Assab is a port city in the Southern Red Sea

Southern Red Sea

The Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea is one of the six main regions of Eritrea. It lies along the southern half of the Red Sea, and contains the coastal city of Asseb. It borders the Northern Red Sea Region, and has an area of around 27,600km²....

 Region of Eritrea

Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 on the west coast of the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

. In 1989, it had a population of 39,600. Assab possesses an oil refinery

Oil refinery

An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...

, which was shut down in 1997 for economic reasons. Nearby is the site of the ancient city of Arsinoe

Arsinoe (Aethiopia)

Arsinoe , sometimes called Arsinoe Epidires, was an ancient city of the Avalitæ, at Dire promontory in Eritrea, north of Berenice Epideires, and near the entrance of the Red Sea . The city was founded by Ptolemy II and named for Arsinoe II of Egypt, his wife and sister. Its location is near the...

.

Overview

Assab is known for its large market

Market

A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...

, beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es and nightlife and is served by Assab International Airport

Assab International Airport

Assab International Airport, is an airport in Assab, the capital of the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea....

. Assab is very hot during summer months, temperatures can touch a scorching high of 54°C (129°F) in July and August.

History

In 1869 it was bought by the Rubattino Shipping Company from the local Sultan, and was acquired by Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 (1882) who found the port inadequate for exploitation of its hinterlands, and came to use Assab as a coaling station. During the twentieth century Assab became Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

's main port. The Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 later built an oil refinery

Oil refinery

An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...

 there. During the Eritrean War of Independence

Eritrean War of Independence

The Eritrean War of Independence was a conflict fought between the Ethiopian government and Eritrean separatists, both before and during the Ethiopian Civil War. The war started when Eritrea’s autonomy within Ethiopia, where troops were already stationed, was unilaterally revoked...

 and famine

Famine

A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...

 of the 1980s, food aid was brought to Eritrea and the Ethiopian province of Tigray

Tigray Province

Tigray was a province of Ethiopia. The Tigray Region superseded the province with the adoption of the new constitution in 1995. The province of Tigre merged with its neighboring provinces, including Semien, Tembien, Agame and the prominent Enderta province and towards the end of 19th century it...

 through this port.

Economy

The port facilities were greatly expanded in the early 1990s, with the construction of the new terminal, but the port has declined since trade with Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 was terminated in 1998 as a consequence of the Eritrean-Ethiopian War

Eritrean-Ethiopian War

The Eritrean–Ethiopian War took place from May 1998 to June 2000 between Ethiopia and Eritrea, forming one of the conflicts in the Horn of Africa...

.