Mekele City Tour: Explore Yohannes IV Palace, Abraha Castle, and Enjoy Special Coffee Ceremony
5.0
2 Ratings
Mekele
Embark on a captivating city tour of Mekele, Ethiopia, and discover the rich history and culture of the region. Visit Yohannes IV Palace, Abraha Castle, and indulge in a special coffee ceremony.
Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Emperor Yohannes IV Palace - Atse Yohannes IV’s Palace

Mekele is the seat of a historical palace called Atse Yohannes IV Palace named after the famous King who ruled Ethiopia from 1872-1889. Emperor Yohannes chose Mekelle as the seat of his government and built his graceful palace, still intact, in 1870s. The palace now serves as a museum. The Emperor’s throne, royal bed, ceremonial dress, rifles and many other valuable historical collections can be seen in the museum and the fantastic throne of Atse Yohannnes IV made by the Italian engineer Giacomo Nareri in 1874 is the eye catching centerpiece of the museum.

Dejat Abraha Castle

Mekelle has also a quite imposing and impressive castle called Dejatch Abraha’s Castle built around 1906. Located at the heart of the city that has very similar architectural design with Emperor Yohannes palace, in 1890s. At present the castle is a hotel, commanding a magnificent view of Mekelle.

Edaga Seni - Open Air Market

The famous old Monday market, Idaga Seni, is surrounded by unique arched buildings. It is here in the open-air market where the British Royal Air Force carried out air raids in support of Emperor Haile Selassie’s bid to crash the peasant uprising known as the First Woyane in the late 1940s.

Mekelle is also a primary transfer point for the salt bar trade. The salt bar locally called Amole had been the standard currency of the region until the late 19th century. Salt is mined from the Denakil (Dallol) Depression and transported by camel, mule and donkey caravans.The caravans carrying bars of salt arrive at Mekelle in big numbers, especially in Saturday Market.

What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Coffee tour
  • Guiding services
  • Entrance fees included
What's Not Included
  • Flights and Tickets
  • Hotels and Alcoholic drinks
  • Tips
Additional Information

The city tour will start with Yohannes IV palace and museum, found at center of the town and it has a collection of different amazing antique and unique staffs displayed in ground plus one Tigrayan building . Next, we head to visit old and new market then we stop at 16 kebele for especial coffee ceremony tour .

Aftenoon, we visit Abraha castle the old one and beautiful stone hidmo palce and finally we end by visiting the Tigray monument and best mekele view site .

Location
Mekele
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(2 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
878bekim
Jul 27, 2023
Best ,mekele city tour - Me and my family booked our city tour with Sycamore Ethiopia Tours and the tour operator Mr. Haile was vey nice guy he organized the best tour according to our interest and it was nice ,every one was happy by their service . The guide and driver were professional and experienced and they make our tour comfortable and relaxed . We visited the Mekele monument , abraha castle , Yohannes IV palace , Monday market and coffee tour . I am happy by the travel company crew and their service. I can't wait to go with them for our next tour . Beki
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thomas
Aug 12, 2019
coffee, mekelle city tour - We were 3 friends and we booked our city tour with sycamore Ethiopia tours. we were welcomed by the representative of the company from Mekele Airport . They showed us the beautiful city of Mekelle. Mainly we visited ,Yohhans IV, open market of Mekele and culture. During our stay in the city our guide took us the down town for a coffee tour, we saw the amazing traditional coffee ceremony preparation; from washing ,roasting , grinding,smelling ,serving and tasting coffee and loved our experience of coffee tour in the city. Thanks for the great time ! Thomas
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
May 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today