TIGRAY REGION CULTURE

TIGRAY REGION CULTURE: The northernmost of Ethiopia's regions, Tigray is the cradle of Ethiopia's ancient culture & history

Tigray Region Culture

The northernmost of the country's nine ethnic regions Tigray Region Ethiopia is the cradle of Ethiopia, the name of the latter first being mentioned as an alternative name to the kingdom of Axum, the then the epicenter of power of the Red Sea and second only to the Roman and Persian empires, with which it had a very active trade of ivory and salt.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Most of our hundreds of pictures are favored in Google! Why? Because no other website has so many beautiful high resolution pictures, taken by ourselves. Our pictures not only show you the beauty of Ethiopia, but they also show that we go everywhere, photographing wildlife, plants, people and culture. They show our professionalism, our keen eye for detail and our passion for the culture and nature of Ethiopia. So why consider booking our our Ethiopia Culture & National Parks modules? Because we don't mislead you like many tour operators do. When the Blue Nile falls are dry.... we tell you. When fog clouds the lava lake of Erte Ale? We let you know. Just drop us a mail and we will check it out for you.

Our tours take you to ALL famous cultural places of Ethiopia, and on top of that, you get to see up to 12 large nature reserves accompanied by a conservation forester. There is nothing similar on the market.

As Ethiopia can be combined with other East African countries, we organize tours in modules. Destinations Overview: Historical Circuit; Danakil Depression; Eastern Route; Simien Mountains; Bale Mountains; Southern Parks Safari; Gambella; Addis Ababa. BUT WAIT: if you buy your international ticket with Ethiopia Airlines, they will sell the internal flights at a price that you can't even ride the bus for. But you MUST plan it all in one package and making changes may be very costly. So let us help you plan your entire trip and book your local flights for an incredibly low price after you booked your international flight with Ethiopian Airlines!

The first known kingdom to arise in what is now Tigray, was "D`mt" about 800 BC - from which period the Yeha Temple remains -, later to be replaced by the Aksumite Empire, which lasted from at least 400 BC to the 900 AC. Spreading far beyond modern Eritrea and Tigray, the empire and left many historical monuments like majestic stelae, the ruins of many palaces whose archaeology still remains to be studied and the famous rock-hewn churches. The Tigray-Tigrinya have a rich heritage of music and dance, using drums and stringed instruments tuned to a pentatonic scale. Secular music are performed by traditional artisan castes, while religious music and iconic art is performed by the Ethiopian Orthodox cast.

The Tigray people are descendants of early Semitic-speaking peoples who date back at least 4000 years, making the region the oldest continuously inhabited place of Africa South of the Sahara. Ethiopian tradition has it, that the Ethiopian nobility, which originated from Tigray, trace their ancestry to king Menelik I, the, sun of the Queen Sheba and King Solomon, as do the priests of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Menelik I would become the first king of the Solomonic line of rulers which only ended with the ousting of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 by the brutal communist Derg Regime, distroying much of Tigray's culture & history. The latter remained in power until a an uprising against the totalitarian regime started in Aksum starting a seventeen years of war which ended with of the Derg by a federal system for Ethiopia and while Eritrea became independent in 1993 by the help of Tigray people.

Through its Red Sea ports of Massawa and Asseb, the Axum empire became the region through which trading caravans reached all the way out to Persia and beyond trading salt and ivory. The present day camel caravans in the Danakil Depression are the last but fast disappearing reminder of this rich trade, while the castles at Gondar remind us of the traditional ties with India. Due to war and threat from Muslims who had conquered Somalia and Yemen, the new capital was built in Gondar further away from the Muslim armies. After it lost the coast to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, Tigray lost both wealth and status. Yohannes IV (1872–89) moved the seat of governance back to Tigray, settling in Mekele, but after him, the seat of power was permanently moved to Addis Ababa.

The Battle of Adwa - a insignificant village in North Tigray - in 1896 between the Ethiopia and Italy near the town of Adwa, secured Ethiopian sovereignty, thus making Ethiopia the only African country to never have been colonized - not counting a brief occupation during the Second World War - while its legal government led by Emperor Haile Selassie was in exile in London.

The present day capital of Tigray is Mekele, a fast growing city in the North-east. In their majority being rural, the people of the Tigray Region are 95.6% Ethiopian Orthodox, 4% Muslim, and the remaining .4 are mostly Catholic and Protestant. The rural houses are built mostly from rock, dirt, and a few timber poles and blend in with the rocky landscape.

Left above: Mekelle airport.

Above: A fast growing city at about 2100 m above sea level, Mekele in an important hub for exploring Axum, the rock hewn churches and the Danakil Depression.

Left: Royal palace.

Mekele can be reached with daily flights from Addis Ababa, while further connecting tourism destinations like Axum and Gondar.

