Ethiopia Street

Ethiopia Street

Abyssinian street, Habashim Street

Ethiopia Street (during the British Mandate period and even afterwards: Abyssinian street or Habashim Street) is a street in the center of Jerusalem, branching off from HaNevi'im Street, and parallel to the nearby B'nai B'rith Street.

The Uniqueness of the Street

Ethiopia Street is an extension of Prophets Street and together they form an axis that connects the east of the city with its west, the old city with the new city, and the secular city with the ultra-Orthodox city. This traffic axis constitutes a historical, architectural, and religious complex with unique characteristics and embodies an important part of the chronology and essence of the city's construction. The traffic axis of Prophets Street begins at Damascus Gate in the old city, from where it ascends westward until it connects with Jaffa Street at Davidka Square. Approximately in its middle, Ethiopia Street branches off northward. The pedestrian walking along the street up the traffic axis sees unique historical evidence of 19th-century and early 20th-century architecture. Ethiopia Street contains institutions and residential buildings that together create an exceptional urban fabric.

Historical Background

The connection of Ethiopia Street to Prophets Street, which serves as a central traffic artery into the western part of the city, naturally turned the entire area into one of the first development and construction zones outside the walls. During the Ottoman period, the street was nothing more than a dirt path, but with the British conquest of Jerusalem in 1917, a development boom began, from which the small street also benefited. Construction on Ethiopia Street began in the 19th century by representatives of Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II. Menelik's wife, Taitu Betul, and his senior minister, Ras Makonnen, built more than a dozen buildings in what began to be called "Habashim Street." Two buildings that serve as landmarks of Ethiopian construction on Ethiopia Street and the entire area are Kidane Mehret - the Ethiopian Church, and the Ethiopian Consulate building on Prophets Street, which was established in 1928.

The Ethiopian Community

Christian Ethiopians have a deep connection to Jerusalem. The Christian church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox branch of Christianity. According to the belief of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Ethiopia is the new Zion, and the Ethiopian royal family, according to the national ethos, belongs to the seed of King Solomon.

Ethiopian monks probably resided in Jerusalem as early as the fifth century. Initially, they resided within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre but were expelled from there and founded the Deir al-Sultan Monastery adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 1884, at the initiative of Emperor Yohannes, the construction of the Kidane Mehret Church (Covenant of Mercy) began on a plot called Debre Genet (Mount of Paradise), in the center of the Ethiopian compound adjacent to Prophets Street. In 1930, when Ras Tafari Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia, the ties between the Ethiopian monarchy and Jerusalem were strengthened. In 1936, Ethiopia was conquered by Mussolini's army and was under Italian control until 1941. Selassie himself fled with the conquest and arrived in Jerusalem, as well as in Geneva, to speak before the League of Nations. After about three months in Jerusalem, he moved to England. The Ethiopian community in Jerusalem was a humiliated and oppressed community for hundreds of years. Its exit outside the walls and the foothold it gained in the new city and on Ethiopia Street marked the intensification of religious feelings in the renewed Ethiopia and among the community's representatives in the country.

The Street Name

Initially, the entire area was named after the community - the Habashim neighborhood. The street name was determined at the end of the 19th century when the Ethiopian Church was built on the street, and during the Mandate period, the street was named Abyssinian Street, the Latin name of the country known as Habash (and in a distorted form, Abys). Since the name Habash - which originates from Arabic and means "a mixture of tribes" - was considered a name that does not include all Ethiopian citizens but only the Semitic-speaking citizens, the street name was changed in December 1968 to Ethiopia Street.

Famous Buildings on the Street

Ethiopia 1 / HaNevi'im 58 - Tabor House

Main article: Tabor House (Jerusalem)

Tabor House is considered one of the most beautiful houses in the city. It was inaugurated in 1889 as the residence of the German archaeologist and architect Conrad Schick (1822–1902), who was one of the greatest researchers and builders of Jerusalem in the second half of the 19th century. Above the entrance to the house, Schick, a devout Protestant, inscribed the name THABOR inspired by the verse from the Book of Psalms (Chapter 89, Verse 13): "The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name." The house's unique style combines German architecture with Eastern motifs. The house is surrounded by a Jerusalem stone wall with an entrance gate reminiscent of a German medieval fortress gate, complete with a small watchtower. The main building is designed in a manner reminiscent of affluent Arab houses from that period, featuring very thick stone walls, niches, and vaulted ceilings. In the walls of the house, both inside and out, Schick incorporated replicas of archaeological finds, reflecting his love for archaeology and the Land of Israel. The corners of the roof were designed in the shape of altar horns. Since 1951, the place has been used by the Swedish Theological Institute.

Ethiopia 8 - Emperor Menelik II House

House number 8 was built at the initiative of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia as a rental apartment building, with the income intended to finance the church and Ethiopian activities in Jerusalem. In 1907, a home for poor Jewish girls was established in the building, the first of its kind in Jerusalem. Before this, the situation of poor girls was very dire; some turned to prostitution, and others sought material assistance from Christian missions. In the 1950s, the family of the poet Yehuda Amichai rented an apartment in the building.

Ethiopia 10 - Kidana Mehret - The Ethiopian Church

Ethiopia 10 - Kidane Mehret Ethiopian Church

Main article: Kidane Mehret Church, Jerusalem

House number 10 on the street is a round church called the Kidane Mehret Church, (Covenant of Mercy), located in a closed compound along with the Debre Genet Monastery (Monastery of Paradise; in Ge'ez script: ደብረ ገነት) of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was built by Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia (reigned 1872-1889) starting in 1882 and inaugurated in 1893 during the reign of his successor Menelik II. The church is built in the style of Ethiopian churches, with a round shape and the Holy of Holies located in the center of the church. The church's roof is covered with a black dome topped with an Ethiopian cross. The entrance for men is located on the northwest side, and the entrance for women is on the southwest side. There is also a third door installed. Next to the church is a building used for baking holy bread, called in Hebrew Bethlehem.

In Culture and Art

In the painting "Jerusalem, Ethiopian Gate" by the painter Joseph Zaritsky, one of the house gates on the street appears.