24 April Sunday Easter ( Fasika) in Aksum
It was not a night meant for sleep with music playing, people singing, goats and chickens slaughtered in back yards and then the joyful voices of returning midnight church goers ready for their carnivorous meal. Hugo went to church with Mickey where thousands of people, in- and outside were praying and singing.
We pack up the car and drive to the historical sites for which Aksum is famous. Aksum was the thriving capital of the Aksumite kingdom which was considered one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient world. (400 BC – 200 AD) Important trade routes crossed in Aksum: north – Egypt; west – Sudan; east – Eritrea and exports included frankincense, animal skins, ivory, rhino horns and apes. The greatest influence stemming from the Aksumite kingdom was the introduction of Christianity to Ethiopia.
Obelisks or stelae were erected as tombstones in ancient civilizations. Aksum boasts with some of the most impressive and well-preserved monoliths of the ancient world. The mystery and wonder of these monoliths ( 1m – 33 m tall) are the fact that it was sculpted from single, pieces of granite – how did they cut through the extremely hard rock; how was it transported from the granite quarries to the current site; how did they erect these sky-scraper looking structures – questions answered only by speculations at the moment.
Ethiopian history is peppered with far-fetched-fantastic legends and tales. It is difficult to know where and when does it cross from truth to fable, but it actually does not matter: the tellers infuse their tales with such sincere passion that you feel compelled to want to believe it!
Aksum legends:
· the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Jerusalem to St Mary of Zion Church where it still resideds in the Holy of Holies. No one has seen it since its arrival 2000 years ago, except for the priest who is allowed to enter 1x/year. Unfortunate onlookers have burst into fire!
· Aksum was the Queen of Sheba’s capital during the 10th century BC.
· Belief is that it was the celestial power of the Ark of the Covenant that lifted and transported the gigantic stelae, some weighing over 500 tons, from the quarries to the current burial sites.
It was not a night meant for sleep with music playing, people singing, goats and chickens slaughtered in back yards and then the joyful voices of returning midnight church goers ready for their carnivorous meal. Hugo went to church with Mickey where thousands of people, in- and outside were praying and singing.
We pack up the car and drive to the historical sites for which Aksum is famous. Aksum was the thriving capital of the Aksumite kingdom which was considered one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient world. (400 BC – 200 AD) Important trade routes crossed in Aksum: north – Egypt; west – Sudan; east – Eritrea and exports included frankincense, animal skins, ivory, rhino horns and apes. The greatest influence stemming from the Aksumite kingdom was the introduction of Christianity to Ethiopia.
Obelisks or stelae were erected as tombstones in ancient civilizations. Aksum boasts with some of the most impressive and well-preserved monoliths of the ancient world. The mystery and wonder of these monoliths ( 1m – 33 m tall) are the fact that it was sculpted from single, pieces of granite – how did they cut through the extremely hard rock; how was it transported from the granite quarries to the current site; how did they erect these sky-scraper looking structures – questions answered only by speculations at the moment.
Ethiopian history is peppered with far-fetched-fantastic legends and tales. It is difficult to know where and when does it cross from truth to fable, but it actually does not matter: the tellers infuse their tales with such sincere passion that you feel compelled to want to believe it!
Aksum legends:
· the Ark of the Covenant was brought from Jerusalem to St Mary of Zion Church where it still resideds in the Holy of Holies. No one has seen it since its arrival 2000 years ago, except for the priest who is allowed to enter 1x/year. Unfortunate onlookers have burst into fire!
· Aksum was the Queen of Sheba’s capital during the 10th century BC.
· Belief is that it was the celestial power of the Ark of the Covenant that lifted and transported the gigantic stelae, some weighing over 500 tons, from the quarries to the current burial sites.
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