'''Aksum''' (also called Axum) is a city in Ethiopia. The ancient capital, located on the northern border of Ethiopia, is famous for its stelae and the ruins of various palaces.
Get in
Either by plane (Ethiopian) or by bus.
'''Buses'''
Buses from Addis Ababa take a minimum of three days to make the journey via Dessie and Mekele. It is a very taxing bus ride over rough roads.
From Gondar, take the dawn bus to Shire and change there for Aksum -- you can usually get through in a day. To travel to Gondar, you must take an afternoon bus to Shire, spend the night there, and catch the dawn bus to Gondar. The road between Shire and Gondar is one of the most spectacular in Ethiopia.
From Debark and the Simien Mountains, there is only one bus heading north to Shire. That is the Gondar bus, and it is often full when it passes through Debark. You can either take your chances (it isn't always full!), or hire someone from Debark for about 150 birr to go into Gondar the day before and ride the Shire bus to Debark for you, guarenteeing you a seat. (Note that you must make arrangements the morning prior to the day you want to leave. If you are going trekking, you can make arrangements before you leave for your trek.) There are many buses travelling between Shire and Aksum. To travel to Debark, go to Shire in the afternoon, spend the night there, catch the Gondar bus the next morning, and get off at Debark. You will probably have to pay the full fare to Gondar (about 50 birr).
Get around
Easily on foot, everything is very close. For the lioness of gonedra and the judith stelae field, instead of hiring one of the ultra-expensive tourist minibuses, you can catch a minibus going in direction Shire (there are many early in the morning) and ask them to drop you at the lioness of gonedra turnoff and catch another one back. The lioness is not easy to find on your own but a group of children will soon appear who will guide you, and they should be compensated appropriately.
See
'''Church of St. Mary of Zion'''. Ethiopian legend has it that the Church is the repository of the Ark of the Covenant (the subject of the controversial The Sign and the Seal), which is said to have been stolen (with God's will) from the temple of Jerusalem by Menelik I, Solomon?s own son by the legendary Queen of Sheba. Unfortunately, for visitors, the chapel in which the Ark is secreted away is not accessible to anyone, including, even the Ethiopian emperors. Pilgrims flock here on Hidar 21 (November 30). The high entrance fee is deterring, but sometimes the guards let you have a look from the outside without having to pay. There are two churches in the compound: the old church, which was built by Emperor Fasiladas in 1665, and a new church built in the 1960s by Haile Selassie.
'''Northern Stelae Field''' including the Ezana Stele and the Giant Stele. There are numerous monolithic stelae fashioned out solid granite. Their mystery lies in that it is not known exactly by whom, and for what purpose, they were so fashioned, although they were likely associate with burials of great emperors. The biggest monolith (and the largest in the world), measuring over thirty-three meters (108 feet) and weighing about 500 tons, fell somewhere around the 4th Century AD and now lies in broken fragments on the ground. The second largest, which measures 24 meters (78 feet) high, is still standing at the entrance to the field, although it is leaning at a slight angle. Another stele, 24.8 meters (80 feet) high, fell while the tombs were being pillaged around the 10th Century AD. It was stolen by the invading forces of Fascist Italy and taken to Rome, where it stood, from 1937 to 2005. It has been returned to Ethiopia and will eventually be stood up again. The mausoleum and the tomb of the brick walls are not open to the public anymore. The tomb of the false door is very impressive with its accurate workmanship.
'''Palace of the Queen of Sheba''': only the foundations of this palace near the Judith stelae field remain. Although every calls it the Palace of the Queen of Sheba, it actually dates from the 7th Century AD, about 1500 years after the time of the Queen of Sheba.
'''Lioness of gonedra''', a stone carving of a lion, a few kms out of town in direction Shire. It is close to the quarry where the stelae were made. Ask a local boy to show you where.
The '''tombs of the kings Kaleb and Gebre Meskel''', a 20-minute walk along the road heading northeast from the northern stelae field. Impressive foundations and tombs. Take a torch along.
'''Ezanas Scriptures''' (on the way from the northern stelae field to the tombs of the kings Kaleb and Gebre Meskel), usually closed, wait for the keybearer.
'''Judith Stelae field''' (out of town in direction Shire), of inferior quality in comparison to the northern stelae field
'''Ezana park''', where there is another multilingual script table of king Ezana.
'''Archaelogical museum''' a collection of stone artefacts giving you an idea how advanced the culture was.
A ticket from the tourist commission, located off the roundabout 400 m south of the Northern Stelae Field, covers admission to all sights except the Church of St. Mary of Zion.
Do
Buy
Drink
Sleep
'''Kaleb Hotel''', from Birr 40 (single), the rooms are fine but the place is fairly noisy as there are discotheques nearby. The food is not worth mentioning.
'''Africa Hotel''', from Birr 70, one of the more popular hotels in town for travellers with a bearable although not really desirable restaurant, a small bar, and a friendly helpful owner/manager. Rooms are doubles or singles with individual bathrooms with showers. Nice courtyard with fruit trees. Free airport transfers.
'''Yeha Hotel''', government owned hotel overlooking the Northern Stele field. Good restaurant with mediocre service
Contact
Get out
By minibus to Shire (15 Birr), Adwa (around 8 Birr).
By minibus (and be prepared for a bumpy ride) to Yeha. Here you will see a temple from a pre-Christian and pre-Aksumite civilization. There is also a church next door, and a small dark room where you can see typical Ethiopian church relics--ancient texts, crosses, portraits, and so on. Outside, you can see boys reciting passages in Ge'ez, the ancient scriptural language of Ethiopia, as part of their church education. The town of Yeha is hardly recognizable as a town. Cheap souvenirs and strange treasures are available for sale from the children outside the temple/church complex, but nothing else is available. Look up at the unusual mountains for a glimpse at a certain lion of Ethiopia.