Gondar is the third permanent capital of the Ethiopian Empire (the first was Aksum, the second was Lalibela, after which there was a period in which the capitals changed very often). Finally, Emperor Fasilides, who reigned from 1632 to 1667, moved the capital to the high-lying Gondar and built the first palace there, still named after him today. Subsequent rulers had no less ambitions, each of them added their own palace next to it, of which there are four in the complex of Fasil Ghebbi. In addition, there is a library, a steam sauna and cages of Ethiopian lions, animals that were the symbol of emperors.

The complex clearly resembles the style of medieval European castles or Moghul architecture, although our guide swore that it was built only by Ethiopians. It looks great from the outside, but inside it is much worse - there is nothing left but bare walls, the walls are covered with bird droppings. Additionally, some of the roofs were destroyed by British bombing during World War II (Italian soldiers were stationed in the complex). Nevertheless, the complex looks magnificent, having no equivalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Fasil Ghebbi was included on the WH List along with some other buildings from this period. And those buildings are not to be missed.

Some of them are located outside Gondar and we had no time for them. But we visited the wonderful Gemja Ber Marjam (or Debre Birhan Selassje) church, with unique paintings on the walls and ceiling. The ceiling paintings of angels in particular have no equivalent anywhere else in Ethiopia. The church almost miraculously did not suffer any damage during the Mahdi Uprising, when the Sudanese destroyed almost all Christian churches in northwestern Ethiopia. Apparently he was protected by wild animals, sent by God himself.

We finished our tour of Gondar at the Baths of Fasilides, located a bit further away, but still within the city. The complex is extremely charming, and during Epiphany thousands of believers immerse themselves in the pool. Additionally, the positive impression is enhanced by the wall surrounding the pool, the coexistence of which with the surrounding trees is vividly reminiscent of Angkor.

All in all, very pleasant site. It is easily reached even during the state of emergency (January 2024) as there are frequent flights from Addis Ababa or Lalibela. We took the latter and the flight took about 30 minutes.