Gondar and Lake Tana. A comprehensive guide [Second, revised edition] 9789994486625

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GONDAR and LAKE TANA

Ill

GONDAR and LAKE TANA

Gondar and Lake Tana offer a wealth of historic sites and artwork, many of them off the beaten tourist tracks and still unstudied. Castles, churches, and paintings provide visitors with a sense of the cultural and artistic splendour that made this region famous in the world from a remote past and make travelling today through the region's history and natural resources an extraordinary experience. With the intent of facilitating the discovery of such a heritage, this guide is divided into three main sections: Gondar, Gorgora, and Bahir Dar. Each section deals in detail with the key monuments and with sightseeing in the area, providing all key information on travel, access, accommodations, and transport.

arada books

ISBN 978 - 999448662 - 5

1111111111111111 II II IIII

9 789994 486625

Gian Paolo Chiari

ARADA BOOKS SECOND EDITION 2015 FIRST PUBLISHED IN ETHIOPIA IN 2012 BY ARADA BOOKS ISBN : 978-99944-8662-5 TEXT, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND GRAPHICS COPYRIGHT © GIAN PAOLO CHIARI, 2012 COVER PHOTO: ARCHANGEL RAPHA EL, PAINTING ON CANVAS, DAGA ESTEPHANOS CHURCH . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED . NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL, INCLUDING PHOTOCOPY, RECORDING OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTE M, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER OR IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE CIVIL CODE OF ETHIOPIA, PROCLAMATION NO. 165 OF 1960, NOR BE OTHERWISE CIRCULATED IN ANY FORM OF BINDING OR COVER OTHER THAN THAT IN WHICH IT IS PUBLISHED AND WITHOUT A SIMILAR CONDITION INCLUDING THIS CONDITION BEING IMPOSED ON THE SUBSEQUENT PURCHASER.

GONDAR and LAKE TANA

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arada books

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

9

INTRODUCTION

10

GONDAR

20

TOUR INFORMATION

21

I

HISTORY

30

ON SITE

41 40 59

Fasil Ghebbi The Churches of Fasil Ghebbi SOUTH OF FASIL GHEBBI

64 64 65 61 66 69 70

Jan Tekel Addababay Addababay lyasus Church ltchege Bet Quarter Market Old Fit Quarter Addis Alem - Muslim Quarter NORTH OF FASIL GHEBB I

71 71 73 74 76

Ras Gimp Medhane Alem Church Italian Colonial Architecture Abuna Bet Quarter Around Gondar

77

Dabra Berhan Selassie Church

77

Bath of Fasiladas

83 85

Qusquam 5

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIV E GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

CONTENTS

94 96 99

Ledeta Maryam Church Fasiladas' Bridges Wolleka - The Falasha Village

Haile Selassie's Palace, Dabra Zeit Wayto Community Mikael Church

101 101 105 108 110 113

THE ISLANDS

GORGORA

130

Rema Island

TOUR INFORMATION

131

HISTORY

132

Metsle Fasiladas Island Tana Island

ON SITE

132 132 140 141 141 143 144 145 150 150 152

SOUTH OF GONDAR Azazo Takla Haymanot and Ganata lyasus Tsadda Gziabier Ab Church Bahiri Gimp Danqaz Emfraz

Dabra Sina Church Italian Lighthouse Angara Maryam Island Birgida Island Mandaba Monastery Giyorgis Island Maryam Gimp Jabara Maryam Island Galila Island Selassie Church and Quarry

BAHIR DAR

Kebran Island Entons Island Daq Island Daga Island

Krestos Samra Church Chakla Manzo Island Zage Peninsula SOUTH OF BAHIR DAR Tisisat - Blue Nile's Falls and Alata Bridge Dengay Debalo Maryam Yababa Gimp Giyorgis Gimp Maryam Gimp Kidane Mehret Martula Maryam Church Lake Zangana Gish Abay

TOUR INFORMATION

155

HISTORY

162

ON SITE

163 163 163 164 165 165 165

Market Hippos Martyrs' Memorial

6

172

178 179 187 190 194 198 199 204 206 208

Narga Island

Abba Gis Gimp

The House of the Portuguese

170 170

Dabra Maryam Island

154

Lakeside Walkway Giyorgis Church

166 167 169

The Gragn 's Stela EAST OF BAHIR DAR Robit Baata Church Qorata Zara Mikael Church and Religious School Wanzaye Hot Springs

ANALYTICAL INDEX

221 221 226 228 230 231 232 232 237 237 240 242 242 242 243 246 247

258 -

7

: Acknowledgements : I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my companions throughout the entire fieldwork, Ashenafi (Ashu) Bisenebit Tafere, research assistant and interpreter, for his extraordinary aptitude and kindness; and Nathnael (Nati) Eshetu, driver, who took us to our destinations safely, skilfully, and courteously. I would like to acknowledge the many people who have helped me in Gondar, Bahir Dar, and Lake Tana region by kindly contributing information, memories, and stories. Special thanks to Anna Dies, manager of Medir tour operator, for the very friendly and professional logistic support; Emanuele Ragni, for his passionate contribution to the graphic design of this book; Yohannes Hagos Kebede, for his advice and encouragement; my old friend Dawit Kahsay, for his usual great help; David Rifkind, Florida International University, and Sandro di Gangi, A +O Archioperaio, for kindly sharing with me the results of their researches on colonial Gondar; and Zemene Hailu, for his guiding help in Qorata. Very special thanks to Sheila McMillen for her kind and professional effort to improve the quality of my work by proofreading and editing the manuscript.

9

GONDARAND LAKE TANA

\

nee upon a time, in a faraway village near a vast lake, there lived a girl of great understanding and prudence and the utmost beauty. She was so handsome that the meaning of the name she was given by the people was 'Oh, how beautiful!'. A king heard about the girl and wanted to meet her. He immediately fell in love with her, and they went to live together in a magnificent castle on a very high mountain. He was a very rich and powerful ruler, and after he died she became empress, the first to hold such a title. Despite the appearance, this story is not a fairy tale. Love, war, political intrigues, and murders are part of the fascinating history of the rulers of the Kingdom of Gondar, which thrived in northwestern Ethiopia between the 1630s and the 1760s. The above-mentioned king was Bakaffa, who was not only the third ruler of Gondar, but also the emperor of Ethiopia between 172 l and 1730; and Berhan Mogasa was the beautiful girl, whose nickname in the local language was Mentewab. Their castle can still be seen in Gondar, which was the heart of the kingdom as well as the capital of the Ethiopian Empire for the 130 years that followed its foundation, in the 1630s. Since then, the fame of the city has spread all over the world, a fame associated with the name of its founder, Emperor Fasiladas, and its breathtaking castles.

0 I

The establishment of Gondar as a capital marked the completion of the process that shifted the empire's centre from the Shewa Kingdom to the Lake Tana region at the end of the 16th century. Two main reasons motivated that shift. The first was the invasion of Shewa by the Muslim army led by Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim Al Ghazi, nicknamed "the Gragn" (left handed, in the Amharic language), a religious and military chief of the Sultanate of Adal (located in present-day eastern Ethiopia, Djibuti, and northwestern Somalia) who launched a holy war against the Christian Ethiopian Empire in the 1520s. 1 The second was the urgent need to strengthen the southwestern border of the empire against the mounting pressure of the Oromo people, whose northward migration had reached the Abay (Blue Nile) River. It was under Emperor Sarsa Dengel that the empire's centre of gravity first moved northwest. During his reign, between 15 63 and 1597, he used the Lake Tana region as a base from which to halt the advances of the Oromo from the south and the Ottoman Turks from the Red Sea, and to launch his military campaigns to crush rebellions or subjugate people, as in the case of the Beta Israel people Qews) in the Semien Mountains and the Agaw. 2 In this region he fixed one of his imperial residences at Gubay in 1574, 3 near Emfraz and not on a campsite, as had been the case of 0 .1 Castle of Fasiladas northeastern doors. 11

I ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

those wandering capitals that E thiopian emperors had previously established. Instead, he built a palace, described in the royal chronicles of the time as a castle, beautifully constructed and of admirable appearance.4 The place is now called Guzara, and the magnificent Guzara Castle is included in this guide as one of the key monuments in the region to visit. The power shift in favo ur of the L ake Tana region was continued and consolidated by Sarsa Dengel and by those who held tl1e imperial title after him. In 1604 E mperor Za Dengel had his court at D anqaz,5 where his successor, Emperor Susenyos, moved the capital at the end of the 1610s and built his castle a few years later. 6 To Susenyos, who reigned between 1607 and 1632, are to be ascribed the foundation of Gorgora as a capital and the building of another historic landmark in the region, Maryam Gimp, an interesting and magnificent architectural combination of royal palace and Cailiolic cailiedral built just after the emperor abandoned the Coptic Orthodox Church and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1621-22. He also had an outstanding palace built at Ganata lyasus, near Gondar, with a royal pavilion standing in the centre of a pool amid beautiful gardens. Susenyos' successor and son, Fasiladas, was the first to mark the permanent character of his capital Gondar by building a castle there, followed in this by Emperors Yohannes I, l yasu I, D awit III, Bakaffa, Iyasu II, and Empress M entewab, the famous and beautiful girl mentioned at the opening of the chapter, who also had another palace and a church built at Qusquam, outside G ondar. The absolute key role played by Gondar as a capital did not prevent some of those emperors from establishing oilier royal residences in the L ake Tana region and spending part of ilie year iliere. The royal chronicles of the time often describe the moment when ilie sig nal fo r the royal departure from Gondar was given, usually after the rainy season, and people were gathered by the herald and ordered to bring their mules and horses to join the procession and help the imperial caravan transport its goods. 7 Emperor Yohannes I, for instance, chose to have a residence in Aringo, near Dabra Tabor, and Yababa, south ofBahir D ar, where ilie ruins of ilie fortress still suggest its importance; Iyasu I built a fascinating castle on the tiny Chakla Manzo Island , in L ake Tana; and Bakaffa built a fortress on Giyorgis Island, near the northern shore of the lake. All these castles, fortresses, palaces and many other buildings give the region its distinctive and fabulous character. Their architecture was revolutionary and consisted of a blend of local and foreign influences, according to a recipe that remains mysterious.

12

I

INTRODUCTION

: Gondarine Architectural Style :

No one, to date, has provided an adequate explanation of the style of the abovementioned castle built by E mperor Sarsa D engel in Guzara, a building that is considered to be one of the possible models for the later and more fa mous Castle of Fasiladas in Gondar. For certain, the introduction into the region of key architectonic and stylistic elements was facilitated by the J esuits who accompanied and followed the military expedition led by Cristovao da Gama in 15 41 to help the force of E thiopian Emperor Galawdewos against Ahmad "the G ragn". M ost of iliose Jesuits were Portuguese based in the territories of Portugal's India, a fac t that helps explain ilieir bringing in of building techniques and decorative patterns of E uropean and Indian origin. They made extensive use, for instance, of stone and lime mortar, which they largely employed in the construction of ilie above-mentio ned Maryam Gimp, l yas us Churc h in D anqaz, and the reconstruction of ilie impressively beautiful Martula Maryam. Th e building of these three important churches was all carried out at the height of the J esuits' power in tl1e region and in E thiopia, between the conversion ofEmperor Susenyos to Catholicism and their subsequent expulsion fro m the coun try immediately after Susenyos' death in 1632 . In addition, the J esuits opened the way for the immigration of Indian craftsmen, such as the masterbuilder who would have designed ilie Castle ofFasiladas, according to a Yemeni Ambassador visiting Gondar in 1648,8 or those who, according to the well-info rmed Jesuit Jerome L obo, E mperor Susenyos had 'procu red' for the building of the first bridge on the Abay, the Alata Bridge.9 In addition, the Scottish explorer J a mes Bruce witnessed the presence in Gondar of Christian Greeks working in decorating the castle iliat Emperor l yasu II was building in the l 73 0s. 10 The foreign architectural knowledge syncretized with the local one, which bore ilie legacy of the outstanding and distinctive architecture developed by the Aksumite Civilisation in the first centuries of the Christian era and by the creators of 12th and 13th century L alibela churches. Among ilie many skilled Ethiopians who worked at the Gondar imperial court we know the name of Walda Giyorgis, to whom the royal chronicles of the time ascribe the construction of tl1e Chancellery o f Yohannes I. 11 T he outcome of such a fascinating cultural fusion also includes churches like Bahiri Gimp, with round-domed towers which are also featured in the compound walls of the churches ofTsadda Gziabier Ab and Azazo Takla Haymanot; bridges, such as the oldest one at Guzara, and those built by Fasiladas on the Angareb

13

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIV E GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

INTRODUCTION

and Qaha Rivers (Dafacha Bridge and Genfokuch Bridge, respectively), and the beautiful, famousAlata Bridge; as well as houses, like the enchanting building in the Giyorgis Church compound in Bahir Dar. The Gondarine style applied to buildings located in the Lake Tana region, with the exception of the old cathedral of Aksum, Enda Maryam Seyon, which assumed such a stylistic character after the l 7th-century restoration work sponsored by Emperor Fasiladas. Castles and churches in Lake Tana region remain as tangible signs of the cultural renaissance that occurred in this part of Ethiopia between the 16th and the 18th centuries and that, as shown in the next section, was not restricted to architecture alone. : The Churches of Lake Tana :

The shift of the imperial political centre to Lake Tana region occurred in a territory with a very long and amazing history. Since ancient times the local peoples have been worshipping the spring at Gish Abay that is the source of the Blue Nile. Known in Ethiopia as Abay, it is traditionally identified with the Ghion River that, according to the Bible, flows from the Garden of Eden and encompasses the land of Ethiopia (Genesis 2:13). The fame of its source had most probably reached the West during the time of the ancient Greeks, who might have known it as Psebo or Coloe thanks to Strabo and Eratosthenes. Its location, however, puzzled Western geographers and explorers until James Bruce "discovered" it in 1770. Tana Island, to which Lake Tana owes its name, is another historic landmark: the stone altars provide evidence of preChristian religious practices and the place became one of the first Christian settlements in the region, as well as in Ethiopia. Lack of historical evidence is counterbalanced by an abundance of legendary tales, according to which the Holy Family made a stop here on its flight from Herod's wrath, and the Ark of the Covenant remained on the island for 800 years before reaching Enda Maryam Seyon Church at Aksum, whereas, of the other three arks (jabots) that were travelling with the Ark, Qirqos remained on the island, one went to the above-mentioned Martula Maryam, and the last one to Tadbaba Maryam in Wallo. Therefore, these would be the first four Christian churches built in Ethiopia. While historians doubt that the foundation of Tana Qirqos Church dates back to the introduction of Christianity in Ethiopia in the 4th century, the island was certainly one of the first outposts of the Christianisation of the Lake Tana region that occurred in the 14th century, in the aftermath

14

0.2 Castle of Fasiladas (Lefebvre, 1845- 51 ).

of the expansion of the Ethiopian Kingdom under the reign of Amda Seyon (1314-44 ). 12 In fact, the lake islands offered a safe harbour to the first communities converted to Christianity, protecting them from the hostility of the surrounding inland populations, particularly the Falashas and the Agaw. The immigration into the lake region of monks exiled because of the conflicts that affected the Ethiopian Christian communities internally and vis-a-vis the royal power also explains the rapid increase in the number of monasteries since the 14th century, whose power increased after Emperor Sarsa Dengel established his imperial residence at Gubay, the present Guzara-Emfraz. It is the beginning of a long and extraordinary period of religious and artistic renaissance that goes from the 15th to the 17th centuries and makes Lake Tana churches and monasteries among the most interesting and romantically beautiful historical sites to be visited in Ethiopia. Much is still unknown about that artistic renaissance's roots and its protagonists, but some key facts emerge firmly. One of them is the work of Fre Seyon, one of the greatest Ethiopian painters and the creator of what have been considered as the major Ethiopian paintings of the 15th century: the panels for the churches ofDaga Estephanos, on D aga Island, and Rema Medhane Alem, on Rema Island.13 He was a monk from the Dabra Gwegweben monastery, once located on the eastern

