Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS?
The most beautiful and alluring woman ever to live had hairy legs and the cloven foot of the devil. Her fame has
lasted 3000 years, yet nobody remembers her name. She's a player in the ancient legends of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam, yet no one knows where she lived. She's the mother of the throne of Ethiopia, the most famous daugh-
ter of Yemen and the original Jerusalem pilgrim. Even today she remains a household name, and any girl seen to
be getting above herself can expect to be compared with her. She is, of course, the Queen of Sheba, but she may
never even have existed.
Though she appears in the writings of all three monotheistic religions, it's the Ethiopian story (in which she is
known as
Makeda
) of her life that is most famous in the West, while for Christian Ethiopians the story is virtually
the very cornerstone of their culture, history and lifestyle.
According to the Kebra Negast (Ethiopia's national epic), the Queen of Sheba's first public appearance was
when she paid a visit to the court of King Solomon in Jerusalem in the 10th century BC. The reasons and results
of her visit vary and though many people say that King Solomon was the wisest person in the world and that the
queen travelled to Jerusalem in order to test his wisdom with 'difficult questions and riddles', it seems more likely
that trade was the real reason for the meeting.
The Ethiopian legend reveals how after her arrival Solomon became enraptured with her beauty and devised a
plan to have his wicked way with her. He agreed to let her stay in his palace only on the condition that she
touched nothing of his. Shocked that Solomon should consider her capable of such a thing, she agreed. That even-
ing Solomon laid on a feast of spicy and salty foods. After the meal, Sheba and Solomon retired to separate beds
in his sleeping quarters. During the night Sheba awoke, thirsty from all the salty food she had consumed, and
reached across for a glass of water. The moment she put the glass to her lips Solomon awoke and triumphantly
claimed that she had broken her vow. 'But it's only water', she cried, to which Solomon replied, 'And nothing on
earth is more precious than water'.
Ethiopian tradition holds that the child that resulted from the deceitful night of passion that followed was to be-
come Menelik I, from whom the entire royal line of Ethiopia claims direct descent (in truth the line, if it ever exis-
ted, has been broken a number of times).
But there's more to this tale than just the birth of the Ethiopian royal line. This is also the story of the arrival of
the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia and the conversion of its people to Judaism. It's said that the centrepiece of
Solomon's famous temple was the Ark of the Covenant, and that as long as the Jews had the Ark nothing bad
could come of them. However, when Menelik travelled to Jerusalem to meet his father, his luggage was a little
heavier on his return trip. Secreted away among his dirty laundry was the Ark of the Covenant.
Finding out whether Sheba existed and where her capital was located has not proved easy. The strongest claims
have come from both Ethiopia, which claims that Aksum was her capital, and Yemen, which says it was Ma'rib.
Both cities were important trade and cultural centres and it's quite likely that both were, if not ruled by the same
monarch, then certainly closely tied through trade. However, so far neither has yielded any evidence to suggest
that the Queen of Sheba ever existed. Whatever the truth, the legend persists, and every Ethiopian will swear to
you that Aksum was the home of the most beautiful cloven-footed woman to ever live.
Yet this apparent religious contradiction is quite natural to Ethiopians. In a historically
isolated area where rhetoric and reasoning have become highly valued and practised,
where eloquent communication and sophisticated wordplay are considered an art form and
