A walking tour of Gondar's historic sites provide a very good introduction to the history of imperial Gondar.

We will start with a walk through Fasil Ghebbi, the Royal Enclosure, a walled enclave for the Head of State from around 1640 to about 1760.

Across the road from the entrance is a magnificent, 400 year old tree (right) That makes it about 40 years older than Gondar, itself.  Though old, the tree doesn't seem to have a sacred or ritual purpose.

The stone wall surrounding Fasil Ghebbi is 900m (over a half mile) long and has a dozen gates.  The interior has an open forest, lawns, gardens, a half dozen impressive buildings built by emperors of the Solomonic dynasty of Gondar in the 17th and 18th century and a similar number of buildings in ruins.

The oldest, most intact and most architecturally interesting of the buildings is the castle of Emperor Fasilidas (reign 1632-1667), which was built around 1640. It has design elements drawn from the Portuguese, Axumite, Indian, Ottoman, Romans, Jewish cultures and elsewhere. Very thick wall helped to keep the building warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and standing for almost 400 years -- including through earthquakes. In many of the rooms there are Stars of David in bas relief. The six pointed star became the emblem of the Ethiopian royal family after the Solomonic dynasty reclaimed the throne in the 13th century.  The Solomonic dynasty traces its lineage back to Solomon of Judea.
 

Fasiladas became Emperor in 1632 when his father, Emperor Susenyos, abdicated. Once he became emperor his reign reflected a mixed world view compared to the inclusive architecture of the Castle:  Fasilides immediately restored the official status of the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which had been disestablished by his father in favor of Catholicism. On the one hand, he sent for a new abuna (chief bishop of the Ethiopian Church) from the Patriarch of Alexandria, restoring the ancient relationship that had been allowed to lapse. And, on the other hand, he alienated others and isolated the country:  Fasilides started by confiscated the lands of the Jesuits. When he heard that the Portuguese bombarded Mombasa (c. 1634, though it is not clear why the Portuguese, who controlled Mombasa, would have bombed it at this time), he assumed that the Roman Catholic prelate, Afonso Mendes, was behind the act, and banished the remaining Jesuits from his lands. Mendes and most of his followers made their way back to Goa, via Massawa, being robbed or imprisoned several times on the way. In 1665, he ordered the "Books of the Franks"—the remaining religious writings of the Catholics—burnt.
 

An earthquake in 1704 and British bombing of the Italian military command in the 1940s, have done away with the most of the lofty ceilings and the roof and anything of value was stripped from the premise long ago, but the building still shares a few secrets from its past:

Iyasu's reign is noteworthy for the attention he devoted to administration, holding a large number of councils to settle theological and ecclesiastical matters (the first in 1684, in the public square of Gondar) matters of state, and to proclaim laws. He is considered the greatest emperor of the Gondar period. Early in his reign he improved the living conditions of the imprisoned princes who were traditionally kept in captivity on Amba Wahni. In 1698, Iyasu undertook a number of reforms, affecting customs and taxation, which encouraged trade.  After Iyasu the Great's retirement, he was murdered by his son Tekla Haymanot (r. 1706-1708), likely with the support of his mother and Iyasu's wife, Empress Malakotawit, which led to a series of royal poisonings and assassinations (including Tekla Haymanot's), led to a period of instability and eventually a diminished role for Gondar.

The next Emperors were Tewoflos I (r. 1708-1711) (brother of Iyasu I, and one of four sons of Fasilides), and Yostos (r. 1711-1716) (son of Delba Iyasu and a daughter of Emperor Iyasu I). Neither left an edifice at Fasil Ghabbi.
 

At the back of Iyasu's Castle there are two window seats (right) where a couple could set and talk and look out into the palace garden.

Dawit's contribution in the Royal Enclosure is an entertainment/ performance hall (Dawit's Hall).  Here many religious and secular ceremonies and parties were held, and the Emperor could hear minstrels perform, for which he was known as "Dawit the Singer".  The building in now roofless, but its high walls and large windows hint at its historic grandeur.

In matters of state, in 1721, Dawit presided over a synod of the Ethiopian Church, concerning a Christology disputed between the monks of the House of Ewostatewos in Gojjam and the monks of Debre Libanos. The Emperor sided with the Ewostathians. The monks of Debre Libanos then demonstrated against the results of the council, irritating Emperor Dawit to the point he sent a party of pagan Oromo from his Guard to slaughter them.

Dawit fell ill shortly after this synod, and died under mysterious circumstances. His courtiers and a Muslim apothecary were accused of poisoning him and executed.
 

