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Fasil Ghebbi

Fasil Ghebbi is a group of old castles in Ethiopia, inside a long wall. Emperors once lived here!

Fasil Ghebbi is a walled royal city in Gondar, Ethiopia, north of Lake Tana. In the 1600s Emperor Fasilides made Gondar his capital, and he and later rulers built castles, palaces, a library and other buildings inside a wall 900 meters long. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

Fasil Ghebbi, the fortified royal compound of Gondar in northern Ethiopia, grew from the court of Emperor Fasilides, who settled the capital at Gondar in the 1630s, after Ethiopian rulers had moved their royal camps for centuries. Enclosed by a 900-meter wall with twelve entrances, its castles and palaces show the mixed 'Gondar style'. It was the center of Ethiopian government until 1864 and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979.

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Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Discover Fasil Ghebbi

Fasil Ghebbi is in Ethiopia, a country in eastern Africa.

It is a group of castles and palaces with a long wall all around them.

Fasil Ghebbi stands in the city of Gondar, in the highlands north of Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It sits about 2,200 meters above sea level.

A wall 900 meters long, with twelve entrances, runs all the way around it. Inside are castles, palaces, a library, a chancellery and other royal buildings.

UNESCO describes Fasil Ghebbi as a fortress-city in Gondar, in Ethiopia's Amhara Region. ICOMOS, UNESCO's advisor, gave its altitude in 1979 as 2,207 meters, on the high plateau north of Lake Tana.

The compound has six major building complexes and other buildings, surrounded by a wall 900 meters long with twelve entrances and three bridges. Within it stand the castles of the emperors Fasilidas, Iyasu and David, the library and chancellery of Tzadich Yohannes, the Palace of Mentuab and a banqueting hall.

Where: Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Wall: 900 m long, 12 entrances
Height above sea level: 2,207 m
World Heritage Site: 1979

Photo of Fasil Ghebbi — Photo: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From moving camps to a royal city

Long ago, Ethiopia's rulers moved from place to place with their camps.

Then Emperor Fasilides chose Gondar as his home and capital.

For hundreds of years, Ethiopia's rulers did not stay in one place: they moved their royal camps often. In the 1630s, Emperor Fasilides settled in Gondar and made it his permanent capital.

The royal court grew from a camp into a walled compound. Gondar stayed the center of Ethiopia's government until 1864.

UNESCO explains that between the 13th and 17th centuries Ethiopian rulers moved their royal camps frequently, until King Fasil (Fasilides) settled in Gondar and made it a permanent capital, in 1636 by UNESCO's date (ICOMOS gave 1632). ICOMOS adds that building had begun under his father, King Socinios (1607-1632).

Before its decline in the late 18th century, the court had grown from a camp into the fortified compound of Fasil Ghebbi, which remained the center of Ethiopian government until 1864. ICOMOS estimated Gondar's population at 100,000 in the 18th century, which it said made it Africa's most populous city after Cairo.

The Gondar style

The castles have tall towers and notched walls on top.

Builders mixed ideas from many places to make them.

The main castle has big towers and tall walls with notches along the top. UNESCO says it looks like a piece of medieval Europe placed in Ethiopia.

Builders mixed many ideas. ICOMOS describes balconies and porches in a classical style and towers with domes influenced by Muslim art. Together these make the 'Gondar style'.

UNESCO writes that the main castle has huge towers and looming battlemented walls, resembling a piece of medieval Europe transposed to Ethiopia, and that the buildings were transformed by the Baroque style the Jesuit missionaries brought to Gondar.

ICOMOS called the buildings of Fasilides's time eclectic: classical balconies and loggias beside domed towers influenced by Muslim art. It noted that the building technique was said to have been learned from masons who came from Goa. Under criterion (ii), UNESCO says this 'Gondarian' style shaped Ethiopian architecture for over 200 years.

Castles, a library and a bathing palace

Later rulers kept building more castles and palaces.

Outside the wall there is even a bathing palace that stands in a pool of water!

Later rulers, such as Iyasu the Great, kept building and improved the techniques and style. The compound holds a library, a chancellery, a banqueting hall and several castles.

Outside the walls, by the Qaha River, is the Bath of Fasilidas: a two-story pavilion standing in a rectangular pool. Water came to the pool through a canal from the river.

