Ethiopia 25, Gondar the Camelot of Africa

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ETHIOPIA
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Gondar, the "Camelot of Africa"
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Gondar is a town founded in 1636 by the great
Emperor Fassiladas, serving as the royal capital
of Ethiopia for over 230 years. The Gondarine
period is considered to be the third major
dynasty after the Axumite and Zagwe dynasties.
The dynasty is historically important for the
renaissance king's mobile camp and the
introduction of a permanent capital
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Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region, are the remains of a
fortress-city that was the residence of the
Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors
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Fasilides Castle. Built in 1640 as the home of
King Fasilides
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Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of
Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital, instead
living in tents in temporary royal camps as they
moved around their realms while their family,
bodyguard and retinue devoured surplus crops and
cut down nearby trees for firewood. One exception
to this rule was Debre Berhan, founded by Zara
Yaqob in 1456 Tegulet in Shewa was also
essentially the capital during the first century
of Solomonic rule.
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Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilides around
the year 1635, and grew as an agricultural and
market town. Tradition states that a buffalo led
the Emperor Fasilides to a pool beside the
Angereb, where an "old and venerable hermit" told
the Emperor he would locate his capital there.
Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his
castle on that same site
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After choosing Gondar as capital, Emperor
Fasiladas constructed a Royal Enclosure that
covered 75,000 square metres, and contained
castles, palaces, library and banquet hall etc.
The complex is enclosed by a curtain wall which
is pierced by twelve gates
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Almost completely restored with the help of
UNESCO the Palace of Fasiladas is the Royal
Enclosure's oldest and most impressive castle
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The two-storey palace stands 32m tall and has a
crenulated parapet and four domed towers. Made of
roughly hewn stones, it's reputedly the work of
an Indian architect, and shows an unusual
synthesis of Indian, Portuguese, Moorish and
Aksumite influences
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Palace of Fasilidas (1632-1667)
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Fasilides Castle. Built in 1640 as the home of
King Fasilides
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Fasilides of Ethiopia 1632-1667
The town served as Ethiopia's capital until
Tewodros II moved the Imperial capital to
Magadala upon being crowned Emperor in 1855 the
city was plundered and burnt in 1864, then
devastated again in December, 1866
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Sarsa Dengel of Ethiopia 1563-1597
Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he
invaded Ethiopia June 1887. Gondar was ravaged
again in 23 January in the next year, when the
Sudanese invaders set fire to almost every one of
the city's churches
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Unlike any other buildings in Abyssinia, the
castles and palaces of Gondar resemble, with some
modifications, the medieval fortresses of Europe,
the style of architecture being the result of the
presence in the country of numbers of Portuguese
Menelik II of Ethiopia 1889-1913
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Tewodros II of Ethiopia1855-1868
The Portuguese were expelled by Fasilidas, but
his castle was built, by Indian workmen, under
the superintendence of Abyssinians who had
learned something of architecture from the
Portuguese adventurers, helped possibly by
Portuguese still in the country
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The main floor was used as a dining hall and
formal reception area note the recessed Star of
David above several doorways, which trumpet
Fasiladas' link to the Solomonic dynasty. The
small room in the northern corner boasts its
original beam ceiling and some faint frescoes. On
the 1st floor, Fasiladas' prayer room has windows
in four directions, each overlooking Gonder's
important churches
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Emperor Iyasus castle
The most extensive ruins are a group of royal
buildings enclosed in a wall. These ruins include
the palace of Emperor Iyasu, which has several
fine chambers. Christian Levantines were employed
in its construction and it was decorated in part
with Venetian mirrors, etc. The exterior walls of
the castles and palaces named are little damaged
and give to Gondar a unique character among
African towns
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Fasil Ghebbi served as the home of Ethiopia's
emperors in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its
unique architecture shows diverse influences
including Nubian, Arab, and Baroque styles. The
site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1979.
Emperor Iyasus castle
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Iyasu the Great of Ethiopia 16821706
King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706) was
bombed by the British
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King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
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King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
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King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
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Palace of Iyasu I, left, Fasilides' Castle and
Library of Emperor Yohannes
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Library of Emperor Yohannes I and Fasilides'
Castle
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The Archive Castle of King Fasilides
Library of Emperor Yohannes I. Emperor Yohannes I
was the fourth son of Emperor Fasilides. Yohannes
is believed to have reigned from 1667 to 1682.
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Library of Emperor Yohannes I
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The Archive Castle of King Fasilides and the
Library of Emperor Yohannes I
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The Archive Castle of King Fasilides and the
Library and Emperor Yohannes I
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Dawit's Hall (reigned 1716-1721)
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King Dawit's Hall, often referred to as the
"House of Song", 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"). A one-storey building with a round tower
at the southeast corner
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The lions cage, which was built during the reign
of David III (the son of Iyasu I). Lions were
part of everyday life during this time as they
symbolized power (a lion was symbolic for the
king). The Abyssinian lions, which are smaller in
size and have bigger manes, lived in the compound
with the people and there were no reported
attacks. This cage, however, was built to allow
the lions to have their own shelter. There are 8
lion cages!
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Iohannes IV of Ethiopia 1872-1889
Bakaffas Palace On the left in the picture
stables and on the right the Banquet Hall of the
Emperor Bekaffa.
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Following his death, his son, Iyasu II, was too
young to take the thrown. As a result, Empress
Mentawab reigned from 1730 1755, but after 12
years of ruling from the palace in the royal
compound, she decided to build her own palace and
church outside the compound.
Banquet Hall of the Emperor Bekaffa 1721-1730
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The sauna area, which the Emperor and his family
used on a very regular basis because a rare skin
disorder that was cured by a French physician
that introduced the sauna into the Castle complex.
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The sauna area Coat hangers are by rhino horn
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Solanum aculeastrum (goat bitter-apple, poison
apple, or more ambiguously as "bitter-apple). It
is a poisonous nightshade species from Africa
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
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The coffee ceremony is one of the most
recognizable parts of Ethiopian culture.
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Sanda Negrutiu Jean
Moldovan Alin Samochis
Daniel Scradeanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu  
2014
Sound Alemayehu Eshete - Mishitu Demeke