Massawa: the Empire's Golden Port
Since it's conquest from the Khedive of Egypt in 1853, most trips to Ethiopia have begun in the Red Sea port of Massawa. Travel to and from Massawa is easier than ever, with the Suez Canal shortening trips from Europe and an extensive rail network leading all the way to the Atlantic.
Shopping aficionados won't want to miss out on Massawa's famous jewelers. Gold strikes in the last century drew skilled goldsmiths from across Africa and the Mideast. Now window shopping in the jewelery district has become a popular pastime for tourists.
But Massawa is most famous for the decisive battle fought here in 1862. In the 1860s, several European powers attempted to 'contain' a rising Ethiopia. In June of 1862 over 50,000 elite French troops landed and tried to seize the newly conquered town from a garrison of 30,000 Imperial troops. Over the next two months, as the Massawa garrison held out against the French attacks, reinforcements from across the empire arrived to launch a counterattack. By August, the French were cut off from reinforcements and water, surrounded and massively outnumbered, and on August 12 the French forces formally surrendered.
A famous painting of the Battle of Massawa. Infamously, the artist depicted the French flag backwards.
August 12 remains a national holiday in the modern Empire, because the victory has an importance beyond the military. The decisive defeat led to the end of the War of Ethiopian Containment. By defeating one of the world's leading military powers, Ethiopia had put a final end to any colonial designs European powers might have held. Captured French soldiers returned home with tales of Ethiopia's impressive civilization, and several French officers wrote books describing their experience. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that before Massawa, Europeans saw Ethiopians as savages to be exploited, while after Massawa they saw Ethiopia as a civilization in its own right.
Should you happen to be in Massawa on the anniversary, you won't want to miss the annual celebrations around the Triumphant Obelisk, erected in 1930. The great square around the Obelisk hosts a parade, with music and colorful marchers from across the Empire.