15

/

INTRODUCTION

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

shore of Lake Tana, and he lived during the reign of Emperor Zara Yaqob, as we know from what he himself wrote - an exceptio nal fact fo r the time - on the above-mentioned D aga Estephanos panel. H e painted it for the island's church, where a copy of that panel can be seen, together with the original of a magnificent painting on canvas also attributed to Fre Seyon, with an enthroned Christ in the upper half and M ary with the Child in the lower one. 14 There is a consensus among scholars that Fre Seyon had a leading role in the creation of a new style, in which tradition creatively encountered external influences. To Fre Seyon, fo r instance, a leading scholar has acknowledged the introduction to Ethiopian painting of elements that wo uld all be of Italian Tuscan origin, such as the gray dove held by the Child, the gesture of the caressed chin, and the sprig of flowers held by M ary. 15 The creation of this new style was a process catalysed by the political and ecclesiastical reforms carried out by E mperor Zara Yaqob during his reig n ( 1433-68). On the one hand, he strongly promoted devotion to the Virgin M ary, to the extent that he ordered the reading in church of the Book of Miracles of M ary, a collection of stories and traditions which had its origin in mid-1 2thcentury France and was translated into the E thiopian lang uage during the reig n of his fath er and himself. 16 T he E thiopian painte rs of the time responded positively to the E mperor 's direction, as is shown in another masterpiece of the 15th century, the Tana Qirqos folding processional icon, where the new central role given to St. M ary's representation was taken literally, by depicting the Virgin at the centre of a 480 cm long row of patriarchs, saints, and apostles. Particularly, it is under Zara Yaqob that the Virgin with the Child became one of the major iconographic themes of E thiopian painting, although its introduction dates back at least to the 14th century, as we see in Q orqor M aryam Church, Tigray. 17 The centraLty of such a theme emerges clearly in Fre Seyon's work as well as in the l 5th-century paintings, while the emperor himself wo re an image of M ary and the Child on his chest. 18 On the other hand, it was mostly due to Zara Yaqob's diplomatic efforts that contacts between Ethiopia and Europe intensified during the 15th century, facilitating the arrival of foreign artists in the country. Particularl y, evidence exists that the Venetians Gregorio Bicini and Nicolo Brancaleone, and the Portuguese L azaro de Andrade were working as painters in l 5th- and l 6th-century E thiopia, most probably together with many oth er Europeans artists, including those linked to the presence of the J esuit missions in the 16th century. 19 Scholars also found some possible influences

16

from 13th- to 15th-century Arab or Christian Arab painting, especially with regard to those "full moon faces" that became very popular in l 5th-century E thiopian painting, as in, for example, Fre Seyon's masterpieces. 20 The stylistic development of E thiopian painting was fos tered by the political stability and relative economic pros perity that followed the establishment of Gondar by E mperor Fasiladas. As it occurred in architecture, this development marked the beginning of what is commonly known as Gondarine style. Scholars generally agree on a twofold periodisation: the first style dates to the 17th century and the second to the l 8th .2 1 The dramatic First Style contrasts with the narrative Second Style;22 whereas figures are characterised by their outlines in the First, in the Second they are shown "in the round" on backgrounds painted in vivid colours;2 3 in the First, the dark lines delineating the figures are filled in with flat, contrasting colours - mostly yellow, green, red and blue - backgrounds are flat, a red was h schematically covers part of faces, patterns are geometric, as in the case of those made of short lines and dots decorating robes. In the Second, forms are fluid, figures are more realistically created by the means of lig ht, shade, and graduated colours, generally used in darker shades, faces are ro unded and rosy, backgrounds are soft and luminous, an effect obtained by juxtaposing the bright yellow colour to dark red and green and by blending colours into the adj acent areas; a sense of depth is given often by painting fully only the figures in the first row of a group . Religious themes prevail in the First, whereas the Second pays more attention to nonreligious aspects of Ethiopian life , such as battles, banq uets, and country scenes; in addition, portraits become a key theme in the Second Style.24 The table below synthesises the maj or differences between the two styles. First Gondarine Painting Style

Second Gondarine Painting Style

Dramatic

Narrative

Geometric patterns

Fluid form s

Figures marked by outlines

Figures " in the round "

Dark lines delineating figures

Light, shade, graduated colours

Flat backgrounds

Soft and luminous backgrounds

Mostly religious themes

Also nonreligious, life

17

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

One of the most important and spectac ular examples of wall painting in the First Gondarine Style is Dabra Sina Church at G orgora, on the shore of L ake Tana. With regard to the Second Style, it is the paintings of Narga Selassie Church, on Narga Island that represent it at its best. The latter is also assumed to mark the transition from the First to the Second Style, during the regency of the beautiful Mentewab, starting in the 1730s. 25 G onda r and L ake Tana offer a wealth of historic sites and artwork, many of them off the beaten tourist tracks and still unstudied . Castles, churches, and paintings provide visitors with a sense of the cultural and artistic splendour that made this region famous in the world from a remote past and make travelling today through the region's history and natural resources an extraordinary experience. With the intent of facilitating the discovery of such a heritage, this guide is divided into three main sections: Gondar, Gorgora, and Bahir D ar. Each section deals in detail with the key monuments and with sig htseeing in the area, providing all key information on travel, access, accommodations, and transport.

INTRODUCTI ON/ NOTES

10

Bruce, Travels lo Discover the Sources ofthe Nile, Edinburgh, Ramsay, 18 13, IV, pp. 12 1-2.

11

Guidi , Ignazio, Annafes lohannis I, 'Iyasu I, Bakiiffii, CSCO Scriptores Aethiopici, Paris, Poussielgue, II (versio), 1903, p. 60.

12

Conti Rossini, Carlo, 'I I convento di Tsana in Abissinia e le sue laudi alla Vergi ne', Rendiconti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei, XIX, 191 0, p. 583; Tadesse, Tamrat, State and Clmrch in Etl,iopia (1270- 1527), O xford , Clarendon, 1972, pp. 190, 193 .

u

Bosc-Tiesse, Claire, L es l ies de la memoire - Fabn·que des images et ecrit11re de L'histoire dans Jes egfises du lac Tiinii, E"thiopie, Xlll f'-X\/1//' siede, Paris, Publications de la Sorbon ne, 2008, p. 32.

14

H eldman, Marilyn, 7Yie M arian Icons of the Painter Fre Scyon: A study of fifteen th-century Ethiopian art, patronage, and spirituality, Wiesbaden, H arrassowitz, 1994, p. 51.

15

H eldman ( 1994), p. 178 .

1

' Cerulli , E nrico, Storia de/la letterat11ra etiopica, Milano, Nuova Accademia, 1956, pp. 8 1-83 ; Conti Rossini ( 191 0), p. 591 .

17

18

19

NOTES O got, Bethwell A., (ed.), 'Africa from the Sixteenth to the E ighteenth Century', General History of Africa, Pa ris/O xford/Berkeley, J ames Currey/UCP /UN E SCO, 1992, V, pp. 703-4.

2

Conti Rossini, Carlo, Historia Regis Sarsa Dengel (Malak Sagad), Paris, Poussielgue, 1907, II; Perruchon, J ules, 'Notes pour l'histoire d'Ethiopie. Regne de Sarsa-D engel ou Malak-Sagad I" ( 1563 - 1597)', Revue Semitique, IV, J uillet 1896, pp. 273-8.

3

Paez, Petrus, 'Historia Aethiopiae', in C. Becca ri (ed.), Rerum aethiopicarmn scriptores occidentales inediti a saeculo XVI ad XIX , Roma, De Luigi , ( 1903-1 7), II ( 1905), L ib. I, p. 203.

4

Conti Rossini ( 1907), pp. 50, 13.

5

Bruce, J ohn, Travels to Discover the Sources ofthe Nile, II , Ed inburgh, Ru thven, 1790, II, p. 244.

6

Almeida , Emmanuelis, 'H istoria de Ethiopia a Alta ou Abassia', in C. Beccari (ed.), Rerum aethiopicarnm scriptores occidentales inediti a saeculo XVI ad X IX, Roma, D e Luigi, ( 1903- 17), VI ( 1907), Lib. V, p. 75; Paez ( 1903 - 17), II ( 1905), L ib. I, p. 204.

7

M unro-H ay, Stuart, Ethiopia, n ie Unknown Land: A wltural and historical guide, L ondon, Tauris, 2002, p. 78.

8

Van Donze!, E mericus J., A Yemenite Embassy to Ethiopia, 1647-1649: AI-Haymi's Sirat alH abasha, Wiesbaden/Stuttgard , Steiner, 1986, p. 60 .

9

L obo, J erome, A Voyage to Abyssinia, transl. by Sam uel J ohnson, L ondon, Elliot, 1789, p. 114.

18

Cerul li , E nri co, '~Etiopia de! secolo XV in nuovi documenti storici ', Afnca ftaliana, 5, 1933, p. 86.

20

1

Chojnacki , Stanislaw, 'Pein tu re parietale, icones, manuscrits, croix et autres objets liturgiques', in W. Raunig (ed.), L:art e11 Etl,iopie, Paris, H aza n, 2005, pp. 17 1-249, p. 173 .

