TEMPLE OF YEHA

Considered the oldest building in Ethiopia, and indeed in the world, the temple of Yeha still conceals many mysteries. It was renovated in 2017 by a team of German archaeologists, but few walls of this royal residence remain standing. It must be said that it is contemporary with ancient Rome and the kingdom of Judea, in the^5th century BC. The building could, according to some experts, be three centuries older and would have been dedicated to the Sabaean god Almuqa. Built in what would have been the capital of the pre-Axumite period by populations of South Arabian origin, the 18-metre-long by 15-metre-wide sanctuary is made of rubble, whose perfect assembly did not require the use of mortar. According to experts, this construction technique is similar to that used for the buildings at Marib, Yemen.

Excavations on the site of the temple, which was probably transformed into a church as early as the ^6th century, as evidenced by the presence of a baptistery, have yielded some real archaeological treasures, some of which are on display in what can hardly be called a museum, at the entrance to the site.

In addition to the ruins of the temple, the fortified enclosure houses the church dedicated to one of the nine Syrian saints, Abba Aftsé, probably rebuilt on the site of a first^6th-century sanctuary. The building houses two bas-reliefs with ibex heads, a sacred animal for the Sabeans, from the ruins of the nearby temple, as well as important religious treasures including imposing manuscripts.