French President Emmanuel Macron with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at reopening of Jubilee Palace Museum recently (Photo: Ethiopian PMO)
Often referred to as the cradle of humanity, Ethiopia is now looking at its rich and unique heritage to promote the destination as a tourism attraction globally.
The Ethiopian government has initiated large-scale projects to renovate and restore numerous heritage sites across the country in order to reopen them to tourists and boost footfall ion different parts of the country.
Leading the initiative is Ethiopian Heritage Authority (EHA) which says that Ethiopia is making significant efforts in preserving and reopening its heritage sites that would bring notable outcomes in boosting its tourism and economy and generating jobs. EHA says that restoring and opening previously inaccessible sites will increase tourist inflow and improve Ethiopia’s global image.
According to EHA officials, the restoration of heritage sites plays a key role in cultural preservation, economic growth, and tourism as many heritage sites in Ethiopia have been hidden from visitors for centuries but are now being opened to attract economic benefits.
EHA says that notable ongoing restoration projects include the Gondar Castle and the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, along with the upcoming opening of the Jubilee Palace Museum. Additionally, the Aba Jifar Palace in Jimma has been fully renovated and is now open to the public.
According to historians, Aba Jifar Palace is an important structure in Oromia and a protected historic monument in Ethiopia. The palace is the oldest, largest and best preserved surviving example of traditional wooden architecture in Jimma. It is a fusion of traditional building technology from south-western Ethiopia and the Indo-Arab architectural style, which was common in settlements around the Indian Ocean.
Aba Jiffar Palace in Oromia is oldest and largest such palace in Ethiopia
Before being incorporated into the central Christian Empire of Ethiopia, Jimma was one and the strongest of the five autonomous Gibe kingdoms of the Oromo people. Under the leadership of Abba Jifar Abba Gomal, who is also known by his Islamic name Sultan Muhammad Dawud Ibn Ibrahim. At the end of 1860’s King Abba Jifar’s palace was built at Jiren which cost him 400 kg of gold and 65,000 Maria Theresa Dollars and still stands with colorful architectural beauty.
In the compound of the palace are four other buildings: the public mosque, the mosque of Abba Jifar, the residential palace of Abba Jifar and the residential building of Abba Jobir Abba Dula, his grandson.
Another key site that has been restored is Jubilee Palace Museum in Jubilee Palace, situated in the heart of Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. It was completed in 1960 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie and hence it got the name Jubilee Palace.
According to EHA, Ethiopia is benefiting from international partnerships, with the government of France providing financial support and expertise in heritage restoration. The French government funded the restoration of the Jubilee Palace Museum with a grant of EUR 20 million and the museum was recently reopened by French President Emmanuel Macron and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week.
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