Aksum (or Axum), Ethiopia
Church of St Mary of Zion and Northern Stelae Park, Aksum (or Axum), Northern Ethiopia
This ancient town once the political and religious center of the kingdom of Aksum. The remains of the central square house 126 granite pillars in varying states – upright, fallen or broken. The largest of these has fallen but 34 meters and is believed to be the tallest of its type ever erected.
Some of the Aksum pillars are intricately carved and intricately inscribed the most recent of which contain christian imagery. Arabian immigrants brought their religious beliefs and tradition of monuments to Ethiopia late in the first millenium BC. This cultural influx became a major influence in the architectural practises in the kingdom highlands.
This was followed by an influx of christians fleeing the Roman Empire who established the Ethiopian Orthodox church. The Ethiopian Orthodox church survives to this day and houses some of the world’s most famous examples of Ethiopian christian art.
The church of St Mary of Zion in Askum, according to tradition, contains the Ark of the Covenant by King Menelik I. King Menelik I was the son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel.