Chojnac ki , Stanislaw, 'N otes on Art in Ethiopia in the 15th and E arly 16th Century', Journal of Ethiopian Studies , VIII , 2, 1970, pp. 21-65, pp. 63-5. L epage , Claud e, 'H istoire de l'ancienne peinture eth iopienne (X' -XV' siecle). Resultats des missions de 197 1 a 1977', Comptes-re11d11s des seances de !'Academic des inscriptions et be!Les-Leures , CXXI, 2, 1977,pp. 325-76, p.365.

21

Chojnacki (2005), p. 192.

22

J ager, Otto and H ammerschmidt, Ernst, IIL111ninierte Athiopische Ha11dsc/11ifien, Wiesbaden, 1968, quoted in Chojnacki, Stanislaw, 'Attempts at the Periodization of Ethiopian Painting: A Summary from 1960 to the Present', in B. Teferra and R. Pankhurst (eds.), Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art, Add is Ababa, 5-8 N ovember 2002, Addis Ababa , I nstitute of Ethiopian Studies, 2003, pp. 3-3 0, p. 4.

23

Buxton, D avid R. , The Abyssiniaiis, L ondon, Thames & Hud son, 1970, p. 140.

24

Leroy, Jules, La P1tt11ra Etto-pica , M ilano, E lecta, 1964, pp. 34- 35; Chojnacki (2005), pp. 8- 9, 18; M ercier, J acques, 'Ethiopian Art H istory', in D. E . H orowitz (ed.), Ethiopian Art _ The Walters Art Mnsemn, Lingfield, T hird M illenium, 200 1, pp. 45 -73, p. 62.

25

Bosc-T iesse (2008), p. 14.

19

T GONDAR

he city lies on a flat ridge of mountains located between the Angareb and Qaha Rivers valleys and includes peaks up to 3,000 m above sea level, which decline southwards to Lake Tana, at a distance by air of about 30 km. Its position makes the city a strategic and healthy place, not affected by malaria. Emperor Fasiladas certainly took that fact into account when he decided to establish this new capital. He was the first to build his palace here, followed by his successors in the 17th and 18th centuries. The outcome is an extraordinary historic complex that, since then, has been enchanting travellers and visitors with its fabulous beauty and that UNESCO included in the World Heritage List in 1979.

TOUR INFORMATION : Directions:

By air, daily flights link Addis Ababa to Gondar, which is also directly connected witl1 Bahir D ar, Aksum, and Lalibela. Timetable and booking are available on the Ethiopian Airways website (www.ethiopianairlines.com) or at tl1e Gondar office (fig. 1.2:5), Tel.: 058-1110129; e-mail: [email protected]. Gondar is served by the Atse Tewodros Airport, located about 4 km south of Azazo, a small town about 10 km southwest of the city. No public transport service is available to or from the airport, but there are taxis or, from Azazo town, private minibuses charging a few birr to Gondar. By road, Gondar can be reached from Addis Ababa via Bahir Dar on the newly improved highway. Plenty of minibuses run between Gondar Bus Station (fig. 1.2:51) and Bahir Dar and cover the approximately 180 km in 3 to 4 hours. A road links Gondar with Aksum and Adwa through the Semien Mountains : Tourist Information:

A Tourist Information Centre (fig. 1.2: 14) operates downtown,just uphill of the Piazza View Amusement Area adjacent the Quara Hotel (fig. 1.2: 16). It is run by the Gondar branch of the Tourism and Culture Commission. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8.30am- 12.30pm; 1.30pm-5.30pm. Tel.: 058-1110022. Maps ofGondar and brochures are on sale here. Information provided includes transport prices and routes, as well as details on organised tours to Gondar and its surroundings, Semien Mountains, Gorgora, and Lake Tana. 1.1 Castle of Fasiladas viewed from the north. 21

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

: Accommodation :

Gondar offers a variety of accommodations ranging from budget to comfort class. The guide lists most of them as high range, mid-range, and budget. A classification of the quality of all the hotels is still not available from the Ethiopian Tourism Commission. All accommodations listed below are in the city and have their location shown in fig. 1.2. The hotel staff provided the information below. The international telephone dialing code for Ethiopia is + 251. When calling from abroad, the "O" of the area code must be omitted. DB= double bedroom; TW = twin bedroom.

H igh Range Florida International Hotel Recently opened about 3km southeast of the city centre, near the University of Gondar, Maraki Campus. 60 rooms, all with private bathroom and sat-TV; suites. Restaurant, bar, parking, wi-fi. Credits cards accepted. Price range: 4858 USD. Tel.: 058-11 12260/50/55 Goha Hotel Large, recent hotel on the top of Gannet Terara Hill, with a spectacular view over Gondar. 58 TW rooms; 4 suites. All rooms have a private bathroom and sat-TV. Restaurant, bar, parking. Price range (foreigners and nationals): 59-97 USD . Master and Visa cards accepted. Tel.: 058-1110634, 1110358; Fax.: 058-11 11 920. Landmark Hotel Opened in the early 20 I Os, it is located at the foot of Mount Genet, with a beautiful view over the city. 70 rooms, all with private bathroom and sat-TV; suite rooms and apartments. Restaurant, bar, parking, wi-fi. Credits cards accepted. Price range: 60-92 USD. Tel.: 058-1122929/30; e-mail: info@ gonderlandmark.com; Web: http://www.gonderlandmark.com Lodge du Ch ateau New hotel of traditional design, opposite the eastern side of Fasil Ghebbi. 14 DB and TW rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom and sat-TV. Restaurant, bar, wifi Internet. Price range (foreig ners and nationals): 45-50 USD (breakfast and transfer from/to airport included; 10- 15 % discount in low season). Tel.: 058-1118965; 091-8152001; e-mail: lodge@lodgeduchateau. corn; Web: http://www.lodgeduchateau.com

22

Quara Hotel Four-storey new hotel with an annex built during the Italian colonial occupation. 12 single room; 19 DB rooms; 19 TW rooms; 2 suites. All rooms have a private bathroom and sat-TV. Annex (former Grand Hotel): 16 rooms (sha_red bathroom). Restaurant, bar, parking, Internet, sauna bath. Price range: foreigners, 422-670 birr; nationals, 20% discount. Tel.: 058- 111 0040/ 1113808.

Mid-Range Capra Walia Inn Small, recent hotel, 100 m far from the Fogera Hotel. 12 DB rooms; 2 TW rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom. Restaurant, bar, parking, sat-TV, Internet. Price range: fo reigners, 27-35 USD ; nationals, 217-544 birr. Master and Visa cards accepted. Tel.: 058-1120314; 091-8703357; e-mail: caprainn@ yahoo.corn Fogera Hotel Small hotel dating back to the Italian colonial occupation. 12 TW rooms all with a private bathroom. Restaurant, bar, parking, sat-TV, Internet. P~ice range: foreigners, 35-40 USD (birr also accepted); nationals, 250 - 350 birr. Visa card accepted. Tel.: 058-l ll0405 . Lammergeyer Hotel Small, new hotel in the outskirts of Gondar, on tl1e way to Azazo. 8 single rooms; 8 DB rooms; 4 TW rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom and sat-TV. Restaurant, bar, parking, wifi Internet. Price range: foreigners, 30-45 USD; nationals, 172-230 birr. Visa card accepted. Tel.: 058-1122903· 0918772987. '

Budget Ambaras Hotel Two-storey, recently renovated. 20 DB rooms (private bathroom); 8 DB rooms (shared bathroom); 12 TW rooms (private bathroom). Restaurant bar sat-TV Internet, parking. Price range: foreigners, 250-400 birr; nation~ls, i20-200 birr. Visa card accepted. Tel.: 058-1 lll 181. Atse Bakaffa Hotel

Small, new hotel. 12 DB rooms; 12 TW rooms. All rooms have a private b~throom. Restaurant, bar, sat-TV, parking. Price range: foreigners, 300-400 brrr; nationals, 120-200 birr. Tel.: 058-lll7711.

