DESCRIPTION:
Hade1Hade traveled to Eritrea in Summer of 2010 and was privileged to see one of the historical landmarks of Eritrea: Qohaito.

Qohaito was a pre-Axumite city that thrived dring the Axumite period as a stop in the trade route between Adulis and Axum. The rock art near the town appears to indicate habitation in the area since 5th millennium BC. The ancient port of Adulis lies directly to the east. Qohaito also offers the magnificent view of Mount Soira that is considered to be the highest mountain peak of Eritrea.

First discovered in the late 1800's the ruins of Qohaito include landmarks such as the pre-Christian Temple of Mariam Wakino and the Sahira Dam, and the cave of Adi Alauti.

Qohaito in Saho meaning "Rock" is one of the oldest and significant civilization site in Eritrea today. It is one of five Eritrean sites nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The city's impressive large remains- cover an area of 2.5Km by 15 Km; so far only 20% of the ruins have been excavated. To the north the sandstone-hewn known locally as Egyptian Tomb can be detected. So named not because its Egyptian origin has been conclusively proven but because of the tomb's impressive dimensions. Inside the tomb carved on walls and facing each other are flower shaped symbol perhaps indicating some sort of religious or social significance of the person who was buried there.

Another historical feature which can be seen in Qouhaito today is the beautifully dressed masonry of Saphira Dam. The dam is over 60m long and is believed to date back 3000 years. The wall of the dam is built of large rectangular blocks of stones; the largest measures 98cm * 48cm. It is said that this was the bathing place of Queen Sheba/Saba during her time.

Near Qohaito are several rock-art sites , including Awalu Galba rock shelter on the Awalu Guda plateau of Hainaba. The rock shelters measures approximately three meters in depth and 12 meters in length. On the walls of the shelter elaborate pictographs in red, white and black pigments can be observed. A number of pictographs have been destroyed by natural exfoliation and by chipping of images from the wall by the people. Cattle and possible human-like figures are depicted on rock shelter's walls.

(Source of description: http://www.allsaho.com/places-of-interest/)
Video by Hade1Hade
Tour Guide: Ibrahim