axum
The town of Axum, in the far north of Ethiopia, is fabled as being the home of the Queen of Sheba. It offers many interesting archaeological sites as well as being an important religious site and, supposedly, the home of the Ark of the Covenant. This ancient royal capital of the earliest Ethiopian Kingdom is also renowned for its multi-storeyed ancient carved granite obelisks and ancient remains.
Axum has a population of over 65,000 residents and is located in the Maekelay Zone of the Tigray Region. Surrounded by views of the Adwa Mountains, Axum is the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire. The ancient Aksumite monuments draw thousands of tourists to the city per year and UNESCO declared them a World Heritage Site in 1980 due to their historical significance. The city is surrounded by the La’ilay Maychew district and enjoys a subtropical highland climate with an average annual temperature of 18°C.
