Ethiopia: Gondar – Fasil Ghebbi Fortress
Gondar is often referred to as the Camelot of Africa and was the first capital of what later became Ethiopia. Built by the Emperor Fasilades in 1632, the town was at the crossroads of major trading routes and vast deposits of gold in the nearby mountains. The riches led to the construction of multiple palaces all surrounded by tall walls and thus forming the Royal Enclosure (there are three palaces, two churches, steam baths, library and archives, two schools and more). Walking around here, you feel like you are in the middle of Europe and not in the heart of Africa. At its height, Gondar was one of the main civilization centers of Africa, but fell to clan wars and an invasion of Sudanese dervishes.