23

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

1.2 Map of Gondar

500m

1-------1

Water reservoir

Angareb River

-

24

25

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

'-...r

to Dafacha ~ Kidane Mehr~ Q

500m

Angareb Rive

Ei, Police Station

~ Addababay lyasus Church

~ Commercial Bank ~ Misrak Pension

e 0 9

~ Ethiopian

Fasil Ghebbi Complex

f) Addababay Takla

Telecommunications Office

Haymanot

Church

~ Quara Hotel

Lodge du Chateau

~ Medhane Alem Church

@ Semien

Park Hotel

G Ex Case I.N.C.I.S. G Landmark Hotel

e

~ Atse Bakaffa Hotel

~ Qaha lyasus Church

0

~ Balageru Traditional Music

G stadium

O United Bank (ex Italian

G) Zone Administration Office (ex Palazzo del Comando Truppe)

Cinema)

0

Taitu Pension

~ High Court

Cl) Belegez Pension ~

Mosque

e

~ Nile Hotel

CBI Circle Hotel

(ex Circolo Militare e Coloniale) Gabriel Church

~ Genetics Guest House

~ Ethiopia Hotel

G, Capra Walia Inn

~ Tourist Information Centre

~ Ambaras Hotel

26

e

G} Goha Hotel/Gannet Terara Hill

C, Takla Haymanot Church E) Ethiopian Airways Terara Hotel

~ ~ ~ ~

Fogera Hotel

~

Ras Gimp

$

Dabra Berhan Selassie Church

~ Bath of Fasiladas

Ledeta Maryam Church

~ Baata Church ~ Qirqos Church

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

University of Gondar Teaching and Referral Hospital

G) Lammergeyer Hotel

e, Kiddus Yohannes Church $

Fit Mikael Church Bus Station

Church

Thermal Bath

G Qusquam Complex $

City Hall Ab -Egzi Church

~ Market ~ Jamia Kabir Mosque ~ Dabra Met'maq Maryam

EI) Tomb of the Horse

$

Wolde Yohannes Negudguad Church

Jan Tekel Addababay; Jan Coffee House

27

Fit Abbo Church Addis Alem Mosque Getaw Sheik Ali Shrine Florida Hotel Dafacha Bridge

C HAPTER 1/ GONDAR ARADA GUIDES / A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

Belegez Pension One-storey, traditional type small hotel. 3 single rooms (private bat~room); 7 DB rooms (private bathroom); 4 DB rooms (shared bathroom). Pnce range: foreigners, 250-400 birr; nationals, 100-200 birr. Tel.: 058- 111 4356; 091-

8772997.

Terara Hotel Two-storey hotel, mostly built during the Italian colonial occupation. 3 DB rooms (private bathroom); 28 DB rooms (shared bathroom). Restaurant bar parking, garden. Price range: foreigners, 120-200 birr; nationals, 50~ 100 birr. Tel.: 058-1110153. , Banks:

Circle Hotel Four-storey hotel, circular in plan, built in the 1990s. 10 DB rooms; 16 ~W rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom. Restaurant, bar, sat-TV, parking. Price range: foreigners, 200-300 birr; nationals, 100-200 bi_rr. Tel.: 058-

1111991. Ethiopia Hotel Small old fashioned hotel. 12 DB rooms (shared bathroom); 8 TW rooms (shar~d bathroom). Restaurant, bar, parking. Price ranges: foreigners, 200-250

birr; nationals, 100-2 00 birr. Tel.: 058-1110203. Genetics Guest House Small, recent hotel. 5 DB rooms; 6 TW rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom. sat-TV. Price range: foreigners, 400 - 500 birr; nationals, 154-176

birr. Tel.: 091-8049191. Misrak Pension One-storey small pension. 8 DB rooms (private bathroom); 6 DB rooms (shared bathroom). Price range: foreigners, 250-300 birr; nationals, 85 birr.

A major bank offering foreign exchange service is the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, with its main office (fig. 1.2:28) about 500 m northeast of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Office and another one opposite the entrance to the Bus Station. The United Bank has its downtown office at the former Italian cinema (fig. 1.2:7). Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, 8am-12.30pm, 2pm-4pm, and Friday, 8am-11.30am and 2pm - 4pm. : Car Rental :

Most licensed local tour operators provide car rental service. : Climate:

Gondar's climate is conditioned by its 2,200 m altitude, with monthly average temperatures that rarely exceed 22 degrees Celsius during the hottest season of the year, which is between March and May. The main rainy season is between June and September, with peak rainfall in July and August. The latter are also tl1e coldest months of the year, with average temperatures around 16 degrees Celsius. ; Hospital:

Tel.: 058-1110069. Nile Hotel Large building, just beside Circle Hotel. 40 DB rooms; 18 TV! roo~s. All rooms have a private bathroom. Price range: foreigners, 160-250 bm; nat.J.onals,

90-115 birr. Tel.: 058-111 1600. Semien Park Hotel Small, recent hotel. 24 DB rooms; 2 TW rooms. All rooms have a private bathroom. Restaurant, bar, sat-TV, parking. P rice range: foreigners, 300-450

birr; nationals, 100- 150 birr. Tel.: 058-1110300. Taitu Pension Small, new hotel. 11 DB rooms (private bathroom); 3 DB rooms (shared bathroom); 5 TW rooms (private bathroom). P arking, sat-TV. Price range: foreigners, 120- 180 birr; nationals, 50- 120 birr. Tel.: 058- 1122898.

28

The University of Gondar Teaching and Referral Hospital (fig. 1.2:42) is located m the campus to the west of the city, near the Bath of Fasiladas. : Internet:

P laces offering e-mail and Internet services can be found around the Ethiopian Telecommunications Office and Circle Hotel. If the connection speed is slower than usual, try early morning and late evening. : Market:

The area (fig. 1.2:55) is about 800 m southwest ofFasil Ghebbi. The market is open daily and busiest on Saturday, which is the market day. :Music:

Traditional music is played live at Balageru Bar (fig. 1.2:20).

29

ARADA GUIDES / A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

: Pharmacies :

There is a pharmacy adj acent to the Quara Hotel (fig. 1.2: 16). : Souvenirs :

Souvenirandhandicraftshopscan be found in theEthiopian Telecommunications Office's area and at the market. In order to protect and preserve the national cultural heritage, E thiopian law strictly forbids the possession and export of objects of historical or archaeological interest. To minimise the risk of buying an item that belongs to that category, one is advised to seek assistance at the Tourism and Culture Commission.

HISTORY : The Legend :

In addition to admiring the healthy environment of Gondar, Fasiladas may have decided to establish it as the imperial capital because of its strategic location, not only in military terms, but also from a commercial point of view, being at the crossroad of key trade routes. Moreover, the forest supplied timber in abundance, and the very fertile regions of Dembea to the south and Waggara to the north were nearby. H owever, a local, widespread legend claims that there was another key reason explaining the Emperor's choice. A version of such a legend that is collected at Azazo T akla Haymanot Church says that when . Fasiladas' father, Emperor Susenyos, was living in his Ganata lyasus palace at Azazo he heard a bird that was repeatedly singing "go". From this cry he unders~ood that the place where he should establish his capital had to have a name beginning with the letter G. After his predecessor Sarsa Dengel had founded Guzara, Susenyos established his residence at Gorgora, and then Gomange, better known as Danqaz. After the death of Susenyos, Fasiladas became emperor. While hunting in the forest, he wounded a sosa or duqulla (a sort of antelope), which ran away, leaving bloodstains on the grass. Fasiladas followed the tracks until Gubate Bridge, where they disappeared. H e asked people where the animal had gone and when they answered 'Gondar' he understood that that was the right place, beginning with a G, where he should establish the capital. 1 In a similar version of tl1e legend collected in the 1930s, an old hermit appeared to Fasiladas while he had stopped near a pond to drink its water during the hunting of a buffalo and told him to build a castle on that

30

2

uncont~minated pond. Actually, at that time Gondar was most probably a small village and, according to tradition, two landlords, Wayne and Sayne, owned the area corresponding to tl1e present downtown. 3 In exchange for gold an~ land, Fasiladas would have bought from them tl1e land fo r his palace, which became the capital of the Empire for more than two centuries. : The Name:

The name Gondar would come from guang dara, a word that in tl1e language of the Kemant - an Agaw community living north of Lake Tana and west of Takaze River - means 'between two rivers', the Angareb and Qaha! In anotl1er story of the name, Gondar originates from the Amharic expression bagon eda~, 'one should reside beside the other', the sentence pronounced by the commurnty elders to settle a dispute between Wayne and Sayne. 5 : The City:

We ~now from an ancien\royal chronicle that Fasiladas ordered the building of h1~ castle 111 1635-36, only fou r yea rs after he became emperor, tlms marking the beginning of tl1e city's thriving development. One after tl1e other, five emperors and one empress subsequently had their palaces built in Gondar, enriching the city witl1 what are now famous monuments worldwide: Fasil Ghebbi, Qusquam, and Bath of Fasiladas. Such a unique urban landscape was emphasised by a striking architectural contrast between the royal castles and the people's dwellings. The French doctor J acques Poncet was there in 1699- 1700 to treat Iyasu I, and tells us that 'the houses are only 7 of one-storey'. In the second half of the 18th century, Gondar consisted of about 10,000 families, living in houses 'chiefly of clay, the roofs thatched in 8 the f~n~ of cones'. The urban area was so covered with w anza trees (Cordia abyss1111ca) that from a distance of around l Omiles, only the tower of the Castle ofFasiladas stood out from what appeared as a 'thick black wood'.9 : Market and Trade:

