Historic North & Harrar
This part includes; Axum, Lalibela, Gonder, semien mountain, and Bahir
Dar.
The historic north path is north of the country through famous and
fascinating places; from prosperous and ancient places and also leads
one through some of the most breath taking scenery of semien mountain
national park is along this route. The walled city of Harrar is
included in this part considering its historicalness.
Along this route the ancient city of Axum, the rock hewn churches of
Lalibela, city of Gonder with its 17th C castle buildings, the ragged
semien mountain, the walled city of Harrar [eastern historical
attraction], the romantic city of Bahir Dar, the majestic blue Nile
fall, and Tana island monastery churches can be visited.
ORGANIZE A TRIP
HOW TO ACCESS-
- It could be flight, surface drive and combining both to access the
sites.
Flight – you can fly by ETHIOPIAN every day scheduled flight much of the sites with stop over a day or two in each place for visiting.
Drive - having inconvenience of long day drive and stretches of some part rough road and needs more days comparing to flight, tracing the route on the ground gives you the chance to experience real way of life and reveals ragged scenery.
ACCOMMODATION- hotels Along the route and on the destinations are from basic to 3star and also lodges and restaurants are available. See hotel for lists.
ITINERARY-we try to put optional out line itineraries to give many
choices as much as we can and there is always a possibility of
combining with tigeray rock hewn churches, semien trekking, Danakil
depression, and omo tribes tour or others depend on the interest. See
tour package for option..
HOST ETHIOPIA TOUR organize a tour to this route all inclusive package
to all sites or tailor made part of the site with preferred service to
suite specific interest of passengers.
And the tour could be fully escorted from Addis or our agents in every
destination will arrange everything in accordance.
Transportation – High bus, coaster bus or minivan will be used depend on the number of passengers
AXUM-
THE FIRST CAPITAL OF ETHIOPIA
Mysterious monoliths Its very early history is unknown, but high
civilization was established by Semitic immigrants from south Arabia
centuries before the era of Christ. Axum emerged as the capital 3000
thousand years ago according to legend and 2100years ago according to
historian assumption. In both cases Axum one of the old settlement in
the world history. By the time birth of Christ Axum rise to its
important and dominate the vital cross roads of Africa and Asia. From
1st cA.D-6th c Axum enjoy its high time civilization ,Its territory
was overseas the blue Nile river in the west ,Yemen was part of
Ethiopia In the east Part of Somalia up to port Barbara ,and Djibouti,
Eritrea and south Sudan was Part of Axumite kingdom. At its high time,
they were minting coins for internal and eternal trading, and paying
salary in coin for their soldiers.
Port Adolis was one of their luxerative income sources because they
were trading Middle East, Europe, and Asian countries and the port
served as linking point between Africa and the rest of the world
besides wide territory tribute.by that time Axum was among 4powerful
nation in the world. And to now a days there are many historical
reminants or relics which will reminds us the then time and could be
Interesting sites for visitor, like different stele which varies from
3mts to 33mts height and more than500tones of weight from a single
stone ,well decorated and showed models of story build[upto13story]
and hundreds Stele in number. And palace reminants, graves, old
buildings, inscriptions in different language are some among them.
Axum has long been considered as holly city for Christian and the
cathedral church of the town is Axum Zion. When Christianity reached
to Ethiopia in333A.D the first church was Axum Zion. The true ark of
the convient believed to be kept [the Ten Commandment] believed to be
kept in Axum in special chapel within the church compound under
special guarding of the community of the compound and only single
priest in the chaple. From the legendery king of Menlik first to the
time of emperor Haile selassie coronation was held in Axum.
In the 7th c Axumite empire start to decline due to the expansion of
Islamic empire they lost the port and consolidation of local leaders
in military power and refuse to pay tribute and claim their
independence. At last power shifted to north central Ethiopia Agew
land, lasta Lalibela.
