The powerful fleas of Axum
Recently, several tourists in Turkey have died from poisoning. Initially, street food vendors were blamed. The cooks and owners were arrested. Later, high concentrations of a life-threatening insecticide were found in hotel rooms. As a result, the hotel staff and owners were also imprisoned.
Market woman in Axum
Since arriving in Lalibela, I've been struggling with insect bites. I finally bought insecticide at a drugstore. After arriving at the Africa Hotel in Axum, I discovered that my room had a lockable wardrobe. I put my luggage inside and sprayed the interior with insecticide. I locked the cupboard, set the room under an atmosphere of insecticide and got out of there as quickly as possible. After putting my own patlock at the door instead of those provided by the hotel I was ready to turn my attention to the story of Axum.
In his book “Chains in Heaven” Philip Marsden summerizes the origins of Ethiopia as follows:
"Aksumawi was the son of Ethiopis and the great-grandson of Noah. He established the kingdom of Aksum which is itself the ancestor of modern Ethiopia. Unfortunately a snake took power in Aksum and ruled for four hundred years. The snake was 170 cubits in length, had teeth a whole cubit long, and the people of Aksum had constantly to supply it with milk and virgins. One day a stranger came and slaughtered the snake. The stranger was called Angabo and he in turn became ruler of Aksum.
Angabo married the Queen of Sheba, and after he died she left the city of Aksum with 797 camels to visit Solomon in Jerusalem. There, with Solomonic guile, he seduced her. Back in Aksum she gave birth to a boy named Menelik, and when he came of age he traveled to Jerusalem to see his father. When he left Jerusalem he had the Ark of the Covenant. With the Ark, the Lord's blessing was transferred from Jerusalem to Aksum, from the people of Israel to the people of Ethiopia. Menelik was the first of Ethiopia's line of Solomonic rulers.“
This brief overview highlights several aspects of Aksum's significance for Ethiopian history: it holds the historical foundation for the existence of both the country and its religion, and it explains why one of the most important attributes of Old Testament Christianity must be located in Aksum: the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark of the Covenant is the box which Moses built to store the Ten Commandments received from God on mount Sinai. The Ark is said to possess magical powers. It was sufficient for the Jews, upon their return from Egypt, to carry the Ark around the city of Jericho a few times to bring down the city walls. After that, the sinful city was easy prey for God's chosen people. And this relic is supposedly located in Ethiopia, specifically in Axum, in a chapel built in 1965 under the direction of Haile Selassie, where it is guarded by a monk. The problem is that no one has ever seen it, as no one except the guard has access to the interior of the chapel. So nobody actually knows how it looks like.
The palace of the Queen of Sheba outside Axum
Whether the Queen of Sheba actually resided in Axum is questionable. What is certain, however, is that Axum was the center of one of the most important powers of the ancient world even before the birth of Christ. It lay at the crossroads of trade routes between Egypt in the northwest, the gold-producing lowlands of Sudan in the west, and its port of Adulis in present-day Eritrea. Until Axum's decline after 700 AD, numerous monuments were built, the remains of which can still be seen today. During Axum's golden age, both Judaism and Christianity arrived in Ethiopia. The rise of Islam contributed to its fall.
The palace of the Queen of Sheba outside Axum
I like to use local guides when I travel because they can not only quickly give me an overview of the place and its sights but also provide access to the locals. Aware of this, the hotel owner saw me as a potential source of income and offered me his services.
Stelai field outside Axum with fallen stelae
The hotel actually looks quite decent. There's a courtyard that mainly serves as a parking lot and a café. At check-in I received a patlock to lock my door. In the room, the toilet doesn't flush. When I complain to the owner, he promises to have it repaired. He probably thinbs that a good impression is also favorable for more business. A city guide is supposed to cost $50 for a full day, including entrance fees of about 250 birr. More opportunities for him are in the wait since I want to continue on to Adigrat from here. He wants $165 for a tour to Adigrat with visits to some sights along the way. Both options seem very expensive to me. I could also take the bus to Adigrat more cheaply. However, then I wouldn't be able to visit the sights along the way. I can also have a private driver stop along the way to take photos. Because of my hesitation, the hotel owner has the grace to lower the price down to $160.
