Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ing travellers described the palace as 'more beautiful than Solomon's house'. Although a
1704 earthquake and British bombing in the 1940s have done away with the interior and
most of the roof, its skeletal shell reeks of history.
Other Southern Buildings
North of Iyasu's palace are the relics of its
banquet hall
and
storage facilities
. To the
west is the quadrangular
library
of Fasiladas' son, Yohannes I (r 1667-82), which was
plastered over by the Italians in a non-historic renovation. (In fact, all plaster found in the
Royal Enclosure compound was added by the Italians.) Once an impressive palace decor-
ated with ivory, only the tower and walls of
Fasiladas' Archive
remain. It sits northwest
of the library.
Northern Buildings
The compound's northern half holds vestiges of
Dawit's Hall
, known as the House of
Song, in which many religious and secular ceremonies and lavish entertainments took
place. Emperor Dawit (r 1716-21) also built the first of two
Lion Houses
(the second was
built by Haile Selassie) where Abyssinian lions were kept until 1990. When Dawit came
to a sticky end (he was poisoned in 1721), Emperor Bakaffa (r 1721-30) took up the reins
and built his
palace
with a huge
banqueting hall
(the current ceiling was added by the
Italians) and the impressive
stables
. Between the stables and Dawit's Hall is the
Turkish
bath
(wesheba)
, built by Iyasu I at the advice of a French physician to deal with his skin
conditions. It apparently also worked wonders for those suffering from syphilis! At the
southern end you'll see the fire pit and the ceiling's steam vents. The Italians added win-
dows and made it a kitchen.
Bakaffa's consort was responsible for the last palace,
Mentewab's Castle
, a two-storey
structure that's now the site's office. Note the Gonderian cross being used as a decorative
motif. Mentewab (r 1730-55) also built the
women's vocational school
to the front,
where classes included facial tattooing and chicken cutting.
Atatami Mikael Church
Atatami Mikael church, just outside the Royal Enclosure's exit gate, was built by Emperor
Dawit III. The church itself is off-limits, but the interesting little
museum
(admission Bir-
r25)
has lots of beautiful illustrated manuscripts and a few other items like giant pots for
making beer.
Fasiladas' Bath
HISTORIC BUILDING
