Guzara Castle - Ethiopia

May wasn't exactly a nice month when it comes to received cards but last friday was a nice day because i've got Emerich's envelope with 17 cards from different places. This is the 1st one, showing the Guzara Castle in Ethiopia. 

 

© Jiri Horák, 2011

The imposing, ruined castle of Guzara was built on a once strategic hill, 5 kilometres south of the small town of Emfraz, in the district of Gondar-Zuriya, not far from the north-eastern shores of Lake Tana.

Measuring 18 m by 12 m, it stands in the centre of what was once a royal walled compound of some significance. Its construction is frequently attributed to King Sarsa Dengel, around 1570.

Most probably, the present building  was built over a former defensive royal structure during the reign of either Susneyos or his son Fasiladas, in the first half of the 17th century. - in: http://iscte.pt/~mjsr/html/expo_jesuits/architecture/guzara_and_dabsan_.htm

Sof Omar Caves - Ethiopia

Sof Omar Caves, in Ethiopia, are on the Unesco Tentative list. By the way, the meeting to decide this year's new sites, will take place next month. I'm really looking foward to know the new world heritage sites.

At 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) long, Sof Omar Cave is the longest cave in Ethiopia; sources claim it is the longest system of caves in Africa and ranks as the 306th longest in the World. It is situated to the east of Robe, in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region in southeastern Ethiopia, through which the Weyib River (Gestro River) flows. It sinks at the Ayiew Maco entrance and reappears at the Holuca resurgence 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. Long a religious centre, it is sacred both to Islam and the local Oromo traditional religion. The caves are known for their many pillars, particularly in the "Chamber of Columns". - in: wikipedia

Simien National Park - Ethiopia

This week i've reached the 730 Unesco sites and now i'm on the top 10 Unesco collectors of the PC forum!!

This ethiopian card was one of the last addictions to my collection. Simien National Park, sent by Emerich.

The Semien Mountains lie in northern Ethiopia, north east of Gondar. They are a World Heritage Site and include the Semien Mountains National Park.

© Jiri Horak, 2011

Massive erosion over the years on the Ethiopian plateau has created one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500 m. The park is home to some extremely rare animals such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/9

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

Ethiopian Unesco sites

Besides the touchnotes cards, today i've also got these 2 new Unesco cards from Ethiopia, both sent by Manú "sapic12".

Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region was inscribed on the World Heritage Site List in 1979 and the  Lower Valley of the Awash in 1980.

 Photo by Jiri Horak

Fasil Ghebbi is a fortress-enclosure located in Gondar. It served as the home of Ethiopia's emperors in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its unique architecture shows diverse influences including Nubian, Arab, and Baroque styles. - in: wikipedia

One of the buildings in the Fasil Ghebbi fortress is the Fasilides Castle, named after Fasilides, the Ethiopian emperor who founded Gondar.

Photo by Pavel Mikes

The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia.
Humans have lived in the valley of the Awash almost since the beginning of the species. The Middle Awash has been where numerous pre-human hominid remains have been found.

Unesco cards from Ethiopia

These are the Ethiopia cards Pavel sent, 8 cards from 3 different unesco sites, "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela", "Tiya" and "Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town".

Lalibela, a rural town in nothern Ethiopia, is known around the world for its monolithic churches which play an important part in the history of rock-cut arcgitecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 13 churches, Bete Giyorgis is said to be the most finely executed and best preserved of them.

Built in the early thirteenth century, it is the most well known and last built of the churches in the Lalibela area, and has been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World. The dimensions of the complex are 25 meters by 25 meters by 30 meters, and there is a small baptismal pool outside the church, which stands in an artificial trench. The church itself is part of the Unesco World Heritage Site "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela".

The first European to see these churches was the portuguese explorer Pêro da Covilhã.

"Tiya is a town in southern Ethiopia.

Tiya is best known for its adjacent archeological site, which is distinguished by 36 standing stones or stelae, "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," marking a large, prehistoric burial complex. A German ethnographic expedition had visited the site in April 1935, and had found at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs. The archeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980." - in: wikipedia

"The fortified historic town of Harar is located in the eastern part of the country on a plateau with deep gorges surrounded by deserts and savannah. The walls surrounding this sacred Muslim city were built between the 13th and 16th centuries. Harar Jugol, said to be the fourth holiest city of Islam, numbers 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, and 102 shrines, but the townhouses with their exceptional interior design constitute the most spectacular part of Harar's cultural heritage. The impact of African and Islamic traditions on the development of the town's building types and urban layout make for its particular character and uniqueness." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1189

The rest of the cards, most of them from Harar and another showing the stelae in Tiya.