Axum
The Northern oldest urban settlement, located at an altitude of 2100 meters with an estimated population of about fifty one thousand people, was once marked by greatest civilization of ancient world that goes back to the time of the Greco-Roman empire and the Mediterranean regions.
The Aksumite Empire was flourished in about the first half of the first CAD and was one of the ever so powerful states in ancient world, lasted for more than one thousand years as a social, political, economical and religious center. Its trade routes were extended as far beyond the red coast up to China, Persia, Greek, Turkey, Rome and India through its entire port known as ADOLIS.
Aksum reached to its zenith in between the third and seventh CAD and began to decline in the beginning of the eighth Century, then finally went in to crack dawn in about the tenth Century due to internal and external problems.
Aksum is still recalled by its age old relics and precious antiquates, like: - royal cemeteries marked by giant and small steals curved out of a single block of stones; underground burial tombs; stone inscriptions; coinages from gold, silver and bronze; others like, the bath and ruin palace of queen of Sheba; St. Mary of Zion Church where the original Ark of the Covenant believe to have rested are some of the very few place of interests in Aksum and the surroundings.