Ethiopia readies for return of ancient obelisk from Italy

AXUM, Ethiopia, Nov 24 (AFP) — Almost 70 years after being looted by Mussolini’s troops, the Axum Obelisk, dating from the third century before Christ, is set to make a triumphant return from Rome to this northern Ethiopian town. The only question is exactly when.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi “went to Italy”, enthused 80-year-old Abebe Alemayehu, one of the few living witnesses to the 1937 removal of the 24-metre funeral stele. “Now it is sure the obelisk will return to Axum soon.”

Hundreds of thousands of people are due to join in the welcome festivities when the obelisk returns sometime between January and April 2005.

Everyone in Axum, which lies next to the border with Eritrea, is now waiting to hear exactly when the monolithic pride of Eritrea’s cultural heritage will be restored to its original site.

“When it comes back, I will thank God twice for allowing me to witness two historical moments,” Abebe said. “I will don white robes and rejoice with my family and friends. I will jump, dance, and invite everyone to a feast of mutton cooked in ale. It will be a big party, a renaissance,” added the wrinkled old man.

“I, too, will be dressed in white from head to foot to show my joy,” chipped in the man’s 24-year-old neighbour, Negassu Tsehaye. “I have always been told about the stele, so when it returns it will be as if my granparents come back with it,” he added.

The return of the obelisk, first promised by Rome in 1947 and again by Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi two years ago, has also been delayed by the enormous logistical challenge of transporting the 160-tonne monument.

Last month officials said a feasibility study recommended the stele be brought home by plane, finding that it could be transported safely in three rounds by a Russian-made long-range Antonov 124 freighter.

In premature anticipation of the great event, a deep hole was dug in Axum in 1997, next to a twin obelisk left behind by Benito Mussolini’s fascist army, which had annexed Ethiopia in 1936.

“We’ve been waiting for seven years, but this time, things are coming together,” said Fisseha Zibelo of Axum’s tourist commission.

“I heard on the radio that the obelisk will come back early next year at the latest. Everything is ready here, not just the site, but also with the people,” he said.

“We are expecting seven African presidents, five Italian officials, all the ambassadors and representatives from the European Union posted in Addis Ababa and everyone from around here,” he added.

“We will make enjera (an Ethiopian staple food), there will be a football match and traditional dancing,” he said, adding that 500 000 people had been invited to the ceremony, “but we are expecting 300 000.”
The day the obelisk returns will be a national holiday.

For now, there is nothing in this town of 40 000 inhabitants, perched on a sun-beaten plateau, to suggest the mammoth celebrations ahead.

A few tourists wander back from the site of relics of the Axum civilisation, which dominated in the region from the third century before Christ for more than a thousand years, and explore the souvenir shops.

The tourism official predicted that the return of the obelisk would lead to a tripling in the number of foreign vistors to Axum, pointing out that precisely 7 434 tourists came between July 2003 and June 2004.

“The tourists come here for the history. This part of our heritage which makes the town attractive. It absolutely must come back now,” said Haile Mariam, who owns four shops in the town.