As you know, I am currently living in Kenya, and I visited Ethiopia not too long ago. Actually, I have travelled there a few times since moving to Kenya.
And I went back again recently!
It’s been a great experience because I love seeing new places and the culture of Ethiopia is unique and beautiful. It’s definitely a place that I would like to learn more about and to explore.
It’s one of only 2 countries in Africa that were never colonized.
Can you imagine that?? Only 2 countries on the entire continent have never been colonized…that’s quite a sad sentence and a sad reality to think about.
On the other hand, it is probably one of the reasons why Ethiopia is so unique. So I guess that’s a silver lining of somewhat.
But let’s focus on the positive for now.
I didn’t really have time to tour around much this trip, but I was able to revisit Gondar. It’s kind of like a place out of a story book. It is an old fortified city of palaces and castles.
When I was there, I felt like I was sent back in time because of the architecture.
I would love to learn more about the history of this city. You can just feel the depth of the past experiences here.
Gondar was the capital of Ethiopia from 1632 to 1855.
It used to be a vibrant center for the arts. There was a royal court in the center of the city where there were workshops and painters as well as monks producing manuscripts. This allowed art to flourish.
Many people don’t realize this about Africa – there were these amazing cities that were effervescent. People were writing, people were creating things, people were innovating in law and trade.
Gondar was a great example of one of these cities.
So I can imagine there are so many rich things to learn about Gondar, the region, and its history. I will continue to explore the details when I have more time here, and I think I will do some research of my own.
Ethiopia is a place that has really inspired me, and I will share more with you as it comes to me.
For now, check out some more pictures from this trip. Nothing incredible, but always fun to take some shots on the ground:
Check out this video slideshow of my pictures from this trip with some beautiful Ethiopian music from Tigist Fantahun laced in. This is one of my favorite songs ever, and it often brings tears to my eyes:
