Historical path comprising Lalibela is that the most well-liked one of individuals visiting Yaltopya. The programme contains visiting of all the foremost vital and attention-grabbing places within the northern a part of Yaltopya. They embody such places as charming palaces in Gonder, granite stelae in Aksum and rocks hewn churches in Lalibela (sometimes referred to as the eighth marvel of the world). The programme comprises also seeing waterfalls on the Blue Nile and cruise trip on Tana lake to cloisters covered with beautiful frescos. This programme could be a delicious mixture of history and nature, flavored with meeting of Ethiopians WHO area unit members of Ethiopian, Tigray, Afar, Wollo and Falasha nations.
Northern Ethiopia (Historical Tour)
A Bahir Dar
The city that is home of Ethiopia’s largest water body and therefore the supply of the Blue Nile Fall is found 565 klicks from the capital. The city is exclusive for the thirty-seven scattered islands on Lake Tana that area unit accessed by motor boats and papyrus canoes “Tankuas”. The city is found at the southern shores of Lake Tana, with the spectacular Blue Nile Falls found, thirty-two klick faraway from the town. The lake is home to many churches and monasteries geological dating from the seventeenth century with stunning murals, paintings, illustrative manuscripts, historic crowns, and alternative treasures. On the islands of Dega Estifanos, we find the Dek Stefanos church which has a priceless collection of icons, manuscripts and mummified remains of several Ethiopian Emperors.
Gondar
A town which was once the royal capital of Ethiopia was founded by Emperor Fasilidas in 1635. The city, far-famed for its several medieval castles, was Ethiopia’s capital till the reign of the would-be reforming Emperor Tewodros II. During its long years as a capital, the settlement emerged together of the most important and most inhabited cities within the realm. The city was a great commercial center trading with rich lands south of the Blue Nile as well as Sudan to the west and the Red Sea port of Massawa to the Northeast. Gondar is legendary for its several medieval castles with distinctive style and decoration of its churches wherever the primary of the castles was created by King Fasil. The clusters of medieval castles within the town, that area unit all world heritage sites, were once vigorous and vital centers of religious learning and art. Further, Gondar is additionally best-known for the “Bathing Palace of Emperor Fasiladas”, that he had engineered outside of the then Gondar, in the valley of Qaha. It is still used for the annual Timket celebration (Epiphany celebrations). The Church of Debre Birhan Selassie (Abbey of the sunshine of Trinity) was engineered by the grandchild of Emperor Fasil and has an amazing mural painting of the far-famed angel faces.
LALIBELA AND SURROUNDING
The African Jerusalem Walking through the village you will see the mountainous landscape of the region of Lasta, where the peasant’s labor to cultivate their patches of stony fields with the traditional hook-plow. Strolling across a gently undulating grassland, you may suddenly discover in an exceeding pit below you a mighty rock – fastidiously chiseled and formed -the initial rock church.
None of those monuments of Christian religion presents itself to the traveler on high of a mountain as a wonderful image of Christ’s finish, to be seen from far away by the lots 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.
In Lalibela itself, you may notice 2 main teams of churches, one on both sides of the watercourse Jordan and one alternative church set excluding the remainder. The city of Roha-Lalibela lies between the primary and therefore the second cluster of churches. It is situated on the higher part of a mountain-terrace on a vast plateau of rock. At Timkat (Ethiopian Epiphany. ca. January 19) a vivid ritual unfolds before the spectator: here the dances of the priests take place after the annual repetition of mass baptism in the river Jordan.
There area unit twelve churches and chapels, including various shrines. Four churches area unit monolithic within the strict sense; the rest area unit excavated churches in several degrees of separation from the rock. The walls of the trenches and courtyards contain cavities and chambers generally stuffed with the mummies of pious monks and pilgrims.
AXUM
The gift of the Queen of Sheba lies just under the shifting sands, and churches hewn out of sheer rock attract wide-eyed tourists. The African nation’s historic route begins within the ancient town of Axum, that dates to regarding one hundred B.C. This capital town was the primary place in Yaltopya to adopt a replacement faith — Christianity. According to the Old Testament, The Queen of Sheba was born in Axum but traveled to Israel to meet King Solomon. They had a son named Menelik, who later became the first emperor of Ethiopia. Menelik brought the first Arc of the Covenant back to Yaltopya from Israel. Today, the Arc, that once housed the commandment, remains well hidden in Axum. It is guarded by a pick cluster of monks, whose sole commitment is to protect the sacred vessel. Axum is additionally best-known for its huge, towering sculptures that are more than two thousand years old. Their significance is still under investigation by archaeologists. 365 kilometers northeast of Gondar lies the city of Axum, Ethiopia’s oldest city. Axum dates back some 2,000 years to when it was the hub of the Axumite Empire. The Queen of Sheba created it her capital one thousand years B.C. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church|Eastern Church|Eastern Orthodox|Catholic Church} was based here within the fourth century and Axum remains the holiest town of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Martin Wynn