P oncet noted that the town had no shops, but trade was nevertheless great: all the merchants met in the Addababay (public square), where each of them had a proper place to sell the merchandise, exposing it on a mat. 10 All sorts o~ commodities were on sale at the market, which lasted from morning to mg ht, Poncet writes. Gold and salt were the money with which the merchants

31

CHAPTER 1I GONDAR ARADA GUIDES I A COM PREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

proclaimed that Muslims had to be socially and geographically separated from Christians. 15 However, we know from the Yemenite ambassador Al-Hasan Ibn Ahmad Haymi, who visited the city in 1648, that a Muslim settlement existed in Gondar at least since tlie reign of Emperor Fasiladas. ' 6 According to an estimation made in 1770 by James Bruce, the Muslim town at Gondar consisted 'of about 3,000 houses, some of them spacious and good' .17 Islam Bet was later renamed Addis Alem, an area still characterised by a strong majority of Muslim dwellers, whose number in Gondar - according to community representatives - is about 50,000. 18 Out of them, 80 to 90 percent adhere to the Hanafi School of Law (Madhhab ). It was introduced in Gondar from Arabic countries by Sheik Feki Tuhar, who lived during tlie reign of Emperor Tewodros II ( 185 5-68). The celebration of the Prophet's Birthday (Mawlid) started in Gondar at that time. Before the spread of the Hanafi School in Gondar, the majority of the urban Muslim community followed the rules of the Maliki School of Law.

, The Beta Israel :

a: k d 11Indeed trade in Gondar has flourished since the reign ofFasiladas trarnc e . , . · E · G d and not only for being the political centre of the Ethiopian mpire. on a~ lay at the intersection of three major caravan routes: one to the southwest o the Empire, which was rich in gold, ivory, and slaves; one to the Red Se~ ort of Massawa; and one to Sudan and Egypt. 12 In 17 66, Emperor Iyoas ~nd his grandmother Mentewab decreed to move the market near the circular D abra T sahay Church inside Qusquam Palace compound and to change the market day to Tuesday. ' 3 A few years later, in 1785' Neg~s Takla C?1yorgi~ ,: .d d tl t· 'Let there be held a market on the Saturday as m the begmmng '. d ec1 e 1a . ful · k t and Saturday is still the day on which the busy and colour mam mar e is held a few hundred metres south west of Jan T ekel Addababay.

: The Muslims : Given the fact that a large part of these trades occurre~ in Muslim r,egions, it is not surprising that the Ethiopian Muslims constituted Gondar s ~ost important business community. They lived in Isla~ Bet (House of ~u~u~s, m Amharic), at the junction between the two nvers, Angareb an ~ a. It was Emperor y ohannes I ( 1667-82), who, in his first year of reign,

This name designates the Ethiopian Jews, who often reject the term "Falasha" traditionally given to them by the Christians because of its pejorative meaning. The name is said to derive from the condition of exile caused by the deprivation of the right to inherit farming land during the reign of Emperor Y eshaq I (1414-30). ' 9 During the reign of Yohannes I, the Jews were affected by the same discriminatory provision enacted against the Muslims. In fact, when the Scottish explorer James Bruce arrived in Gondar in 1770, he found that their villages were scattered in the town's surroundings. 20 Among those villages, there most probably was Wolleka, about 4 km to the north of Gondar and currently included in the tourist routes as the "Falasha Village" . Bruce also noticed that many of their dwellers were 'masons and thatchers of houses employed in Gondar'. 21As trade was a key activity for Muslims, craftsmanship was fundamental for the livelihood of Gondar's Jews. They were involved in silversmithing, goldsmithing, and pottery making, with such skill that for centuries they gave fame to the term "made in Gondar". The origins of their community in Etliiopia are still shrouded in mystery, and among the many hypotheses there is also the one assuming that they were Christian Ethiopians who converted to J udaism, a theory recently supported by some D A evidence. 22 Traditionally, the Beta Israel had their geographical epicentre in the Lake Tana region and north of it, and they spoke Agaw, a Cushitic language.

33 32

AAADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAA

However, we know from Bruce that as early as 1770 the "Falashas" living in Dembea region had replaced Agaw with the Christians' Amharic language.23 Gondar's Jewish population was already scarce in the first decades of the 19th century - only 400 according to the British traveller athaniel Pearce 24 - and today it is almost nonexistent. In 1984-85 , when famine and civil war were devastating Ethiopia, the Israeli government airlifted 20,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in Operations Moses and another 15 ,OOO members of the community during Operation Solomon in 1991. 25 Their emigration has been going on since then, to the extent that in 2004 there were around 80,000 Ethiopian J ews living in Israel. 26 : The City of the 44 Christian Churches :

Gondar not only had unique political and economic importance, but it was also a major religious centre. Here, for centuries, three religious communities, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Beta Israel had their churches, shrines, mosques, and synagogues. The largest of these comm unities, the Orthodox Christians, still proudly refer to Gondar as the city of the 44 Christian churches, since there were so many churches in the city and its neighbourhoods during the 17th and 18th centuries. 27 Emperor Fasiladas is reputed to have founded seven of them: in addition to the oldest two - Fit Abbo, in the Old Fit Quarte r, and Fit Mi_kael, in the ltchege Bet Quarter - they were

Gemja Ber Maryam; Addahahay lyasus; Elfin Giyorgis; Medhane Ale m; and Gabriel, in the Ahuna Bet Quarter. Two of them, Elfin Giyorgis and Gemja Bet Maryam, were inside the royal compound. Local tradition 28 also attributes to Fasiladas the third church present in the royal compound, Attatami Kiddus Mikael, although this report is contradicted by a l 8th-century royal chronicle that says that the church was dedicated by Emperor Da wit III in June of the first year of his short reign ( 1716-2 1). 29 P opular legends explain these churches were built for a variety of reasons, ranging from solving structural problems of the Castle of Fasiladas, to getting rid of snakes in the royal enclosure, to defeating a malaria epidemic. Whether it was motivated by a contingent problem or not, Fasiladas' example was followed by those who ruled after him, and the number of Gondar churches increased consequently. Thus Emperor Iyas u I founded the churches of Addahahay Takla Haymanot and D ahra Berhan Selassie at the end of the 17th century; 30 Emperor Yostos established Ledeta Maryam in 1714; 31 Bakaffa founded Dafacha Kidane Me hret, on the top of the hill separated from

34

Gondar by the dam; 32 and Empress Mentewab established the beautiful round Dahra Tsahay starting in the l 730s. 33 Many of the numerous Gonda; Orthodox churches also served as education centres, which became famous ~ationwide for their excellence in teaching aqwaqwam, a specific genre of liturgical chanting. 34 But Gondar also enjoyed a wide-spread reputation for traditional medicine, and still, in the 1930s tl1e French anthropological mission led by Marcel Griaule observed that there were at least 90 traditional doctors (68 men and 22 women) operating in the city. 35 : State and Church :

Such a numerous and splendid evidence of the imperial dedication to religion shows us that the heart of the Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church was then at Gondar. Here had their residence the abuna (the head of the Church), and the itchege (the prior of the monks). The farmer's quarter - the Ahuna Bet Quarter - was to the north of the royal enclosure, near Gabriel Church, while the latter's area - the Itchege Bet- lay south and west of Addahahay Takla Haymanot Church. Thus, until the mid- l 9th century, Gondar was up to its twofold task of being both the political and the religious capital of the Christian Empire of Ethiopia, though sometimes overlapping. The imperial power, in

35

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

gentlewomen wore dresses of dazzling whiteness, had good taste, polite and distinguished manners, and were devoted to luxury and pleasure. 42

: The Political Decline:

1 .6 Fasil Ghebbi , Gondar (Heuglin, 1868).

fact did not restrict itself to church construction. Bruce tells us that in the sec~nd half of the 18th century, the emperor appointed by proclamation and deposed 'at his pleasure' the abuna. 36 Moreover, the abuna ordained priests and deacons, but all civil and ecclesiastical officers were appointed by the emperor.

