inside of another palace.

The port on the Red Sea – almost all ships from China.

On Haile Sellasie’s Porch.

L – 1011 TO Nowhere.

Wartime damage un repaired after 30 years. But people live here.

Its’ been a long wait for the bus – about 45 years.

Bottled water plant , shuttered in the 60s.

Mothers and Children.

General of the Troop.

1930’s Graffiti.

Returning to Asmara – high above the clouds.

The New Generation Of Eritrea !

From Adigrat, Ethiopia , it is only 77 miles ( 120. km) to Asmara, Ethiopia. However, the border has been closed since it formed at independence in 1991, other than a brief period in 2019. Instead of 77 miles, I flew nearly 800 miles on 2 flights, from Mekele to Addis Ababa and then from Addis to Asmara, including a lengthy walk from.the domestic terminal to the international terminal.

There are 4 major languages in Eritrea – Tigrina, Arabic,I talian and English, and 9 local languages.

Arrival In Asmara was relatively smooth. Getting the visa is not easy – I actually had an agency in Washington DC handle it, whereas I normally get them on my own. Asmara Airport has flights to Addis Ababa,Dubai,Khartoum, and Mecca.

Asmara is perhaps the best preserved Art Deco city in the world. It is a 1930s Mussolini era time capsule.

Ave Maria Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Grand Mosque.

Eastern Rite Catholic Church.

Snail mail is still used as internet is extremely slow. TotalAdventure could not even access What’sApp.

An Apothecary.

Dining At Hotel Italia. I was the only customer, but had a great pasta and soup meal with beer for about $ 5 – 75 Nafka.

15 Nafka = 1 USD.

Perhaps The Best Coffee In The World. East African Beans, Italian Style.

Ancient Jewelry For Sale.

Getting Ready For Saturday Night.

The city has a. lively nightlife. This picture was taken on a Saturday morning.

Perhaps The Most Art Deco Building In The World After The Chrysler Building In New. York. Fiat Dealership That Closed In The 1960s Due To War

Imported Angolan Grain.

At the flour mill.

Extreme Deco.

TotalAdventure saw most of Asmara in a day. It is a fascinating place with few foreign visitors, the majority of them Italian.

Axum Is One Of The Holiest Christian Cities On Earth. It Is Home To The Ark Of The Covenant – The Tablets Of The Ten Commandments Held By Moses.

In Middle Ages Europe ,In The Time Of The Crusaders, there was a tale of a paradise called The Land of Prester John. A land of unimaginable riches, and home to the Holy Grail. Somewhere near Ethiopia, though the Crusaders never got beyond Jerusalem.

A Truly Ancient Land.

Egyptian emissaries erected stellae in the Fourth Century, though quite a few have fallen.

Sunrise in the Land of Prester John.

The modern Church of Maryam ( Virgin Mary ) near the Ark Of The Covenant.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or Tabot, in Axum. The object is currently kept under guard in a treasury near the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.( Wikipedia) Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I with divine assistance, while a forgery was left in the Temple in Jerusalem. ( Wikipedia.) Melenik I was the son of King Solomon and Queen Sheba.

A Peaceful Dove – An Apparition ?

An Ancient Stellae Field.

A Cantankerous Camel.

Holy Bible.

Brutal Punishments For Sinners.

Rugged Trees For the Dry Climate.Tigray only gets a few showers in the summer.

One of the best restaurants in Ethiopia – in Adrigat.

Lamb and Beef so fresh you can eat it raw.

Hot Tibs.

Hotel In Adrigat. Did not stay there.

Captured In Battle.

Ancient Scripture.

Debri Damo Monastery. Accessible only by rappelling up the cliff.

Even monks 80 or 90 years. old can do it. Once they can’t, they stay.

Two Fascinating Weeks In Ethiopia then came to an end. TotalAdventure moved on to nearby Eritrea, though it took two flights to get there. TotalAdventure would especially like to thank Awaze Tours for making our private journey possible. Also Special Thanks to our driver Engdu ! Ethiopia is not an easy country to navigate and Awaze helped make all this incredible experience possible.

In The Twelfth Century King Lalibela Decreed A Holy City Known As New Jerusalem – To Be Built From Solid Rock. Above Is Beti Gyorgis – St.George ,One Of Eleven Churches Carved From The Earth.

The Light of Jesus Shines Upon A Monk.

Days Spent In Prayer Unchanged From The Fourth Century.

Very Little Restoration Has Taken Place. Due To The Arid Climate And Solid Rock Construction, Lalibela Remains Much Intact.

Envy Of The Crusaders Who Sought Ethiopia, But Couldn’t Find It.

