Gondar ጎንደር
View of the city with Fasilides castle in the center
Gondar Location in Ethiopia
Coordinates: 12°36′N 37°28′E / 12.6°N 37.467°E / 12.6; 37.467Coordinates: 12°36′N 37°28′E / 12.6°N 37.467°E / 12.6; 37.467
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Amhara
Zone	Semien Gondar
Elevation	2,133 m (6,998 ft)
Population (2008)
• Total	231,977 (est)
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)

Gondar or Gonder (Ge'ez: ጎንደር Gōnder, older ጐንደር Gʷandar, modern pronunciation Gʷender) is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar. Located in the Semien Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Tana Lake on the Lesser Angereb River and southwest of the Simien Mountains. The city has a latitude and longitude of 12°36′N 37°28′E / 12.6°N 37.467°E / 12.6; 37.467 with an elevation of 2133 meters above sea level. The city is nicknamed "The Camelot of Africa" due to the presence of a group of royal castles.^[1]

History[link]

Until the 16th century, the Solomonic Emperors of Ethiopia usually had no fixed capital, instead living in tents in temporary royal camps as they moved around their realms while their family, bodyguard and retinue devoured surplus crops and cut down nearby trees for firewood. One exception to this rule was Debre Berhan, founded by Zara Yaqob in 1456; Tegulet in Shewa was also essentially the capital during the first century of Solomonic rule.

Central Gondar.

Beginning with Emperor Menas in 1559, the rulers of Ethiopia began spending the rainy season near Lake Tana, often returning to the same location again and again. These encampments, which flourished as cities for a short time, include Emfraz, Ayba, Gorgora, and Dankaz.

Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilides around the year 1635, and grew as an agricultural and market town. There was a superstition at the time that the capital's name should begin with the letter 'Gʷa' (modern pronunciation 'Gʷe'; Gonder was originally spelt Gʷandar), which also contributed to Gorgora's (founded as Gʷargʷara) growth in the centuries after 1600. Tradition also states that a buffalo led the Emperor Fasilides to a pool beside the Angereb, where an "old and venerable hermit" told the Emperor he would locate his capital there. Fasilides had the pool filled in and built his castle on that same site.^[2] The emperor also built a total of seven churches; the first two, Fit Mikael and Fit Abbo, were built to end local epidemics. The five emperors who followed him also built their palaces in the town.

Fasilides Castle, founded by Emperor Fasilides.

In 1668, as a result of a church council, the Emperor Yohannes I ordered that the inhabitants of Gondar be segregated by religion. This caused the Muslims to move into their own quarter, Islamge (Ge'ez: እስላምጌ "Islam place," or "Islam country") or Islam Bet (እስላም ቤት "House of Islam," lit. "Islam house"), within two years. This quarter came to be known as Addis Alem.^[3]

During the seventeenth century, the city's population is estimated to have exceeded 60,000. Many of the buildings from this period survive, despite the turmoil of the eighteenth century. By the reign of Iyasu the Great, Gondar had acquired a sense of community identity; when the Emperor called upon the inhabitants to decamp and follow him on his campaign against the Oromo in Damot and Gojjam, as had the court and subjects of earlier emperors, they refused.^[4] Although Gondar was by any definition a city, it was not a melting pot of diverse traditions, nor Ethiopia's window to the larger world, according to Donald Levine. "It served rather as an agent for the quickened development of the Amhara's own culture. And thus it became a focus of national pride... not as a hotbed of alien custom and immorality, as they often regard Addis Ababa today, but as the most perfect embodiment of their traditional values."^[5] As Levine elaborates in a footnote, it was an orthogenetic pattern of development, as distinguished from an heterogenetic one.^[6]

An overview of the medieval city buildings.

The town served as Ethiopia's capital until Tewodros II moved the Imperial capital to Magadala upon being crowned Emperor in 1855; the city was plundered and burnt in 1864, then devastated again in December, 1866.^[7] Abdallahi ibn Muhammad sacked Gondar when he invaded Ethiopia June 1887. Gondar was ravaged again in 23 January in the next year, when the Sudanese invaders set fire to almost every one of the city's churches.^[8]

After the conquest of Ethiopia by the Kingdom of Italy in 1936, Gondar was further developed under Italian occupation.^[9] During the Second World War, Italian forces made their last stand in Gondar in November 1941, after Addis Ababa fell to British forces six months before. The area of Gondar was one of the main centers of activity of Italian guerrilla against the British forces until summer 1943.^[10]

During the Ethiopian Civil War, the forces of the Ethiopian Democratic Union gained control of large parts of Begemder, and during parts of 1977 operated within a few miles of Gondar, and appeared to be at the point of capturing the city.^[11] As part of Operation Tewodros near the end of the Civil War, Gondar was captured by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in March 1991.^[12]

Points of interest[link]

