Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The main access path (walking only) is past the tombs of Kings Kaleb and Gebre
Meskel. For the return trip you can head downhill to Aksum's main road near the Consu-
lar International Hotel.
Abba Liqanos
(admission Birr200)
On the way to Pentalewon you'll pass Abba Liqanos Monastery
(men only), which again was supposedly built by one of the Nine Saints and also boasts
excellent views.
But
there's no treasure to see; the modern church (a replacement for the
one destroyed by the Derg when the area was occupied by rebels) is uninteresting and
there's little return for the admission price.
MONASTERY
King Bazen's Tomb
Offline map
Despite being the crudest of tombs, roughly hewn into solid rock instead of constructed
with fine masonry, this place has a slightly magical feel about it. A rectangular pit above
the tomb contains a row of burial chambers, including a few that appear to be unfinished.
Judging from the number of tombs and stelae found nearby, the burial site may once have
been quite large and important.
According to local beliefs, King Bazen is thought not just to have reigned at Christ's
birth, but to have been Balthazar, (one of the three wise men from the Bible; he brought
Frankincense) and it was he who carried news of the birth of Christ to Ethiopia.
TOMB
Dungur (Queen of Sheba's) Palace
The structure at Dungur is popularly known as Queen of Sheba's Palace, though historians
think it's the mansion of a nobleman. It's fully excavated and, though in places rather
clumsily restored, you can make out enough of the 44-room layout to make a visit inter-
esting. Nobody is certain of the complex's age, but it probably dates to around the 6th
century AD.
It has small undressed stones and walls recessed at intervals and unusually tapering
with height. The well-preserved flagstone floor is thought to have belonged to a throne
room. The palace also contains hidden treasure rooms, a private bathing area and a kit-
chen, where a large brick oven can still be seen. The stairwells suggest the existence of at
least one upper storey.
RUIN
Ta'akha Maryam
RUIN
