The beeping horn of our roaring truck forces farmers and cattle and clouds of dust off the rough gravel road fast as the driver shouts to me, “Queen of Sheba! There, Queen of Sheba!”
He points to a field of stone pillars standing at angles, others fallen amid dead grass.
Here Ethiopian legend says the Queen rests.
CONTENTS
Impressions of Axum
After 2 days of hitching over the mountains, I’ve reached the holiest place in Ethiopia.
Exploring sun-chafed streets, I see 2 children clambering on a wrecked tank. (A relic from the 1970s-80s Ethiopian civil war.)
In the dusty town square, dominated by a sprawling tree, horse-and-carts haul firewood past a rush of people engulfing an infrequent bus. Those struggling to board have bare feet and wear the traditional white shammas (long cotton wraps).
The quiet dirt roads are lined with worn (Italian-era) buildings and from one such block, from behind a curtained but open door, jumps the beat of Ethiopian pop.
Poking my head inside, offers an invitation.
The scent of roasted coffee and musky frankincense fills the dim space. At a corner table, there’s just one guy, drinking beer.
But gathered on the floor are 5 women.
One offers me a stool, and I perch beside them. Fresh-cut grass decorates the polished cement floor. Over small talk, one lady pounds dark coffee beans in a stone mortar. Then powder slides into a clay pot, warming on a charcoal burner. Later, cups fill with steaming black brew.
Ethiopia is the ancestral home of coffee and these eleborate rituals of preparation take on a near-religious reverence.
Yet, there’s more mystery to Ethiopia and Axum than magical coffee.
History and Legends of Axum
Axum is the birthplace of Ethiopian civilization.
In its heyday during the 2nd to 7th centuries AD, the Axumite Empire spanned northern Ethiopa and greatly influenced Sudan and southern Arabia.
Considered one of the 4 great powers in the 3rd century, Axum traded with Rome, Egypt, Persia, and India, through control of the Red Sea routes. Exports included gold, ivory, frankincense, myrrh, and slaves.
It was also the first sub-Saharan African state to mint its own coinage.
However, the empire declined in the 7th century with the spread of Islam from Arabia and the loss of trade routes, surviving until the 13th century as a lesser state, later evolving into the Kingdom of Abyssinia.
Today, remnants of the ancient city survive.
At a reservoir known as the Queen of Sheba’s bath, women do laundry. The water is green.
Royal palace ruins are only foundations and hillside tombs are empty, except for stone sarcophagi.
Testimony to Axum’s past glory are the monumental obelisks (the the world’s tallest).
These stelae range from enormous stone slabs to colossal, towering sculptures. But the largest obelisk lies on the ground – in bits; once it stood 34 meters.
Of those standing stones, the highest reaches 21 meters and weights 130 tons.
This single block of granite is chiseled like a multi-story house, with a mock door and false windows. Originally, there stood 6 soaring obelisks, carved and raised over 2000 years ago as stairways for the souls of the dead.
According the stone inscriptions, Ethiopia became a Christian nation when King Ezana led its conversion in the 4th century.
Queen of Sheba & the Holy Ark
However, for further biblical claims, things get hazy.
Archaeologists believe that Marib (in Yemen) was the land of Sheba; yet, Ethiopian tradition says the Queen was from Ethiopia.
Their legend says she was seduced by King Solomon during her visit to Jerusalem, that she got pregnant and later had their son in Axum.
As a young man, Menelik traveled to Jerusalem to visit his father, where he received the Ark of the Covenant and brought it back to Ethiopia (before the destruction of the Great Temple).
This legend of Menelik was spread by Ethiopian priests and then by the Crusaders, and it’d become tradition across Christendom by the 14th century.
Today, that legend lives.
The Holy Ark, containing the tablets of Moses’ 10 Commandments – resides; is hidden – within the Church of Saint Mary of Zion.
In Axum.
St. Mary of Zion is Ethiopia’s holiest church.
Built in the 17th century on the site of 2 earlier structures, it resembles a small fort with bell towers.
Housing the Ark and ‘living’ bibical links, the significance of St. Mary of Zion wasn’t lost on Ethiopian Emperors; so across thousands of years they held coronations there, staking their blood-line direct to Solomon and Sheba.
Yet, no one has ever seen the Ark; that’s taboo. Including attendant priests, who believe it exists.
And, nor do they doubt the story of Menelik, or of Axum, as the true land of Sheba.
As usual, all I could do after a perplexing history lesson, is drink beer.
Loads of cheap local beer.
I also meet a local lady and stayed 5 days.
But, there are no mysteries or hazy facts to that story – simply put, just coffee, beer, and banging mutual lust in black and white.
Travels in Ethiopia – 1994
