Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Ethiopian mysterious histories

Castle of Gondar, Ethiopia
The history of Ethiopia is a legend and Ethiopia has many cultural heritages. Most of historical places of Ethiopia and its dynasty's  are of religious places the most common one is Ethiopian orthodox Muslims are also huge in the population and in their history.Ethiopian orthodox church had high power and was in a great link to the state.
In the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa a statue of Emperor Menelik II celebrates its long tradition of independence. At the time of mass of Africans were colonized by Europeans Menelik’s II army fought the Italian attempt at the conquest and won at the battle of Adwa. Ever since that famous victory Ethiopians became the beacon of determination for the rest of Africa.


In Ethiopian history the Emperors claim their power came from God and believe they are descendants of King solomon. At those moments of leadership the Ethiopian orthodox church and state were highly inseparable and work together.

His Holiness Abune Paulos said:
“1000 years before Christianity Ethiopians had accepted officially the old testimony and followed for 1000 years. So we accepted Judaism then we accepted Christianity now it is 3000 years altogether.”

Ethiopians believe that Menelik I is the son of king Solomon of Israel.

In Harar one of the old cities of Ethiopia with five gates of entry. Ethiopian Judaism Christianity isn’t straight forward, Harar is a Muslim city. More crop species are found here than any other places of the continent.

They use incense when they drink coffee because It smells good. For at least 2000 years Ethiopians have traded Frankincense north to the eastern Mediterranean along with other goods. Coffee was first cultivated here in the 9th century but it isn’t the most popular item for sell. Chat is used here by Muslim people for their spiritual journey. Chat Is a mild CNS stimulant. After all it is not surprising that there are a lot of Muslim people in Harar it is a short pass across the red sea to Yemen and Saudi Arabia. But what is remarkable is that the wrath of Muslim population played in maintaining Ethiopia’s independence. Back in the 17th century a deal was made between Ethiopian Muslims and Christians and the deal was broken by Emperor Fasiladas.
In Gondar during the 16th century the Portuguese arrived and found Christian people. While they enjoyed the success in converting some of the population to other religion their attempt angers many people of Habesha (Ethiopians). The modified Christian religion presented by Portuguese ignited Ethiopian Muslims and Christians under Emperor Fasiladas. They expelled the Portuguese and executed their priests. Ethiopian traditions were again free from foreigners. To the north of Lake Tana lies Gondar, Ethiopia’s 17th century capital. It is dominated by an impressive castles. Gondar was built by Emperor Fasiladas in 1635. The man who brought Christians and Muslims to common cause. Emperor Fasiladas was a great leader in controlling his country and his capital city Gondar.

At that time in Gondar there were about 60,000 inhabitants which was 400 years ago. Gondar was a big city, so we can imagine that he was a great visionary man. He built impressive castles. In the castles there are signs of King David’s star because the leaders believed that they are descendants of King Solomon.

In the churches the bible is read in Ge’ez language which is related to Hebrew, the language of old testimony King Solomon himself. Even is Ge ez was a language of old kingdoms of Ethiopia it now used only in the church. In the highlands of Gondar there is a religious cave and inside there are bees that are believed to come there by themselves the honey they make is called holy honey by the people and is given to the people as it is a holy honey. Honey is a staple in religious everyday life. From honey the Ethiopians make a kind of drink called Tej and it is like a wine.

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