Aksum – Former “Hood” of The Queen of Sheba
22 January 2018
I leave green, fertile fields for dry, barren, rocky Tigray. If there is one thing this region has, it’s rocks: a plethora of rocks on top of rocks used for building and terracing. Oh, and an occasional camel.
Ethiopia’s Kebre Nagast (Book of Kings) recounts how Aksum was the city in which the Queen of Sheba resided as early as the 10th century B.C. It is written that the son of Sheba and King Solomon (Menelik) brought the Ark of the Covenant to Aksum where it remains in a sanctuary to this day. Famous long before the time of Jesus, Aksum was the capital of the Aksumite region, one of the oldest African empires, and acted as a strategic bridge between Africa and Asia for a thousand years.
After witnessing the festival of Timkat in Gondar, I am eager to visit Askum – its ancient buildings, stelae, baths, churches and, according to Ethiopians, the site of the true Ark of the Covenant. Because of the Ark’s presence, Aksum is considered the holiest city in Ethiopia. (more…)
Distances in Ethiopia are deceiving. This is a land of spectacular but rugged landscape, much of which looks like the Grand Canyon on steroids. The reports say there are over 20k miles of roads. However, that doesn’t mean they are all paved, lit, dual lane, wide enough for trucks and buses to pass, nor that drivers or animals follow any rules. Cows and goats have the right of way and they just don’t care that I may be in a hurry. One travel site warned about the presence of land mines on some of the more isolated roads. Ethiopia’s roads have never been easy, something the Italians found out when they thought they could easily conquer these noble people using roads better suited for donkeys than tanks, when it took days to go a few score of miles.
Traveling Ethiopia, I read and listen for opinions concerning this historical icon and controversial man. I know how I feel about Emperor Selassie. But how do Ethiopian’s view him? 