: Luxury and Nobility: For an l 8th-century Ethiopian royal chronicler, Gondar was first among the cities that fulfilled all desires. 37 Imperial Gondar thrived on war chests, trade, and the revenues from feudal taxation. Local aristocracy lived the high life and enjoyed luxury goods in the castle's enclosure and in their residences of the Qagn Bet (Right House, in Amharic ), a large area located to the west ("right") of the castle's enclosure, adjacent to the Itchege Bet.38 When the Yemenite ambassador visited the Castle of Fasiladas in 1648 he was impressed by 'beds glittering with gold' and 'magnificent sofas inlaid with pieces of jewelry and gems, and chairs' .39 Travellers of the 18th century also describe the presence of precious mirrors from Venice, gilt and ivory decorations, 'immense 40 quantity of the finest gold stuff, Indian cloths, and European furniture' . The elegance of the Gondar nobles and courtiers also struck foreign visitors, who tell us about gowns of silk brocade embroidered with gold and golden girdles 'set with marvellous stones and precious gems'. 41 Gondar enjoyed the veritable status of a fashion capital, to the extent that still in the 1840s it was described by two French captains as the 'Paris de l' Abyssinie', where gentlemen and

36

The disintegration of Gondar's political power began in the late 18th century, when the governor of Tigray Ras Mikael Sehul first deposed and then assassinated Emperor Iyoas I in 1769. 43 It was the tragic inauguration of a long period of political crisis and turmoil commonly known as the Zamana Masafent (literally, the Age of the Princes), which lasted for almost a century. Ras Mikael thus consolidated his position as Gondar's most powerful warlord - the last one - but the murder of I yoas I sparked the armed reaction of a group of Amhara and Oromo lords. Ras Mikael's response was the unleashing of a period of terror in Gondar in 1770, when even high churchmen were executed, until a coalition of regional chiefs defeated the Ras in 1771. 44 The already weak imperial power was then further undermined by a nobleman of the Northern Wollo Yejju dynasty, Ras Ali Gwangul, who took control of the city as well as the Amhara and Begemder regions until his death in 1788. 45 His heirs kept the reins of power and founded D abra Tabor, which became the new administrative capital from the l 820s. 46 The first half of the 19th century was the last season of Gondar's splendour. Even deprived of its political primacy, the city was still playing its leading economic and cultural role, as many European travellers acknowledged. For the French scholar and traveller Arnauld D' Abbadie it remained the 'real moral capital' of Ethiopia, particularly because of the presence of the abuna and the itchege, its two weekly markets, and the importance of trade and manufacture. 47 Much more pessimistically, he also highlighted a decrease of the urban population to around 12,000 from the 30,000 estimate made by Bruce in 1770. D' Abbadie also reported on the dilapidated conditions of the once sumptuous Qusquam church and palace.

: The End of Imperial Gondar: The final phase of in1perial Gondar began in 1855, when a nobleman from Qwara, R as Kassa Hailu, overcame the regional warlords and became emperor, taking the name of Tewodros II. He put an end to the troubled Zamana Masafent by reviving tl1e monarchy, but did not aid the city in any way. Tewodros did not love Gondar, to the extent that for the French traveller and diplomat Guillaume Lejean he even refused to repair its ruined majestic

37

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

1. 7 Aerial photograph of Gondar in the mid -1930s (Bosio. 1937).

castles. 48 But the emperor went much further than that and turned his rage against Gondar several times during the 1860s, blaming its dwellers for supporting rebels. In 1864, he 'ordered that city to be sacked, and the houses of the principal families to be destroyed' under tl1e pretext, according to the 49 British envoy Hormuzd Rassam, that the inhabitants refused to pay the taxes. Earlier that year, he issued a decree ordering the conversion of all Muslims to Christianity and, according to Lejean, he ordered the destruction of the Islam Bet, forcing the Muslim residents to emigrate. 50 But the worst event came in 1866, when the emperor sent the army against the city, burned it down, and plundered all the churches. Foreigner witnesses and Ethiopian chroniclers of the time agree the remaining 10,000 inhabitants were driven out the city, fire was spread from house to house and Gondar became a 'heap of blackened ruins' .51 The urban churches were set on fire and the houses of the abuna and itchege were burnt down, and only the churches located outside Gondar were spared. 52 Then Tewodros II brought the booty from the pillaged churches to 53 Dabra Tabor, which he proclaimed the new Gondar.

: A Wounded City: Unlike his predecessor, Emperor Yohannes IV ( 187 1-89) mostly limited himself to neglecting Gondar. The Italian explorer Pellegrino Matteucci

38

visited the city in the late 1870s and was struck by its 'horrid poverty' and by its abandonment not only by Yohannes, but also by the abuna and the itchege, who were following ilie imperial court. 54 Around 1880, Gondar's population had shrunk to 8,000 or even 4,000, according to the estimates reported by two European explorers who visited it. 55 The situation dramatically worsened at the end of the 1880s, after the followers of the Muslim cleric Muhammad Ahmad - self-proclaimed the Mahdi (Redeemer of the Islamic faith) in 1881 - had gained control of Sudan by successfully revolting against the TurkishEgyptian regime and had turned ilieir jihad against Christian Ethiopia. The Mahdist forces, sometimes called the Dervishes, sacked Gondar in January 188 8, massacring the inhabitants and burning all the churches, and again in June 18 89, tl1ree months after the death of Emperor Yohannes IV at the battle of Matamma. 56 When the British traveller Percy Powell-Cotton visited Gondar in 1900, he reported that only the encircling wall remained of the Islam Bet and, among the city-centre churches, only Medhane Alem had escaped destruction. 57 In spite of the damages suffered by the imperial buildings, he was nevertheless impressed by ilie city, to the extent that he gave a road in his Hampstead London estate the name "Gondar Gardens". : The Italian Invasion :

Gondar emerged exhausted from the tragic late 19th-century events, during which the two quarters inhabited by Ethiopian Jews and Muslims appear to have suffered most. 58 The former had moved further out of the city, and the latter had their once primary trading role dramatically reduced. Notwithstanding, a 1930-31 census shows iliat Gondar was still a city of merchants and craftsmen, particularly weavers from Islam Bet. 59 Bur politically and strategically the city had been definitively overshadowed by the new capital Addis Ababa, founded by Emperor Menelik II around 1886. 60 This was Gondar's situation when an army column led by Secretary of the National Fascist Party in Italy, Achille Starace, entered the city on 1st April 1936, following the Italian aggression in Ethiopia proclaimed by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini six months earlier and he inaugurated about 6 years of Italian rule. The Italian administratio~ expressed an early interest in having Gondar's urban structure be suitable for its colonial purposes, and in September 1936 charged the Italian architect Gherardo Bosio with the drawing of the city's master plan. But it was only in 1939 that Gondar's urban design began to change substantially, a delay

39

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA C HAPTER 1/ GONDAR

explained by a phase in which Italian authorities seemed more interested in building the "new Gondar" in Azazo. 61 A final, reduced version of Bosio's master plan was officially approved in December 1938 and hinged on two fundamental principles. The first was the acknowledgment of the city's historical interest and touristic potential. The restoration of the castles and other key imperial monuments had already begun in May 1938 and had to be continued, with the purpose of using some of them as administrative offices. Some Christian churches were also rehabilitated, including Qusquam, Baata and Dabra Berhan Selassie. 62 The second principle was the separation betw:en Ethiopian and Italian residential and services areas, consistent with the racial laws approved by Mussolini's regime in 1938. All of the area north of Fasil Ghebbi, including the western and eastern districts, was reserved for the Italians and strongly privileged in terms of services and infrastructures, whereas south of the Ghebbi was for the Ethiopians. : Contemporary Gondar : The Italians were driven out of Gondar by the British and patriotic forces (the arbagn.och) in 1941, shortly before the final defeat and the end of the Italian colonial empire. Gondar in the 1940s was a city of about 12,000 people. After the liberation, it had its own municipal council, initially housed in the former Italian Post Office, and led by the kantiba (a mayor). 63 The city administration took over the Italian-established network of services and infrastructures, but had to face the problems of lack of funds and skilled labour. Although the Italian-built factories were mostly dismantled by the British or looted,6" the commercial activities formerly run by Italians were taken over by Ethiopians, while the imperial family and the local nobility were endowed with the best colonial buildings. Thus, the present Terara Hotel was given to Empress Menen after whom it was named after in 1947; the Grand Bar, currently part of the Qw~ra Hotel, to Prince Makonnen; the Italian bakery and other buildings near the recently built Circle Hotel to Princesses Aida Das ta and Yas hash W arq Yilma, and to D ejazmatch Asrata Kassa; the F ogera Hotel to Dejazmatch Kassa Mashasha; the unfinished Banco di Roma in Piazza to Ras Wubinah. 65 Unfortunateiy, the city's urban as well as touristic development was halted by the Derg, the military junta led by Mengistu Haile Mariam that took power in Ethiopia after overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie in 197 4. The city suffered for being considered by the junta as the epicentre of anti-government

40

guerrilla activity, and many regional offices were transferred to Bahir Dar. 66 At the end of January 1991 the forces of the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took Gondar during the Operation Tewodros. Today Gondar has a population of about 207 ,OOO people67 and is the capital of the North Gondar Zone, Amhara Region.

