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Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela
Lamu Old Town
Preserving
World Heritage Sites
in Africa
Great Zimbabwe National Monument
By Alexa Rose
The Great Zimbabwe National Monument is located in the present-day country of Zimbabwe. The monument is made up almost entirely of stone and encircles a wide area of land. "Rough granite rubble-stone blocks form distinct enclosures, accessed by narrow, partly covered, passageways" (whc.unesco.org). Great Zimbabwe prospered in trade and was known for its art - specifically pottery. It also served as a place of skillful workers, agricultural improvements, and was supposedly the site of a biblical legend.
The Great Zimbabwe National Monument is a site worth preserving. It serves as a vital surviving part of African history, especially since we don't have many records of its past in general. We also have many surviving artifacts from this site that give historians details about Great Zimbabwe and the peoples that visited it. The present-day country of Zimbabwe has symbolic ties to the ancient city, and stopping preservation efforts would cut those ties. By continuing to protect this site, we are keeping alive a meaningful and essential account of African history.
Lamu Old Town was a Swahili settlement that is located in the present-day country of Kenya. During the Middle Ages, Lamu was an important center of trade where many different groups of people would interact and trade. This interaction of cultures helped develop Swahili culture and had a positive impact on the city's economy, due to the city being a center of trade. "The town [itself] is characterized by narrow streets and magnificent stone buildings with impressive curved doors, influenced by unique fusion of Swahili, Arabic, Persian, Indian and European building styles" (whc.unesco.org). The architecture also helps reflect the influence of cultures in this city and the importance of its history to the people who live there.
Lamu Old Town is a site worth preserving due to its importance in African Medieval history and its importance today. As mentioned on the UNESCO's website, "unlike other Swahili settlements which have been abandoned along the East African coast, Lamu has continuously been inhabited for over 700 years". The city is still in use, and many cultures from all over the world mix at this site as they did during the Middle Ages. The history of this city's economic, social, and cultural achievements helps add to the limited knowledge that historians have about Africa's past, and keeps Swahili culture alive. "Its paramount trading role and its attraction for scholars and teachers gave Lamu an important religious function [... and it continues] to be a significant [center] for education in Islamic and Swahili culture" (whc.unesco.org).
The Rock-Hewn Churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia are churches that were built during the Middle Ages in Africa. They "were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks [and] were [then further chiseled] out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs[,] etc" (whc.unesco.org). Around the time these churches were constructed, Ethiopia was experiencing success in trade and had become a Christian Kingdom under Yekuno Amlak. Amlak's grandson helped Christians gain more rights in adjacent kingdoms. The churches were elaborately carved on the inside as well, and a useful way of using materials available in the area.
The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia are worth preserving. They stand as examples of cultural and religious aspects of the Ethiopian Kingdom in the Middle Ages. UNESCO's official website states, "the whole of Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia, including, next to the eleven churches, the extensive remains of traditional, two [story] circular village houses with interior staircases and thatched roofs". Today, Ethiopia is predominately Christian, a fact that was true when it first became a Christian Kingdom in 270 CE. The structuring of the churches and the artifacts found inside of them aid historians in learning why this Ancient Ethiopian kingdom thrived in an area that was predominately Muslim or used to be pagan animalist.
Sources
- "Great Zimbabwe National Monument." UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/list/364.
- Brigas, Graciela Gonzalez . Great Zimbabwe National Monument (Zimbabwe). "Great Zimbabwe National Monument." UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/documents/110873.
- "Lamu Old Town." UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/list/1055/.
- National Museums of Kenya. Lamu Old Town (Kenya). "Lamu Old Town." UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/documents/114530.
- "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela." UNESCO, whc.unesco.org/en/list/18.
- Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela. Ashtronort - History's Mysteries, ashtronort.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/monolithic-madness-lalibela-ethiopia/.