Entering The World's Strangest Country

a country where the internet barely works, ATMs

don't exist, and the government controls nearly every aspect of daily life.

Welcome to Iratria, off the east coast of Africa,

perhaps the weirdest country I've ever visited.

Over the next 4 days, I'll be alone and completely off the grid, meeting

locals who speak fluent Italian,

>> tasting some of the world's best coffee.

Never had anything like this before.

Exploring a rural camel market.

He's drinking water from his tongue

and partying at a tribal wedding in a remote village.

This is what life looks like in a nation that is cut off from

the rest of the world.

And I run into my first problem as soon as I land at the

>> This is officially the slowest visa process in the world.

I've been here an hour and a half.

Last person to leave the airport, >> bro. What's going on?

>> Apparently, the printer's broken.

But why don't they just get another printer

or have a backup plan?

Not a good start to the trip.

So 2 and 1/2 hours later, still no visa.

So they gave me a temporary

pass which allows me to enter the country until tomorrow morning and then I

got to come back to the airport and get my full visa.

I mean come on.

Good morning from Asara.

It's actually pretty chilly today.

First stop of the day is coffee.

Tria was an Italian colony

and they definitely brought their coffee here.

Not to mention the original coffee comes from Ethiopia, a neighboring nation.

that when you put the two and two together, it might be the best

coffee country in the world.

This is the absolute best cup of coffee I've had in my entire life.

The perfect Most people have never heard of Iritria

because so few tours are allowed inside.

The authoritarian government tightly controls access and requires detailed visa approvals that are often

delayed or denied without explanation.

All travelers face surveillance and a need for special permits to leave the capital.

It's no surprise that many people refer to this nation as the North Korea of Africa.

There's no freedom of speech, no free press, no social media, and military service

can last a lifetime.

Yet somehow, Italian culture still lingers from the colonial period.

They didn't just bring gelato and architecture,

they also brought their

>> It's Sunday morning, so I've made it to a mass here.

Is predominantly a Christian country.

Everyone's kind of sitting outside praying really.

enjoy the spiritual moment here.

>> It's crazy to think how popular Christianity is here.

You think about Itria

being surrounded by Muslim countries, Egypt, Somalia, Djibouti.

It's super fascinating going inside the church here. Pretty cool.

Really cool how they wear these white

outfits that cover their bodies.

Both the men and the women.

something very >> What do you enjoy about your country, your culture?

>> The culture in here in Aritria

is integrated between the nine ethnic groups.

It's the most peaceful

place as you can see.

>> You're from here, but you now live in the US for many decades, right?

>> What is it like to go back and forth?

for me is like, you know, I call it a time for declansing

from the social media.

And I don't look at it like a

>> What he's saying is accurate.

To get Wi-Fi in Iritria

is like going back to the '90s.

You walk inside an internet cafe,

pay two bucks, and get a scratch card with a password.

The connection is so slow that it takes minutes to send one email.

This is one of the many ways that shows how Iritria

is truly stuck in the past.

Even if you want to take out a mortgage intria, you can't.

There's no such thing.

There's no money loans.

Iritri is a 100% cash only society.

That means there's no credit cards.

There's no bank transfers.

There's no money apps.

You have to use cold hard cash

to pay for everything. Pretty crazy.

I'm excited to explore more of Asara.

But before we go anywhere, my driver hands me my passport and visa that

he picked up from the airport.

It's nice to finally be legal here.

Now we are on our way to this retro bowling alley and sports complex

where all the locals hang out.

And it feels like stepping into a time machine to the 1950s.

>> This is such a cool place.

You have video game section.

You have people playing billiards and bowling.

You have these old pictures on the walls of like these old Italian men

who were in bowling competitions

here with Iritrian men.

It's really cool to see.

So, there's nothing digital or electronic in this entire building.

Everything is done manually.

The scoring is done by hand.

When the pins go down, there's a little kid back there that puts the

pin back in the spot.

Look at the ball.

It just has a hole in it.

>> This bowling alley and sports recreation center is one of the best parts about

so vintage and old school.

You feel like you're living five decades ago.

>> So these guys are from Rashida

tribe, >> the smallest tribe in Itria.

He's 16 years old and he's married.

>> How long have you been married? >> 4 months ago. 4 months ago.

>> How old are you? I am.

>> You have a fiance?

>> I have a wife, but I'm 33.

>> I'm now entering the back of the bowling alley,

which is the coolest part here, where the kids are manually

putting up the pins and sending the balls back.

Here's a graveyard of all the balls that are broken.

I'm now sitting with my legs up while somebody bowls

so I don't get my legs taken out. Woo!