Rock Hewn Churches of Tigray

While the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are the most dramatic buildings, the cliff churches of Tigray show the most dramatic landscapes and the longest Christian tradition. Unknown to the world outside, these churches were first described by the British explorer Ivy Pearce as ‘the greatest of the historical-cultural heritages of the Ethiopian people’.

The churches are usually semi-monolithic (only partially separated from the congregation rock) or hewn out of caves. There are more than 200 of such cliff churches between Gheralta and Adwa, many of them relatively easily accessible, but some can only be reached by climbing up difficult terrain or even up cliffs.

Entrance of a rock-hewn church in Gheralte, Ethiopia

Interior of a cliff church in Gheralte, Tigray

The tower of the Yeha Temple of the Moon.

Basket shop in Axum, Tigray

Axum

The city of Axum is home to the world famous Stelae Field, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Tsion Maryam Church, the "Vatican of the Ethiopean Church and a great number of unexplored or poorly explored ruins of palaces and other archaeological buildings, many resting under modern day buildings and infrastructure.

Axum, Stellae field, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Emperor Kaleb's palace at Axum, Tigray.

Tsion Maryam Cathedral in Axum is the holiest church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, comparable to the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church.

Mai Shum, reservoir, locally referred to as Queen Sheba's swimmingpool. 

Landscape and roads of Tigray

While the roughed  landscape of Tigray has kept it relatively safe over the millennia, it also isolated the region from the rest of the world, impairing its development and progress. Throughout the country, the Government of Ethiopia has been building brand new roads based on international standards, interconnecting city after city; Tigray not being an exception. Now all tourism destinations can be reaches over decent roads.

Dramatic canyon landscape in Tigray.

Brand new hairpin roads connect more and more cities in Ethiopia.

Terraced agriculture in the mountainous highlands of Tigray have conserved the soil for thousands of years.

Torch lilies decorate the rough Tigray landscape with its countless cliffs, home of hundreds of cliff churches.

Traditional architecture in Tigray

Unlike elsewhere in Ethiopia, traditional rural houses and farms are mostly square stone houses behind stone enclosures, showing a long standing relationship with other regions of the world, where houses were built out of stone.

An essential part of Tigray's culture & history are the stone farmhouses with enclosure and earth covered roof to keep the heat out.

Frankincense and Myrrh

With about 10 different species of Frankincense and Myrrh trees, Ethiopia is the home of biblical Myrrh and clerical incense for the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Left above: Wild frankincense forests like the one above are heavily threatened, because they are mismanaged, overgrazed and incessantly burnt. These forest no longer rejuvenate. 

Above: The flower of an incense tree.

Left: incense resin.

According to the Ethiopian Coptic Church, the biblical wise men came from Ethiopia, bringing frankincense, myrrh and gold, greatly valued products from Ethiopia. Frankincense comes from trees of the genus Boswellia, while myrrh comes from the Commiphora myrrha tree, both native to Ethiopia. 

Incense resin.

Myrrh resin from Ethiopia

Tigray culture & history

Ethiopia modernizes and changes more rapidly than any other country in Africa. Many features may not be there anymore in the near future. If you want to see it the way it was for thousands of years, see it now before it has changed forever! Compose your own once-in-a-lifetime Ethiopia-Africa-Adventure from our affordable modules:

Famous Ethiopia Historical Circuit

Simien Mountains trek or car visit

Danakil Depression and Erte Ale Volcano Expedition

Awash Babile Harar Safari Tour

Ethiopia Central and Southern Parks & Tribes Safari Tour

Bale Mountains National Park and Sof Omar Caves Tour

Gambella National Park Safari

Addis Ababa City Tour & Airport Transfer

All Ethiopia modules and prices together

We designed our itineraries in such a way that you can compose a 1 to 4 weeks journey from different modules that can show you the entire country or just the parts that interest you, all depending on your personal preferences, available time and budget. Email us on your interests and we can discuss a custom program with you by phone (we have phone lines from the USA and Europe) or skype. So, weather you have a great ethnic affinity, are a birdwatcher or want to go on safari, contact us and we work out a customized program that focuses on YOUR interests.

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport is home of Ethiopian Airlines, featuring Africa's youngest fleet of the latest intercontinental jet airplanes - including 2 Dreamliners - as well as short-distance Bombardier turboprops for affordable and reliable in-country flights servicing all major cities of Ethiopia. The best airline of Africa, will fly you non-stop from the USA and Europe to Addis Ababa. Take our 1-week Ethiopia Cultural Monuments Tour and then continue for your Kenya or Tanzania safari - or any other East African capital - thus completing your journey. IF YOU BUY YOUR INTERNATIONAL TICKET FROM ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, YOU WILL GET MOST INTERNAL FLIGHTS FOR $40 - $70 PER LEG! BUT CHANGING AFTERWARDS IS EXPENSIVE, SO WORK OUT A SCHEDULE WITH US TO GET A FABULOUS DEAL FOR FLYING THROUGH THE COUNTRY IN STEAD OF SPENDING ENDLESS TIME ON THE ROAD!!!