Crowds gather at the Fasilides' Bath in Gondar to celebrate Timkat - the Epiphany for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Gondar traditionally was divided into several neighborhoods or quarters: Addis Alem, where the Muslim inhabitants dwelled (as mentioned above); Kayla Meda, where the adherents of Beta Israel lived; Abun Bet, centered on the residence of the Abuna, or nominal head of the Ethiopian Church; and Qagn Bet, home to the nobility.^[13] Gondar is also a noted center of ecclesiastical learning of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and known for having 44 churches, for many years more than any other settlement in Ethiopia. Gondar and its surrounding countryside constitute the homeland of most Ethiopian Jews.^{[citation needed]}

The modern city of Gondar is popular as a tourist attraction for its many picturesque ruins in the Royal Enclosure, from which the Emperors once reigned. The most famous buildings in the city lie in the Royal Enclosure, which include Fasilides castle, Iyasu's Palace, Dawit's Hall, a banqueting hall, stables, Mentewab's Castle, a chancellery, library and three churches. Near the city lie Fasilides' Bath, home to an annual ceremony where it is blessed and then opened for bathing; the Qusquam complex, built by Empress Mentewab; the eighteenth century Ras Mikael Sehul's Palace and the Debre Berhan Selassie Church.

Downtown Gondar shows the influence of the Italian occupation of the late 1930s. The main piazza features shops, a cinema, and other public buildings in a simplified Italian Moderne style still distinctively of the period despite later changes and, frequently, neglect. Villas and flats in the nearby quarter that once housed occupation officials and colonists are also of interest.

The town is also home to an airport (ICAO code HAGN, IATA GDQ), and Gondar University which includes Ethiopia's main faculty of medicine. Intercity bus service is provided by the Selam Bus Line Share Company.

Debre Birhan Selassie Church in Gondar

Demographics[link]

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Gondar has an estimated total population of 194,773 of whom 97,625 are men and 97,148 are women. The woreda has an estimated area of 40.27 square kilometers, which gives Gondar a density of 4,836.70 people per square kilometer.^[14]

The 1994 national census reported a total population for Gondar of 112,249 in 21,695 households, of whom 51,366 were men and 60,883 women. The three largest ethnic groups reported in Gondar Zuria were the Amhara (88.91%), the Tigrayan (6.74%), and the Qemant (2.37%); all other ethnic groups made up 1.98% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 94.57%, and 4.67% spoke Tigrinya; the remaining 0.76% spoke all other primary languages reported. 83.31% adhered to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, and 15.83% of the population said they were Muslim.^[15] There are now also a sizable number of Ethiopian Jews, some of whom live in temporary camps, hoping to emigrate to Israel.^{[citation needed]}

Sister city[link]

As designated by Sister Cities International, Gondar is a sister city with

• Corvallis, Oregon, United States
• Rishon LeZion, Israel

See also[link]

• List of Gondarine churches
• Gultosh - a deserted village near Gondar

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gondar

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Gondar.

• Ethiopian Treasures - Fasilados Castle, Felasha Village - Gonder
• Webiste of the Gondarlink charity
• Pictures from Gonder

v t e Woredas of the Semien Gondar Zone Former woredas Belessa Sanja Current woredas Addi Arkay Alefa Beyeda Chilga Dabat Debarq Dembiya Gondar Gondar Zuria Jan Amora Lay Armachiho Metemma Mirab Armachiho Mirab Belessa Misraq Belessa Qwara Tach Armachiho Takusa Tegeda Tselemt Wegera

Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki playing a set at the HiFi Nightclub in Calgary, Canada.
Background information
Birth name	Steve Hiroyuki Aoki parent = Richard Aoki
Born	(1977-11-30) November 30, 1977 (age 34) Miami, Florida
Origin	Newport Beach, California, United States
Genres	Electro house, Electronic
Labels	Dim Mak Records, Ministry of Sound Australia, Deckstar
Website	http://steveaoki.com/

Steve Hiroyuki Aoki (born November 30, 1977) is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.^[1]

Biography[link]

Steve Hiroyuki Aoki was born in Miami and grew up in Newport Beach, California. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1995; he was a star player on the varsity badminton team. He is the third child of Rocky Aoki and Chizuru Kobayashi.^[2] His father was a former Japanese Olympic wrestler who also founded the restaurant chain Benihana. He has two older siblings, sister Kana (who is sometimes called by her middle name "Grace"), and brother Kevin (owner of Doraku Sushi restaurant). He also has three half-siblings, all of whom are younger: half-brother Kyle and half-sisters Echo, and Devon, the supermodel and actress. As a child, Steve lived with his grandfather,^{[citation needed]} his mother, and his two older siblings.