LALIBELA-
8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD THE ROCK HEWN CHURCHES
Some writer says it's the 8th world wonder. Lalibela is a small town
in the middle of the Ethiopian highlands.Its ancient name was Roha but
later after king lalibela , It retained the name from the king. His
name was Gebre Mesqel (also called simply "Lalibela", which means "the
bees recognise his sovereignty" in Old Agaw) was negus or king of
Ethiopia, and a member of the Zagwe dynasty; he is also considered a
saint by the Ethiopian church. King Lalibela was given the name
"Lalibela" due to a swarm of bees said to have surrounded him at his
birth, which his mother took as a sign of his future reign as Emperor
of Ethiopia. Tradition states that he went into exile due to the
hostility of his uncle Tatadim and his brother king Kedus Harbe, and
was almost poisoned to death by his half-sister.Lalibela is said to
have seen Jerusalem in a vision and then attempted to hewn a new
jerusalem to save the life of his peoples who usually Pilgrims to
Jerusalem. Because of that everything around lalibela is a
representation Jerusalem. Its hewned beneath the earth.
Around lalibelsa there are 11clustered of rock hewn churches
classified into 3groups. The 1st comprises six churches known as
earthly Jerusalem. The 2nd group is known as heavenly Jerusalem and
3rd one is the beautiful one and hewned at last ,dedicated to saint
George.The details about the construction of his 11 monolithic
churches at Lalibela have been lost. but historian argue it took 23
years all in general. His chief queen was Masqal Kibra, about whom a
few traditions have survived. Some traditions says states that she
convinced king Lalibela abdicate in favor of his nephew Na'akueto
La'ab, but after 18 months of his nephew's misrule she convinced
Lalibela to pass the reign to Lalibela son Yitbarek. Late in the 13th
c the Solomonic line consolidated and by the push of church power
again shifted to more central Ethiopia by restoring Solomon dynasty
GONDER-
CASTLETED PALACES
Gonder was a capital city of Ethiopia from 17th to 19thc and was
founded by Emperor Fasilides around the year 1635, and grew as an
agricultural and market place. Tradition a states that a buffalo led
the Emperor Fasilides to a pool beside the Angereb, where an "old and
venerable hermit" told the Emperor he would locate his capital there.
Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his castle on that same
site. The emperor built his still standing palace, swimming pool
[house of the of the house], archive and a total of seven churches.
During the seventeenth century, the city's population is estimated to
have exceeded 60,000 and was the second largest city in the world In
1678, the visiting Armenian bishop Hovannes remarked that the city was
"twice as big as Istanbul. Many of the buildings from this period
survive, despite the turmoil of the eighteenth century. By the reign
of Iyasu the Great, Gondar had acquired a sense of community identity;
when the Emperor called upon the inhabitants to decamp and follow him
on his campaign against the Oromo in Damot and Gojjam, as had the
court and subjects of earlier emperors, they refused. The town served
as Ethiopia's capital until Tewodros II moved the Imperial capital to
Magadala upon being crowned Emperor in 1855; the city was plundered
and burnt in 1864, then devastated again in December, 1866. Abdallahi
ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he invaded Ethiopia June 1887. Gondar
was ravaged again in 23 January in the next year, when the Sudanese
invaders set fire to almost every one of the city's churches, and at
last during the Italian occupation in1936and the English bombs to
expel the Italian destroyed gonder.
The modern city of Gondar is popular as a tourist attraction for its
many picturesque ruins in the Royal Enclosure, from which the Emperors
once reigned. The most famous buildings in the city lie in the Royal
Enclosure, which include Fasilides castle, Iyasu's Palace, Dawit's
Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Mentewab's Castle, a chancellery,
library and three churches. Near the city lie Fasiladas' Bath, home to
an annual ceremony where it is blessed and then opened for bathing;
the Qusquam complex, built by Empress Mentewab; the eighteenth century
Ras Mikael Sehul's Palace and the Debre Berhan Selassie Church. Gonder
was the important center for adminstrative, comerce, religion, [king
fasiledes the revivalist of orthodox tewahido sect] calture and noted
for skill of different crafts.
LAKE TANA MONASTRY ISLANDS AND BLUE NILE FALL BLUE NILE FALL
Its 1hr drive from the the town of bhir dar across the bride to the
majestic fall of blue Nile fall.its locally known as Tis Isat ,means
smoke of fire .When it flood Its 400mts wide and dropping over 45mts
deep and the spray of water drencheson looker upto a kilometer away
and produce a rainbow across the gorge. Besides the fall the sourece
of blue Nile lake tana out let of the river an interest for visitor.
