Monuments to visit Ethiopia

The massive edifice designed by the founder of the Gondar dynasty dominates all other buildings. It was the first castle built in 1630, and the centerpiece of the fortified city. Fasiladas was a master builder. In addition to this palace, he built various residential complexes in the region. He also rebuilt and richly endowed the church of Daga Estifanos on Lake Tana, and that of Sainte-Marie-de-Sion, in Aksum.

This square-shaped castle, flanked by four rounded corner towers and an imposing watchtower, is protected by crenellated walls that give it a fortress-like appearance. Built of irregular rubble, the palace displays a combination of Axumite, Portuguese and Indian architectural and decorative influences. The raised first floor, to which a monumental staircase leads, houses a vast reception hall. This is divided by a partition with a fireplace, delimiting the space for men and women. On the wall, a Cross of David reminds us that the emblem was adopted by the Ethiopian imperial dynasty. The first floor opens onto a vast terrace where religious ceremonies were held; the small adjoining room would have been the sovereign's prayer chamber. It was from the small balcony that Emperor Fasiladas addressed his subjects. Higher up, a staircase leads to the royal chamber and a second terrace - which, 32 m above ground, offers a panoramic view of the city - and, further on, to the shores of Lake Tana.

Located in the heart of the city, the 7-hectare fortified royal city has been a Unesco World Heritage site since 1979, and is logically surrounded by ramparts. It includes several castles corresponding to the reigns of different emperors (the palaces of Iyassou ^I, Fasiladas, Bakaffa and Mentewab, as well as the buildings of Yohannes ^I and Dawit). There are few explanations on site; take an accredited guide for this hour-long tour, who will also accompany you to the surrounding sites. In Africa, this is a unique ensemble.

Mékélé is a hub for salt from Danakil. If you're hoping to come across a caravan delivering salt, you have to travel to the Danakil desert on Lake Assalé, or get to the salt market in Agulae, 35 km from Mékélé, early in the morning. A 4/5 kg block of salt sells for between 20 and 25 birr. Once free, the market is now organized into small corrugated iron stalls, which have lost some of their charm. The permanent spice market is well worth a visit.

Bacaffa the Merciless was a dark negus of Ethiopia. He built the last palaces in Gondar, including a vast banqueting hall, partly restored after the British bombardment in 1941, and stables. When he fell ill at Lake Tana, he was cared for by Berhan-Mogasa, whom he married and who, once empress, took the name of Mentewab. The future Iyasou II was born of their union. Mentewab's castle, decorated with religious motifs, now serves as a library.

Iyassou the Great is considered the most important ruler of the Gondaran period. Louis XIV's envoy, the physician Charles Poncet, who visited the sovereign, described the splendor of his court. His palace, decorated with ivory, precious stones and rich furnishings, was considered the most sumptuous of all. The building's originality lay in its vaulted ceiling, the arches of which can still be seen. Among the ruins, the domed steam baths have survived.

Monday is the day of one of Ethiopia's best-known markets, which has given its name to a pentatonic scale and numerous songs. Bati is a magical name, evocative of a thousand scents, an immemorial meeting of very different peoples - Afar, Oromo or Amhara - from the lowlands where the Awash River meanders or from the high plateaus of Wollo and Choa. Bati is a Wenna Dega, i.e. a medium altitude, and the temperature is very mild. The market is actually made up of three very different markets: the cereal market (tef, barley, wheat, oats and others), the livestock market (sheep, goats, zebus as well as camels and donkeys) and the all-public market where you'll find extraordinary varieties of honey, very good butter, very cheap and natural incense, woven and embroidered cotton clothes, very beautiful colored loincloths, very beautiful handmade jewelry, knives chiselled on makeshift forges of very good quality with goatskin sheaths sometimes reaching impressive sizes, medicinal clays reserved for women, green tomatoes, red onions, wickerwork mesob with lids used to present dishes, baskets and different kinds of honey alcohol or kosso as well as all sorts of things and of course a heap of colorful chinoiseries piled up under canvas to protect from the sun.

