ASMARA

also spelled Asmera city, capital of Eritrea. It is located on the northern tip of the Ethiopian Plateau at an elevation of 7,628 feet (2,325 metres). Asmara lies on the Eritrean Railway and is a major road junction; its international airport, built in 1962, is 2.5 miles (4 km) southeast, and its port on the Red Sea, Massawa, is 40 miles (65 km) northeast. Formerly a hamlet of the Tigre people, Asmara became the capital of the Italian colony of Eritrea in 1900 and remained a small colonial town until 1934. It was the main base for the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, and the town rapidly expanded as the leading city in Italian East Africa. Asmara was under British administration from 1941 until Eritrea's federation with Ethiopia in 1952 and was the site of Kagnew, a U.S. telecommunications base from 1942 to 1977. It became the capital of independent Eritrea in 1993. The city is well planned and converges on the palm-lined main street on which are located the Roman Catholic cathedral (1922) and the Grand Mosque (1937). Other notable structures include the former palace (now a government residence), the legislative assembly and the municipal buildings, and St. Mary's (the main Ethiopian Orthodox church). Also the seat of Asmara University (founded 1958, university status 1968), the city has a public library and numerous secondary schools. Asmara's chief manufactures include textiles, footwear, and soft drinks. The city is also a busy agricultural marketplace and a major hide-tanning centre. The city's population is approximately half Christian and half Muslim. Pop. (1992) 400,000.