LAKE TANA MONASTERY ISLANDS
Lake Tana the biggest lake in Ethiopia with an area of 3000km surface
and the source for Blue Nile Lake Tana has thirty-seven islands,
twenty of which are home to churches and monasteries of significant
historical and cultural interest.the are decortated by beautiful
painting and innumearable treasures. The islands with interesting
historic churches are Birgida Maryam, Dega Estifanos, Dek, Narga
selassie, Tan Cherkos, Mitsele Fasilada, kebran Gebriel, Debre
Maryam,Ura Kidnemehret, Azwa marizm and Giogreous. Many of these
churches have beautiful mural paintings and house church crosses,
crowns and clothes of former kings. Some the churches and monasteries
are off-limits to women .All the churches approached by boat from the
port of Bahir dar town from the south side of the lake or from gorgora
from from the north side.
THE SEMIEN MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
The semien mountain is the most ragged mountain but majestic, is found
along the historic north near to Gonder. Its gigantic and hard cores
of volcanic out lets and its surrounding materials eroded away over
the centuries. The semien mountain its part of the world heritage
because of its land feature and its the home of 3 endemic game
animals[Childa baboon,Walia ibex and Semien fox] and countless endemic
plants.The highest mountain in Ethiopia namely Ras Dashen 4th higest
africa [its 4620mts above sea level] is found with the massive of the
semien mountain.
HARRAR
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern
Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia. The city is located on a
hilltop, in the eastern extension of the Ethiopian highlands about
five hundred kilometers from Addis Ababa with an elevation of 1885
Mts.
For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial centre, linked by the
trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the
Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world.
Harar Jugol has been included in the World Heritage List in 2006 by
UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage. It is considered "the
fourth holiest city of Islam" with 82 mosques, three of which date
from the 10th century, and 102 shrines. Harar is also famous for its
distinctive, natural processed coffees which bear the same name.
Harar was founded between the 7th and the 11th century [according to
different sources] and emerged as the center of Islamic culture and
religion in the Horn of Africa. It was part of the Adal Sultanate (at
times a vassal of Ethiopia) of which it became the capital in 1520
under Abu Bakr. From Harar, Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, also known as
"Gragn the Left-handed," launched a war of conquest in the sixteenth
century that extended its territory and even threatened the existence
of the Christian Ethiopian empire. His successor, Emir Nur ibn
Mujahid, encircled the city with a wall, 4 meters high and with five
gates. This wall, called Jugol, is still intact, and is a symbol of
the town to the inhabitants.
The 16 century was the Golden Age of Harar. The local culture flourished, and many poets lived and wrote there. It also became known for coffee, weaving, basketry and bookbinding. The rulers of Harar also struck its own currency.
Harar lost some of its commercial importance with the creation of the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway, initially intended to run via the city but diverted north of the mountains between Harar and the Awash River to save money. As a result of this, Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 as New Harar.
The inhabitants of Harar represent several ethnic groups, both Muslim and Christian, including Amhara, Oromo, Somali, Gurage, Tigray, and others. Nevertheless, within the walled city, the indigenous Harari are predominant. The Harari, who refer to themselves as Gey 'Usu ("People of the City") are a Semitic speaking people, once thought to be descended from an Aksumite military outpost. Today, they are most commonly classed as a social and cultural, rather than as a distinct ethnic group, since most families have intermingled with the neighboring groups, and were welcoming of foreigners into their community. Their language, Harari, constitutes a Semitic pocket in a predominantly Cushitic region. Originally written in the Arabic script, it has recently converted to the Ge'ez alphabet.
Harar mosque
The old town is home to 110 mosques and many more shrines, centered on
Feres Magala square. Notable buildings include Medhane Alem Cathedral,
the house of Ras Mekonnen, the house of Arthur Rimbaud, and the
sixteenth century Jami Mosque. Harrar Bira Stadium is the home stadium
for the Harrar Beer Botling FC, used for football (soccer) matches.
One can also visit the market.
A long standing tradition of feeding meat to hyenas has also developed
(during the 1960s) into an impressive night show for tourists.
Other places of interest include the highest amba overlooking the
city, the Kondudo or "W" mountain, which hosts an ancient population
of feral horses. A 2008 scientific mission has unleashed efforts for
their conservation, as they are one of the most endangered wild horse
packs in the world.