Stelai field outside Axum with fallen stelae
At the hotel, I meet Susan. She gives me Mike's phone number, who offers to take me to Adigrat for 1800 birr ($105). This leads to an argument with the hotel owner, who then suddenly lowers his price to 1700 birr ($100). That's considerably cheaper than the original price.
The northern steale field with the tallest stelae
Susan is here with her Italian husband, whom she met while traveling in Peru, and their 9-year-old daughter. They were in Mali with her four years ago. There she was ill often and attracted malaria. The parents don't seem too bothered about it.
Toppled over stealae in the northern stealae field
Finally, I let myself be persuaded by a guide to hire him for 600 Birr. You can buy an entrance ticket that covers all the city's entrance fees. It turns out that with this guide, With this guide I have to pay for the entrance ticket myself, so I end up paying the same $50 as if I would have accepted the offer of the hotel owner. The guide is supposed to show me the city's main sights this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
Toppled over stealae in the northern stealae field
After a light lunch and a short nap, the guide arrives. The tour consists of visiting two museums, where I have to read everything myself, some tombs, and the stelae field, about which the guide can barely say anything. One thing that excuseas him is that little is known about Axum's ancient history. Only a few excavations have been carried out, and so, much of Axum's history remains buried beneath the surface.
Entrance to one of the gravesites
The many enormous stelae still standing at various locations throughout the city, are striking. The Kingdom of Axum likely adopted this idea from the obelisks of its Egyptian neighbors to the north. What is truly remarkable, however, is the sheer number of stelae, their size, level of detail, and state of preservation. In the northern stelae field alone, there are more than 120. The largest standing stele is 24.6 meters high. One weighs 517 tons. Another stele lies on the ground like a fallen soldier; it is 33 meters long. It is possible that it collapsed and broke during its erection as early as the 4th century.
Grave structure under the stelae field
The stelae are hewn from a single block of granite and were transported to their locations from quarries 4 kilometers away. Their surfaces are covered with reliefs. There are false windows and doors, and even door handles. All sorts of legends surround the mystery of how the stelae were brought to their location and erected without breaking, but to this day nobody really knows how it was actually done.
Sarcophagus inside one of the grave chambers
It seems certain that the stelae served as parts of tombs. Some of them likely fell over when grave robbers attempted to open the burial chambers beneath. Grave robbers crushed as revenge for the desecration of the burial site. In the so-called northern stelae field, directly adjacent to the city center, there are several tombs and mausoleums that can be visited. They date from various centuries. For example, the Tomb of the Brick Arch dates from the 3rd century, and the Tomb of the False Door from the 4th or early 5th century. The tombs were certainly furnished with valuable grave goods. Although those robbers not crushed were able to steal most of the treasures in the graves centuries before the first excavations, remnants of bronze objects, weapons, and ornaments were still found later. The megalithic tomb of Neva Mawcha is still believed to be connected to a tomb that remains unopened and unexplored.
The bath of the queen of Sheba
Besides the tombs, the area also contains the remains of structures that are considered to be former palaces. Above the burial ground is a poisonous-looking pond, known as the Queen of Sheba's Bath. However, the queen would have had a long way to go to bathe there, as her palace is said to have been outside the city, near the quarries where the stelae were made. The pond was probably more of a water reservoir. How it was hewn out of the rock with the means available in antiquity remains a mystery. The ancient atmosphere is somewhat diminished by the concrete cladding poured over it in the 1960s. Locals use the brownish, stagnant water for washing vegetables, cooking and for the laundry. I hope the vegetables are not sold to one of the restaurants where I will eat ….
