Asmara, Eritrea, Africa - August 1960
As military duty in Saudi Arabia was
considered "arduous," we had frequent opportunities to take trips out
of the county. The easiest of such trips was to catch a ride on the
"desert run." This was the USAF DC-3 ("Gooney Bird")
supply run. Frequently these small 2 engine planes would bring supplies
out to the desert detachments from Dhahran Air Base on the Gulf. After
making the desert stops, it would fly across the Red Sea to the city of Asmara,
then in the province of Eritrea, Ethiopia; now the capital of the country of
Eritrea. Here it would pick up fresh African food supplies to bring back
to the desert. If we could get away from our regular schedule, we could
fly over to Asmara for a break from the desert heat and other in-country
restrictions. The country around Asmara was know as "the land of
eternal spring time." Located at a high elevation (about 7,000 feet
above sea level, if I remember correctly), we always found it a cool and green
break from our Riyadh environs. The Kagnew
military station was our official connection there, but we usually had more
civilian pleasures in mind.
As this was my first trip to Eritrea, I
apparently did not spend much time with photography. There will be more
photos from another winter trip to Asmara to be posted later in this series.
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| After our last stop in
Arabia (usually Jidda), we would climb in the un-pressurized Gooney until we
could skim over the top of the escarpment west of the Red Sea. |
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| We would then be at a low
altitude above the green of the Eritrean planes. |
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| As we neared the city of
Asmara, more development could be seen. |
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| This is probably a decent
view of part of the city. |
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| Landing at the small
airfield outside of town, we check out this colorful Ethiopian Air Lines
plane. |
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| The pilot and Bill pose
by one of the DC3's engines. |
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| If I remember correctly,
this was the trip where we lost an engine on our Gooney just after getting
airborne. |
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| This was a rather
exciting story in itself. Here one of the mechanics takes a break or
waits for parts. This breakdown gave us a few more days to enjoy this part
of Africa! |
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| Usually the very 1st
& very brief stop upon arriving was the USASA
Kagnew Field Station. As we were not interested in more military, we
quickly headed for town. |
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| Our main mode of
transportation there was what was called the "Gerry Cart." |
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| These carts, pulled by
one horse driven by a local driver, were a great way to see the local sites. |
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| This grainy black &
white photo show Bill & Keith with their driver as he pulls up in front
of our favorite pensione. |
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| Scotty & his driver
pull up right behind us. |
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| Carts & truck are
parked in front of the Villa DellaRosa as the staff come out to greet us. |
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| The owner of the pensione
whose name has faded from memory (his wife was called "Mama"
so maybe he was "Papa"?). |
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| Keith poses with one of
the friendly staff. |
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| Changed in to civilian
clothes, Keith is ready to "hit the town." |
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| Not sure whether this
shot was from coming or going. It appears to be in front of the pensione
with a cart driver & maybe a local cab..? |
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| Leaving Asmara, Keith
gets some more views of green Eritrea before returning to the desert. |
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| And then it is out over
the Red Sea with its numerous islands. |
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