we thought eritrea was the poorest country we would visit on our voyage until of course we arrived in sudan. we arrived into the port of suakin and anchored in one of the most comfortable and protected anchorages of the trip. our agent mohamed made our stay in this port a very pleasant one. he helped us with diesel, water, internet and propane. he even exchanged our money at the most favorable rate. his entire attitude was so no agent like. we really liked him. 
we also met a very interesting group of guys. they were architects and engineers from turkey on a project to restore the ruins of old suakin. in the middle of the port there is an island full of ruins from buildings dating back to the ottoman empire. the remains look very pretty but of course there is not much left standing. turns out the government of turkey is investing on this project and has sent a group of 5 professionals to do the task. they explained to us the details of their project over a delicious dinner in a place where food seems very difficult to find. we eat at their place which was pretty much the only nice building in town.
this town has no water or electricity so the few that have light at night get it from generators. the water is treated from salt water by water makers and then transported by donkeys to the individual homes. this is probably an upgrade from eritrea where it is transported by jerry cans over long stretches in women’s backs.
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