Of the current wildlife, I was able to get a picture of a multi-color lizard and a white necked dove.
 

Despite Mentewab's intelligence and counsel, Iyasu II proved to be an ineffectual monarch. According to Paul Henze, Iyasu "came under criticism for devoting too much time to pleasure (he loved hunting) and for spending too many resources on embellishing the capital, paying foreign workmen, and importing luxury goods, ornaments and mirrors from Europe." This led to a growth of real power and wealth being held in the provinces and the decline of the significance of Gondar, especially after 1755.

High on the intrigue scale, Emperor Iyasu II resented deeply the romantic liaison his mother entered into with a young member of the Imperial family. After the death of her husband Emperor Bakaffa, Empress Mentewab became involved with another Iyasu, the son of the sister of Bakaffa, Romanework, and on her father's side, Emperor Iyasu I, descended in the male line from another cadet line of the Solomonic dynasty. Mentewab's relationship with the much younger nephew of her late husband was considered a great scandal, and the young Prince was derisively referred to as "Melmal Iyasu", or "Iyasu the Kept".

The Empress had three daughters by this Melmal Iyasu.. Emperor Iyasu II became very attached to his half-sisters, but was deeply resentful of their father. It is said that it was the Emperor himself that ordered the murder of his mother's lover by having him pushed from a cliff top near Lake Tana in 1742.  One of Mentewab's daughters was the beautiful Woizero Aster Iyasu who took Ras Mikael Sehul, the Governor of Tigre and war lord, as her third husband, in 1769.

Iyasu fell seriously ill in May, 1755, and died the next month. It was generally believed that he had been poisoned by the sister of Melmal Iyasu, in revenge for her brother's death.

At least seven of the churches in Gondar date back to the period of the Fasilada's rule. A little newer is Debre Berhan Selassie church which was founded in 1690's by Iyasu I.  It is believed that the original church was round, based on the ruminants of the foundation that extend beyond the current church. The construction date of the current building is not known but it is believed to have been in the late 18th century. Fortunately, due to the intervention of a swarm of bees, as the story goes, it is the one church of dozens in Gondar that wasn't destroyed by the attack of the Dervish or Mahdist, of Sudan, in 1888.  If it is any indication of any of the other churches at the time, the cultural and religious destruction by the Mahdist was substantial.

The church has a supply of loaner staffs for those who come to pray (right).

The church is still active with priests and parishioners present.  The outer wall is pretty much intact, but the palace mostly is in ruins, with the exception of the banquet hall.

The trees at Qusquam are nice because besides providing shade, they host a variety of colorful birds. The most gregarious (and least colorful) specie in the barest trees, were the vultures, so they got the picture.

Now-a-days, much of the story of Qusquam is about James Bruce (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794), a Scottish traveler, explorer and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and two years in Ethiopia, with the objective of tracing the origins of the Blue Nile.

When he arrived in Ethiopia, he was well received by reigning Emperor Tekle Haymanot II (r. 1769-1777), by Ras Mikael Sehul, the power behind the throne until 1771, by Wozoro Aster, wife of the Ras (whom Bruce calls "Esther"), and by the Ethiopians people generally. His stature (he was 6-foot 4 inches tall), his knowledge of Ge'ez (the language), his excellence in sports, his courage and self-esteem, all worked in his favor among a people who were generally distrustful of all foreigners. As he waited in Gondar for permission to pursue his exploration of the headwaters of the Blue Nile, he gained knowledge that enabled him to write extensively on Ethiopian life.
 

Part of the story of Bruce is that when he reached Gondar in February 1769, he stayed as a guest at Mentewab's palace, where he became a close friend and confident of the Empress. (The three photos to the left and right are remnants of Bruce's living quarters.) During the time that he was there, it is said that he also developed a romantic relationship with one of Mentewab's married daughters. The liaison produced a child, who did not live past infancy. Bruce left Ethiopia alone.

During the same period, in early and late 1769, Emperor Iyaos' strangulation, and his successor, Emperor Yohannes II poisoning, Mentewab's son and grandson, respectively, were ordered by Ras Mikael Sehul, Governor of Tigray, a war lord and future son-in-law of Mentewab.)

The wall that surrounds Qusquam incorporates a number of square towers. Historically these could serve as look outs and in calm times, priests lived in them.  Currently, the lower floor of one of these buildings is used as a site museum -- it's small.  Most interesting are a couple of sacred texts: A Ginzet, a book read during a funeral service in 1682, and the Negere Mariam, deeds of marriage from 1751.

(Gondar) (North: Gondar to Zamira)