4o6 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap. 



had five naves or aisles of a good width and great length, 

 besides a choir, and was vaulted above. The present 

 church, built after the fall of Granye and the expulsion 

 of his hordes by the Portuguese, shows unmistakable 

 traces of European influence in its style. It stands on 



AxuM, THE Resting Place of the True Ark. 



a raised platform surrounded by a low wall, and is 

 approached by two flights of steps, the lower one con- 

 sisting of ten steps, iSo feet in length, the upper one of 

 eight steps, 36 feet in length, with an interval of 16 feet 

 between the two ; on either side of the upper flight 

 there runs a low, battlemented wall, dividing off the 

 space immediately around the church from the rest 

 of the enclosure. The building is oblong in shape, 

 measuring 48 feet across the front and 108 feet in 

 length ; the walls are of rough stone, 35 feet high and 

 castellated along the top ; a small, square tower leads 

 to the roof, which is flat. Across the whole width of 