Before 10 a.m., it's cooler and less crowded, as people sometimes walk more than 5 hours from their homes to reach the market. Nomads are asked to leave their Kalashnikovs at home - which they do. There's no security problem, but it's good to be accompanied by a local or a friendly translator, who can help you take photos, for example, or negotiate decent prices, even if it means buying more for less. When you've made a deal, shake hands with the merchant and say "Gezo". You'll find nickel jewelry, but also silver, such as the beautiful ^18th-century coins bearing the effigy of Maria Theresa of Austria, which served as the local currency and were often worn as pendants around the necks of Oromo women.

At the end of the market, when the heat is overwhelming, you can see the men quenching their thirst with tella (traditional light beer)... and with a bit of luck, an azmari will come along accompanied by his wife and her instrument. It's also possible to buy a bundle of khat and offer it to Ethiopian friends.

About 10 km before the town, a track leads off to the right at Tchekorti. After 4 km, a small path (local children will be able to show you the way) leads, in just half an hour's walk, to this lion carved into a rock. A monumental and very impressive sculpture, also known as the Tchika Beret lion. Letters engraved in the Sabaean language date it to the Axumite era (that of the Queen of Sheba). But, as with the Gobedra lioness near Aksum, the significance of such a sculpture is not known.

This original building is the work of Aba Jifar, sixth ruler of a powerful Muslim Oromo dynasty established in the ^18th century. He reigned from 1877 to 1933, the last of his name, and spent a lot of money on this palace: 400 kg of gold and 65,000 Marie-Thérèse silver coins, the currency in use at the time. Impressively tall at 2.10 m, he retained his prerogatives despite the expansion of the Christian kingdom, thanks to his friendly relations with Emperor Menelik II, to whom he nevertheless had to pay substantial taxes. He also stabilized his power by marrying six women from the surrounding provinces. On his death, Emperor Haile Selassie took over the administration of the province, putting an end to the Oromo dynasty. Strongly influenced by Indian architecture, the building comprises, on the first floor, the family mosque and the reception hall, where a window higher than the others gives the giant a view of the outside world. Upstairs are the courtroom and private apartments arranged around an inner courtyard. The whole complex is dominated by a watchtower with windows looking out towards the provinces of Choa, Kaffa and Welega, as well as the town of Jimma below. The palace's furnishings may be a little sparse, but its originality and the view it affords of the city make it worthwhile. The sovereign's tomb is located on the road leading to the palace, some 1.5 km away.

The Awassa fish market, 1 km south of the Lewi Resort, is held every morning from 6.30 am. In this auction port, fishermen negotiate their night's catch, mainly tilapia and catfish, fish that testify to the richness of the lake's waters. In addition to the buyers, the boats bring with them countless hungry birds, including the inevitable marabouts, always ready to collect their pittance without the slightest effort. Monday and Thursday are market days in town.

Only a few ruins remain of what was the king's palace during his short reign from 1607 to 1632. It was built by Pedro Páez, the Spanish Jesuit sent from Goa as a missionary to Abyssinia. Páez befriended Emperor Susenyos, who invited him to his coronation in Aksum in 1609. It was with his help that he later converted to Catholicism. In gratitude, the emperor offered him a piece of land in Gorgora. Pedro Páez's architectural skills enabled him to build the Jesuit church of Debre Sina and the Susenyos palace.

Located on the heights of Mekélé, this monument dedicated to the martyrs of the war in Tigray used to be accompanied by an interesting museum on the recent war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Interesting photos and weapons were on display, some of which are still frequently found in the countryside. Unfortunately, with the terrible new war in Tigray taking place in 2020-2021, these painful memories have been reawakened, and it is likely that a new memorial will one day be erected in memory of the 600,000 who died in this conflict.