Historical evidences have proven that Ethiopia is a country with a
history that goes 3000 years back. Like many other aspect of
Ethiopia, the history of the country is unique and intriguing. Thus
being an ancient country has enabled Ethiopian to accumulate an
enormous amount of cultural relics. More over the country is also
endowed with a variety of natural resources. Accordingly, Ethiopia
stands top in Africa to register 9 world heritage sites under
UNESCO.
Simien National Park (added to the list in 1978):
Comprising one of the principal mountain massifs of Africa, the
Simien Mountains are made up of several plateaus, separated by broad
river valleys. A number of peaks rise above 4000m, including Ras
Dashen. It has been registered by UNESCO in 1978.
The dramatic landscape of the Simien Mountains is the result of
massive seismic activity in the area about 40 million years ago.
Molten lava poured out of the Earth's core reaching a thickness of
3000m. Subsequent erosion over the millennia has left behind the
jagged landscape of the Simien Mountains: the gorges, chasms and
precipices. The famous pinnacles - the sharp spires that rise
abruptly from the surrounding land - are volcanic necks: the
solidified lava and last remnant of ancient volcanoes.
The mountains are home to three of Ethiopia's larger endemic mammals: the walia ibex, the more common gelada baboons, and the very rarely seen Ethiopian wolvess.
Simien National Park has been inscribed on the World Heritage List
in Danger since 1996.
Lalibela (1978)
It was registered by UNESCO in 1978.
Lalibela: A true wonder of the world not “built” but “hewn” and
intricately curved from Virgin rock, are unable to believe that the
rock churches are entirely made by man. They attribute their
creation to one of the last Kings of the Zagwe Dynasty, king
Lalibela, in the 12th Century. Lalibela is internationally renowned
for its 11 rock-hewn churches which are sometimes called the eight
wonders of the World.
The town of Roha, now known as Lalibela, is the site of eleven
remarkable rock churches which rank with the major wonders of the
world. They are different from most ordinary churches as they have
been cut in one piece out of the solid rock and are frequently
connected by tunnels. Many historians believe that all or at least
some of these churches were built by King Lalibela. Some legends
claim that the workers were helped by angels who did three times as
much in the night as they did in the day. It is probable that some
of this work dates from before the time of Lalibela (1190-1225).
Coming to Lalibela you will find an atmosphere of mystery approaching the village in a vehicle drive from the airport you may just catch a glimpse of a group of churches.
Walking through the village you will see the quite, even austere, mountainous landscape of the region of Lasta, where the peasants labor to cultivate their patches of stony fields with the traditional hook-plough. Strolling along across a gently undulating meadow, you will suddenly discover in a pit below you a mighty rock-carefully chiseled and shaped- the first rock church! None of these monuments of Christian faith presents itself to the visitors on top of a mountain as a glorious symbol of Christ’s victory, to be seen from far away by the masses of pilgrims on their road to the “Holy City”; they rather hide themselves in the rock, surrounded by their deep trenches, only to be discovered by the visitor when standing very close on top of the rock and looking downwards.
The town of Roha-Lalibela lies between the first and the second group of churches, one on each side of the river Jordan, and one other church set apart from the rest.
There are twelve churches and chapels, including various shrines.
Four churches are monolithic in the strict sense; the rest
remainders are excavated churches in different degrees of separation
from the rock. The walls of the trenches and courtyards contain
cavities and chambers sometimes filled with mummies of pious monks
and pilgrims.
The First Group of Churches
The churches of the first main group lie in their rock cradles one
behind the other north of the river Jordan. The original approach
might well have been from the river Jordan upto the churches
Glogota-Debre Sina (Mika’el) in the west. The whole complex, seen in
an east-westerly directions, may be divided in to three smaller
groups; Bet Medhane Alem(House of the Redeemer of the World) in the
east, the Bet Maryam(the house of Mary), Bet Maskal (the house of
the cross), Bet Danaghel(the house of the Virgins or Martyrs) group
in the center, and the twin church Bet Golgota(The house of
Golgotha)- Bet Debre Sina (Mika’el) with the Selassie Chapel and the
tomb of Adamin the west. While each sub-group has a courtyard of its
own, the whole complex is surrounded by a deep outer trench.