Man, I'm might lose my fingers, >> Okay, finished. >> So cool, man.

>> After hanging out at the bowling alley, I'm starting to work up an appetite.

So, I can't wait to dig into the local flavors of this incredible country.

I'm with my awesome irrina friends here.

I actually met F on the plane yesterday.

>> How do you say your name? >> Fic Ado. >> Fic Ado.

That's a cool name. And you? >> Nami.

Both of you did not grow up in

>> Where did you grow up?

>> I we were raised everywhere.

>> And what is it like to live back here?

>> This is where the heart is.

My heart is here.

So >> I love that. >> This is Jes. >> Okay.

Whatever Jies is, I'm into it.

>> I've never seen a plate that looks like this, but it looks amazing.

Look at all the colors on here.

And what is this?

>> This is fu fu, but the spicy version.

>> The food here is really spicy.

I don't remember it being spicy last time. >> It's really tasty.

The owner is insisting that we taste his honey. >> Was it sweet? >> Yeah, super sweet.

In your travels, when you were moving around and you told people you're from

Tria, people probably say, "What?

Like, what is that?"

How do you feel that

most people in the world have never heard of Itria?

>> For me, it's, you know, it's like I have this platform

to speak about my culture.

You're avoiding biases because not everyone knows about Eratraa.

So whatever you tell them, you know.

>> Thank you so much.

>> The hospitality here is >> Yeah.

See, he keeps bringing us stuff.

>> By the way, it's not because we're on camera, but he's normally like that.

>> In such good company, I could eat a whole another plate, but I have

to save room for dessert.

On the other side of town, I heard about this gelato

shop that literally transports me back to >> It's literally perfect.

And just outside the shop, I meet another friendly local who's eager to share

what life is like here. Right. is good.

You see, maybe we are not such an extravagant

society, but we are living a normal life.

>> You spend your whole life in. >> Yeah. Yeah.

>> So, you grew up in the 60s and 70s?

>> In my opinion, when I'm here, I feel like I'm going back in time,

but when you grew up, does it feel the same like it does now? >> Naturally, it's different.

So, by by default, it's different.

Different time, different opportunities.

But our everything is the old type.

We don't have that the modern ones.

But we enjoy >> If you could say one message to everyone in the world,

what would you tell them?

>> Better to live peacefully.

Peace is the very important thing.

>> Hearing a local say that peace is the most important thing says everything about Iritria today.

But in 1991, Iritria

gained independence after 350 years of colonization.

First under the Ottomans, then the Egyptians,

Italians, and finally Ethiopians.

In 1998, a brutal conflict with Ethiopia

killed tens of thousands and froze tensions for two decades.

Since independence, Iritria has been ruled by President Isas Afwki,

who turned it into a tightly controlled one party state.

So, while the guns may have gone quiet, Iritria still isn't free.

I've entered the massive tank graveyard here in Iritria.

All these tanks were from the Ethiopian war.

There's like thousands of them and they're all just in the nature now.

>> It's a sad story.

They were terrifying them and terrorizing

these trucks were a show of

too much terror and power.

At the end of the day, they won the game.

>> and this is just the memories. >> That's the memory.

They don't want to

sell them or destroy them.

They just want to keep them.

>> You know, these tanks were found all over

during the war, but the most important part was a city called Masawa.

It's on the port of the Red Sea.

Over time, so many different empires

colonized Masawa until the huge war in 1990 when the Iratrians pushed them out.

And nowadays, if you go to Masawa,

all the buildings are just left as is.

Kind of like how these tanks are just left as is.

It's absolutely bizarre, and it's a really cool place to visit.

There are loads of prickly pear cactus, which remind me of home in Arizona.

They look exactly the same.

All these kids are helping me take out these thorns. Thank you.

It reminds me of growing up when I was playing in my front yard

and I fall over in the cactus

and but it goes in my leg.

At least I got pants on. Thank you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

>> It's been a good time so far in Asara,

but now we are heading north to a town called Karen.

is actually the second biggest city in Eratria.

We're going to stop in some little villages along the way and try to have

a little deeper understanding

of the beautiful culture here in Atria.

Stopping in a small little village here

somewhere in between Asar and Karen

cuz the houses look really cool.

>> People are living here like they were living

almost a thousand years ago.

This village is split between Islam and Christianity.

And the way you can tell is that Christians have a little cross at the top. >> Okay.

The greeting is here.

You have to kiss Ed. >> Thank you. >> They're shy.

We really appreciate how basic life is out here.

No internet, running water,

just people hanging out doing the same things they've done for thousands of years.

