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The Fasil
Ghebbi (Amharic: ፋሲል
ግቢ)
is
a fortress located
in Gondar, Amhara
Region, Ethiopia.
It
was
founded
in
the
17th
century
by Emperor
Fasilides and
was
the
home
of Ethiopian
emperors.
Its
unique
architecture
shows
diverse
influences
including
Hindu,
Arab,
and Baroque characteristics. Because
of
its
historical
importance
and
architecture,
the
fortress
was
inscribed
as
a UNESCO World
Heritage
Site in
1979.Ghebbi is
an Amharic word
for
a
compound
or
enclosure.
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Fasil
Ghebbi,
Gondar
Region
Description
Maps
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Fasil
Ghebbi,
Gondar
Region
In
the
16th
and
17th
centuries,
the
fortress-city
of
Fasil
Ghebbi
was
the
residence
of
the
Ethiopian
emperor
Fasilides
and
his
successors.
Surrounded
by
a
900-m-long
wall,
the
city
contains
palaces,
churches,
monasteries
and
unique
public
and
private
buildings
marked
by
Hindu
and
Arab
influences,
subsequently
transformed
by
the
Baroque
style
brought
to
Gondar
by
the
Jesuit
missionaries.
Description
is
available
under
license CC-BY-SA
IGO
3.0
English
French
Arabic
Chinese
Russian
Spanish
Japanese
Dutch

Fasil
Ghebbi,
Gondar
Region
(Ethiopia)
©
UNESCO

Outstanding
Universal
Value
Brief
Synthesis
Fasil
Ghebbi
is
located
in
the
Amhara
National
Regional
State,
in
North
Gondar
Administrative
Zone
of
the
Federal
Democratic
Republic
of
Ethiopia.
The
serial
property
consists
of
eight
components.
Within
the
Fasil
Ghebbi
palace
compound
are:
the
Castle
of
Emperor
Fasilidas,
the
Castle
of
Emperor
Iyasu,
the
Library
of
Tzadich
Yohannes;
the
Chancellery
of
Tzadich
Yohannes;
the
Castle
of
Emperor
David,
the
Palace
of
Mentuab
and Banqueting
Hall
of
the
Emperor
Bekaffa.
The
remaining
seven
components
are
located
in
and
around
the
city
of
Gondar:
the
Debre
Berhan
Selassie
(Monastery
and
church);
the
Bath
of
Fasilidas;
Kiddush
Yohannes;
Qusquam
(Monastery
and
Church);
Thermal
Area;
the
Sosinios
(also
known
as
Maryam
Ghemb);
the
Gorgora
(Monastery
and
Church)
and
the
Palace
of
Guzara.
Between
the
thirteenth
and
seventeenth
centuries,
Ethiopian
rulers
moved
their
royal
camps
frequently.
King
Fasil
(Fasilidas)
settled
in
Gondar
and
established
it
as
a
permanent
capital
in
1636.
Before
its
decline
in
the
late
eighteenth
century,
the
royal
court
had
developed
from
a
camp
into
a
fortified
compound
called
Fasil
Ghebbi,
consisting
of
six
major
building
complexes
and
other
ancillary
buildings,
surrounded
by
a
wall
900
metres
long,
with
twelve
entrances
and
three
bridges.
The
fortress
city
functioned
as
the
centre
of
the
Ethiopian
government
until
1864.
It
has
some
twenty
palaces,
royal
buildings,
highly
decorated
churches,
monasteries
and
unique
public
and
private
buildings,
transformed
by
the
Baroque
style
brought
to
Gondar
by
the
Jesuit
missionaries.
The
main
castle
has
huge
towers
and
looming
battlemented
walls,
resembling
a
piece
of
medieval
Europe
transposed
to
Ethiopia.
Beyond
the
confines
of
the
city
to
the
north-west
by
the
Qaha
River,
there
is
a
two-storey
pavilion
of
a
bathing
palace
associated
to
Emperor
Fasilidas.
The
building
is
a
two-storey
battlemented
structure
situated
within
and
on
one
side
of
a
rectangular
pool
of
water
which
was
supplied
by
a
canal
from
the
nearby
river.
The
bathing
pavilion
itself
stands
on
pier
arches,
and
contains
several
rooms
reached
by
a
stone
bridge,
part
of
which
could
be
raised
for
defence.
Subsequent
rulers,
such
as
Iyasu
the
Great,
continued
building,
improving
the
techniques
and
architectural
style
and
expanded
to
the
hills
north-west
of
the
city
centre,
in
the
area
known
as
Qusquam.
Fasil
Ghebbi
and
the
other
remains
in
Gondar
city
demonstrate
a
remarkable
interface
between
internal
and
external
cultures,
with
cultural
elements
related
to Ethiopian Orthodox
Church,Ethiopian
Jews
and
Muslims.
This
relationship
is
expressed
not
only
through
the
architecture
of
the
sites
but
also
through
the
handicrafts,
painting,
literature
and
music
that
flourished
in
the
seventeenth
and
eighteenth
centuries.
After
its
decline
in
the
19th
century,
the
city
of
Gondar
continued
to
