Tourist Trap


 * Tourist Trap of the Lost Ark and Other Stories
 * by Jonathan I. Edelstein
 * 2 December 2001

From the Chronicles of Benjamin of Tudela, SE 236-37 [1008-09 CE]:

... I had planned to return by sea to Suez, but in my absence Yemen had gone to war with Egypt, and the Yemeni fleet had blockaded the Bab al-Mandab. With the strait closed to all ships, I was forced to put in at Djibouti and proceed overland.

Djibouti is a port city on the Gulf of Tadjoura. It is home to forty thousand people and is subject to the king of Axum, or the Negus negusti as he is called. It is a new city, founded eighty years past by decree of the king, but more trade already passes through Djibouti than the old port of Adulis further up the coast. FN1

The people of Djibouti and the surrounding country are principally of two tribes, the Afars and the Issas. Because the Afars were the first to accept Christianity and exist in great numbers in the old kingdom of Axum, they are favored by the authorities; the high civil and military commanders are sent from the court at Gondar, but the petty officials are almost all Afars. Both the Afars and the Issas are great singers and tell their histories and great deeds in song. There are also a number of Yemeni and Najdite merchants living in the city; they are allowed to practice their respective faiths and to build houses of worship, but they are not suffered to preach among the people.

Other than trade, fishing is Djibouti's primary livelihood, and stalls throughout the markets sell grilled fish marinated in a spicy sauce. The people also eat lentils, flat bread and meat from the herds, and drink a barley beer called t'ella. The last of these is brought from other parts of the kingdom of Axum and is highly prized by the locals.

In the markets of Djibouti can be found Qat, a leaf that can be chewed to banish fatigue, become excited and sharpen the mind. Qat is grown in the mountains and is brought in great quantities to the port, carried under moistened cloths to preserve its freshness. There it is consumed locally as well as sold to the trading ships. I found that the Qat I was offered made me dizzy and sleepy, but I was told that this is common among people who are not used to the leaf. It should be noted that the Najdites, who eschew beer, are great consumers of Qat.

Salt is also sold cheaply and in great quantities in Djibouti market. This is brought from a nearby lake, Assal, which is located across the gulf of Tadjoura. This lake is far below the level of the sea and is surrounded by great banks of salt, which are mined and brought to Djibouti in boats...

... After five weeks in Djibouti, I was able to join a caravan of pilgrims going to the king's city of Gondar by way of Lalibela and Axum City. This is not a direct route, but it is the way taken by all the pilgrims, and it was useless to ask the caravan master to go by a shorter way. I was the only merchant in the caravan; all my companions were pilgrims carrying relics and signs of the cross...

... Four days from Djibouti on the caravan route is the great lake of Abiya. Few people live near this lake, but it is remarkable for the great vents of steam that issue from the ground for miles around. Here also great flocks of flamingoes can be seen in the morning...

... Lalibela is a place of pilgrimage named after an Axumite king of a hundred years past. In this place, he ordered that twelve churches be hewn from the living rock. Some say that ten thousand men labored for thirty years to carve them from the stone; others that the king built them, unaided, in the space of six days. FN2

The churches of Lalibela are connected to each other with tunnels and passages, and each is dedicated to one of the Disciples of Christ. Each of the churches is carved in a different style, and each contains carved icons of the saints and scenes from the life of Christ on its walls. The churches are also full of relics and treasures given by kings and pilgrims.

In Lalibela, at various times during the year, pageants are held to celebrate the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and various Axumite saints. It is said that the pageant at Easter is the greatest of all, with pilgrims traveling hundreds of miles to attend and the greatest poets of the kingdom competing to write new songs in their lord's honor. I did not have the privilege of witnessing this pageant, but I was present at a celebration honoring Axum's victory over the Mandaeans of Yemen three hundred years past. This ceremony was held in the public square, where monks dressed as soldiers re-enacted the battle while singing hymns in honor of Jesus...

... Until 120 years ago, the city of Axum was the royal seat of the Axumite kingdom. At that time, the city was besieged by the armies of the King of Egypt and fell after a mighty battle in which the Negus negusti was killed. FN3 That king died without issue, whereupon his cousin, the prince of Gondar, took the throne and drove the Egyptians from the land. Rather than reclaiming the royal seat, however, he chose to rule from his palace in Gondar, although the kingdom was still called Axum.

Axum is an ancient city, at least a millennium in age; the chronicles say that Axum is fully as old as al-Iskandariyah. More than a hundred stone obelisks stand in Axum as monuments to kings who lived before the birth of Jesus, and the tombs of ancient kings and noblemen surround the city. In this city, also, are the palaces of King Kaleb and the Queen of Sheba.

Although it is no longer the royal seat, Axum is subsidized by the court because of the monasteries, churches and relics therein. Chief among these is a great cathedral that is reputed to hold the Ark of the Covenant, and which is a mandatory stop on any pilgrim's tour of the city. For two dinars, pilgrims are conducted within to see a gilded and jeweled oratory covered with words in an ancient script. Whether it is truly the Ark, none can say, although the writing on its surface does not appear to be Hebrew....

... The city of Gondar stands on the high plains of Axum, in the foothills of the mountains. It is a great city, home to the Negus negusti and his court, and there are two hundred thousand souls within its walls. The present king is also constructing a fortified castle, which will contain wells and stores of food in addition to hidden places from which archers and engines of war can defend the city.

Like all cities of Axum, Gondar contains many markets and Coptic churches. It is also near a place of holiness called Lake Tana; there are thirty-seven islands on this lake, each containing a monastery. The greatest and oldest of the monasteries, Debre Maryam, was built some seven hundred years past, even before the kings of Axum accepted Christianity. Each of the monasteries is endowed with treasures and annual subsidies by the king and is visited by many pilgrims.

In Gondar, there is also a community of Jews. These have lived here from time immemorial and, like the kings themselves, claim descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. They call themselves the Beta Israel, and are called by others Falashas, or "strangers." There are ten thousand of them in Axum, and they are famous as potters; their black and red pottery is sold throughout the markets of Gondar.

The city of Gondar is the end of the pilgrims' caravan, and its master would take me no farther. I was a month in Gondar before I was able to find a caravan going north to al-Iskandariyah, whose familiar comforts I missed dearly...