via Wikimedia
Hearts broke at the thought of France losing its cherished Notre-Dame Cathedral in a fiery blaze.
But these five African sites remind us that before European colonizers stole and destroyed any evidence of engineering and architectural brilliance they could find, Black people had our own landmarks worthy of awe and reverence.
1 - The Abba Yohani Monastery of Ethiopia was commissioned by Emperor Gebremeskel of the Axum Dynasty in the 4th century and features exquisitely preserved wall paintings of Christ and his disciples.
2 - The Chinguetti Libraries of Mauritania marks the important role learning and wisdom centers held in African civilizations of the 9th century.
Texts exploring the religious, social, and political experiences of the city of Chinguetti are still accessible today.
3 - The Benin Wall of Nigeria, built in the 9th century, shows that China wasn’t the only country to construct a vast wall system to protect its people from enemy invasion - except this wall is four times longer.
4 - The Bilikisu Sungbo shrine in Nigeria is believed to be the resting place of the Queen of Sheba from biblical accounts and features a tourable moat, tomb, botanical garden, zoological garden, pottery, and relics excavated from the site.
5 - Adam’s Calendar in South Africa is a collection of stone ruins that are believed to be the oldest man-made structure in the world.