Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia

🇪🇹 Gondar, also spelled Gonder (ጎንደር, Gonder or Gondär; formerly ጐንደር, Gʷandar or Gʷender), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb River and south-west of the Simien Mountains. Gondar previously served as the capital of both the Ethiopian Empire and the subsequent Begemder Province. The city holds the remains of several royal castles, including those in the Fasil Ghebbi UNESCO World Heritage Site for which Gondar has been called the "Camelot of Africa".

History Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilides around the year 1635, growing as an agricultural and market town. Tradition suggests that the capital's name should start with 'Gʷa', contributing to its growth and the development of Gorgora in the centuries after 1600. A superstition also led to the spelling of Gonder as Gʷandar. Emperor Fasilides, guided by a buffalo to a pool near the Angereb River, was told by an "old and venerable hermit" that this was the location for his capital. Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his castle on that same site, also constructing a total of seven churches. The subsequent five emperors followed suit, building their palaces in the town. The emperor also built a total of seven churches. The five emperors who followed him also built their palaces in the town.

Within the capital, Fasilides ordered the construction of the imposing edifice known as the Fasil Ghebbi or Fasilides Castle. In 1648, a Yemeni traveler, Hassan ibn Ahmad al-Haymi, described it as a magnificent structure made of stone and lime, deemed one of the most beautiful wonders. During Fasilides's reign until 1667, marked by campaigns against the Oromo and Shanqellas, he spent much of his time away from Gondar, returning to the metropolis only during the rainy seasons.

In 1668, as a result of a church council, the Emperor Yohannes I ruled that the inhabitants of Gondar were to be segregated by religion. This caused the Muslims and Jews to move into their own quarters within two years. These quarters came to be known as Addis Alem ("New World") and Kayla Mayda (plain of Kayla). By the reign of Iyasu the Great, the city's population is estimated to have exceeded 60,000. Many of the buildings from this period survive, despite the turmoil of the eighteenth century.

History: 18th century As Gondar expanded, successive emperors built new palaces, churches, and monuments. Empress Mentewab built her own palace near the vicinity of Fasilides' royal compound, and also constructed a church nearby her residence, adorned by beautiful paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Fires, such as the one in 1732 during the defeat of a rebel force loyal to Iyasu II, provided excuses for emperors to engage in construction. The city's growth, fueled by trade conducted in weekly markets south of the castle complex, also influenced demographics. Ecclesiastical suburbs emerged, including the Muslim Islambet or Islamge, the Jewish community of Falasha Bet involved in blacksmithing and pottery, and Echege Bet and Abuna Bet, both centres for the Ethiopian Church. Poetry and music became preeminent, as the city would become renowned for its secular songs, several Gondarine poets achieved nation wide reputation.

The Oromo influence in Gondar rapidly began to increase in the 18th century. The last Gondarine Emperor to exercise full control was Iyasu II, during his reign multiple revolts broke out and it became apparent that the country was on the eve of political change. He was succeeded by Iyoas I, who effectively became an Oromo puppet. The city was now guarded by 3,000 Oromo troops and had essentially been taken over by the Oromos. In the face of overwhelming opposition towards the Oromo newcomers, Iyoas was forced to appeal to the powerful warlord Mikael Sehul. Ras Mikael thus became master of Gondar, and later had Iyoas deposed and murdered. The Empire thus entered a period of supreme difficulty when its authority progressively declined during the Zemene Mesafint.

History: 19th century The town served as Ethiopia's capital until Tewodros II moved the capital to Debra Tabor in 1856, and Gondar becoming a "city of Priests"; Tewodros II plundered and burnt the city in 1864, then devastated it again in December, 1866. Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he invaded Ethiopia June 1887 and was ravaged by Sudanese invaders that set fire to almost every one of the city's churches.

History: 20th century After the military occupation of Ethiopia by the Kingdom of Italy in 1936, Gondar was further developed under Italian occupation, and the Comboni missionaries established in 1937 the Latin Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Gondar, which would be suppressed after the death of its only prefect in 1951.

During the Second World War, Mussolini's Italian forces made their last stand in Gondar in November 1941, after Addis Ababa fell to British forces six months before. The area of Gondar was one of the main centres of activity of Italian guerrilla against the British forces until summer 1943.

During the Ethiopian Civil War, the forces of the Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) gained control of large parts of Begemder, and around 1977 the EDU operated within a few km of Gondar, and appeared to be at the point of capturing the city. As part of Operation Tewodros near the end of the Civil War, Gondar was captured by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in March 1991.

Cityscape Gondar traditionally was divided into several neighborhoods or quarters: Addis Alem, where the Muslim inhabitants dwelt; Kayla Mayda, where the adherents of Beta Israel lived; Abun Bet, centered on the residence of the Abuna, or nominal head of the Ethiopian Church; and Qagn Bet, home to the nobility.: ff  Gondar is also a noted centre of ecclesiastical learning of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and known for having 44 churches – for many years more than any other settlement in Ethiopia. Gondar and its surrounding countryside constitute the homeland of most Ethiopian Jews.

The modern city of Gondar is popular as a tourist destination for its many picturesque ruins in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), from which the emperors once reigned. The most famous buildings in the city lie in the Royal Enclosure, which include Fasilides' castle, Iyasu's palace, Dawit's Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Empress Mentewab's castle, a chancellery, library and three churches. Near the city lie Fasilides' Bath, home to an annual ceremony where it is blessed and then opened for bathing; the Qusquam complex, built by Empress Mentewab; the eighteenth century Ras Mikael Sehul's Palace and the Debre Berhan Selassie Church.

Downtown Gondar shows the influence of the Italian occupation of the late 1930s. The main piazza features shops, a cinema, and other public buildings in a simplified Italian Moderne style still distinctively of the period despite later changes and, frequently, neglect. Villas and flats in the nearby quarter that once housed occupation officials and colonists are also of interest.

Education The town is home to the University of Gondar, which includes Ethiopia's main faculty of medicine. Teda Health Science College is also located at this town.

Demographics A total of 53,725 households were counted in this woreda, resulting in an average of 3.85 persons to a household, and 50,818 housing units. The majority of the inhabitants practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 84.15% reporting that as their religion, while 11.77% of the population said they were Muslim.

Documentation The Zamani Project documented Fasil Ghebbi in the centre of Gondar with terrestrial 3D laser scanning. The structures documented include: the Castle of Emperor Fasilides, the Bakaffa Castle, Dawit III's Hall, the Castle of Emperor Iyasu, the Royal Library, the Chancellery, the Royal Archive Building. Some of the textured 3D models, a panorama tour, elevations, sections and plans are available online.

Transport Air transport is served by Gondar Airport (ICAO code HAGN, IATA GDQ), also known as Atse Tewodros Airport, after the Emperor of Ethiopia (Atse) Tewodros. It is 18 km (11 miles) south of the city. Travel within Gondar is mostly done by mini-buses and 3-wheeler motorcycles (accommodating 3–4 passengers).

Intercity bus service is provided by the Sky Bus Transport System, as well as independently owned buses that depart from the town bus station.