Entrance to a burial site outside Axum
There are several burial grounds, some of which are quite far from the city. The guide wants to take a tuk-tuk to show me more tombs and King Ezana's inscribed column on the mountain. The first tuk-tuk driver wants 250 birr, which seems completely exorbitant to me. After some haggling, we find another driver who, for 170 Birr, is willing to take us not only up the mountain but also to the Queen Sheba's palace. The road up the mountain is indeed incredibly rocky and rough. We encounter countless overloaded donkeys; one is carrying a huge bale of straw, making the animal almost invisible beneath it. And unfortunately, I can't get a photo of the two cyclists balancing on a drainage ditch that must be at least 5 meters long.
Sarcophages in one of the grave chambers with the supposed templar's cross in the front right
After the ordeal of the rough road, which pushes the tuk-tuk to its limits, we arrive at the tombs of King Kaleb and Gebre Meskel. Stairs lead down into the underworld, where one can admire how precisely the ancient stonemasons carved the blocks, leaving hardly any gaps. These tombs, too, were looted long ago.
The Rosetta stone of Axum
On the way to the tombs, you pass the Rosetta Stone of Axum. In 1981, a farmer found a stone with inscriptions, which is now hidden in a dilapidated hut. The pillar is inscribed on its sides in Sabaean, Ge'ez and Greek, thus allowing the deciphering of the ancient language.
Old and modern Axum
Despite the guide Axum is a pleasant city in transition. New buildings with sleek glass facades are springing up everywhere, many of them hotels. The main streets have shady, flowering trees along the sidewalks and median strip, and there are many street cafes and shops like "Modern Barbery." The ATM is working, and I manage to withdraw 5,000 Birr.
Fashion shops in Axum
I meet a Swede who wants to travel overland from Stockholm to South Africa and an Australian who, although he has no money, still wants to spend two months in Ethiopia. He has 500 Birr ($30) to spend each day. For most Ethiopians, of course, that's a fortune, but it's not enough for him to do any of the sightseeing and excursions that are so expensive here. He acts like a sleepwalker. I feel a bit sorry for him and offer him a free ride. But he's also rather slow to make decisions.
One of the few paved streets in Axum
Susan and her family continue their journey in the morning. It's one of the tragedies of independent travel that you regularly meet people you initially found charming, only to have them quickly disappear from your life. Although you rarely see most of them again, over many years of traveling I've made a few friends with whom I still maintain infrequent but regular contact. This is even more remarkable with those I met before the advent of email and the internet, when a simple removal could lead to the loss of communication.
Most of the streets look more like this
Finally, I reach an agreement with Mike (Michael), who also works for TESFA, to drive me to Adigrat on Saturday for 1800 Birr. Meanwhilee the hotel owner has found someone who is heading to Debre Dano tomorrow with two others. In that case, I would only have to pay my share of 600 Birr, but I still wouldn't be in Adigrat. The fact that I don't accept his offer certainly is the reason why the toilet still isn't working when I return to the hotel. Finally, I strike a deal with Mike (Michael), who also works for TESFA, to get a ride to Adigrat on Saturday for 1800 Birr.
The usual means of transport in Axum
Although I had desinfected the room at midday before leaving the hotel, the fleas bit me again during the night, which I noticed from new, swollen bites. In addition, my stomach started rumbling, and after a series of explosions, I also get diarrhea.
Axum main street
That's why I'm not at all thrilled the next morning at eight o'clock to have to meet the ignorant guide. I'm hoping he can at least help me buy some new insecticide to fight the fleas. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the stuff I bought in Lalibela is only effective against flies, cockroaches, etc., but not against fleas. Before leaving, I spray the bed, both sides of the mattress, and my belongings in the closet again. Then I flee the stinking room.
The new Church of our Lady Zion in Axum
Today, the guide tries better, within the limits of his knowledge. Perhaps it helped that I complained about him to the hotel owner yesterday. His knowledge, however, barely extends beyond what's in the Lonely Planet guidebook. He also omits a few of Aksum's historical sites, such as the tomb of King Bazem, which I pointed out to him myself, and the ancient quarries, where, according to him, there's nothing to see, but which are supposed to be very interesting.
Church of our Lady Zion
The religious center of Axum, and thus of all Ethiopia, is the complex of St. Mary of Zion churches. There is an old church dating back to 1665, likely built on a plateau where the first church in Africa stood in the 4th century. Next to it is a large, new church from the 1960s, built in the typically tasteless and ugly style of Haile Selassie.