The World Heritage property has eight components: the palace compound and sites in and around Gondar, among them the Bath of Fasilidas, Kiddush Yohannes and Qusquam. Rulers after Fasilides, such as Iyasu the Great, kept building and expanded to the hills northwest of the city.

The Bath of Fasilidas, by the Qaha River, is a two-story battlemented pavilion standing on pier arches within a rectangular pool filled by a canal from the river. Its rooms are reached by a stone bridge, part of which could be raised for defense. Handicrafts, painting, literature and music also flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Founder: Emperor Fasilides
Seat of government until: 1864
Parts of the World Heritage Site: 8

Old walls under a blue sky

In this photo, we look up at old stone walls with big arched windows.

The sky shows through the windows, and a square tower rises above.

This photo was taken on 27 April 2013 inside the Royal Enclosure. Looking up, you see rough stone walls with arched window openings, a square tower with notches on top, and blue sky shining through.

Cement repairs in the 1930s damaged some of the old buildings. Since the 1970s much of that cement has been replaced with lime mortar, and today's work uses the original techniques and materials.

The photograph (27 April 2013, by Adam Jones) looks up at ruined walls in the Royal Enclosure: rough stone masonry pierced by arched openings, crenellated wall tops, a square battlemented tower and a tree seen through an arch at the lower right.

UNESCO reports that repairs made between 1930 and 1936 with cement and reinforced concrete damaged the original materials; UNESCO restoration work in the 1970s replaced them with lime mortar of the original mix, and major conservation programs have followed since 1990.

Amazing facts

Ethiopia's rulers used to move their camps again and again, before Gondar became their home!

Between the 13th and 17th centuries, Ethiopian rulers moved their royal camps often, until Fasilides settled in Gondar.

Between the 13th and 17th centuries Ethiopian rulers moved their royal camps frequently; Fasil Ghebbi grew from such a camp into a fortified compound.
A palace near Gondar stands in a pool of water!

The Bath of Fasilidas is a two-story pavilion standing in a rectangular pool, filled by a canal from a river.

The Bath of Fasilidas stands on pier arches in a rectangular pool; part of its stone bridge could be raised for defense.
Long ago, Gondar was one of the biggest cities in Africa!

ICOMOS estimated that Gondar had about 100,000 people in the 18th century.

ICOMOS put Gondar's 18th-century population at about 100,000, making it, in ICOMOS's words, the continent's most populous city after Cairo.

Words to know

emperor: a ruler of an empire, a group of many lands
capital: the city where a country's government is based
enclosure: an area with a wall or fence all around it
battlements: a wall along the top of a castle with gaps, so it looks notched
mortar: a paste that hardens and holds stones or bricks together
World Heritage Site: a place UNESCO lists as important for all people

Discovery challenge

Which emperor made Gondar his capital?

Which emperor settled in Gondar and made it his permanent capital in the 1630s?

Which emperor, also called King Fasil, turned Gondar from a royal camp into a permanent capital?
- Fasilides
- Charlemagne
- Napoleon
Show the answer

Fasilides

Emperor Fasilides!

Fasilides.

Fasilides, also called King Fasil.
In which country is Fasil Ghebbi?

Fasil Ghebbi is in the city of Gondar, in which country?

In which country is the Amhara Region, home of Fasil Ghebbi?
- Ethiopia
- Morocco
- Peru
Show the answer

Ethiopia

Ethiopia!

Ethiopia.

Ethiopia.
How long is the wall around Fasil Ghebbi?

How long is the wall that surrounds Fasil Ghebbi?

What length does UNESCO give for the wall around the compound?
- 900 meters
- 9 meters
- 90 kilometers
Show the answer

900 meters

900 meters!

900 meters, with twelve entrances.

900 meters, with twelve entrances and three bridges.
What does the Bath of Fasilidas stand in?

The Bath of Fasilidas is a pavilion standing in what?

The Bath of Fasilidas stands on pier arches within what?
- A pool of water
- A desert
- A cave
Show the answer

A pool of water

A pool of water!

A rectangular pool filled by a canal from the river.

A rectangular pool supplied by a canal from the Qaha River.
Until which year was Gondar the home of Ethiopia's government?

Until which year was the fortress city the center of Ethiopian government?

Until which year, according to UNESCO, did Fasil Ghebbi function as the center of the Ethiopian government?
- 1864
- 1564
- 1964
Show the answer

1864

1864!

1864.

1864.