There Are 2 Masses Per Day, At Dawn And At Noon,Each For Two Hours. No Eating Or Drinking Is Permitted Beforehand ,Not Even Water.

While Ethiopia is being “Discovered ” there are few crowds.

Rock Church From Above.

An Approach To Church.

Circular Compound.

Exterior of Compound.

Light Of Jesus.

Outside Lalibela- A Church Built In A Cave.

Guard’s Rifle.

St.George From Below.

Holy Waters – A Bit Stagnant.

No Assembly – Just Carving !

Church Exterior.

Lalibela Houses. Only Recently Did The Town Receive Electricity.

The two day 500 KM journey from Addis Ababa to Lalibela is rugged and fascinating. Ethiopia is a land harkening to Biblical times, with a few modern twists like cars and smartphones.

The two day

On the first night , TotalAdventure stayed in Kombolcha and posted for the first time to the Magazine. After that , the voyage became too bsuy, exploring and traveling until well past sundown, meals with locals, and slow internet made daily contributions difficult. The next morning, before leaving the city, we passed through a market on the main street.

People walk for miles from the countryside to sell. their wares in the market.

Ethiopian markets have many spices In the US this would be sold in tiny packets for many times the price.

Salt , perhaps from Danakil .

Outside town, Gelada monkeys also shopped for food, asking passerby in cars. While many think the climate must be hot, as Ethiopia in in Africa, we were almost always between 7500 and 11000 feet – 2300m -3400m. In January daytime temperatures were generally in the low 70s F( 21C) to about 40 F at night ( 4C ).

Ethiopia is 33% Islamic and 62%. ( mostly Orthodox) Christian. In general there are no conflicts over religion.

Wheat is pulverized into fine powder by the hooves of oxen.

The powder is used to bake inerja – the ubiquitous bread that accompanies almost every meal in Ethiopia.

What appears to be a towel is the inerja. You use it to scoop up the meat and eat everything.

Evening in Kombolcha.

After being driven to the Uzbek Border we walked across a no – man’s land strip and presented our visas. From there it was a short taxi ride to Khiva.

Above, The Registan In Samarkand. Watch the Incredible Video above !

Khiva is a self-contained fortress city. Everything of interest is inside the walls . It is fascinating and can be seen in a long day by energetic explorers such as ourselves.

Hotel Orient Star , a former Madrassah, is where we stayed.

In A Tamarlane City

View From Our Balcony

After 24 hours in Khiva, TotalAdventure hired a car with driver to take us 600 km across the Kara Kum Desert to Bukhara. The cost is US $ 50. Most larger transactions are done in USD as it is 8500 Som to the dollar, requiring huge stacks of bills to be used. Watch the video above to experience the desert crossing.

10000 Som is about $ 1.20. The biggest note is 100,000. Difficult to fold the wallet. However, 3 of those notes will get you a hearty meal.

Gates like this are plentiful in Uzbekistan, neighboring . Afghanistan , Iran and Pakistan, as well as Northern India.

An Ancient Koran from the times of Tamerlane.

In The Golden Domes Of Samarkand.

Unlike many other Islamic Nations, the Call To Prayer is not audible.

Uzbekistan is just opening up to the outside world . It’s a great country to explore. TotalAdventure plans a return to explore the western regions of the former Aral Sea later in 2020.

TotalAdventure returned to Istanbul for the first time in several years. It’s our staging point for points East.

Where East Meets West .

In Santa Sophia – Both Mosque and Church.

1000 Year Old Graffiti In St. Sophia

Europe On The Left, Asia On The Right.

A Patriotic Dog.

Tonight TotalAdventure Flies to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, and the Real Adventure Begins !

TotalAdventure Presents “Long Lost Laos” A Video Narrative Of Last Summer’s Voyage.

TotalAdventure returned Bangkok for the first time since 1995 ! It’s our final stop in Southeast Asia before going to Qatar later this evening.

Wat Arun – The Temple of Dawn !

One Night In Bangkok……

Hello Thai Restaurant owners in the USA . THIS is Tom Young Koong – not the watery tasteless stuff you serve. And it costs 150 Baht !

Angkor is truly a Wonder of the World, even if it was not listed as one of the originals.TotalAdventure spent three days exploring, though several weeks would be needed to visit all the areas that are still being explored.

Europe was in the Dark Ages when this huge city was being built.

These rivers were navigable.

Time takes over.

Lost In Time.

Angkor Wat – Main City.

Intricate Details On All Structures.

June is a great time to visit, as the winter tourist hordes have vanished, but real monsoon has not yet begun.

Eternal Path.

Eternal Guardians.