UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia

UNESCO's Description

The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilmigrage and devotion.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

According to local tradition, Lalibela (traditionally known as Roha) was founded by an Agew family called the Zagwa or Zagwe in 1137 AD. Tradition holds that in Ethiopia prior to his accession to the throne, Gebre Meskel Lalibela was guided by Christ on a tour of Jerusalem, and instructed to build a second Jerusalem in Ethiopia. The churches are said to have been built during the Zagwe dynasty, under the rule of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela (r. ca. 1181–1221 AD), although it is more likely that they evolved into their current form over the course of several phases of construction and alteration of preexisting structures.

The site of the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela was first included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q642979 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Massive erosion over the years on the Ethiopian plateau has created one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500 m. The park is home to some extremely rare animals such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

Simien Mountains National Park is located on the western side of the Simien Mountains and is 120 kilometres (75 mi) from the Gondar province of Begemder in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. It is located within the Simien Massif, which rises above the northern highlands of Ethiopia. The highlands were formed by volcanic flood basalts dating from the Paleogene period roughly 30 million years ago. The massif itself is the remnant of a large shield volcano. Over millions of years due to the heavy erosion of the Ethiopian plateau serrated mountain peaks, deep valleys and 1,500 metre high sheer cliffs have been created, creating some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.

The Simien area is rich in perforated basalt, and serves as an ideal catchment basin.

History

The park was established in 1969, having been set up by Clive Nicol, who wrote about his experiences in From the Roof of Africa (1971, ISBN 0 340 14755 5).

The Simien region has been inhabited and cultivated for at least 2,000 years, initially erosion began to reveal that the clearing began at the gentle slope of the highland valley but later expanded to a steep slope.

The national park was one of the first sites to be made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, inscribed in 1978 because of its outstanding biodiversity and spectacular landscape. Due to serious population declines of some of its characteristic native species, in 1996 it was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger. With the stabilization of those species' populations, this listing was removed in 2017.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q504315 (CC0).

Visiting Simien Mountains National Park

Simien National Park, also known as Simien Mountains National Park], is in the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia. It was one of the first sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. It features spectacular scenery viewed from its peaks and escarpments and fascinating gelada monkeys and other wildlife. The park headquarters are outside the park in Debark, the nearest town, on the main road between Gondar (to the south) and Shire and Axum (to the north).

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Simien National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the fortress-city of Fasil Ghebbi was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors. Surrounded by a 900-m-long wall, the city contains palaces, churches, monasteries and unique public and private buildings marked by Hindu and Arab influences, subsequently transformed by the Baroque style brought to Gondar by the Jesuit missionaries.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The origins of the Fasil Ghebbi is preceded by old tradition of Ethiopian emperors traveling around their possessions, living off the produce of the peasants and dwelling in tents. Reflecting this connection, this precinct was frequently referred to as a katama ("camp" or "fortified settlement") or makkababya, the name applied to the imperial camp in the Royal Chronicle of Baeda Maryam. Emperor Fasilides broke with this tradition of progressing through the territories, and founded the city of Gondar as his capital; its relative permanence makes the city historically important. Within the capital, Fasilides ordered the construction of an imposing edifice, the Fasil Ghebbi or Fasilides castle.

Description

Fasil Ghebbi covers an area of about 70,000 square metres (750,000 sq ft). To its south lies Adababay, the marketplace of the city of Gondar, where imperial proclamations were made, troops presented, and criminals executed; it is currently a city park.

Dawit's Hall is in the northern part of the enclosure, adjacent to the building attributed to Bakaffa and the church of Asasame Qeddus Mikael. Often referred to as the "House of Song", Stuart Munro-Hay notes that this may be due to a misreading of the Amharic zofan bet ("House of the Divan" or "House of the Throne") as zafan bet ("House of Song").

Visiting Fasil Ghebbi

Gondar (also spelled Gonder) is a historic royal city of Ethiopia, in the northern Amhara region. It was the home of many emperors and princesses who ruled the country from the 12th century to the last decade of the 20th century, including Suseneos, Fasiledes, Empress Mentwab, Iyasu I, Tewodros II and Empress Taitu. Leading the list of its attractions is Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), containing several castles and palaces from the 17th and 18th centuries. The city was a battleground in World War II.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Gondar (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

The ruins of the ancient city of Aksum are found close to Ethiopia's northern border. They mark the location of the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the Kingdom of Aksum was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. The massive ruins, dating from between the 1st and the 13th century A.D., include monolithic obelisks, giant stelae, royal tombs and the ruins of ancient castles. Long after its political decline in the 10th century, Ethiopian emperors continued to be crowned in Aksum.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Little information is available regarding the early centuries of Aksum's presumed evolution from a humble regional hub to a dominant power. Archeological findings at Gobadra (Gobo Dara) and the Anqar Baahti rock-shelters suggest Stone Age remnants in close proximity. R. Fattovich's excavations at amba 'Beta Giyorgis above Aksum validate the pre-Aksumite roots of a settlement in Aksum dating back to approximately 7th to 4th centuries B.C. Excavations in the Stele Park at the heart of Aksum substantiate ongoing activity in that area since the beginning of the common era. By the 1st century AD, Aksum was described as a "metropolis" in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

Several archaeological expeditions have conducted excavations in various parts of Aksum.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q5832 (CC0).