The second group of churches
Approaching the town of roha-Lalibela from the south, you will see,
south of the river Jordan, a bastion of red tuff severed from the
rock plateau in the north, east and south by a broad tral trench
(partly filed up with earth today) cuts this area into two parts,
leaving at its end a cone-shaped hill. An old entrance led from this
central trench to the sanctuaries mainly by way of narrow
subterranean passages. Only later on were the churches connected
with the outer trench by small, roughly cut trenches in the
courtyard. The original function of this complex of churches has not
yet been clarified. Two of them were certainly planned as such, Bet
Emanuel and Bet Abba Libanos. They have a proper church plan and
oriented to the east. Were the other two, as authorities claim, part
of the residence of the Zagwe, once displaying the splendor of a
royal court where embassies from neighboring kingdoms were received?
If so, since the fall of the Zagwe, those too have become churches.
This second group comprises, from east to west, the churches and
sanctuaries of Bet Emanuel (The house of Emanuel), Bet Mercurios
(The house of Mercurios), Bet Abba Libanos (The house of Abba
Libanos), the Chapel of Bet Lehem (The chapel of Bethlehem) and Bet
Gabriel-Rufa’el (The house of Gabriel & Raphael or the house of the
Archangels).
Bet Giorgis(The house of St George)
The monolithic Bet Giorgis- dedicated to the national saint of
Ethiopia- is isolated from the other two groups of churches. It is
located in the southwest of the village on a sloping rock terrace.
In its deep pit with perpendicular walls it can only be reached
through a tunnel which is entered from some distance away through a
trench.
Other Churches to be reached from Lalibela
While in Lalibela you may wish to make tours to some of the other
churches in the vicinity. Access to these churches often requires
long walks and stiff climbs or rides by mule. We would suggest a
four-day tour to the churches of the Bilbala district, including the
beautiful built-up cave church Yemrehanna Krestos, the tiny rock
church Arbatu Entzessa, Bilbla Giorgis and in particular Bilbal
Cherqos. The last church of this tour would be Sarsana Mika’el. A
visit to Genata Maryam might be planned together with an excursion
to Mekina Medhane Alem.
NB: please look our Sites of Interest page for the details of the
Other Churches to be reached from Lalibela.
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are exceptionally fine examples
of a long-established Ethiopian building tradition.
Fasil Ghebbi(1979)
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region registered in 1979, is the remains of a
fortress-city that was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor
Fasilides and his successors.
The founder of Gondar was Emperor Fasiladas who, tiring of the
pattern of migration that had characterized the lifestyle of so many
of his forefathers, moved his capital here in 1636 AD. By the late
1640s he had built a great castle here, which stands today in a
grassy compound surrounded by other fortresses of later
construction. Fine castles, churches and other buildings were later
built by Emperor Yohannes I (1667-162), Iyasu I (1682-1706), Dawit
III (1716-1721), and Iyasu II (1730-1755).
In addition to this castle, Fasiladas is said to have been
responsible for the building of a number of other structures.
Perhaps the oldest of these is the Enqulal Gemb, or Egg Castle, so
named on account of its egg-shaped domed roof. Other buildings
include the royal archive and the stable.
Beyond the confines of the city to the north-west by the Qaha River
there is another fine building sometimes associated by Fasiladas - a
bathing palace. The building is a two-storey battlemented structure
situated within and on one side of a rectangular pool of water which
was supplied by a canal from the nearby river. The bathing pavilion
itself stands on pier arches, and contains several rooms which are
reached by a stone bridge, part of which could be raised for
defense.
Besides such secular buildings, Fasiladas is reputed to have erected
no fewer than seven churches, as well as seven bridges.
Aksum (1980)
Registered in 1980 the city of Aksum came in to existence around 300
B.C. it took its name from its capital Aksum, and occupied a stretch
of northern Ethiopia, with Adulis as its principal port. As the
capital of a state that traded with ancient Greece, Egypt and Asia.
With its navies sailing as far afield as Ceylon, Aksum later became
the most important power between the Roman Empire and Persia and for
a while, controlled parts of South Arabia.
They also used coins of gold, silver and copper, which were first
produced by the kings of Aksum around 250 A.D.
