Zege Dur (Dengur)

Up until 910 AD, some 255 kings ruled ancient Aksum. The location of their palaces remain unknown, however, and no document tells where these kings lived.

Zege Dur was the second location of ancient Aksum after Biete Giorgis, and is located west of the modern town. Two archaeological sites suggest Zege Dur is an historical and ancient part of the town. There is a collection of ruined rooms and palaces along the road leading to Shire. South of the monuments within a kilometer, including numerous tombs and almost 580 large and small monuments and statues.

Marvelous historical relics of the Aksumite civilization have been recovered since 1906 in excavations conducted by Germans, Italians, French men and Britons.

In particular, excavations in 1906 revealed a palace having 52 rooms with other minor palaces having their own kitchens and bathrooms of some 48 square meters in size. A number of finds of pottery, gold, aluminum, nickel and other objects such as coins were recovered and taken to the national Museum in Addis Ababa, and are now on display there. Six glass wine goblets were found in 1974. All these results indicate the Aksumite civilization was at its height at that time.

Zege Dur has a number of historical sites in its vicinity, including Abba Selama’s Cave, ‘Queen of Sheba’s Palace’, ‘the Grave of Menilik Meziber’ and ‘the Tomb of Ethiopia’. In summary, this area is expected to produce numerous relics in future archaeological excavations.  

continue Reading...Hawlti (the ‘standing stelae’)

Teddy Afro’s concert postponed once again.

Teddy’s widely anticipated concert has once again been postponed to October 20, 2012.The concert, which was going to be held on October 13, had to be moved as it was not possible for the artist to manage both the show and his wedding around the same time, said Adika. Teddy married his fiancé Amleset Muche on September 27th 2012 at Sheraton Addis Hotel. The artist plans to put his full energy and attention into the upcoming concert along with the usual unreserved effort to please his fans said the organizers of the show.

Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin

Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a Stanford economics PhD who left her World Bank position and returned to Ethiopia in 2004 to put her faith in markets into practice.  She persuaded the government to launch the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange, ECX, to establish transparent and reliable markets for the benefit of farmers, traders and exporters. As a researcher for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), she studied agricultural markets in her native country for several years

Eleni received several international recognitions and awards in the past years for the achievement. She received the American Outstanding Dissertation Award in Agricultural Economics in 1999 and the 2012 Yara Prize at the African Green Revolutions Forum held at Arusha Tanzania on September 27

ECX began in late 2008 in several grains, and was expanded to include coffee in the spring of 2009 because of a troubled coffee market.  Since coffee has long been Ethiopia’s biggest export, the government intervened to force ECX to accelerate its entry into coffee trading.

Biete Giorgis (Debra Makda)

Legends tell that the age of Aksum is about 5400 years. Archaeological excavations of the past 90 years have not yet located the earliest site of the town but they have revealed relics. Underground granite tombs were found in Biete Giorgis in 1993 , particularly in a place called Amba Midir. Some ancient Aksumite books have noted that Amba Midir was called ‘Amba Debre Makda’ before the entry of Christianity. It was during the Christian era that the name was changed to Biete Giorgis. It is a 45 minute walk, or 5 minutes drive from Aksum.

It is now believed that the first city of Aksum was located here, due to recent discoveries of the dilapidated palaces of many kings, ancient royal tombs at Ona Enda Aboy Zewge, and the relics from Biete Giorgis dating to the 6th century BC. A cross and other sculptured relics were recovered in 1982 and are now housed in the Aksum Museum.

A cemetery almost 10 hectares in size was found at the place called ona Enda Aboy Zewge. Archaeological investigations round this area have also revealed some 3000 sepulchral monuments erected in memory of the dead, together with 32 statues, which seem to be of local origin, and a sepulcher measuring some 60x60 cms near the cemetery.

A natural stone monument some 9mts in length and 3mts in width was discovered together with iron, bronze, diamonds and other ornaments. These are housed in Aksum Museum at present.

Above all, the ruined palace of Una Nekest, called Nebre, is also expected to contain many relics, as the legend states it was a great palace in ancient times. Although archaeological excavations have not yet been conducted, many ancient Aksumite coins, ornaments and jewelry’s have accidentally been recovered there.

continue Reading..Zege Dur (Dengur) 

History and Legends of Aksum

According to historical evidences, Aksum is amongst the ancient and historical towns in Ethiopia. Some of the evidences are the ancient achievements such as the stelae, the underground buildings and various relics still found here. Since 4370 BC, Aksum was the seat of Ethiopian kings. Still other historical records state there were 21 kings of the tribe Ari to king Sibtah, from King Kam to king Auknaus (the Agazian tribe) there were 25 kings; and other 52 kings to Queen of Sheba (Dekike yoktan tibe), who together reigned for many centuries. 

The civilization was particularly dynamic during the reign of Queen Sheba, due to foreign trade relations, administration, religion and other social institutions. The Queen of Sheba also entered into good diplomatic relations with the Biblical King Solomon (‘The Wise’). A legend is attached to this relationship. According to the legend, Queen Sheba went to greet King Solomon in Jerusalem and to gain knowledge, as she had heard he was the wisest king on earth at that time. There she conceive the future on Menilik I and, on her return to Aksum, Introduced new developments to her country and was celebrated during  her reign , about 1000BC. Until the birth of Christ ,62 kings from the Agasian tribe reigned after her. Other 36 kings reigned between 8 and 333 AD.

During Christian times, i.e. from Abraha We-Atsbeha until 922 AD, there were 58 Christian kings. However, a queen from an unknown tribe of the Falasha (Jewish group) named Queen Yodit (Gudit) reigned for about 40 years (842-882 AD). In general, there were 255 kings in Aksum, who reigned for more than 5390 years. 

During this long history, Aksum greatly contributed to human development. The stelae, the rock tombs, the temples, the palaces, the stone ‘thrones’ and sculptured stone monuments are some of the ancient evidences for its resourcefulness.

Ancient Aksum, with all its golden treasures and underground mysteries, is situated in a region of mild temperature and has a good climate. It covers a surface area of more than 1,000 square hectares. There are thirteen hotels and restaurants, and 33 modern shops. Its population is about 40,000. 

Aksum is the center and origin of the Ethiopian orthodox church 9EOC), and there are presently three head churches in the town, including the cathedral of Maryam Tsion, the church of the Four animals and the church of Jesus Christ. All these churches are led and administered by the head of the church, called the nebure-id, because Aksum is the center of all education in the EOC. There are priests, chanters and deacons who live regular service to the Church, and students studying the Bible and the Tsewati We Zema, Qene (grammar and poetry of the Ge’ez language).

Within the feudal economic system of Ethiopian, Aksum was the richest leading monastery, and derived its income from land owned by the Church, income tax and other sources. It is, however, dependent on the small contributions made by Christians, tourist fees and the profits of handicrafts at present. Even in times of security problems, spiritual education, church services (Masses) and the ecclesiastical  ‘Songs of Yared’ and others continue, especially on the day of St. Mary of Zion, Hidar 21, (December 1st) Palm Sunday and Epiphany, when devotees from all over Ethiopia look towards Aksum.

continue Reading..Biete Giorgis (Debra Makda)