Literally not worried about politics, not worried about social media,

not many materialistic things, just

simple, peaceful life and lots of smiles.

>> One really sweet old lady just invited us inside for some coffee.

Of course, we can't say no.

>> So, we are having a coffee ceremony.

This place is Islamic.

Everything is handmade here.

The ladies will craft >> They have electricity. >> Yeah. Uh solar powered. >> That's solar powered.

>> This lady making coffee for me is so sweet.

And this is one of the coolest experiences

I've had in this part of the

Do you enjoy life in the village?

>> But she doesn't speak much.

>> So you can't speak to her. >> Yes.

I mean just few words only. >> So interesting.

You can't speak to her.

We only drove 2 hours from us. >> Yes. Yes.

>> People can't you can't speak to them.

This is called inera

and it's a staple dish eaten with every meal in air tria.

It's a spongy sour flatbread

made from fermented teflour

and you can use it to scoop up stews and salads.

All right, fresh ginger coffee from this lovely lady.

Wa, that's super gingery. M.

It's like sweet ginger coffee.

Never had anything like this before.

And all you need is one little cup

and then you wake up.

You know, in the US we drink like huge cups of coffee and it's all watered down. >> That little cup.

>> We were just told that there is a a wedding in a nearby village.

So hard to say no when somebody tells you about a wedding.

But first, I'm heading out to visit a camel market in Iritria's

second largest city called Karen.

The craziest part is that tourists aren't really allowed to visit Karen, but I'm

lucky that my guide from Young Pioneer Tours is able to get me access.

So far, it's pretty cool.

It's clean, nice people.

This feels more tribal out here.

I really feel a sense of community up here in Karen.

You know, Asara is a bigger city. It's more commercial.

There's more embassies, more foreign influence, but here in Karen, it is like the real deal.

It's really traditional, really authentic,

and really freaking awesome.

We just passed by this shop with all these

men chilling in chairs

watching the news or watching TV because keep in mind they don't have internet on their phones.

They likely don't have a TV in their house.

So this is where they get information.

Lovely toilet situation here near Tria.

It's very hard to breathe in here.

But you get a nice look at

what we're working with.

And with all the food I've been eating,

I've been having to use these a lot.

Oh my god, there are a lot of camels here. Camel. Camel. Mala. Mala.

I am just surrounded by camels right now.

Totally different planet out here.

He's drinking water from his tongue.

I've been to many camel markets around the world, but here everyone's really friendly

and they don't mind if I shake their hand and take a picture.

In other markets, they're really like protective of their camels.

How much is this camel? Uh $1,100.

>> I've now made it to the ass market.

A lot of ass.

>> So, the camel and ass market is down there, but if you go up

the stairs over this fence, you'll see a huge livestock market that goes all

the way to the mountain.

This could be the largest animal market I've ever seen in my life, and it's amazing.

Everyone's just whacking their animals with sticks.

>> It's like hard wax.

>> It is so incredibly dusty here.

It's in my eyes.

It's in my nose, in my mouth.

>> We walking up to the top of the mountain because

there's a place to get teeth,

I suppose, while you admire the livestock.

>> Just sat down with the men here.

They're eating some peanuts and drinking some tea.

We get an amazing view of the market in front of us.

I mean, just This is incredible, man.

Are you guys selling one of these animals or you just hanging >> They have cows. >> They have cows. >> Thank you.

>> Little chai won't hurt anyone.

>> It's like cinnamon tea.

What I love about the tea and coffee culture here is everyone makes it slightly different.

You don't get the exact same cup of tea everywhere you go.

Like the lady has her own recipe.

We got a little peanuts to go with it.

Peanuts are really, really >> Oh yeah.

Two cups of chai and some peanuts for $1. Not bad. >> Here for you. It's a tip.

>> That's how she gets dishes.

Someone just sticks an arm through the hole and then

>> Iritria just keeps on giving.

But at this point, I'll be disappointed if we can't find the wedding.

So, we're heading back to the village to talk to locals and figure out

where the party is

>> This village is called Halibent.

It's just like a bigger version of the other one we were in.

A little bit more modern houses, but also traditional.

It's safe to say they like to have babies in this town.

There's like 50 kids behind me. >> the wedding. >> Where's the wedding?

>> The wedding is by this uh >> Come with us.

>> No, you speak Italian. >> you do.

Why do you speak Italian?

I learn in the in the phone.

>> What do you like better, English or

>> What's better for you?

>> My favorite language is English. >> You speak Arabic? English. Italian.

>> How old are you? >> I old. Are you 11?

>> You speak seven languages? >> What? That's crazy. >> That's crazy. It's amazing. >> What is crazy? >> Just It's unique.

