For more than a decade, the dramatic deterioration of the relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea has fostered passionate debates around the controversial re-conquest of Assab, to provide Ethiopia with a direct access to the Red Sea. Though the ports of Djibouti and Berbera are today often considered as the only credible alternatives to cope with the land isolation of the country, their access raises several economic and political challenges. However, from the Ottoman views on Zeila since the ..
