Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GONDER & THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS
The legendary city of Gonder and the nearby Simien Mountains National Park are a perfect
marriage of history and beauty. Gonder is a modern town that has managed to grow and
thrive without erasing much of its past, while the park's dramatic peaks and vast valleys of-
fer scenery on par with any other place in Africa.
Gonder
POP 227,100 / ELEV 2300M
It's not what Gonder is, but what Gonder was that's so enthralling. The city lies in a bowl
of hills where tall trees shelter tin-roofed stone houses, but rising above these, and standing
proud through the centuries, are the walls of castles bathed in blood and painted in the
pomp of royalty. Often called the Camelot of Africa, this description does the royal city a
disservice: Camelot is legend, whereas Gonder is reality.
Surrounded by fertile land and lying at the crossroads of three major caravan routes, it's
easy to understand why Emperor Fasiladas (reigned 1632-67) made Gonder his capital in
1636. To the southwest lay rich sources of gold, civet, ivory and slaves, to the northeast lay
Massawa and access to the Red Sea, and to the northwest lay Sudan and Egypt.
At the time of Fasiladas' death, Gonder's population already exceeded 65,000 and its
wealth and splendour had become legendary. Drifting through the old palaces, banqueting
halls and former gardens, it's not difficult to imagine the courtly pageantry, ceremony and
intrigue that went on here.
The city flourished as a capital for well over a century before infighting severely
weakened the kingdom (see The Rise and Fall of Gonder,
Click here
)
. In the 1880s what
remained of Gonder was extensively looted by the Sudanese Dervishes. Despite this, and
further damage sustained by British bombs during the liberation campaign of 1941, much
of Gonder remains intact.
Although Gonder is fairly spread out, it's still a great place to navigate on foot. The
Italian-built piazza marks the centre of town and packs in most shops and services travel-
lers need. The Royal Enclosure is just south of the piazza while the road leading north is
dotted with restaurants and hotels.
