The first three capitals of Ethiopia were Axum, Lalibela, and Gondar. I’ve now visited all three, and they were truly spectacular.
After crossing the border form Sudan, my first stop was Gondar, which became the capital in the 17th century. Each successive king built a new castle, which combine influences from Moorish, Portuguese, and British architecture. The place is known as “Ethiopia’s Camelot,” and the scenery is magical enough to deserve the title.
On a hill nearby sits Debre Birhan Selassie, the oldest church in the area. It’s walls are painted with Ethiopia’s best-preserved art from the period. I struggled to take photos in the low-light with my iPhone, but these are the best.
The Crucifixion scene at the front is probably the most impressive work of all, and it dominates the room.
The ceiling is painted with the faces of angels gazing down on you.
St. George is the patron saint of Ethiopia, and a scene of him slaying the dragon is featured prominently. He’s a little more white in England, where he’s also the patron saint.
Another impressive scene shows the death of John the Baptist, his wrapped head being handed by the guard at right to Salome while Herod looks on from his throne.
At its height, Gondar was an extremely wealthy trading power. All those castles don’t come cheap. But the early deaths of two successive kings caused a succession crisis and the empire began to decline. The crisis’ eventual victor moved the capital elsewhere, and Gondar began to fade. It was sacked by the Mahdists from Sudan during the Khalifa’s time, and the city never recovered. All that remains are the remnants of its glory.
From Gonder I travelled to Axum, the centre of ancient Ethiopia. The trip was far from easy – 12 long hours on unpaved dirt switchbacks through the mountains. There are no guard rails to protect your rickety bus from the plunge to the valley floor.
But there was no doubting the spectacular views.
People were getting carsick left and right, some managing to grab a bag, some not. It was ten hours from Gondar to Shire, and two from there to Axum.
If you haven’t noticed yet, when Tolkein wrote Lord of the Rings, he borrowed many of the place names from Ethiopia. Gondar = Gondor, Shire = The Shire, and Bahir Dar = Barad Dûr. The Abyssinian Crisis brought this part of the world to international attention at around the same time Tolkein was writing, and perhaps that is what brought the names to his attention.
Much of what was once ancient Axum has crumbled. The most impressive remaining evidence is the Northern Stelae Field, where dozens of stelae point towards the sky.
The Great Stelae, the largest of all, has fallen and is broken into pieces.
Two other Axumite site are just up the road from the Stelae. The first is the Ezana stone, which contains a list of the victories of Axum’s first Christian king in three languages – Ge’ez, Sabean, and Greek. It’s much like the Rosetta Stone.
Nearby are the tombs of King Kaleb, who conquered as far away as Yemen, and his son. During their reign Axumite power reached its peak, and they were buried with massive treasures. Unfortunately, the tombs have been emptied. Poor light and an unimpressive subject didn’t make for good photos.
These three are the most impressive Axumite sites, but the surrounding areas are dotted with less important ones which I didn’t have time to visit.
The difficult bus ride from Gonder inspired me to fly from Axum to Lalibela, my next stop, instead of spending two days on busses. In order not to break my rule that my journey from Alexandria to Cape Town must be overland, I also booked a ticket back to Gondar, where I could pick up my tracks and begin travelling by bus once again.
The flight to Lalibela was an interesting experience. There were only four people on the plane. Once we had all arrive, the plane departed 45 minutes early! We arrived in Lalibela before we were scheduked to leave Axum. It’s important to get to the airport early in Ethiopia.
Lalibela is Egypt’s chief tourist attraction. (The Ethiopians know this too, and charge 50 USD for an admission ticket.) the city contains eleven rock-hewn churches built during the Zagwe Dynasty.
I spent several days exploring the churches and took plenty of photos. The history of this place is complicated and wrapped in legend. There is still much historians do not know, as the ruling dynasty left no written records.
Lalibela is indescribably beautiful. It’s hard to believe that these churches have been freed from the rock. They’re also connected by a series of underground that represent the journey from hell into heaven. I transited two of them with no light, using just my hands to feel the walls. It’s easy to see how emerging into the light of a church from the darkness of the tunnel was a spiritual experience for many.
