Warkworth History Society 2nd October 2023

‘Ethiopian Odyssey: A Photographic Journey Through the Historic Sites of Northern Ethiopia’ by Richard Booth

Due to a last minute cancellation by our advertised speaker, Max Adams, Richard generously stepped in with this photographic presentation of a visit to Ethiopia made in 2019.
He started with a picture showing the fossilised remains of the earliest known humanoid, a three year old child nicknamed Lucy. Discovered at Hadar, Ethiopia, and estimated to be 3.2 million years old, she is now kept at the National Museum, Addis Ababa.
We then moved on to Axum in the far north. The Axum Empire lasted from 150BC until the 9th Century AD. As it was on the trade route between India and Rome this was an area of great wealth and power. We saw pictures of huge carved columns, called stelae, monuments to people of high status. These continued to be built until Christianity was introduced sometime after 400AD.
In 1950 the remains the Donga palace were discovered . This was supposedly the residence of the Queen of Sheba who travelled to Palestine to meet King Solomon. Their son Menelik is said to have secretly taken the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia where it remains today. In the 1950s Haile Selassie built a new extension to the Cathedral of Our Lady Mary which is said to contain the Ark. However, it is jealously guarded by a monk, and no one is allowed to see it!
Richard’s next journey took us to Lalibela, named after King Lalibela who, at the beginning of the C13th, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Impressed by the churches he saw there, he carved into bare rock the magnificent churches for which the town is now famous.
Next on to Lake Tana, thought to be the source of the Nile, and its famous monasteries. Medieval documents kept there bear witness to the sophistication of Ethiopian culture. We saw pictures of some exquisite religious paintings on display.
Finally, Richard’s tour took us on to Gondar, known as the ‘Camelot’ of Africa. Situated high in the mountains it is a UNESCO World Heritage site containing the remains of 16th and 17th century castles and palaces.
Sadly, since 2020, Ethiopia has been in armed conflict with Tigray, and a state of emergency has recently been declared, so tourism is no longer encouraged. Some of these amazing photographs might well be the last we will see of Ethiopia’s rich history for some time.