Aksum, the extensive ruins of which can still be seen, was an
important city. Its buildings included impressive stone palaces and
temples. Its ruler put up the famous obelisks, or stelae, which were
beautifully cut of single pieces of stone. They left stone
inscriptions, written in Ge’ez (classic Ethiopian), Sabean (language
of South Arabia) and Greek, describing the military campaigns of the
time.
They suggest that it was from Aksum that Makeda, the fabled Queen of
Sheba, journeyed to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem. Legend has it
that a son was born to the Queen from her union with Solomon. This
son, Menelik I, grew up in Ethiopia but travelled to Jerusalem as a
young man. There he spent several years before coming back to his
own country with the fabled Ark of the Covenant. The Ark, according
to Ethiopian belief, has remained in Aksum ever since.
By digging on the sites of Aksumite towns and cities and by
examining the old inscriptions it has been possible to unearth a
wealth of information about this great civilization of ancient times
and to gain a fair understanding of the way of life of its people.
Many of the treasures unearthed are to be seen in the National
Museum and in the museum at Aksum.
Tiya (1980)
The site is located between Addis Ababa and Butajira about 88
kilometers south of Addis. It is about 50 km from the archeological
site of Melka Kunture. The prehistoric site of Tiya houses another
collection of some 30 intricately carved stelae and is probably an
ancient burial ground. The stelae are not soaring monoliths as in
Axum, but they contain depictions of swords and various enigmatic
symbols not found in other regions. According to UNESCO, these are
the remains of an ancient Ethiopian culture whose age has not yet
been precisely determined. The erection of megalithic monuments such
as these is a very ancient tradition in Ethiopia.
Lower Omo Valley (1980)
The Lower Valley of the Omo River is a prehistoric site where many
hominid fossils have been found. They are of fundamental importance
in the study of human evolution. It has been registered in 1980.
Several hominid fossils and archaeological localities, dating to the
Pliocene and Pleistocene, have been excavated by French and American
teams. Fossils belonging to the genera Australopithecine and Homo
have been found at several archaeological sites, as well as tools
made from quartzite, the oldest of which date back to about 2.4
million years ago.
Lower Awash Valley (1980)
Registered in 1980, the valley of the Awash River is one of the most
important paleontological sites on the African continent. It is here
that in 1974 the skeleton fragments of 'Lucy' were found, who is
estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago
Walled City of Harar- Jugol (2006)
On the Eastern part of the country, perched at the end of a spur
projecting from the Central plateau, lays the old walled city of
Harar redolent of the Middle Eastern world. Five massive gates in
the walls of the city center stand testimony to the need for strong
defense, against past intruders. This city was founded 1,000 years
ago, around the 10th or 11th century AD when it began to establish
itself as an important center of the Islamic faith on the African
continent and built cultural, religious and commercial links with
other parts of the Muslim world.
Harar is a fortified historic town in southeastern Ethiopia. It has
been a major commercial center, linking African and Islamic trade
routes.
It has been recognized by Unesco as 'an inland urban settlement with
a distinct architectural character and social organization, which
cannot be compared to any other town in East Africa. It was
registered in 2006.'
It is considered "the fourth holiest city of Islam" with 82 mosques
and 102 shrines. The Islamic is town characterized by a maze of
narrow alleyways and forbidding facades.
Konso (2011)
The Konso people are famous by their terraced agricultural
landscapes, remarkable feats of human engineering and social
organization. Which enabling for the conservation of soil and water
as well as the cultivation of food. Indigenous terraced landscapes
are all the more valuable because they have been produced by the
people themselves and maintained for several hundred years,
evidencing a valuable degree of sustainability. Konso cultural
landscape registered the 9th world heritage site of Ethiopia in 2011
world heritage session in Bahrain.
They have also a community system in their village where people live
close together as other African village and densely populated area
in the country. There is also a wooden statue called Waka that
erected on the burial for the konso warrior which has a cultural and
traditional value in Konso people and also the Generational pole
erected in communal place in the village called Mora.
When a hero or important man has died, waga figure are carved in his
honor. They are placed in and around the fields, and not necessarily
where the man has been buried. The deceased is usually represented
in the center of the waga group and flanked by his wife. On the
outside stand any enemies he may have killed, carved in an abstract
and phallic fashion. Fierce animals he has slain, such as leopard,
lion or a crocodile, will also be depicted and placed at his feet.
In front of the central figure, representing the deceased is his
shield on his forehead a phallic symbol is carved.
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