AXUM, the site of Ethiopias most ancient city. According to church legend, it also houses the original Ark of the Covenant - thus making St. Marys the holiest sanctuary in Ethiopia. Founded perhaps 500 years after the decline of Yeha.

The most impressive of the Axum stelae, this one belonged to King Ezana. It stands 23m (75 feet) high. I managed to get the whole thing in the frame, which was more difficult than it should have been.

These were monuments built for the tombs of the emperors of the Axumite empire before the 8th century AD.