• You are here:  
  • Home
  • ATTRACTIONS
  • Addis Ababa & Surrounding

Melka Kunture

lie near the Awash River gorge 50 km an hour drive south of the capital and is a prehistoric site one of the most important Neolithic & Paleolithic site in the upper Awash Valley, Ethiopia, across the Awash River from the village of Melka Awash, waterfalls lie downstream of the bridge across the Awash here, various implementation where many stone tools and fossils, dating back 1.8 million years, have been found. Examples are displayed in four tukuls (huts), including tools used by the Homo erectus who once inhabited the area, and there’s also an open excavation site down a sometimes muddy path. It’s modest but interesting

Rock church of Adadi Mariam

The rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam lies at an altitude of 1900 meters above sea level located 55 kilometers to the south of Addis Ababa on the main road of Butajera after passing of Melka Kunture pre-historic archaeological site, and before reaching the world Heritage Site of Tiya on 12 kilometers from the main road to south west. The road altogether is 67 kilometer and, the 12 kilometer is not asphalted but properly done. Before reaching the church, there is a small bridge on the Adadi Mariam River and there is market place near to the river. Then, Adadi Mariam rock-hewn church is found on the south west of the market not more than 100 meters the  Adadi Mariam rock church, contemporaneous with those of Lalibela. In fact local tradition ascribes it to King Lalibela who is said to have had it built on his visit to Mount Zuqwala in 1106. Damaged during the wars with Ahmed Gragn in the 16th century, it fell into disuse and was only reopened in the time of Menelik II. It is today in regular use.

 

Tiya megalithic stelae field UNESCO world heritage site

Tiya is located in the Soddo Region of Ethiopia. It is best known for its archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site remarkable for its large stone pillars, many of which bear some form of decoration of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," mark a large, prehistoric burial complex Tiya is among the most important of the roughly 160 archaeological sites discovered so far in the region, The site contains 36 monuments, including 32 carved stelae covered with symbols, most of which are difficult to decipher. They are the remains of an ancient Ethiopian culture whose age has not yet been precisely determined, but believed to have been erected between the 12th and 14th centuries and are almost certainly grave markers. Recent excavations at Tiya have revealed the remains of young people of both sexes, aged between 18 -30 and buried in fetal positions. Tiya archeological site was classified as a World Heritage Site in 1980.

Debre Libanos monastery, Portuguese Bridge & Blue Nile Gorge

A Drive 110 kms north from Addis over the Entoto Mountains passing through the Sululta Plains take you to the Monastery of Debre Libanos monastery founded in the 13th century by Abune Tekle Haymanot, located at an ideal location looking overlooking Jema River Gorge, a tributary of the Blue Nile, the monastery owns ecclesiastical, cultural and historical relics, and boasts a rare grove of trees that have disappeared from elsewhere in the region. Walk to the 16th century Bridge still in use today and said to have been built by Portuguese, Proceed to Blue Nile Gorge which is over a mile wide and deeper than the Grand Canyon of the United States of America. View the old and new bridges built on the river.

More Articles ...

  1. Menagesha Suba Forest
  2. Wonchi Crater Lake
  3. Debre Berhan & Ankober
  4. Mount Zuqualla Monastery & Debre Zeit creator lakes
Follow via Facebook Follow via Twitter Follow via Google