Ethiopia
A Hidden Empire of Art
and Architecture
Ethiopia is the only country in Africa with a recorded history stretching back over thirty centuries; a history which has left her with an incomparable heritage of art and architecture, rich mines for the student, historian or lover of sheer beauty.
   Of the many notable places you will visit, there is room here to mention only a few.

Addis Ababa,
the "New Flower",
and Asmara,
the "Little Town"

   The first and second cities of Ethiopia differ sharply in their architecture and atmosphere, but closely resemble each other in their splendid climate, and their mixture of modern facilities and timeless ways.
   Addis Ababa, the "New Flower" was founded in 1887 by Emperor Menelik 11, fulfilling the prophecy of an earlier ruler that, on the then-barren plain beneath Mount Entoto his children and grand-children would "be crowned and will rule".
   7,600 feet (2,500 metres) above a level, Addis Ababa has one of the fin limates to be found anywhere in the -world, making sightseeing and shopping excursions through its broad avenues and sprawling markets a double pleasure. Although a modern city, it has much to show: Africa Hall, the magnificent conference hall with its famous stained glass windows depicting Africa's past, present and future. The Jubilee Palace, with its splendid grounds and Imperial Zoo, including lions and cheetahs. The Cathedral of St. George, built in 1896, containing paintings by past and contemporary Ethiopian masters. The Menelik 11 Palace,the Great Mosque, the Lion Park.
      		    Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, Ethiopia's northernmost province, enjoys a climate to rival that of Addis Ababa and, like the latter, has many modern hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and cinemas. Here, however, the atmosphere is a mixture of South European and Middle Eastern: side-walk cafes, scarlet and purple bougainvillea rioting against the white walls of Italianstyle palazzi and villas contrasting sharply with the call of the muezzin sounding from the minareted mosques.
   Asmara is proud of the description given her by John Gunther as "the little town" in contrast with Addis Ababa "the big village". And she has indeed a stylish, urban air which, together with her superb, invigorating climate and her many interesting buildings-including the Keddisti Mariam Cathedral with its brightly-coloured mosaic front and twin towers; the red-brick Catholic Cathedral with its tall, gothic bell tower, and the Imperial Palace-make her an ideal centre of rest and relaxation from the excitements of exploring the Hidden Empire.

Axum--the holy City

   Axum, today a modern township, has a history dating back more than 2,000 years, was once linked by a caravan route with the legendary port of Adulis on the Red Sea, and with the Nile and Egypt to the west, is still a holy city to the Ethiopians, a centre of lovely legends and splendid monuments. Here, it is said, the Queen of Sheba lived and here her son, Menelik I, fruit of her sojourn with King Solomon and founder of the present EthiopiarLJ.mperial family, was born. The ruins of her palace stand amidst the beautiful countryside surrounding Axum, and at morning and evening, you can watch the villagers		    drawing water from what was once her bathing place. At almost any hour in Axum, you can hear the chanting of priests, the sounding of drum and sistrum, coming from the modern cathedral, where are housed Imperial crowns and church treasures, orfrom the Church of St. Mary of Zion, built on the same site as the very earliest church of Axum-but barred to women because that first church was destroyed in the 10th century by a pagan queen. Christianity has been the religion of Ethiopia since it was brought to Axum in the 4th century, in the reign of King Ezana, by a Syrian, Frumentius, who was later consecrated Bishop of Axum by the Patriarch of Alexandria, the great St. Athanasius.
   Awe-inspiring in themselves, the great-stelae, stone monoliths, of Axum have much to tell of the architectural superiority of the builders of the Axumite Empire. Using a building technique introduced from Southern Arabia, and completely different to anything previously known in Africa, they produced buildings of superb proportions and towering splendour-buildings which are scrupulously copied in the stelae, complete right down to doors and windows. The giant of them all lies broken. on the sward: 110 feet (34 metres) in length, it is the tallest once-standing monolith in the world. Nearby, a smaller stele bears inscriptions in three languages commemorating the exploits. of King Ezana.   
25 The Lion of Judah, a landmark in the capital city of Addis Ababa. 26 Africa Hall in Addis Ababa: stained glass windows representing Africa's past, present and future. Work of young Ethiopian artist Afewerk Takla. 27 A main street in Asmara. 28 Axum Stele: the largest monolith ever erected (mufti-storied memorial made from a single piece of granite).
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