The Ethiopian empire was one of the great African kingdoms. At its peak, it included what is now Djibouti plus parts of Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. From its seven centuries of history, between 1270 and 1975, an unusual medieval setting has been preserved: an enclosure that groups palaces and dependencies of up to six emperors. It is known as the Camelot of Africa.
It is the citadel of Fasil Ghebi, a walled enclosure from the s. XVII of about 70,000 m2, located in the city of Gondar, which was the capital of Ethiopia until the mid-19th century. It represents a unique example of architecture. A mixture of Arab, Nubian, Indian and Baroque influences – the latter introduced by Jesuit missionaries – precisely called the Gondar style.
The city was founded in 1635 by Emperor Fasilides. Until then there was no administrative capital as such, but the rulers traveled the kingdom with their entourage staying in tents. Only the emperor Minas, in the middle of the s. XVI, he had resided recurrently near the emblematic Lake Tana and only during the rainy season.
According to legend, Fasilides was hunting a buffalo when he found a venerable hermit by a pond. The holy man told him that at that point the capital of Ethiopia should be built. And the emperor had the pond filled to build his castle right there.
Be that as it may, the Fasilides castle – whose structure is preserved in an enviable state – has become one of the great attractions of Fasil Ghebi. With a square base, it is flanked by four round towers topped by domes. Its prayer room offers an excellent 360 degree panoramic view of the entire complex. From the time of the emperor you can also visit the archive, whose upper part is accessible by side stairs, and the tomb of his horse.
Fasilides was succeeded by his son Yohannes. From his reign, the buildings of the library and the chancery remain. They are the testimony of a court whose luxuries emulated those of the European courts.
Next to occupy the throne was Yohannes's second son, Iyasu the Great. His palace is the tallest building in the compound. At the beginning of the s. XVIII, treasured works of ivory covered with gold, large gilt mirrors, frescoes and Venetian glassware. However, it was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1704.
From his son Dawitt III the singer –composer of sacred music, patron and promoter of popular songs in the Amharic language, hence his epithet–, you can visit the remains of a splendid hall: a room that in his time (the emperor reigned between 1716 and 1721) hosted large feasts enlivened with music.
After the death in strange circumstances of Dawitt III, his brother Bakaffa was promoted. Today its huge stables and a spacious dining room can be visited. On the other hand, the old room to prepare the courtesans – where they learned music and good manners – has been swallowed up by vegetation.
Finally, the Empress Mentewab – Bakaffa's second wife and co-regent with Ambios' son, Iyasu II – also had her own castle erected. It is an elegant two-story building that was looted and burned in 1888.
In fact, the royal compound has been invaded on several occasions. After this attack at the end of the s. In the 19th century, led by the Sudanese military and religious leader Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, Gondar fell prey to the Italian army during World War II. His troops took refuge in Fasil Ghebi before the British bombardments. And already in 1991, the complex was the scene of the Ethiopian civil war.
The buildings have been restored thanks to the World Heritage title granted by Unesco in 1979, a recognition that also extends to two nearby buildings. On the one hand, the so-called Fasilides baths, a pond where a massive rite is still celebrated today: the Timkat, or Epiphany of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which brings together thousands of faithful dressed in white for their baptism.
And on the other, the church of Debre Berhan Selassie, one of the most famous in the country. Built in the s. XVIII by Iyasu II, and profusely decorated inside, the dozens of cherubs painted on the ceiling stand out. The locals say that the archangel Michael himself brandished his flaming sword before the doors of that temple.
