so much for sheba's capital

The drive to Queen Sheba's capital city of Axum was accompanied by spectacular views of the Adwa Mountains.

The Yeha palace and stone temple, the oldest building still standing in ethiopia, were nothing but ruins and what more, the temple was completely covered in scaffolding, impossible to even make a photo. There was a church in the compound, so again, people crowded everywhere, persistent children bugging you to buy from them, dust everywhere and intense heat. I just about had enough of it all and by then I was quite uncomfortable and struck by heatstroke. I couldnt wait to get this over with and get to the hotel to rest. After enduring all this, we finally made it to the yeha hotel, another government run hotel that looked exactly the same as the Roha, except in this one, the insect screen was mounted outside the window on the stone wall and didnt quite covered the window frame, allowing huge gaps between the screen frame and the window structure. there was no fan this time and the shower and bathroom just as old and tired as the Roha. The towels, the same armpit smell. But the bedsheets were OK and as far as I could discern, no bed bugs. I got several bites in my arms and leg in Lalibela and R said he got bitten in Mekele, and by the way he described the bites, they didnt look like mosquitoes but bed bugs instead. I had soup for lunch as I was still unable to eat much and the soup was just starch, thick and tasteless. The hotel had traditional ethiopian decor but nothing as tasteful as the Roha. For dinner, we simply ordered pasta as the food was so bad. However, the location was excellent as it's a stone throw away from the main sites, the stellae and the st mary of zion where the ark was supposed to be housed. the hotel vast terrace was the best part of the hotel as it had a clear view of the stellae and the Axum town.

before going to bed, the eucalyptus lemon juice routine and dabbed my body with deet lotion. So far, still just the bites from Lalibela.

Aksum photos: