Eritrea is one of the poorest and most isolated countries in Africa, yet its array of modernist architecture is among the largest globally, making the East African country a unique contender to be the next World Heritage Site.

A report by Mail & Guardian Africa states that Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, is home to approximately 400 of these buildings, which backs up the application made in February by the Asmara Heritage Project (an organisation formed in 2014 to protect the country’s historic architecture).

One of the hopes arising from recognition through this esteemed status is that the buildings will be restored (as many are falling to pieces), while at the same time helping the city become the cornerstone of fruitful tourism in Eritrea.

The majority of the historic structures date back to the Italian occupation of the country in the 1930s.

1 March 2016
Image: Gallo/Getty Images