Nearest explorations from Ethiopia

In 1854, having recently gained fame from his pilgrimage to Mecca, Richard Francis Burton first entered the territory of what is now Somaliland. Burton’s destination was the city of Harar, located in what is now Ethiopia, but then an independent emirate. Harar was a challenge that Burton could not refuse: rumor had it that no Christian had ever set foot inside the city walls, and prophesy maintained that the city would decline if one ever did. Burton waited in the Somali port city of Zeila and explored its environs until he determined that the way to Harar was open. He reached the city with few problems, and remained there for ten days as the guest – or perhaps prisoner – of the Emir.

Burton was not particularly impressed with Harar or its inhabitants. “The Somal say of the city that it is a Paradise inhabited by asses,” he reported, immediately adding that, “the exterior of the people is highly unprepossessing. Amongst the men, I did not see a handsome face.” Yet he found the women of Harar “beautiful,” but only in comparison with their men. He also noted that, “both sexes are celebrated for laxity of morals. High and low indulge freely in intoxicating drinks, beer, and mead” – but in Burton’s case, “laxity of morals” was not necessarily an objectionable trait. He also praised Harar’s qat (“I could not but remark the fine flavour of the plant after the coarser quality grown in Yemen”), yet seemed disappointed that the drug did not have a stronger effect.

Harar has got 5 ancient gates and a sixth one built by Haile Salassie in the 1950s.


The closest Harla site to Harar is at the Oromo village of Harla

The original building for the train station in Dire Dawa, made of wood will be replaced by a stone building in 1915.

Source: http://geocurrents.info/cultural-geography/richard-francis-burton-harar-and-hyenas#ixzz2FfOpIDpB

In the historic town of Gondar are grand castles, the first built by King Alem-Seghed Fasilades in 1632 is :

Alem-Seghed Fasil's Castle (1632-1667)
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the fortress-city of Fasil Ghebbi was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors. Surrounded by a 900-m-long wall, the city contains palaces, churches, monasteries and unique public and private buildings marked by Hindu and Arab influences, subsequently transformed by the Baroque style brought to
Gondar by the Jesuit missionaries.

 Fasil Ghebbi was inscribed in as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.

 The central area of Gondar is where the Italian occupation colonialists built their infrastructure. The buildings are easily identified by their uniformly yellow color, not particularly elegant, just numerous and distinctive

Here this was the lion cage during the royal families of Gonder dynasty And they kept the lions for two critical reasons. The first one is in order to symbolize the Solomonic dynasty, that’s the lion of Judah. And the second one is, the Lionis the king of wild animals, and Jesus Christ is the creator and lord of human beings. For these two reasons, they keep the lions around their palace. "


The influence came from the Portuguese people because the Portuguese missionaries came in the 16th century, in order to expand Catholicism. So we get the influence from here."

When I saw the lion's cage, which was built during the reign of David III (the son ...


the lion’s cage, which was built during the reign of David III (the son of Iyasu I), I was surprised to hear that lions were part of everyday life during this time as they symbolized power. The Abyssinian lions, which are smaller in size and have bigger manes, lived in the compound with the people and there were no reported attacks. This cage, however, was built to allow the lions to have their own shelter.

there were apparently lions here until 1992.

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