The tears of Allah

In Never say never again, SPECTRE manages to steal two nuclear missiles from NATO and Largo, who is in charge of the operation, hides one of the missiles in an underwater cave in North Africa. Bond and Domino join the US Navy on a submarine and they tail Largo to a bay somewhere in Africa but they still don't know where Largo has hidden the missile or where he is going.

To remember the location of the bomb, Largo has given Domino a pendant where a small diamond marks a location, with the inscription "the tears of Allah". Claiming it is the most valuable thing he has ever possessed, except her, he doesn't reveal the secret to Domino and it is not until on board the submarine that Bond understands that the diamond must mark a place.





    Your pendant. Give it to me!

On board the American submarine, Bond is looking at some charts together with Leiter and Domino over the area where Largo has anchored his yacht. This chart is accurate and makes it possible to identify the coastline. Bond claims that the diamond's location on the map is right where the oil fields start. Largo's plan for the bomb is not made completely clear, but then again, it is Never we are talking about and a few question marks regarding the story are not surprising.

Google map over the coastline in Eritrea. © Google

The bay where Largo has anchored can be found in a very unexpected place, namely in Eritrea in northeast Africa. Domino has earlier explained to Bond that they were heading for North Africa where Largo's home (Palmyra) is located. As I have covered earlier, the action taking place at Palmyra, were actually shot in the south of France, and naturally the film team was never anywhere near Eritrea. The rest of the scenes in North Africa were shot in Spain, as credited in the end titles.

Why this particular coastline was chosen is unknown.

Maps © Google

For various reasons I have not yet visited Eritrea and I have not planned a trip within a very foreseeable future.

I widely consider Klaus Maria Brandauer to be one of the worst Bond villains ever portrayed and his character is as stupid as the film itself. I have put together a video that hope will convince you. Enjoy.