Axum

Axum was the capital of one of the ancient world's great powers, the Aksumite Empire, which dominated Red Sea trade between the 1st and 7th centuries AD. Its most visible legacy is the field of towering granite obelisks, the largest of which once stood 33 metres tall; a returned obelisk re-erected in 2008 after decades in Rome stands as a symbol of cultural restitution. The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, according to Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, houses the original Ark of the Covenant, making Axum the holiest city in Ethiopia.