Axum Ethiopia

Axum is another town from the northern region of Ethiopia, located 365km from Gondar in the north east and west of Adwa Tigrai region. Axum is the oldest city in Ethiopia and was the royal seat of the kingdom of Axum (Ge’ez) from the 10th century. The town lies 2,131m above sea level and is one of Ethiopia’s sacred sites although it receives few tourists.

Tourist Attractions

As one of the religious towns in Ethiopia, there are some incredible churches in Axum. The church of St Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox church believed to house the Ark of the Covenant from the Old Testament and the tablets of the Ten Commandments.  The church was built in 1665.

The Obelisks are significant tourist sites in Axum Ethiopia. There are actually tall granite antiques numbering 126 in Axum. The obelisks were believed to have been constructed during 4th century as memoirs of the deceased kings whose tombs are not far from the historical monuments. The tallest obelisk (belonged to King Tutmossis) was 33m before it was destroyed while the tallest standing obelisk is 23m with window like structures, false doors and storeys to make it look like a real building. The stelea field or park has more than 8 obelisk and also has the graves for the different kings.

Other attractions in Axum include the ruins of the Palace of Queen Sheba who is believed to have lived here and several archaeological sites among others sites. The town is an acknowledged UNESCO World heritage site sinece 1980.

Getting there

Axum is connected with domestic flights from Gondar and Addis Ababa with an airport (AXU). It is also accessed by bus from Gondar to Shire then Axum on a 2 hr journey

Accommodation

There are not many Ethiopia hotels in  Axum but some standard accommodation facilities are available from Rambhai Hotel, Africa Hotel Ethiopia and Bazen hotel with budget Ethiopia Hotel accommodation. Other hotels with excellent Ethiopia cuisines and dining include Axum Ethiopia Touring Hotel, Yeha Hotel Ethiopia and Kaleb hotel among others.

Ethiopia