Axum The Cradle of Ethiopia Civilization
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1980, Aksum is ‘Sacred’ as Jerusalem, old as Rome and historical as Constantinople, is an exceptional place in Ethiopia. Considered the beacon of Ethiopian Christianity, Axum is the mirror of the glorious period of Ethiopia. It served as the capital of the Aksumite Kingdom, which was the dominant trade entity in the Horn of Africa for over a millennium prior to the rise of Islam, stretching from the Sudanese Nile across the Red Sea to Yemen. Ruined palaces, obelisks, mausoleums, ruined churches, megalithic erected stones, coins, and manuscripts witness the golden period of the Aksumite Empire. The importance of the city is much elevated as it houses the most valuable and sacred relics of the tablet of Mosses or the arks of the covenant and as the place where one of the ‘Three Wise Men’ buried here.
What to See?
- Established shortly after Aksum’s leaders converted to Christianity, the 4th-century Cathedral of Tsion Maryam (Mary of Zion) is Ethiopia’s oldest church. The original church, modeled on Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, fell victim to the warrior queen Gudit in the 10th century, but the foundations of one of the original 12 temples are still visible. A replacement church, built in the 17th-century Gondarine style by Emperor Fasilidas, has a beautifully painted interior.
- Aksum’s Chapel of the Tablet is said to be where the Biblical Ark of the Covenant now resides. According to legend, this holiest of Old Testament artifacts was carried to Ethiopia by Emperor Menelik I – son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Jerusalem – some 3,000 years ago.
- A pre-Christian Stelae Field opposite Maryam Tsion incorporates the tallest blocks of solid stone ever erected in ancient times. The largest of the giant stelae, a 33-meter tall granite megalith attributed to the 3rd-century King Remhai, toppled over and shattered whilst it was being erected. Alongside it, the two tallest standing stelae are both comparable in stature to a ten-storey building, standing 25 and 23 meters high.
- The Aksum Archaeological Museum displays a wealth of ancient artifacts uncovered around Aksum, ranging from 3rd century Aksumite coins to glasses imported from Egypt.
- Other sites of interest include May Shum (also known as the Queen of Sheba’s pool), the ruined Dongar Palace, a trilingual tablet inscribed in Sabaean, Ge’ez, and Greek by King Ezana, and the 6th-century tombs of Kaleb and Gebre Meskel.
Aksum lies 1024 km north of Addis Ababa via Mekele or 1180 km via Gondar.
Daily flights connect Askum to Gondar, Lalibela, and Addis Ababa (www.ethiopianairlines.com). The airport is about 5km east of the town center and most hotels offer a free transfer service.
Tours can be booked with local tour operators in Addis Ababa and the main towns.
Taxis and bajaji (tuc-tucs) are readily available to visit all the tourists sites in and around town. Any hotel or tour operator can arrange more formal transport. Guides are optional but recommended and can be arranged at the Aksum Guides Association next to the ticket office for the central stelae field.
Dozens of hotels are scattered around central Aksum such as Atrons Fantasy Hotel and Spa, Yared Zema International Hotel, Sabean International Hotel, Obelisk Hotel, Brana Hotel, Consolar International Hotel, Yeha Hotel, Armah International Hotel, Ethiopis Hotel, Atse Kaleb Hotel, Nyala Hotel and others, most of them catering to the budget and midrange market. There are also a few upmarket options.
Aksum is an excellent place to celebrate Meskel (27 September except on leap years), a unique Ethiopian Christian festival commemorating the alleged 4th century discovery by Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine, of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The centrepiece of this colourful festival is the burning of a massive pyre in front of the central stelae and the Cathedral of Maryam Tsion. Other popular festivals are Timkat (January 19 except on leap years) and the day of Kidus Maryam (Saint Mary) on 1 December.
Shopping
Plenty of craft stalls running along the main road east of the central stelae field. This is a good place to buy traditional cotton cloths worn by the women of Tigrai, as well as baskets, crosses, and other traditional handicrafts.
Cultural Tours
Go Beyond Just Jungle Safaris
Although you might have heard it countless times let us remind you about the sophistication of Ethiopia that makes the country a must see of the planet. Ethiopia is truly full of wonderful and breathtaking places that you must see in lifetime says Jumia Travel.
Ethiopia imbeds cultural civilization from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East allowing you to get several continent cross-cultural values in one place in the ancient country known as Ethiopia.
For history buffs, for hikers, for adventures and daring destinations explorers, the country has everything that perfectly suites and fulfills travelers demands. From its admirable warm season all year long to its exquisite sights it’s one of a kind destination that wows every expectation.
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Historical Tours
Historic Travels to Ethiopia by AET
Details on the origins of all the peoples that make up the population of highland Ethiopia were still matters for research and debate in the early 1990s. Anthropologists believe that East Africa’s Great Rift Valley is the site of humankind’s origins. (The valley traverses Ethiopia from southwest to northeast.) In 1974 archaeologists excavating sites in the Awash River valley discovered 3.5-million-year- old fossil skeletons, which they named Australopithecus afarensis. These earliest known hominids stood upright, lived in groups, and had adapted to living in open areas rather than in forests.
Coming forward to the late Stone Age, recent research in historical linguistics–and increasingly in archaeology as well–has begun to clarify the broad outlines of the prehistoric populations of present-day Ethiopia. These populations spoke languages that belong to the Afro-Asiatic super-language family, a group of related languages that includes Omotic, Cushitic, and Semitic, all of which are found in Ethiopia today. Linguists postulate that the original home of the Afro-Asiatic cluster of languages was somewhere in northeastern Africa, possibly in the area between the Nile River and the Red Sea in modern Sudan. From here the major languages of the family gradually dispersed at different times and in different directions–these languages being ancestral to those spoken today in northern and northeastern Africa and far southwestern Asia.
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Open Market
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Pilgrimage Tour
Ethiopia is a land of wonder and enchantment, a country with one of the richest histories on the African continent, home to cultured and friendly people who are descended from some of the world’s oldest civilizations and religion has been a constant and central attribute. Christianity and Islam are the two major religions in the country.
Majority of the population belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox faith and about 35% of the population is Muslim. Some percentage of the society holds traditional and other beliefs. All forms of religious celebrations are held throughout the country; they are deep rooted and colorful to watch. The most sacred element in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the replica of the Ark of the Covenant; every church in Ethiopia houses a copy because it is the foundation.
The Ark of the Covenant will be named after different Angles, saints, Godhead of whom they do a miracle. There will be a coronation dates where that particular Angle or saint is specially celebrated by many. There is extra benefit/blessing to go to these places on the special occasion to witness the Vows fulfilled and people do consecrating. This is why many people from all the corners will travel to a specially celebrated attraction like Lalibela, Gondar, and Dire Dawa on the predetermined dates.
It is full of ceremonies and festival throughout the year including the Ethiopian New Year. We will try to relate your vacations with our festivals so that your trip to Ethiopia will be enjoyable.
Here are some selected annual Festivals and Pilgrimage Tours
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Trekking and Hiking
Get Adventurous on the glorious mountains of Ethiopia
The Simien Mountains offer some of the most stunning trekking in the whole of Africa. The National Park boasts truly incredible mountain scenery and is teeming with endemic wildlife. bale mountains 4,000m above sea level, a place where natural selection has been hard at work; plants, animals, and birds have all been fine-tuned to withstand the extremes of temperature, oxygen depletion, fierce winds and extreme ultraviolet radiation.
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