Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A rather ugly tin-roofed hut in this central park holds a stone with identical text to King
Ezana's Inscription, but it's in poorer condition and in a less attractive location. The park
also contains one tall stele and a few random carvings.
Queen of Sheba's Bath
Despite the colourful legends, this large reservoir wasn't where Sheba played with her
rubber duck. It was an important reservoir rather than a swimming pool or gargantuan
bath. Nobody is totally sure of its age, but it's certainly been used as a water source for
millennia. Its large size (17m deep) is even more impressive considering it's hewn out of
solid rock. It's also known as Mai Shum, which translates to 'Chief's Water'.
Sadly, the outer portion of the bowl was coated with concrete in the 1960s, making it
look more like a modern trough than an ancient relic. It's used for Timkat celebrations,
just like Fasiladas' Bath (
Click here
)
in Gonder.
HISTORIC SITE
SWAPPING GOLD FOR GOD
King Kaleb was the richest and most powerful ruler the Aksumite empire ever saw. By AD 540 he controlled a
vast swathe of land from the mountains of Ethiopia to the deserts of Arabia, and his power was rivalled only by
Persia and Byzantium. But despite having everything money could buy and much that it couldn't, one day, after a
vicious campaign in Arabia, he let it all go and, abdicating his throne and sending his crown to hang in the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, he retired to the Abba Pentalewon Monastery where he lived out his life in
prayer.
Abba Pentalewon
(admission men/women Birr80/60, personal video camera Birr20)
High above Aksum, on
top of a tall, narrow peak, is Abba Pentalewon Monastery. Tradition states it was built by
Abba Pentalewon, one of the Nine Saints (
Click here
)
and a man who is said to have
prayed nonstop for 40 years, and that this is where King Kaleb retired to after abdicating
his throne. The site of the monastery was sacred to pagans and it's thought the monastery
was built here to bolster Christianity and eradicate pagan beliefs.
The original church, whose foundation can still be seen, may date to the 6th century but
the attractive 'old' church (men only) is from the 1940s. Some centuries-old paintings
hang amidst the new. Women can enter the new church to see similar but only new paint-
ings. There's no museum for the treasures (which include crowns of King Kaleb and
Gebre Meskel), but a monk will bring them out to show you; and his show is kind of fun.
MONASTERY
