Aksum - Ethiopia

I've a new Unesco site from Ethiopia, Aksum. Like the previous Unesco cards from there, this one was also sent by Sapic.

This card shows the Timkat procession at St. Mary of Zion Church.

The ruins of the ancient city of Aksum are found close to Ethiopia's northern border. They mark the location of the heart of ancient Ethiopia, when the Kingdom of Aksum was the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia. In 1980 UNESCO added Aksum's archaeological sites to its list of World Heritage Sites due to their historical value.

Photo by Gerster

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum houses the Biblical Ark of the Covenant in which lie the Tablets of Law upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed. This same church was the site where Ethiopian emperors were crowned for centuries until the reign of Fasilides, then again beginning with Yohannes IV until the end of the empire. Axum is considered to be the holiest city in Ethiopia and is an important destination of pilgrimages. - in: wikipedia