FASIL GHEBBI (Royal Enclosure)

    Fasil Ghebbi, Gondar Region, is the remains of a fortress-city that was the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors. Ghebbi is an Amharic word for a compound or enclosure. It was founded in the 17th and 18th centuries byEmperor Fasilides (Fasil) and was the home of Ethiopia's emperors. The complex of buildings includes Fasilides' castle, Iyasu I's palace, Dawit III's Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Empress Mentewab's castle, achancellery, library and three churches: Asasame Qeddus Mikael, Elfin Giyorgis and Gemjabet Mariyam.

    In addition to this castle, Fasiladas is said to have been responsible for the building of a number of other structures. Perhaps the oldest of these is the Enqulal Gemb, or Egg Castle, so named on account of its egg-shaped domed roof. Other buildings include the royal archive and the stable.In the city of Gondar, Ethiopia is the Fasil Ghebbi, a fortress and city within a city that served for more than 200 years as the capital of the Ethiopian people.  It was built at over 7500 feet altitude as the residence of Emperor Fasilidas.

       Before this grand capital was constructed, emperors wandered the land in tents living among their people.  Fasilidas sought to end this tradition by building a capital styled off of the rest of the world, whereby he would rule his kingdom from one, permanent seat.  The strange mixture of architectural influences has given Fasil Ghebbi an appearance that gained it the nickname of the “African Camelot.”  This remarkable fortress-city complex was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1979.

    The site is surrounded by a nearly 3000-foot length of defensive walls.  Within these walls lie all the elements that make the Fasil Ghebbi a city of its own.  There are palaces, churches, monasteries and buildings of more practical nature, both public and private.  The design is one that mixes influences of both Hindu and Arab origins along with a Baroque element that was brought to Ethiopia by missionaries.  It truly resembles a medieval castle of Europe, out of place in the Ethiopian landscape.

     The main castle was built in the 1630s and 40s with other structures following throughout the latter years.  One of the most notable buildings was built by Fasilidas’s grandson - the Church of Debra Berhan Selassie.  Though rather plain-looking from the outside, the interior is rich with religious paintings.  Ironically enough, a large portion of the site was constructed in a frenzy of building activity during the reign of the last emperor of this Ethiopian kingdom.

    The site of Fasil Ghebbi is important in that it relates to a very critical stage of the country’s political development.  This was the point at which Ethiopia changed from its nomadic governing roots to the structure of a more modern political system.  It is a testament to the monumental building of the many emperors throughout these 200-plus years.