Wall paintings inside the church coverd by curtains
In the old church, I had to pay for a separate guide, as mine was completely clueless. For some inexplicable reason, foreigners (ferenjis) are not allowed to use many of the entrances in this building, and cameras are not permitted in the museum. This, in turn, annoyed a few German tourists. In the new church next door, one of the priests showed me an ancient, richly illustrated Bible. In other countries, such treasures would be hidden behind bulletproof glass; here, they lay openly on a lectern in the nave. Despite this treatment, the book is surprisingly well-preserved, and the colors appear fresh and vibrant.
The old church of our Lady Zion
The most important attribute of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, however, is the Arc of Convenant. It is kept in a small chapel guarded by a single monk. The building is surrounded by a vegetable garden, which is in turn enclosed by a railing. Foreigners are not even tolerated near the railing.
Monk presenting an old book in the new church
I can still catch a glimpse of the monk who, for the rest of his life, is condemned to guard the Arc of Covenant. He is busy watering his vegetables. The previous monk held this position for more than 50 years and never left the sanctuary during that time. Even if he were to resign, he would not be allowed to leave the sacred grounds. After his death, he is cremated in the chapel. Then the monks of the monastery gather to choose a successor. The current candidate was so thrilled with his election that he took to his heels and disappeared into the mountains. However, he was found and brought back to the chapel and chained for several months to the wall until he accepted his lot and has since dutifully performed his duties.
The chapel where the Arc of Convenant is supposedly kept
Copies of the original Arc are found in every Ethiopian church. They are considered the holiest of holies and are hidden from the public part of the church by a curtain. Only the priest has access to this part of the church.
A glimpse at the monk sentenced to spend the rest of his life with the Arc of Convenant
I got all these stories from the cited literature. The guide had little to add. He couldn't help me with any flea spray either. I'm glad to be rid of him by 10:30. The pharmacy I visit afterward doesn't have anything either, and the supermarket only has the useless stuff I already own. So, I air out my apartment, which reeks of insecticide, and lie down again to recover from the ordeal and the shit-filled night. When I wake up, I spray everything again. These fleas are tough!
The traditional, fortress like structure of the Arrabitu Ensessa church in Axum
In the afternoon, I walk through the dusty neighborhoods below the churches back to the field of stelae. Behind the church, there's a small square that also seems to have some religious significance. In the center is a blue monument that looks like a fountain but is more like a stone chair and table. People walking by kiss the blue wall.
St. Taklahimanot church
A little further up, there's a beautiful, brightly painted church. A bus full of tourists pulls up in front and gets out. Unfortunately, not allowed in because I did not bring my general admission ticket. I suppose I'll have to come back tomorrow. But now I understand why the incompetent guide didn't want to take that road this morning. He wanted to skip another site. I certainly would have wanted to see that church, which is very pretty and colorfully painted.
The unexplainable religious monument in the street looking like a fountain
While Axum's main street is all spruced up, things look quite different behind the facades. A few of the side streets are still cobbled, everything elso is dust when dry and mud when wet. There are brightly painted houses with colorful doors, an entire district full of drinking hotels, which are probably brothels. Donkeys, camels, sheep, and goats are driven through the dusty side streets because they're not allowed on the main road. Besides carts with donkeys and mules, there are also some kind of primitive horse-drawn carriages off the main road.
Furniture production in the main street of Axum
I'm incredibly tired when I get back. That's probably a consequence of the diarrhea the previous night and the lack of sleep. My stomach isn't holding the food well this evening either. On top of that, I feel very lonely and abandoned. All the other hotel guests seemed to be older couples, along with many Ethiopians, none of whom showed any interest in me. The Australian family had recommended the St. Johannis Entertainment Restaurant. I thought I might be able to strike up an interesting conversation there, since the owners are American. But I was the only customer. When the owners finally showed up, we only had a brief chat. I could barely get the food down, even though it was good.
