Cinema Africa

Built during the Italian colonial era, when Asmara boasted one of the highest concentrations of cinemas in the continent, Cinema Africa belonged to a city where going to the movies was as much a social ritual as an evening's entertainment. Now outside the sightseeing circuit that comprises Cinema Impero and Roma, this building is one of the largest cinemas in the country and a remarkable example of Art Deco architecture that remains largely undiscovered.

It still houses a functioning café, accessible through the side entrance, on the ground floor where people gather over espresso and chatter, preserving the atmosphere that once made Asmara's cinemas as much about meeting friends as watching films.

The building itself is modest compared with the monumental Cinema Impero, but that is part of its appeal. Visitors encounter something increasingly rare: a historic cinema that still belongs primarily to the people who live around it, serving its community and yet allowing the few travelers who reach it to peek into the main theatre room, an extraordinary grid of bare wooden retractable seats that are not find anywhere else in the country.

It is a peculiar place for good coffee, to watch a football match on the café's tv, play billiards or observe neighbourhood conversations.