THE BAOBAB MADONNA (SANCTUARY OF MARYAM DEARIT)

Not far from the camel market, about 2 km from the city centre, is the sanctuary of Maryam Dearit, also known as the "Madonna of the Baobab".
At the end of the th century, the Sisters of Charity built a sanctuary inside this immense baobab; the trunk was dug and a black statue of the Virgin was placed there. The tree is so broad that it is possible to bring about ten people inside the sanctuary at the same time. Moreover, in 1941, during the war, Italian soldiers took refuge in the baobab while British planes bombed the region and, although the trunk was affected, the soldiers survived and the sanctuary was not damaged. Belief wants the Madonna to have curative and spiritual virtues; it has thus become an important pilgrimage place. Every year, on 29 May, hundreds of pilgrims gather there and carry the statue on their shoulders in a festive atmosphere where songs and dances mingle with prayers. Another tigrine belief is that baobab is the source of fertility. If a woman wants to find a husband or a child, she must prepare coffee in the purest Eritrean tradition, in the shade of the tree; if a traveller passes through and accepts a cup of coffee, his wish will be fulfilled.