A reclusive and impoverished former Italian colony in the horn of Africa, Eritrea remains a pariah state from which countless refugees seek to escape its brutalist regime and indefinite military conscription. Yet it has wonderful scenery and its capital, Asmara, is a masterpiece of 1930s modernist architecture.

The talk covers the history of this troubled country, its principal sites and includes a spectacular train ride up 7,000ft to Asmara on the restored rail link from the Red Sea port of Massawa.