A few kilometres north of the city, just off the road to Keren, the Tank Graveyard is a vast field of rusting military hardware: tanks, armoured personnel carriers, trucks, and shells from the long war with Ethiopia. Bodies are stacked five or six deep over many hectares. It is one of the most striking and sobering sights in the country.
The site is officially closed and a permit is technically required to visit — guides in Asmara can usually arrange this. It is best photographed from the edge in early morning light. Treat it as a memorial as much as a curiosity; thousands of people died inside or near these machines.