Assab: Four fun places to visit in the hottest city

Assab, a small port city in the Red Sea region of Eritrea, is ranked as the hottest city in the world. According to climate data, it records an average high sweltering 49°C. But astonishly, the temperatures do not drop at night unlike other places with typical hot desert climates.

During the peak summer months of July and August, even its average night-time temperature exceeds 30°C meaning there is no respite from the searing heat for the residents of Assab which has a total of just three rainy days per year on average. Yet there are a lot of fun activities and places to visit in the furnace-like city.  Meilleur casino en ligne Francais curated this article to list out the spots to visit.

1 – Assab Port

The city houses the country’s second most important port after Massawa. Formerly a terminus of caravan routes across the arid Denakil Plain, the Assab coastal strip was acquired by Italian shipping interests in 1869 and in 1882 became the first Italian colonial possession in Africa. Under Italian rule, the port became a free-trade zone for landlocked Ethiopia and was connected by road to Dese, in the Ethiopian highlands on the Addis Ababa–Asmara highway. After Eritrea’s federation with Ethiopia in 1952 (and incorporation in 1962), Assab became an important port of entry for the southern and central parts of the country. It eventually handled 70 percent of Ethiopia’s export-import trade, acquired a small naval garrison, and in 1967 became the site of Ethiopia’s first petroleum refinery. After the secession of Eritrea in 1993, Asseb remained an open port for Ethiopia.  The facility is reported to be used by the UAE as a launching point for air and sea campaigns against the Houthis in Yemen, after signing a 30-year deal with Asmara for military use.

2 – Assab Refinery

Although closed since 1997, the refinery in Assab is still a sight to be behold. The facility was a topping and reforming refinery with a nameplate distillation capacity of 875 ktonnes per annum (17,500 bpd), though operation tended to be around 90% of rated capacity.

The refinery was owned by the Eritrean government and operated by the EPC. It ran on Soviet Blend crude and its output was shared between Eritrea and larger market of Ethiopia. Until its closure, the refinery had a production agreement with Ethiopia to deliver 700,000 tons per annum of finished products. Typical yields were gasoline (15.3%), gasoil (25.8%) , kerosene (7.3%), fuel oil (44%) with 7.6% of the crude intake going to auto consumption.

3 – Assab Airport

The Assab airport is around 13 km away from the heart of the city. Although occasionally used,  it is open to the public and military. Despite operating a few public flights, the facility still draws a large number of tourists for its nice construction and pleasant surrounding environment that can access best online casinos Australia.

This airport covers many global destinations like Dubai, Entebbe, Jeddah, Juba, Khartoum, Nairobi, Asmara, Cairo, Cape Town, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Karachi, Khartoum, Lagos, Lahore and Rome. By bus, Assab reaches all the major cities and towns of the country including Asmara and Massawa.

4 – Beaches and nightlife

Beaches are the highlights of Assab, with the opportunities for different water sport activities. Other than beach beauty, visitors can also have mouthwatering crunchy and crispy delicacies at the restaurants located on the beach line.

With plenty of restaurants, cafes and disco clubs, Assab is rich in nightlife, which attracts both locals and tourists throughout the year. Assab houses both modern and traditional shopping options and restaurants that spread up all around the city. However, only a few shops in the city accept credit cards.