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Gondar is a town founded in 1636 by the great Emperor Fassiladas, serving as the royal capital of Ethiopia for over 230 years. The Gondarine period is considered to be the third major dynasty after the Axumite and Zagwe dynasties. The dynasty is historically important for the renaissance king's mobile camp and the introduction of a permanent capital.
Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region, are the remains of a fortress-city that was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors.
Fasilides Castle. Built in 1640 as the home of King Fasilides
Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital, instead living in tents in temporary royal camps as they moved around their realms while their family, bodyguard and retinue devoured surplus crops and cut down nearby trees for firewood. One exception to this rule was Debre Berhan, founded by Zara Yaqob in 1456; Tegulet in Shewa was also essentially the capital during the first century of Solomonic rule.
Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilides around the year 1635, and grew as an agricultural and market town. Tradition states that a buffalo led the Emperor Fasilides to a pool beside the Angereb, where an "old and venerable hermit" told the Emperor he would locate his capital there. Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his castle on that same site.
After choosing Gondar as capital, Emperor Fasiladas constructed a Royal Enclosure that covered 75,000 square metres, and contained castles, palaces, library and banquet hall etc. The complex is enclosed by a curtain wall which is pierced by twelve gates.
Almost completely restored with the help of UNESCO the Palace of Fasiladas is the Royal Enclosure's oldest and most impressive castle.
The two-storey palace stands 32m tall and has a crenulated parapet and four domed towers. Made of roughly hewn stones, it's reputedly the work of an Indian architect, and shows an unusual synthesis of Indian, Portuguese, Moorish and Aksumite influences.
Palace of Fasilidas (1632-1667)
Fasilides Castle. Built in 1640 as the home of King Fasilides
The town served as Ethiopia's capital until Tewodros II moved the Imperial capital to Magadala upon being crowned Emperor in 1855; the city was plundered and burnt in 1864, then devastated again in December, 1866.
Fasilides of Ethiopia 1632-1667
Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he invaded Ethiopia June 1887. Gondar was ravaged again in 23 January in the next year, when the Sudanese invaders set fire to almost every one of the city's churches
Sarsa Dengel of Ethiopia 1563-1597
Unlike any other buildings in Abyssinia, the castles and palaces of Gondar resemble, with some modifications, the medieval fortresses of Europe, the style of architecture being the result of the presence in the country of numbers of Portuguese.
Menelik II of Ethiopia 1889-1913
The Portuguese were expelled by Fasilidas, but his castle was built, by Indian workmen, under the superintendence of Abyssinians who had learned something of architecture from the Portuguese adventurers, helped possibly by Portuguese still in the country.
Tewodros II of Ethiopia1855-1868
The main floor was used as a dining hall and formal reception area; note the recessed Star of David above several doorways, which trumpet Fasiladas' link to the Solomonic dynasty. The small room in the northern corner boasts its original beam ceiling and some faint frescoes. On the 1st floor, Fasiladas' prayer room has windows in four directions, each overlooking Gonder's important churches.
The most extensive ruins are a group of royal buildings enclosed in a wall. These ruins include the palace of Emperor Iyasu, which has several fine chambers. Christian Levantines were employed in its construction and it was decorated in part with Venetian mirrors, etc. The exterior walls of the castles and palaces named are little damaged and give to Gondar a unique character among African towns.
Emperor Iyasu’s castle
Fasil Ghebbi 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. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Emperor Iyasu’s castle
King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)was bombed by the British
Iyasu the Great of Ethiopia 1682–1706
King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
King Adiam Seghed Iyasu's Castle (1682-1706)
Palace of Iyasu I, left, Fasilides' Castle and Library of Emperor Yohannes
Library of Emperor Yohannes I and Fasilides' Castle
Library of Emperor Yohannes I. Emperor Yohannes I was the fourth son of Emperor Fasilides. Yohannes is believed to have reigned from 1667 to 1682.
The Archive Castle of King Fasilides
Library of Emperor Yohannes I
The Archive Castle of King Fasilides and the Library of Emperor Yohannes I
The Archive Castle of King
Fasilides and the Library and
Emperor Yohannes I
Dawit's Hall (reigned 1716-1721)
King Dawit's Hall, often referred to as the "House of Song", this may be due to a misreading of the Amharic zofan bet ("House of the Divan" or "House of the Throne") as zafan bet ("House of song"). A one-storey building with a round tower at the southeast corner
The lion’s cage, which was built during the reign of David III (the son of Iyasu I). Lions were part of everyday life during this time as they symbolized power (a lion was symbolic for the king). 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 are 8 lion cages!
Bakaffas PalaceOn the left in the picture stables and on the right the Banquet Hall of the Emperor Bekaffa.
Iohannes IV of Ethiopia 1872-1889
Banquet Hall of the Emperor Bekaffa 1721-1730
Following his death, his son, Iyasu II, was too young to take the thrown. As a result, Empress Mentawab reigned from 1730 – 1755, but after 12 years of ruling from the palace in the royal compound, she decided to build her own palace and church outside the compound.
The sauna area, which the Emperor and his family used on a very regular basis because a rare skin disorder that was cured by a French physician that introduced the sauna into the Castle complex.
The sauna areaCoat hangers are by rhino horn
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
Solanum aculeastrum (goat bitter-apple, poison apple, or more ambiguously as "bitter-apple“). It is a poisonous nightshade species from Africa
The coffee ceremony is one of the most recognizable parts of Ethiopian culture.
Sound: Alemayehu Eshete - Mishitu Demeke
Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Sanda Negruţiu Jean Moldovan Alin Samochis Daniel Scrãdeanu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors
Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda
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