TAG Tour and Travel | Home of the giants

MAJOR TOURIST ATTRACTION PLACES

Northern

historical circuit

Bahir D

ar. GONDAR. . A

XUM

Lalibela

Northern historical circuit The core of most itineraries for first-time visitors to Ethiopia is the quartet of towns that comprise the northern historical circuit. The oldest of these is Aksum, birthplace of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, reputed last resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, and site of innumerable obelisks, catacombs, palaces and other structures dating to the peak of the Aksumite Empire (500 BC to 500 AD). Then there the small but spiritually infused highland town of Lalibela, where the eponymous king excavated a singularly sublime subterranean complex of rock-hewn churches some 800 years ago. Gonder, founded in the 17th century, is best known for its Portuguese-influenced castles, though these are dwarfed aesthetically by the colorfully painted out-of-town church of Debre Birhan Selassie. Finally, the more modern city of Bahir Dar lies on Lake Tana at the outlet of the Blue Nile, within daytrip distance of the spectacular Blue Nile Falls and more than a dozen historic island

monasteries.

The northern circuit of Ethiopia is known by

embracing the Ethiopian 3,000 years of history. This

region also have a lot of attraction place ... most of

them is mark there history by giving a lot

1contribution to the modern Ethiopia civilization

with there building style , by the writing aspects ,

contributing the major religious approaches

including the code of conduct and with a many

classical books that are not found in other globe till

now. The northern part of circuit is the one and only

place that you can found the history it self is

practice until now from the emerge of the great

Axum civilization to the well known religious empire

of Zagwe Dynasty up to the medieval period of the

Gondar to the century that we live in ...

TAG Tour and Travel | Home of the giants

IGRAY ROCK HEWN CHURCHES: over 125 rocks hewn churches are recorded with Tigray-alone. These churches date from 4th-15th century. Most of them are visited around the Gheralta chained mountains. Others are found in eastern and southern Tigray. Abreha-We-Atsbeha, Wukro Cherqos churches are hewn in the 4th century.

T

Rock-hewn churches of Tigrai

Rock-hewn churches of Tigrai More than 100 active churches are hand-carved into the sandstone cliffs and valleys of Tigrai, yet many remained unknown to outsiders until the 1960s, and still go weeks, even months, without seeing a foreign face. With limited time, the Teka Tesfai cluster, which includes the cliff church of Adi Kasho Medhane Alem, forms an easy diversion from the main road. But those with sufficient time, interest and stamina could dedicate a month to exploring these remarkable mediaeval shrines, described by the British academic Ivy Pearce as the greatest of the historical-cultural

heritages of the Ethiopian people.

Rock-hew

n churches of T

igrai

ABRAHA WATSBEHA

In this region embraced many of rock hewn church

which is known by the community and the tourists

which are… Tembein, site of about twenty rock-

hewn churches. Gabriel Wukien, Abba Yohanni,

Amanuel Mai-Baha, Mariam Hibito, Abba Selama and

Mariam Itsewto are some examples…

Abba Yohanni, The monastery of Abba Yohanni is

situated 7.5 Kms along the track that branches off

9Kms north of Abbi Addi on the newly built Abbi Addi-

Adwa road and leads to the small town of Menji…

The wonderful church of Abreha WA Atsbeha is

situated 15 kms. West of Wukro. A newly built

gravel road leads to within a few meters of the

church and beyond to Hawzien via Degum.

The church is one of the best and largest of the

rock churches of Tigray, dedicated to the famous

kings of Axum, the brothers Abreha and Atsbeha.

The church is cut into the red rock overlooking a

valley, and stands out with its white painted

façade sheltering two tall blue doors under arches.

The church is decorated with splendid post-17th

century mural paintings depicting Biblical scenes

and saints.

TAG Tour and Travel | Home of the giants

Sof Omar

The fantastic limestone caves of Sof Omar make a day's outing from Dinsho,

Robe or Goba. The road leaves Robe town, crossing the farming areas to the

east, before descending into the lowlands. Here the vegetation is very different

being dry lowland with wooded grasslands. The caves lie at 1,300 m above sea

level. This is in marked contrast to what you will experience in the Bale

Mountains at up to 4,000 m. Very different animals occur along the way as well,

most noticeably the Greater and Lesser Kudu - both relatives of the Mountain

Nyala, and the tiny dik dik antelope. The caves themselves carry the whole flow

of the Web River that rises in the Bale Mountains, underground through

wonderfully carved caverns for a distance of one and a half kilometers.

Sof Omar

Inside, the cave is cool and dry. The Ayiew entrance is dimly lit, however deep

in the cave you pass through a maze of passages and rooms, which have been

polished by the trickling and dripping green water to a marble-like smoothness.

In the darkness the river roars and foams through narrow crevices. Horseshoe

bats and the African false vampire bats roost in moderate-sized groups in some

of the passageways. After about a mile of passage the river re-emerges at a

place called “Holuca”, which simply means “it appears”. Sof Omar Cave has

always been prominent in the life of the area and the local people have long

revered it as a shrine.

Whatever one’s religion, there is no doubt the quiet beauty and depths of the

cave induce an atmosphere of awe and mystery. To the caver they are more of

a challenge than a place of worship.

There are over fifteen kilometers of associated passages, which require skill, time and special equipment for a full exploration. However, a friendly local guide will show you enough to take your breath away and make the trip worthwhile, for an hour or for as long as you care to spend. A cool dip in the clear River afterwards refreshes you for the return drive. Full details of the caves are provided in the booklet, "The Caves of Sof Omar" obtainable from the Ethiopian Tourism Commission. Sof Omar

The cave which is now an important Islamic Shrine was

named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omar who took refuge here

many centuries ago… a history calculated in thousands of

years.