Having traveled the Asmara-Keren road many times, I knew its every part and so it didn’t make any impression on me.

It was one o’clock and there were the three of us when we set north from Keren after lunch. The heavy lunch, the scorching April sun, the bumpy road… altogether made it impossible even for two new lovebirds to converse, let alone three men who have spent the whole day together. Leaving the driver to his task, my companion and I stayed for a long time in silence. Since the only cassette in the car was that of Abrar Osman, we had no choice but to listen to it over and over again.

We passed a sign that said “Hamelmalo College of Agriculture” and later the strait of Gonfolom, a narrow path prominent in the history of the struggle of liberation and a place I knew only by name through the late Okbagaber’s song.

“… The strait of Gonfolom, where our enemy was annihilated…” goes the song.

And just as mentioned in the song, we found wrecks of old enemy tanks and trucks.

We proceeded on a slope and went downhill almost the same distance, with huge baobab trees flanking on each side of the road up until the town of Gizgiza.

The distant mountains faced us while the rocks nearby reflected the sunrays, thus creating optical illusions. But at an unexpected time and place, we came across a creek and a green area. There were also plantations in the distance. Before I could ask for the name of the village I saw a sign that read “Kelhamt Teashop.”

As we proceeded along the road, the landscape seemed to be deliberately tying to confuse me. When I was expecting to go uphill, we would find a plain field. My companion told me that the village we were approaching was Felket. Once in the plain field I could see in all directions. If I were on a plane, our car would become only a white spot in the vast field.

While still in the plain surface, we came across “Welcome to the town of Afabet.”

I wished I had eyes on both sides of my head as I looked left and right, trying to capture images of the historic town. We had agreed earlier that we would not have a stopover. I didn’t know what I expected but I was sure Afabet wasn’t what I had in mind.

A few minutes after Afabet, we reached the historic site of Adi-Shrum and its monument-turned burned tanks and trucks. We had to make a brief stop there because I wanted to take pictures of what was a turning point in the Eritrean struggle of liberation.

The journey that took us along rivers and mountains was longer than I had expected. Although I have seen many mountains before, I kept being marveled. These mountains were refuges to the freedom fighters. But, I wondered, what must have felt those who came to invade from far away, when they saw these mountains? I’m not exaggerating if I say they must have felt demoralized. These mountains were an additional strength to the Eritrean revolution.

We reached Heday River. On our way we saw flocks of goats and sheep as well as young children waving at us. And scattered everywhere were tanks and destroyed war artillery, which once evoked fear but have now been turned into children toys. The children who were born in full independence probably had no idea what their toys were used for before.

Towards the end of the Heday River, the historic trenches of Nakfa came into view. “Denden, Globe, Farnello, Fidel Pe…,” my companion was identifying each trench by name from a distance.

We are now driving uphill in the Segad slope, just before Nakfa. After staying in Nakfa for four days and collecting the following information, I am now going downhill the Segad slope.

The Segad slope has been one of the factors that made the journey to Nakfa a challenging one. It was so narrow that two vehicles coming from opposite direction couldn’t pass at the same time. But now the old road has been abandoned, and a new one is being constructed. Although it hasn’t yet been asphalted, its width and quality is comparable to other major roads in the country.

The work done so far includes four kilometers in the Segad slope and around five kilometers down in the plain field.

I had fears that the floods from the Nakfa Mountains would erode the new road but when I saw the embankments being built, I found out that the walls would last for years. It’s hard to say that such tall walls and on a long distance was built entirely with man power. The height of the wall reaches up to 13 meters. And two kilometers have so far been covered.

The construction work is being carried out by the Keyih Kokon Construction Battalion, made up from the 61st Army Division. First taking off with only five professionals, the unit has now produced 150 skilled laborers, says Idris Mohammed Seid, commander of the battalion.

The battalion carries out military training, theory and academic classes, and manual work all at once. And through internal capacity, expertise in brickwork, carpentry and other skills has been developed.

The outcome so far achieved is testimony to the challenging behavior of the work. There were times when they had to work for 24 consecutive hours, and some incur physical disabilities. But what is their driving force?

“The trust of the martyrs that have fallen here is our motivation. We have to work hard because we are in a place of history,” says Idris.

The weather in the area is also in their favor.

Although Roddab Construction Company provides assistance in the task, most of the work has been carried out by the manpower of the members of the Construction Battalion. They confidently say that they could have progressed further if it wasn’t for the shortage in supply of materials.

The long term plan of the work is to take the road to Nakfa through Naro instead of through the former Heday River. And if it is going through Naro, it will need to go for 7 Kms through a stiff climb, which makes it the most challenging task remaining. But once it reaches Naro, it won’t be a problem to turn either to Afabet or down to the coastal areas, thus minimizing costs. But the present way through the Heday River, which poses problems for vehicles especially during the rainy season, can’t provide a lasting solution.

Home to the struggle of Eritreans, Nakfa has not been a convenient destination for its visitors. The main problem has been road and transportation. But now hope is in the air for Nakfa to proudly invite visitors.

Furthermore, the residents of Nakfa have got two alternatives to improve their livelihood: if Nakfa becomes in the long run a tourist destination, then it won’t take time for their quality of life to improve. On the other hand, there should be a way that could allow the residents of Sahel and Nakfa to go down to the coastal areas and get introduced with sea products.

The image I created in my mind seemed to come true. And that reminded me of a few lines from the song Mengedi Adena (Country Roads) by Beyene Hailemariam:

“Mengedi Adena
Wsedeni Wsedeni
Gobotat Besieka
Golagul Senti’ka
Bahri Tsembreni…”

The rough translation would sound something like:

“… Country road
Take me, take me
Through mountains and fields
And unite me to the sea …”

(Translated by Meron Abraha)