Lighthouses of Eritrea

The State of Eritrea is a nation of northeastern Africa with a long coastline on the southwestern side of the Red Sea. The country's modern history is rather complex. Eritrea became an Italian colony in the 1880s. During World War II British troops captured the country in 1941 and occupied it until 1952, when the United Nations decided Eritrea should be an autonomous region within Ethiopia. There followed a long and bloody war in which Eritreans won their independence from Ethiopia in 1991.

An extensive shoal, the Dahlak Bank, lies between the central Red Sea and most of the Eritrean coast. This forces ships approaching Massawa, the national capital and major port, to follow hazardous channels close to the coast.

There are additional lighthouses on certain Red Sea islands formerly claimed by Eritrea but in 1999 the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague awarded these islands to Yemen.

Arabic, English, and several indigenous languages are spoken in Eritrea. The Arabic word for a lighthouse is mnarh or manara (منارة). Ra's is a cape, jaza'ir or jazirat is an island, mina' is a harbor, and shi'b is a reef. Transliteration of Arabic to Latin characters can be done in many ways, so alternate spellings are common.

Aids to navigation in Eritrea are the responsibility of the Maritime Transport Department. The Department is not making any effort to maintain coastal lighthouses but it works to provide lights for the two ports of Massawa and Āseb.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Lights on this page were formerly included in volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals but in 2013 they were moved to volume D with new numbers. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
World of Lighthouses - Eritrea
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Online List of Lights - Eritrea
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Lighthouse Postcards - Africa
Historic postcard images posted by Michel Forand.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Eritrea.

Ra's Madur Light
Ra's Madur Light, Massawa, May 2013
Port of Massawa photo by Silvio Niccolai
(this was formerly the port's profile photo on Google Plus)

Northern Red Sea District Lighthouses
Difnein Island (2)
Date unknown (around 1915). Reported not in operation as of 2000; focal plane 44 m (144 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 38 m (125 ft) tripod cast iron tower with lantern, gallery, and central cylinder, originally painted with black and white horizontal bands. A photo by Konni and Matt Hahnewald is at right, a small 2005 photo (a little more than halfway down the page) is available, and Bing has a satellite view. This is a sibling of the Sha'b Shakhs Light (see below). This light station was built to mark the beginning of the approach to Massawa from the north, along the coast behind the Dahlak Bank. An 1892 Red Sea pilot guide describes the light as a 10 m (33 ft) wood pyramidal tower, but a 1922 guide describes the present tower. Located on an island about 110 km (70 mi) north of Massawa. Site and tower closed; there are warnings of landmines on the beach. ARLHS ERI-001; Admiralty D7295.025 (ex-E6088); NGA 30692.
Sheikh al Abu Island
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 19 m (62 ft); white flash every 10 s. 17 m (56 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a distant satellite view. This light marks a bend in the approach to Massawa from the north. Located off the western tip of a small island about 16 km (10 mi) offshore and 80 km (50 mi) south of Difnein Island. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D7295.024 (ex-E6090); NGA 30696.
* Massawa Harbor Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); continuous red light. 10 m (33 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with gallery, mounted on a square 1-story concrete equipment room. As a daymark the tower is enclosed in screening that is white with a black horizontal band. Joel Alexander has a 2006 photo, John Power has a second 2006 photo that shows the light standing in front of a ruined palace, the former winter palace of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Jeroen Meijer has a 2018 street view, Wú Qiàoqiàn has a distant street view, and the tower is centered in a Google satellite view. This is the entrance range for Massawa harbor. Located on the Massawa waterfront. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D7295.02 (ex-E6104); NGA 30720.

Difnein Island Light, Red Sea, August 2007
photo copyright Konni and Matt Hahnewald; used by permission
* Massawa Harbor Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft) ; continuous red light. 15 m (49 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower with gallery, mounted on a square 1-story concrete equipment room. As a daymark the tower is enclosed in screening that is white with a black horizontal band. Reinhard Dietrich's photo is at right, a distant view from the sea is available, there is another view that shows both range lights, Wú Qiàoqiàn has a 2020 street view, and the tower is centered in a Google satellite view. Located 128 m (420 ft) west southwest of the front light. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D7295.019 (ex-E6104.1); NGA 30724.
Ra's Madur (Mudur) (2)
1914 (station established 1892). Active; focal plane 26 m (85 ft); white light, 2 s on, 2 s off. 22 m (72 ft) slender round cast iron tower with 4 buttresses, lantern, and gallery, painted with black and white horizontal bands. Silvio Niccolai's 2013 photo is at the top of this page, Ismail Mussa posted a photo on Twitter, Forand has a postcard view and a second postcard view, and Google has a satellite view. This historic lighthouse appears to be in good condition. Located at the eastern end of an island sheltering the harbor of Massawa. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERI-002; Admiralty D7295.023 (ex-E6096); NGA 30700.
Madote Island (2)
Date unknown. Reactivated (and reported to be in operation at least sometimes); focal plane 15 m (49 ft); white flash every 5 s. 13 m (43 ft) square pyramidal steel skeletal tower; no lantern. Tower originally painted with black and white horizontal bands. A 2017 photo (a little more than halfway down the page) is available (the light was abandoned at that time). Google has only an indistinct satellite view of the island. This light stands at the northern end of the approach to Massawa from the south. Located on a small island, not much more than a sandbar, about 8 km (5 mi) east southeast of Massawa. Accessible only by boat. Site open. ARLHS ERI-008; Admiralty D7295.018 (ex-E6114); NGA 30728.
Massawa Range Rear Light
Massawa Harbor Range Rear Light, Massawa, January 2011
Wikimedia public domain photo by Reinhard Dietrich