ON SITE : Fasil Ghebbi : This outstanding testimony of l 7th- and l 8th-century Ethiopian history was the residence of the founder of Gondar, Emperor Fasiladas, and his successors. It ranks first among the most important sites of the region for the impressiveness of its imperial architecture, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979, with the official name of Fasil Ghebbi (the Compound ofFasil). The current entrance is through the ancient Womber Ber (the Gate of the Judges) (fig. 1.10:B), while the exit of the compound is the Balderas Ber (fig. 1.10:I).

41

ARADA GUIDES I A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONOAA AND LAKE TANA

Directions and Access

Fasil Ghebbi's oval-shaped, large compound is the heart, and at the heart (fig. 1.2:1) of downtown Gondar. Entrance fee is 100 birr for foreigners or l O birr for nationals, a fee that permits the use of a camera. For the use of a video camera, there is an additional fee of 7 5 birr. The ticket is valid for one day and includes the Bath of Fasiladas. Fasil Ghebbi is open daily from 8.00am-6.00pm. The ticket office can be contacted by telephone at 058-1111536. The cost of guiding services for Fasil Ghebbi only is 250 birr (1-5 people), or 300 birr (more than 5 people); for Fasil Ghebbi and Bath of Fasiladas the fee is 300 birr ( 1-5 people), or 400 birr for more than 5 people. The service is carried out by the members of the Gondar Private Tour Guides Association, chaired by De salegn Yilma. The association's secretary is Mesrak Teshone (Tel.: 091-8737131). On Site

The royal compound is enclosed by a stone wall over 870 m long, 68 only part of which is original. The twelve doors opening into it were given evocative names, as shown in fig. 1.10, and were sometimes changed during the centuries. The Amharic word makkababiya (enclosure) designates the compound in the l 8thcentury royal chronicles. 69 The building of the defensive enclosure would have started under Emperor Fasiladas and taken the present configuration during the reign of Emperor Iyasu Il. 70 Big stone crosses once stood on the top of the towers adjacent to the wall, as reported by the French doctor Jacques Poncet,

0 9

~ PalaceofMentewab ~ Thermal Bath

0

E) Thermal Bath

al)

0 0 0 G 0 0

a> Attatami Kiddus Mikael Church

0 0 0

Castle of lyasu I

House of the Chiefof the Cavalry

Small Castle ofFasiladas

~ Elfiii Giyorgis Church

LibraryofYohannesl

'1i)

Chancellery of Yohannes I

~ Ticket Office

Lions' cages CastleofEmperorDawitlll

~ Thermal Bath

CD ® 42

Castle of Fasiladas Water reservoir

House of the Nuptials CastleofBakaffa

~ Adey Gimp or Katchen Fetel

Gemja Ber Maryam Church

Azzaz Tucu rie Ber (Gate of Azzaz Tucurie) Takla Haymanot Ber Qwali Ber(GateofEspousals) Elfiii Giyorgis Ber(GateofElfiii Giyorgis Church)

4D

Embelta Ber(GateofMusicians)

mSquare) Jan Tekel Addababay (Jan Tekel

0

Balderas Ber(GateoftheHouseof the Chief of the Cavalry)

si

t)

Ras Beror Kweraiioch Ber (Gate of the Ras or Nobility)

Q

Katchin Ashewa Beror Reghev Ber (Gate of Pigeons)

Addababay lyasus Church

~ - AddababayTakla Haymanot () Jan Tekel BerorFirBer(MainGate)

0

Womber Ber (Gate of the Judges)

0

Encoye Ber(Gateofthe Princesses)

0

Taskaro Ber(GateofFunerals)

®

Gemja Ber (Gate of the Treasure)

ARADA GUIDES/ A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

who visited the site in 1699. 71 Bruce, in the second half of the 18th century, highljghts the fact that the compound was encompassed by a 'substantial stone wall thirty feet high, with battlements upon the outer wall, and a par:apet roof between the outer and inner' which made the top of the wall accessible, thus allowing him to 'go along the whole and look into the street'. 72 A walkable tract of the wall between the Palace of Mentewab and the House of the Chief of the Cavalry remains at the northern end of the compound. : Castle of Fasiladas or Fasil Gimp : History

An ancient royal chronicle of the reign of Fasiladas say~ t~at the ~mperor ordered the buililing of this castle in 1635-36, 73 at the beg111mng of his reign, which lasted from 1632 to 1667, just after he had chosen Gondar as the new capital of the empire. The construction works were completed at l.east by 1648, when the Yemenite ambassador Al-Hasan Ibn Ahmad Haymi entered the town and was impressed by what he described as 'a high buildi~g' among _'the most wonderful of splenilid constructions and the most beautiful of glonous marvels built of stone and lime'.74 The Castle of Fasiladas is with no doubt the most astonishing expression of the Gondarine architectural style that, in fact appeared in the northern Ethiopian highlands several decades before Go~dar with the 16th-century Guzara Castle and perhaps Bahiri Gimp, and ilisappeared by the mid-l 8th century. 75 According t~ the abov.e-mention.ed Yemenite ambassador, the Castle of Fasiladas was built by Indians, a claim repeated more than one century la ~er by J am~s Bru~e, who also reports t,1~~ involvement of Ethiopian workers 1111structed 111 architecture by the] esu.it~ . Other foreign travellers, for instance Gobat and Lefebvre, who b~th v1s1ted Gondar in the 19th century, attributed the castle to the Portuguese. All these claims could be true, inasmuch as they refer to architects coming from t~e Portuguese colonies in Inilia, from where many of the J esuits who were. m Ethiopia at that time had come. However, although it se~ms clear th~t fo~e1_gn architectural influences played a key role in the Gondanne style, therr ong111s remain uncertain. On Site

The castle is an elegant, strong building made of stones and lime mortar. It has two storeys and is almost square in plan, being 22.2 m x 20.7 m.78 Eacho~ the four corners is strengthened by an egg-shaped domed tower, about 20 m high.

44

A fifth tower, square in plan, rises up from the roof of the second floor, partly incorporating the round tower at the southern corner. Doors and windows lighten tl1e castle's massive structure which has arches made of red tufa stones from the Ousquam area and a crenellated wall running all around the terraced roof of both the building and the square tower. Most of the construction is original, but the Italians reconstructed the terraced roof and the floors when they restored the castle in 1938, and the wooden stairs and balconies had the bannisters changed again at the end of the 1960s. 79 Internally, two walls divide the building into three sections, of which only the central one at both floors is not further partitioned. The ground floor is accessed through four doors, and it has no windows, except for two slits lighting the staircase leading to the first floor. However, visitors are currently allowed into the first floor only (fig. 1.13), which can be mainly accessed from the northwestern side through the massive external stone staircase, largely rebuilt in 193 8. The arched door (D 1) at the top of the stairway opens onto tl1e first of the three major consecutive rooms, which according to local tradition respectively functioned as reception hall, women's dining room, and men's dining room. In fact, it is not known what were their actual functions during the king's time, although it is legitimate to think that they could have served the sovereign's reception and hearing exigencies. Inside the first room can be seen three Stars of David, the symbol of the Ethiopian royal family's Solomonic descent - the first (fig. 1.11) above the entrance door; the second above the opposite door; and the third high at the centre of the partition wall that divides the ftrst room into two, to the left the entrance to the castle. Below the tl1ird Star are three of the five wall decorations featured on the the first floor, while the other two are

45

CHAPTER 1/ GONDAR

ARADA GUIDES / A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO GONDAR AND LAKE TANA

1.13 (left) Plan of the first floor of the Castle of Fasiladas (after Angelini , 1971); 1.14 (right) Main entrance to the castle .

on the opposite wall (fig. 1.12), to each side of the door (~2). T~e!~ shape has been considered a signature left by craftsmen from Islamic India. These decorations can also be found in the Library of Yohannes I and seem to imitate the open-work, marble windows of historic northern India palaces. Red and green painted wall decorations can be clearly seen near the fireplace (fig. 1.16) adjacent the northern tower. Many cattle horns once protruded from the internal walls of the round towers and near the small niches and fireplaces, and they functioned as hangers, 81 as can be still seen in the Thermal Bath. Each of the three doors (D2-D4) opening onto the south western fa