Lalibela Churches, Gondar Castles , Harar Jugol Wall & Nejashi Mosque

Lalibela

Lalibela medieval settlement in the Lasta area of Wallo, lies at the centre of an extensive complex of rock churches. Some can be reached by one or two hours' drive, others are a full day's journey. Lalibela has 11 remarkable rock-hewn monolithic churches, believed to have been built by King Lalibela in the late 12th or early 13th Century.

These notable structures are carved, inside and out, into the solid rock, and are considered to be among the wonders of the world. Each building is architecturally unique but each reflects beautifully executed craftsmanship, and several are decorated with fascinating paintings. These astonishing edifices remain places of living worship to this day. http://www.witnessethiopiatours.com/attractions/index.html

Gondar

The old medieval walled city of Harar - a city of mosques, minarets, and markets, a centre of Muslim learning, a city which once struck its own local currency, and still has its own unique language - has long been regarded by the outside world as a city of mystery and romance.
The walls of Harar were pierced in early times by five gates, a number supposed to symbolize the Five Pillars of Islam. These gates, known to the Hararis as bari, were situated respectively to the north, east, south-east, south, and west of the city. Each had its own distinctive name, and provided entry and egress to caravans traveling to and from different stretches of the surrounding country.http://www.witnessethiopiatours.com/attractions/index.html

Harar

The old medieval walled city of Harar - a city of mosques, minarets, and markets, a centre of Muslim learning, a city which once struck its own local currency, and still has its own unique language - has long been regarded by the outside world as a city of mystery and romance.
The walls of Harar were pierced in early times by five gates, a number supposed to symbolize the Five Pillars of Islam. These gates, known to the Hararis as bari, were situated respectively to the north, east, south-east, south, and west of the city. Each had its own distinctive name, and provided entry and egress to caravans traveling to and from different stretches of the surrounding country.http://www.witnessethiopiatours.com/attractions/index.html

Nejashi Mosque

The history of Negash begins from the 7th century AD; it is the place where the first mosque was constructed in Ethiopia. It is also serves as enduring reminder of the warm welcome extended by the Ethiopian king of the time Nejashi Ashama,when those Muslims including the family of the prophet Mohammed includes his daughter, his cousin and his wives filed from persecution from their own land and found refuge in Ethiopia. Negash is considered by many the second most sacred place of Islamic worship and also for Ethiopian Muslims as” the Second Mekkah” http://www.witnessethiopiatours.com/attractions/index.html

Historic Ethiopia Attractions

Historic Ethiopia Attractions

That Ethiopia has a heritage from the beginnings of mankind was underlined when the remains of ‘Lucy’, dated from 3.5 million years ago, and the 4.4 million year old Homo ramidus afarensis, man’s oldest anthropoid ancestor, were uncovered. Traders from Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt knew of the riches of what is now Ethiopia, and by the first century AD, Axum was the capital of a great empire.
This realm became one of the first Christian lands of Africa. Late in the 10th century Axum declined and a new Zagwe dynasty, centered in what is now Lalibela, ruled the land. Axum, Lalibella and Gondar now provide our greatest historical legacy. It was in the 16th century that the son of the great explorer Vasco da Gama came to Ethiopia, but then found a land of many kingdoms and provinces beset feuds and wars. In the l9th century the great Emperor Menelik led us towards the modern state of Ethiopia, and the Country’s passage to modernization began. http://www.witnessethiopiatours.com/attractions/index.html

Yeha

The oldest standing structure in Ethiopia is located in Yeha: the Great Temple. This is a tower built in the Sabaean style, and dated through comparison with dated structures in South Arabia to around 700 BC; although no radiocarbon dating testing has been performed on samples from Yeha, this date for the Great Tower is supported by local inscriptions.

David Phillipson attributes its "excellent preservation" to two factors, "the care with which its original builders ensured a level foundation, firmly placed on the uneven bedrock; and to its rededication -- perhaps as early as the sixth century AD -- for use as a Christian church."

Axum

The settlement was also the site of Ethiopia's oldest church, which dated back to the coming of Christianity as the state religion, early in the 4th Century. The giant stelae, the Axum Zion Church the ruin palaces tombs and many other archeological findings are all the symbols of the glorious Axumite Civilization signifying this ancient city as a center of Civilization, religion and Administrative.

The fallen obelisk with a height of 33 metres is the tallest obelisk carved out of a single stone. The 24 meter high obelisk is still standing and the other one with a height of 27 meters was cut in to three parts and taken to Rome in 1937 and returned back to Axum in 2005. They are all regarded as one of the finest examples of engineering from the height of the Axumite Empire.