>January 23/24, 2012. Gondar, Ethiopia

>Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasalides in 1635 and served as the capital city for 250 years. His father had converted to Catholicism, influenced by the Portuguese, and tried to shut down the Christian orthodox church. This resulted in a period of great instability and great bloodshed. When Fasalides took over the throne in 1632, he reinstated the state religion, and kicked the Portuguese out. He chose Gondar as the capital due to its location on several trade routes. Gondar is most known for its 17th century palaces, including the Royal Enclosure, which is now a World Heritage site. After stopping at our hotel, we set off to see these castles…


Even though Fasalides kicked the Portuguese out, it is believed that these buildings had much Portuguese influence. The first castle was built by Fasalides, who ruled from 1632 to 1667…


The second and smallest castle was built by his son, Yohannis I, who ruled until 1682..


A third and the largest castle was built by the grandson, Iyasu I,who ruled until 1706. He was responsible for increasing the wealth of the family significantly through his trade agreements, and his castle was originally decorated with ivory, gold leaf and precious stones. It sustained damage in an earthquake and was also damaged, along with other buildings in the complex, when the British bombed the Italian headquarters, which was within this complex during World War II…


This is a view of the first castle from the theater building, which had sections for both secular and religious performances…


The great grandson (Tekle) ousted his father in 1706, and several kings served who were assassinated until 1730, the last of which was Bakafa, another son of Iyasu, who served for nine years. His wife and son (Iyasu II) then served to 1755. The dynasty lost importance after that. This castle was the last to be built for the wife and son rulers…


There were several other buildings within the complex worth noting, including a stable, a spa and a lion cage, the lion being an important royal symbol…there were apparently lions here until 1992.

We then headed over to King Fasalides bathing pool, where he used to go to relax. The flags were still up, as this was the site of the Timkat festival in Gondar…


The next morning we headed out to see the church known as Debre Birhan Selassie, or Mountain of the Enlightened Trinity…


The original building, which was circular, was rebuilt in the early 1700’s. It is believed that this rectangular building was then constructed in the late 1700’s after the church was hit by lightening. It has 12 columns which represent the 12 apostles and one additional column which represents Christ. It is topped by the cross symbols, with seven ostrich eggs, which adorns many of the churches in Ethiopia…the seven eggs represent the seven days for the creation, and the ostrich egg itself represents the holy trinity, the shell being the father, the white being the son, and the yoke being the holy spirit (they refer to it as spirit rather than ghost)…


This church has many famous paintings inside, including this one…the holy trinity being represented at the top…


It is also famous for its paintings of angels everywhere…


…including the entire ceiling…


There were several holy people lingering about including this monk and two nuns…


From here, we head out to Bahir Dar, the last stop on the northern portion of our Ethiopia tour….

Location:Gondar, Ethiopia

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