This is my new friend Abdul Maji.

He speaks seven languages

and he's only 11 and he drives a Toyota.

He's guiding us to the wedding because we don't know where we're going.

>> The man is the man is hid in this uh >> where is the woman? Where's the woman?

>> The woman is hit on the houses.

>> So this is for the eating food.

>> This is so cool.

So now I'm in the women's section

>> and they're all just like hanging out.

They're like yodelling like

What kind of drink is this?

>> The drinks are is >> it's beer. >> This is Yeah.

>> What Abdullah is saying is all these

are like fermented beer, but they're huge

huge pots of them. >> Okay. A little bit. No. No. It's too much. Too much. Too much. That's too much. That's too much. Too much. A little bit. A little bit. A little bit.

>> These ladies are all asking if I want a drink.

How can I say no? Cheers.

>> No, no, no, no.

>> That was a cheers.

All right, let's try >> Yeah, that's um

not the greatest thing I've ever had.

It's the same kind of fermented

taste that I've had in other countries in Africa.

It's really gross, but I will never tell her that.

Thank you so much.

>> Here, you finish it.

Everybody's uh asking me questions now.

It's like they've never seen a tourist here. I guarantee it. >> How are you? >> I'm good. How are you?

>> It's so amazing out here. Wow.

The views, the mountains and the trees.

Which one is your house?

My house is >> This is your house.

>> How many brothers and sisters do you >> Nine. We are nine.

But the four is

uh the four is boys and the five is girls. >> Thank you. Salam. Salam. Salam. >> Wow.

You have a cow. >> What's the name? >> Yes.

This is my bison.

>> Do you sleep in this bed or in this bed? >> In this. This.

I sleep in anything.

So Abdullah's mom has kindly invited us in for coffee and food, and she

just said, "You can hang here until the wedding happens."

How can we say no to that?

As I've said time and time again, you can't really appreciate and feel a

culture until you get inside someone's house.

And however you're able to get inside,

whether it's someone invites you and you knock on a door or a friend

of a friend, do it. Thank you.

Since there's no internet access in the village, Abdul's

phone comes with a variety of offline apps that were assembled in China.

That's how he's able to learn English and Italian so well.

>> excuse me, to say thank you. >> You're smart, man. from work. Everybody will come.

>> She brought the coffee over and like gave us a aroma to smell.

That was really cool.

As the coffee beans were roasting and we're just like

this is actually my

permission to be in this region of Itria.

You have to get a

separate visa to enter

any other place besides Osora.

That's how you know that no tourists ever come here.

Thank you so much. Wow. My god. This is fantastic.

It's amazing that they drink coffee at night.

Like, how do you sleep?

>> I found out that Abdul's mom is a widow raising nine kids on her

own after her husband passed away.

This moment is beautiful.

The energy, the hospitality, the food.

>> That's really spicy and really good.

>> It's such a special experience in the countryside of Itria.

Last moments of daylight here.

This is just to calm before the storm because we're kind of just killing

2 hours here before

the wedding festivities begin.

So lucky that we were able to catch a wedding.

So lucky that I was able to meet Abdul.

This is why I wear the two words just go on my shirt.

I really believe that life's greatest moments happen when you just go someplace.

Step out of your comfort zone.

Go strike up a conversation with a stranger.

Like in 5 10 years from now when I look back and think about

Irria, this experience is going to be number one.

It's going to be plugged into my brain.

We have arrived at the wedding.

Something I find really fascinating and amazing about Euran people is that they don't smoke at all.

Here's a scene of a bunch of old men behind me.

And in almost any other country in the world, they would be chain smoking cigarettes.

But here, I mean, they drink, but they just hang out. It's really nice.

I love to see it.

And as Phil was telling me, it's just out of respect.

People don't like smoking and they just don't smoke. Pretty cool.

All right, everyone is now gathering, beating the drum.

The adults are here.

We're just waiting for the bride and the groom to show up, and then

it's a full-on party.

>> The wedding begins with the bride and groom arriving in traditional dress.

Then the men and women split.

The women dance in circles, clapping and singing, while the men gather with hunting

sticks, stomping in rhythm.

It's part celebration, part ritual, and it's all

>> All right, I'm going in.

I love what they're chanting and everyone's having a good time.

>> The men have finally joined the women.

By the way, >> just came in stumbling

drunk and everyone was laughing at him as he got kicked out by his friend. Same different country.

Itria might be the world's strangest country, but beneath all that, I found something I didn't expect. Incredible warmth.

The people here are kind, welcoming, and proud of their culture.

And that is what I'll cherish the most. I am