Things to see and do Keren

Keren is known for its markets and wandering in the for a afternoon is a good way to immerse itself with the atmosphere of the city. Just behind the Keren Hotel is a covered market where you sell fuits and vegetables; and just behind it begins a series of small, beaten alleys that are the of the city. A whole aisle is dedicated to gold and silver sellers, and then several aisles see themselves with vendors of fabrics and tailors; the latter, sitting behind their sewing machine, are waiting peacefully for the next hem to be made. A little further, small aisles lead to another covered market: this time, it is the grain market, where many cereal varieties are piled together alongside others in large canvas bags. Right on the right is the wicker market, and there are also a few shops selling basketry and pottery.

Situated on a hill in the north-east of the city, at 1 460 m above sea level, the old Egyptian fort still dominates Keren. The guns of the Ethiopian army are still there, and it is difficult not to notice the ruins of the former Imperial Palace lying at the foot of the mountain, testimony of the war against Ethiopia. From here, we have a splendid view of the surrounding mountains and the city itself.

Not far from the camel market, about 2 km from the city centre, is the sanctuary of Maryam Dearit, also known as the "Madonna of the Baobab".
At the end of the th century, the Sisters of Charity built a sanctuary inside this immense baobab; the trunk was dug and a black statue of the Virgin was placed there. The tree is so broad that it is possible to bring about ten people inside the sanctuary at the same time. Moreover, in 1941, during the war, Italian soldiers took refuge in the baobab while British planes bombed the region and, although the trunk was affected, the soldiers survived and the sanctuary was not damaged. Belief wants the Madonna to have curative and spiritual virtues; it has thus become an important pilgrimage place. Every year, on 29 May, hundreds of pilgrims gather there and carry the statue on their shoulders in a festive atmosphere where songs and dances mingle with prayers. Another tigrine belief is that baobab is the source of fertility. If a woman wants to find a husband or a child, she must prepare coffee in the purest Eritrean tradition, in the shade of the tree; if a traveller passes through and accepts a cup of coffee, his wish will be fulfilled.

At a time not so distant, a railway line connected Asmara to Keren. During the Italian colonization, the train took two trips per week and played an important role in the transportation of agricultural goods produced in the fertile regions of the West to the highlands of the capital. Nowadays, the railway no longer exists and the train station serves bus bus stations. The architecture of the building, the heritage of the Italians, is worth a detour. The small cafe at the end of the building is the perfect place to watch her off the premises that come from the West and go to the capital, or come to the Marché market to buy cattle before returning to their region. To get there you must take the road from Agordat on the Giro Fiori and continue straight for about 400 m.