Ethiopian Art - Afewerk Tekle

King Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba," by Maître Afewerk Tekle
This painting by The Most Honourable World Laureate Maître Artist Afewerk Tekle hangs In St. George's Cathedral, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The following is a comment made by skibriye on Flickr, to the photo above. Quite interesting!

"Actually, the Afework Tekle painting from the Cathedral of St. George was extremely contraversial when it was first installed and decried as un-Ethiopian. The reasons for this was the fact that the Queen of Sheba was placed below the dias on which King Solomon stands, and he looks like he is making no move to leave the dias to greet her. To many this indicated that the King was her superior which offended the Ethiopian idea of the monarchs being equals. The other even more contraversial element was the fact that the Queen is shown in profile. In traditional Ethiopian iconography, only the evil are shown in profile and the righteous are shown full or three quarter faced .... However the Emperor liked the painting and that ended the matter."

Afewerk Tekle stained glass window inside UN compound.

Coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I" by Maître Afewerk Tekle

Photo by A.Davey

"The Last Judgement " This painting by The Most Honourable World Laureate Maître Artiste Afewerk Tekle (b. 1932) hangs in St. George's Cathedral in Addis Ababa. The piece was painted in 1958. It measures a huge 3 x 2.5 meters. In 1971, the artist painted a larger version of the piece in the Holy Saviour Catholic Cathedral in Tigrai.

This painting by The Most Honourable World Laureate Maître Artiste Afewerk Tekle (b. 1932) hangs in the National Museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The painting's title, "Demera," comes from the bonfire depicted near the center of the image. A bonfire, called the Demera, is one of the central events in the Ethiopian Orthodox festival of Maskal, which commemorates the Finding of the True Cross.

More comments and interpretations of this picture can be found if you click on the photographer's name.

Afewerk Tekle is only one of the many Ethiopian men who are internationally known. There are many others, in a variety of fields. Did you, for example, know that one of New York's great chefs was born in Ethiopia? (A little tip- he's the one in the picture.) Read about him and a few others on the page Famous Ethiopian Men

While Ethiopia has a basically patriarchal society, it has given birth to a number of strong women. Queens, models, chefs and athletes. All of them Ethiopians, all of them women. Considering that in between whatever path they have taken, they also find time and energy to give birth, their accomplishments are even more amazing. Picture shows Queen Empress Menen. Ethiopian Women

Many people have had their first introduction to Ethiopa through its food. A unique mixture of spicy food that is eaten by hand. There are many Ethiopian restaurants in the US and Europe. Why not see more about the way the food is prepared and what spice is used? This is the first page in a series: Ethiopian Food

For travelers to Ethiopia, there are a few vaccinations and precautions that are recommended:

-Hepatitis A and B/ Typhoid/ Yellow Fever/ Meningococcus/ Polio / MMR / Tetanus-Diptheria

- Malaria prophylaxis. Only if you are going outside of Addis, in the lower parts of the country. The northern parts of Ethiopia (including Addis Ababa) are at such a high altitude that malaria is not a problem.

- Traveler's diarrhea is quite common. All travelers should bring along an antibiotic and an anti-diarrhea drug to be started promptly if significant diarrhea occurs.

In general it is good to keep a good hygiene and avoid raw food in any form. When eating out, especially in the country side, stick to food that has been properly heated prior to eating. The local food, injera, is often handled by hand and stored for several days after preparation.