Axum

Traders of the Aksumite Kingdom flourished for several hundred years since before the time of Christ. Axum or Aksum is located in northern Ethiopia's harsh arid Tigrai region, near the Adwa Mountains. Local legend claims that the Queen of Sheba lived in the city.

The major Aksumite monuments are found at the Stelae Park, huge stone pillars, carved with designs and believed to mark graves. The biggest is the 33-metre Great Stele lying in pieces, probably breaking as it was out up. The tallest standing is King Ezana's Stele at 24-metre.

4th century Cathedral of Tsion Maryam makes Axum the most important city of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, an important pilgrimage destination. Our Lady Mary of Zion, from 1665, is said to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant, once removed from King Solomon's safekeeping. Ethiopian emperors were crowned here for many centuries.

Axum's 7th century decline was probably due loss of trade to Arab traders who cut off Alexandria, Byzantium and Southern Europe. The ensuing southerly migration of its population laid the foundations for modern Ethiopia.