Assarca (Asarka) Island (2)
Date unknown. Active (but reported not operating in 2002); focal plane 10 m (33 ft); white flash every 2 s. 7.5 m (25 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower; no lantern. Nearby are the ruins of a former lighthouse and the foundations of a keeper's house. No photo available but Google has an indistinct satellite view. This light and the next one frame a narrow passage in the northern end of the approach to Massawa from the south. Located on a small island about 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Shumma Island. Accessible only by boat. Site open. ARLHS ERI-009; Admiralty D7295.017 (ex-E6116); NGA 30732.
Shumma Island (2)
Date unknown (station established 1889). Reactivated (?); focal plane 33 m (108 ft); three white flashes every 20 s. 22 m (72 ft) round cast iron (?) tower, painted white. Tom and Amy Larson's photo is at right and Google has a satellite view. A sibling of the Ra's Madur Light (see above). The light was reported not in operation in 2001, but in Gerhard Bechtold's fuzzy 2017 photo the lighthouse appears to have a solar panel on the south (left) side of the gallery. According to an 1892 Red Sea pilot guide, the original light had a focal plane of 18 m (59 ft). Shumma, known as a scuba diving site, is a 4 km (2.5 mi) long island in the southern passage leading to Massawa, between the Dahlak Archipelago and the mainland. Located at the southern end of the island. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERI-004; Admiralty D7295.016 (ex-E6120); NGA 30736.
Umm es Sahrig Island
Date unknown. Active (?); focal plane 27 m (89 ft); white flash every 8 s. 17 m (56 ft) square skeletal tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available and Google's satellite view casts doubt on whether the tower is still standing. Located on a small island at the southern entrance to the coastal channel leading toward Massawa. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty D7295.015 (ex-E6122); NGA 30832.

Southern Red Sea District Lighthouses
After years of neglect the south Eritean port of Āseb (Assab) has become important in regional politics. In 2015 the United Arab Emirates leased the deep water port and airfield for development, in large part to support its interventions in the civil wars across the Red Sea in Yemen and in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. In 2018 Eritrea and Ethiopia reached an agreement reopening the port to shipments to and from Ethiopia and in 2021 construction began to upgrade the road connecting Assab to Ethiopia.

*
Sha'b Shakhs
Date unknown (around 1915). Still listed by NGA but clearly inactive. 37 m (121 ft) tripod cast iron tower with lantern, gallery, and central cylinder, originally painted white with a black horizontal band. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. This light originally served as a landfall light for ships arriving in Eritrea from the south. The lighthouse is abandoned and rusting and in the Google image we see that only foundation ruins remain of the keeper's house. Lighthouses of this design are quite rare. This one was in place by 1916, according to a Red Sea pilot guide. Located on the coast in a deserted area about halfway between Āseb and Massawa; accessible by boat or from the coastal road (but reaching this site by 4WD requires a well-planned expedition). Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ERI-005; Admiralty D7295.014 (ex-E6124); NGA 30840.
Shumma Island Light
Shumma Island Light, Red Sea, April 2008
Flickr photo copyright Tom and Amy Larson; used by permission
Ra's Gombo (Āseb, Assab) (2)
Date unknown (station established 1883). Active; focal plane 23 m (75 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 13 m (43 ft) square skeletal tower, covered on at least three sides by a daymark painted with black and white horizontal bands. No photo available but Google has a satellite view. Forand has a historic postcard view of the earlier lighthouse, a masonry tower. This is a landfall light for Āseb. Located on a headland on the north side of Āseb in southeastern Eritrea. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERI-007; Admiralty D7295.013 (ex-E6132); NGA 30860.
Ra's Fatuma (Ra's Fatma)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 29 m (95 ft); three white flashes every 26 s. 26.5 m (87 ft) masonry tower, painted with black and white horizontal bands. Guy wires have been added to help support the tower. No photo available but Google has a good satellite view. The lighthouse is quite close to the water, so it is probably endangered by beach erosion. Located at the northwestern point of Fatuma Island about 7 km (4.5 mi) east northeast of Āseb. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. ARLHS ERI-006; Admiralty D7295 (ex-E6128); NGA 30856.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Sudan | South: Djibouti

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Posted June 27, 2005. Checked and revised November 28, 2023. Lighthouses: 12. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.