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You are here: Home / photos / Photo: Ethiopia’s Castle

Photo: Ethiopia’s Castle

September 15, 2011 By Jillian

Traveling in Ethiopia is a bit like traveling through a fantasy novel.  Each town has its own spectacular draw, from the rock hewn churches of Lalibela, to the monasteries dotting the islands near Bahir Dar and the royal castles in Gondar.  In each town you meet people you certainly wouldn’t otherwise, people whose personalities and stories may surprise and delight you, much like a fairy tale character.

The castle complex in Gondar was like visiting a fairy tale.  We were so surprised at the architecture, which closely resembled European castles, unlike anything else we’d seen on the entire continent.  The complex hosts castles from various time periods and from various monarchs, but despite the ruined state of some of the structures, places like King Fasilides bath, the steam rooms and the lion cages still exist.  Of course nothing is gilded or lavishly covered in tiles or textiles anymore,  but you can only imagine the wealth of the kingdom—the size of the buildings alone makes them remarkable for Africa.

Gondar Castle, Ethiopia

IF YOU GO: Gondar castle is actually a complex of buildings, so give yourself some time to explore the site.  Guided tours are available on site, I think we paid 100 birr for four people and the tour was decent.  If fly into Ethiopia, you’ll likely get the inter-country airline ticket, but if you’re overlanding like we were, it’s two days to Gondar from Lalibela or Adis Abbaba.   Take your time as the roads are narrow and buses are a bit err… erratic!  Gondar is a decent sized city, if you stay near the center you should be able to walk almost everywhere.  Don’t miss the Dashen Brewery near the center of town, draft beers are very inexpensive and they have somewhat of a beer garden with live music.  There are other historical sites in the area, so if you have the time it’s worth more than a day.  Don’t try to do the Simien Mountains as a day trip from Gondar, it’s too far and you’d be wasting your time!

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: castle, ruins

About Jillian

I'm an adventurer and a fun loving spirit. I'll do almost anything once for the experience, well within reason. I love mountain biking, hiking and swimming. I compete in adventure races, but I'm also a complete nerd and love to read. I try to live my life without regrets, in the words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. "

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