Composing official documents in the streets of Axum
When I get back to the hotel, the woman at reception hands me a slip of paper with a phone number on it. My Australian friend, the sleepwalker, has called. At first, I think there must be some mistake. He's sitting in Mekele now, wondering if he should come with me to Adigrat after all, and maybe even hike with me. He doesn't have the 800 birr a day for the hike, though. He seems a bit disorganized, and despite my current loneliness, I wonder if he can contribute anything positive to my trip. I'm actually relieved when he finally decides not to come back to Aksum.
Hardware store in the market of Axum
There's no chance for further communication at the hotel either. I throw open the window and the door to let the pesticide fumes out and retreat to my room. Although I feel a bit better and more awake after a shower, my book drops from my hands at 8:30 p.m already.
Shoe store
Having read with the light on and the window open, I'm woken up by a few mosquitoes during the night, but in the morning I have no mosquito bites. My stomach is also fine again. However, I discover new bites from bed bugs or fleas. All the spraying was for nothing. They've risen from the dead again. A glimmer of hope for the future. At least this form of life will survive all the catastrophes of this world. I start the day with another round of spraying and spray until the can is empty. But in the afternoon, after my nap, I discover new bites above my socks.
Axum electronics shop
Then I set off to see if I can find the cattle market. However, where the guidebook said it should be, tall grass grows, and the area doesn't look like it ever hosted a livestock market. Instead, horse-drawn carts rumble along the road, donkeys stoically carry their oversized loads, and camels sway past.
Different businesses in the market in Axum
A guy named Mokuma approaches me. He's an air traffic controller at Aksum Airport and has the day off, apparently having decided to spend it with me. We walk through the streets and head towards the market. The main market, however, is on Sundays. He comes from Bahir Dar and finds everything here backward and primitive—dry, stony, and lacking in greenery.
Nevertheless, by African standards, the fruit at the market looks very good. There are tomatoes and all sorts of edible vegetables. However, it's not very picturesque. Most of the female vendors sit outside in the dust instead of in the new concrete building that was built especially for them.
Different craftmen's workshops around the market in Axum
Around the market there are all kinds of craftsmen. In contrast to the market womenb they don’t mind that their picture is taken. Carpenters, metalworkers, and seamstresses work on the street. In front of the courthouse, clerks sit writing official letters. And everywhere in between, beggars.
Tailor and woman spinning her yarn in the streets of Axum
I suggest to Mokuma that we take a tuk-tuk and go out to visit the Lionness of Sheba. I think it's a stone in the shape of a lion. Closeby are also the quarries where the stelae of Axum were hewn. The remains of stelae and the way of their production are still visible after 2,000 years. However, Mokuma doesn't seem to understand me. It turns out he doesn't know what a tuk-tuk is. Here, tuk-tuks are called "Bajaj," after the company that manufactures them in India. He thought Tuk-Tuk was the place I wanted to go to. Finally, we find a tuk-tuk driver who agrees to take us there for 130 birr.
Kidny and Mokum and the Bajaj
The vehicle rattles along a potholed dirt track out of town. Oddly, instead of taking the brand-new road west towards Chire, it follows the old, stony track alongside it. Apparently, the new road isn't open to traffic yet. After a brief blockage by a few piles of stones, we finally continue on the smooth, new road.
The lioness of Sheba with the supposed templar's cross
The tuk-tuk stops at a footpath leading from the road to the foot of the mountain, where the Lioness and the quarries are supposed to be. Sure enough, there's a half-finished stele lying by the path. Shortly after, the driver catches up with us. His name is Kiduna, and he seems to know the area well. He shows us the Lioness, a relief of a lioness pointing towards an Orthodox cross. Therefore the relief can't date from the time of the Queen of Sheba, I think. Graham Hancock interprets the cross as the symbol of the Knights Templar. According to his theory in the book cited below, they came to Ethiopia in the 12th century in search of the Arc of Covenant. A similar cross is said to be found in the ruins of King Kaleb's palace and even on one of the sarcophagi there. According to him, these crosses are not otherwise common in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church and cannot date from the time when the palace and the lioness statue were formed.
