Sightseeing

The Semien Mountains, in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar in Amhara region, are part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Simien Mountains National Park. The mountains consist of plateaus separated by valleys and rising to pinnacles.
he Simien Mountain massif is one of the major highlands of Africa. At 4,620 metres, Ras Dejen rises to the highest point in Ethiopia – the fourth highest peak on the African continent. The dramatic landscape of the Simien Mountains is the result of massive seismic activity in the area about 40 million years ago.

Despite their ruggedness and altitude, the mountains are dotted with villages linked by small tracks. The mountains are home to three of Ethiopia’s larger endemic mammals, the walia ibex, the more common gelada baboons and the very rarely seen Ethiopian wolves.

The Royal Enclosure is the remains of a fortress-city in Gondar, Ethiopia. It was founded in the 17th century by Emperor Fasilides and was the home of Ethiopia’s emperors. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian styles. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Welcome to one of Ethiopia’s most beautiful churches. Appealing as it is on the outside with its stone walls, arched doors and two-tiered thatch roof, it’s the inner sanctuary of Debre Berhan Selassie, with its glorious frescos, that really shines. But it was very nearly destroyed like most of Gonder’s other churches. When the marauding Sudanese dervishes showed up outside the church gates in the 1880s, a giant swarm of bees surged out of the compound, chasing the invaders away.

It mightn’t be as well-preserved as the Royal Enclosure, or as sacred as Debre Berhan Selassie, but what this royal compound, known as Kuskuam, lacks in order and holiness it more than makes up for in melancholy. The complex was built in 1730 for the redoubtable Empress Mentewab, after the death of her husband (Emperor Bakaffa).

Now after our amazing visit to the Fasil Ghebbi Royal Enclosure we have driven a short distance away to the famous Fasilides Bath. The bath (swimming pool) is only filled once a year and plays a huge role in the spiritual lives of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians in the celebration of Epiphany on 19th January every year. The Baths are enclosed by a rock wall with towered gates, a walk around this wall will present many photographic opportunities. In the Bath itself, there is a beautiful three-storied bathing palace that sits on solid columns high above the waterline. Climb down into the empty bath and have a walk around, you will be amazed at the depth of knowledge these guys had in architecture some 300 years ago. So yes, this is a worthwhile stopover not only for the history and photographic opportunities but also the magnificent architecture.