NORTH ETHIOPIA

Axum/Aksum

Axum, / Aksum/, is a city in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, located at 14°07.475'N 38°43.975'E near the base of the Adoua mountains. It was the center of the Axumite Kingdom , which emerged around the time of the birth of Jesus and declined (after about 1000 years of dominion ) due to the shift of the power center of the Ethiopian Empire further south.

Axum was agreat commerical center trading with distand lands,among them Egypt,Arbia,Persia ,India and Ceylon. To counties such as these the ancient Aksmits exported gold Ivoty, rhinoceros-horn,hippopotamus hide ,salves, and Imported all kinds of textiels- cottons and silks, as well as knives,Swords and drinking cups,Metal for local manifature into all sorts of abjects, and numerous luxury goods,including gold and silver plat,militry cloacks for the nobility and olive oil.

Testymony to the importance of this trade is to be seen in the Aksumite currency, in gold, silver, and bronze,which was inscribed ether in Greek or Ge'ez, and issued for serveral handerd years by over twinty differnt Aksumit kings.

At the momment ,seventy-five percent of the people in the city are Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. The remainder of the population is Sunni Muslim and P'ent'ay.

Axum, as the site of Ethiopia’s most ancient city, is a World heritage site !. The small town’s 16th century Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion is built on the site of a much older church dating from the fourth century AD. Only a platform and the wide stone steps remain from the earlier structure. The Cathedral is a repository for crowns belonging to some of Ethiopia’s former emperors. According to legend, it also houses the original Ark of the Covenant – thus making St. Mary’s the holiest sanctuary in Ethiopia.

This same church was the site Ethiopian emperors were crowned for centuries until the reign of Fasiledes, then again beginning with Yohannes IV until the end of the empire. Axum is considered to be the holiest city in Ethiopia and is an important destination of pilgrimages. Significant religious festivals are the T'imk'et Festival (known as the Epiphany in western Christianity) on 7th January and the Festival of Maryam Zion in late November.

The most striking relics of Axum are its obelisks or stelae . They are made from single blocks of granite carved to represent multi-storey buildings. The tallest, now fallen, once stood more than 33 meters high and numbered 13 storeys. The highest obelisk still standing is 10 storeys and 24 meters tall. The carving is deep and precise, showing the beams for each floor and the windows.Another stele looted by the Italian army was only returned to Ethiopia in 2005 and is due for reinstallation

Other local historical sites include the graves of king Kaleb and king Gabre Meskel, the Bath of the Queen of Sheba, and the ruins of the vast Royal palace ,the Archaeological museum,Ezana Garden,King Bazen's Tomb,King Ezana's Inscription .

Aksum was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980

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