An attempt to produce a stealae in the quarry
This is the area of the quarries. Large blocks, never removed, lie scattered across the barren landscape. Rows of holes, drilled to split of stone for stelae, are visible in the surrounding rocks. Kiduna (nickname Kidny) and Mokum are clearly having a great time climbing around here with me and are in no hurry to get back to the tuk-tuk and into town. They seem proud to be showing me their national history.
The area of the quarries and a row of holes to break out a boulder
A little boy approaches and tries to sell me half a malachite sphere with beautiful crystals. They give him 2 Birr, so I give him 2 more. Then an older boy comes along and wraps an even more beautiful hemisphere out of a sheet of newspaper. I should have bought it, but I don't feel like haggling with the boy in front of Kidny and Mokum.
Juice bar in Axum
Kidny has just finished his studies in Agriculture at the University of Aksum but earns his living driving tuk-tuks. Later, when we're driving back to the city, I suggest we try one of the amazing juices that are sold everywhere in Ethiopia. Mokum knows just the kind of juice bar I like. The freshly squeezed juice, which is more like a thick jelly, comes in layers in large glasses. The bottom green layer is avocado, the top yellow layer mango. You can add lemon for extra flavor. Kidny only manages half a juice, I manage 2.5, and Mokuma manages 2. An Ethiopian couple of lovers is sitting at a table under a broken mirror. In a backyard, we can wash our hands. Mokum pours washing powder from a bag and water from a pitcher over my hands. In the dark cubicle between, a boy is cutting mangoes into pieces—on the floor. But the juice is good. Kidny takes a picture of me with his phone, but the lens is so dirty that I look like I'm in a fog.
Mokum and Kidny and the juices
I pay for the juice and the 130 birr for the ride, and we drive to the Africa Hotel, where I say goodbye to these nice people. A huge glass of juice only costs 10 birr. Throughout the afternoon, I run into Kidny several more times in his tuk-tuk, and each time he honks and waves enthusiastically from his bajaj.
The pesticide shop
And then, while wandering around, I see the large blue and white sign: Pesticide… It's standing outside a shop with pictures displayed on the wall showing dead insects and a spray can. I go inside and buy a can of genuine agricultural pesticide spray for professional use. If the stuff doesn't harm edible vegetables, it shouldn't harm me either when treating my mattress and clothes. The hours of the fleas count down.....
Interior courtyard of the Africa hotel
After much deliberation, I decide to stay at the hotel this afternoon. With the drive to Adigrat and the hike afterward, I have five strenuous days ahead of me. Besides, it's quite cloudy, and at sunset even a few raindrops fall. When staying in my room, it wouldn't be wise to try the insecticide today. I decide to give the fleas a break and try the new poison at the next hotel. It still exists and has got another floor.
Today at breakfast, I was particularly annoyed with the hotel staff. It took forever for them to even make a cup of tea. I even proceeded to the bar and asked if it's self-service today.
The quiet time provides an opportunity to observe the hotel staff. A few guys are sitting around in the courtyard, doing nothing all day but fiddling with their phones. A few women are watering the garden and hanging up laundry with provocative slowness. In the empty restaurant, a few guys are constantly shuffling in and out. A woman is sitting at some kind of cash register, but she can't do the math; someone else sits behind her doing that. The large number of waiters are too tired to lift their feet while walking. The television is on day and night in the bar. Only the men watch it, and only if there's a football match on. It's so loud it's surprising the pretty girl behind the coffee machine can sleep. She's even smiling in her sleep. An empty beverage carton lies in the courtyard. One of the maids kicks it along, but is too lazy to pick it up and throw it in the trash can.
Ethiopian women use traditional parasols to protect from the sun
And then the hotel owner's brother apologizes for the incompetent guide. And Mike, the driver for tomorrow, calls to announce he'll be picking me up promptly at 7 a.m. The following adventure is about to begin.
Sources
Philip Marsden, The chains of heaven, Harper Collins 2005
Graham Hancock, The sign and the seal, Penguin 1992
Ethiopia & Eritreia, Lonely Planet, 2009
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