Visiting Axum

Axum (አክሱም, also spelt Aksum) is a city of 56,000 in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, just south of Eritrea, with which it shares the language of Tigrinya.

It was for nearly 800 years the administrative centre of one of the great empires of the old world along with those of Rome, Persia and China and remains the ecclesiastical capital of the Ethiopian church. It is famous for its stelae, churches, monasteries, tombs and the ruins of palaces and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

It is one of the cleaner and better kept Ethiopian towns with cobbled side streets and attractive flame trees providing shade in the main street.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Axum (CC BY-SA 4.0).

UNESCO's Description

A prehistoric site near Lake Turkana, the lower valley of the Omo is renowned the world over. The discovery of many fossils there, especially Homo gracilis , has been of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

The Omo River forms through the confluence of the Gibe River, by far the largest total tributary of the Omo River, and the Gojeb River, a large right-bank tributary of the Omo. Given their sizes, lengths and courses one might consider both the Omo and the Gibe rivers to be one and the same river but with different names. Consequently, the whole river basin is sometimes called the Omo-Gibe River Basin. This river basin includes part of the western Oromia Region and the middle of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region.

Its course is generally to the south, however with a major bend to the west at about 7° N 37° 30' E to about 36° E where it turns south until 5° 30' N where it makes a large S-bend then resumes its southerly course to Lake Turkana.

UNESCO's Description

Tiya is among the most important of the roughly 160 archaeological sites discovered so far in the Soddo region, south of Addis Ababa. The site contains 36 monuments, including 32 carved stelae covered with symbols, most of which are difficult to decipher. They are the remains of an ancient Ethiopian culture whose age has not yet been precisely determined.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Overview

According to Joussaume (1995), who led archaeological work at Tiya, the site is relatively recent. It was dated to a time period between the 11th and 13th centuries CE. Later dating places the stelae's construction some time between the 10th and 15th centuries CE. However, the building of megaliths in Ethiopia is a very ancient tradition, with many such monuments predating the Common Era.

The menhir or stelae at the site, "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," likely mark a large, prehistoric burial complex. A German ethnographic expedition had visited the site in April 1935, and had found at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs.

UNESCO's Description

This property protects a landscape mosaic of extraordinary beauty that is shaped by the combined forces of ancient lava outpourings, glaciation and the dissection by the Great Rift Valley. It features volcanic peaks and ridges, dramatic escarpments, sweeping valleys, glacial lakes, lush forests, deep gorges and numerous waterfalls, creating exceptional natural beauty. The property harbours diverse and unique biodiversity at ecosystem, species and genetic levels, and five major rivers originate within the Park, estimated to supply water and support the livelihoods of millions of people in and beyond Ethiopia.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geography

Bale Mountains National Park covers an area of 215,000 ha (530,000 acres) in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region of southeastern Ethiopia, roughly 400 km (250 mi) southeast of Addis Ababa and 150 km (93 mi) east of Shashamane.

The park contains Africa’s largest area of Afromontane habitat, with numerous glacial lakes. Much of the park is situated at more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above sea level, and its highest point is the summit of Mount Tullu Dimtu, at 4,385 m (14,386 ft). The landscape is characterized by Ethiopian montane forests (such as the Harenna Forest), which transition to the Ethiopian montane grasslands and woodlands at middle elevations and to the Ethiopian montane moorlands at the highest elevations.

Climate

Temperatures vary widely throughout Bale Mountains National Park: on the plateau, daytime temperatures are usually around 10 °C (50 °F) with strong winds; in the Gaysay Valley average daytime temperatures are around 20 °C (68 °F), and the Harenna Forest is around 25 °C (77 °F). However, the weather changes frequently and sometimes drastically. In elevations over 3,000 m (9,800 ft), night frosts are common. The rainy season is from May until November.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q804881 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The property lies along the eastern edge of the Main Ethiopian Rift, on the steep escarpments of the Ethiopian highlands. An area of agroforestry, it utilizes multilayer cultivation with large trees sheltering indigenous enset, the main food crop, under which grow coffee and other shrubs. The area is densely populated by the Gedeo people whose traditional knowledge support local forest management. Within the cultivated mountain slopes are sacred forests traditionally used by local communities for rituals associated with the Gedeo religion, and along the mountain ridges are dense clusters of megalithic monuments, which came to be revered by the Gedeo and cared for by their elders.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The Gedeo region has been occupied for millennia; evidence of occupation dates back to the Neolithic period. Thousands of stone monuments (stelae) across roughly 100 sites have been recorded across the landscape. The largest of the stelae measure about 8 meters high and 1 meter in diameter, and they depict anthropomorphic and phallic images. Several burial sites and a necropolis have also been found, and engraved petroglyphs are common.

The first European archeological surveys of the area were conducted in the 1920s and 1930s.