we next flew north to the the ancient city of axum. this was the capital of the earliest ethiopian kingdom, and is also rumored to be the home of the biblical queen of sheba. it is famous for its ancient obelisks and tombs, and also believed by some to be the resting place of the ark of the covenant of old testament fame.
there is a field in town with multiple stellae/obelisks, which have stood for many centuries. many have also fallen down and are in varying states of disarray. one of the obelisks was taken by mussolini during the italian wartime occupation of ethiopia, and only returned to axum by the italians in 2005. there is a nice museum with a good overview of ethiopian history.
across the street from the stellae field is the oldest church in ethiopia, and a chapel which is said to house the ark of the covenant. one cannot look at it, due to the continuing belief that one would perish if this were to happen, so i cannot confirm its true presence in this location. the surrounding buildings are only accessible to men. a priest showed me some very impressive ancient mural which he will uncover for some cash.
the rest of axum was rather underwhelming. we stayed at a $12 hotel in which there was a bed. we went to a restaurant, ordered, waited two hours, and then were told “oh, the power is out, we can’t make any food right now.” if you have limited time in ethiopia this might be the place to skip. amazing history in axum though.