Aoki attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with two B.A.s; one in Women's Studies and the other in Sociology. In college, he produced do-it-yourself records and ran underground concerts out of his Biko room in the Santa Barbara Student Housing Cooperative, which was located in Isla Vista, a section of residential land adjacent to UCSB. As a concert venue, the apartment became known as The Pickle Patch.^[3][4] By his early 20s, Aoki had built his own record label, which he named Dim Mak after his childhood hero, Bruce Lee.^[5] He has also been in numerous bands, including This Machine Kills, which released an album on Ebullition Records, Esperanza, and The Fire Next Time.

Musical career[link]

Aoki founded his own label, Dim Mak Records, in 1996. The label has released music by other electro house artists such as MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Felix Cartal and Mustard Pimp, as well as by Klaxons, Scanners, Whitey, and Mystery Jets. Aoki is also a club promoter and DJ. He has also teamed up with Blake Miller of the LA-based band Moving Units to produce remixes. The duo of Miller and Aoki work under the moniker Weird Science.

Aoki's debut mix album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles was released in January 2008.^[6] He also had an Essential Mix that aired on BBC Radio 1 on August 2, 2008.¹⁰

Aoki's latest solo album, "Wonderland" was released January 2012 and features guest vocalists and musicians LMFAO, Kid Cudi, Travis Barker, will.i.am aka Zuper Blahq, Wynter Gordon, Rivers Cuomo, Lil Jon, Chiddy Bang, Lovefoxxx of CSS, Big John Duncan former guitarist of the punk band The Exploited, and others.

Aoki has also been busy in the studio collaborating with other fellow producer friends and thus far has released singles with The Bloody Beetroots, Armand Van Helden of Duck Sauce, Afrojack, Laidback Luke, Tai, Sidney Samson, Tiesto. In his interviews, Twitter feed or from his YouTube channel, he has shown teasers or has discussed doing future collaborations with Diplo, Knife Party, Datsik, Chris Lake, Rune, Iggy Azalea, Angger Dimas, and Dirtyphonics.

He has remixed many artists and bands, including Jackson 5, Drake, Kanye West, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Mike Posner, Girls Generation, All American Rejects, Refused, The Killers, Bassnectar, Lenny Kravitz, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, Robin Thicke, S.P.A., Kid Cudi, Fërnando Oviedo,Chester French and Peaches.

He remixed the track "When The Wind Blows" that features on the UK edition of The All-American Rejects' 2008 album When The World Comes Down.

On November 10, 2009 he released a remix for Drake's song "Forever". The song features Drake, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. The track made it to the top of Hype Machine's chart in December 2009.^[7]

Through relentless touring he gained huge support from colleges. Performing an average of 250 shows a year, he has recently started touring with production via bus tours like the spring 2012 Deadmeat Tour he headlined over 55 cities in 60 dates across the United States and Canada.

In March 2010 Aoki released "I'm In The House", a collaboration with Zuper Blahq—alter-ego of The Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am. The song charted at #29 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week of release.

Producer-songwriter Lucas Secon confirmed in a May 2010 interview with HitQuarters that he and Rivers Cuomo had recently worked with Aoki on a single.^[8]

In May 2006, Aoki became a board member for MC5 bassist Michael Davis' Music Is Revolution Foundation,^[9] a non-profit organization that provides music education support within public schools.^[10]

Business ventures[link]

The Dim Mak Collection^[11] clothing line was launched in 2006.^[12] A new fashion range designed by Steve and his sister Devon Aoki will be coming out in the future.

In 2007, Aoki and friend Greger, the owner of WeSC, came up with the idea together to do the "Aoki headphones." They used different shades of green, because that was Aoki's favorite color at the time.^[13] Each season for 3 years, Aoki designed new headphones for WeSC. He is currently working closely with Sol Republic and is a founding partner in the headphone company. Aoki also is endorsed by Supra Footwear, where he has helped develop and design shoes under his name.

Following somewhat in his father's footsteps, Aoki is a co-owner in two restaurants in Los Angeles and one in New York City. Eveleigh on Sunset Boulevard & Kitchen 24 on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. The Little Ruby's on Orchard St in New York City opened in spring 2012.

He co-owns a management company called DECKSTAR.^[14] with DJ AM along with their manager Lawrence Vavra, Matt Colon and Paul Rosenberg. The roster boasts artists such as Blink 182, Holy Ghost!, Infected Mushroom, and Rancid.

He has co-founded and is now developing a website that attracts college students to sell, buy, share books, rent rooms, post events called PILLOWFACE.^[15] It's function is similar to Craiglist but that it targets and is exclusively for college students. When he went on his Dead Meat Tour across the United States and Canada in January through March 2012 he was promoting the website to all the colleges across the country.

In November 2009, Aoki created his own magazine titled "Aoki" through a celebrity magazine publishing company called MYMAG.^[16]

Guest appearances[link]

He was featured in the video games NBA 2K8 and NBA 2K9 as a special celebrity player, even though he admits to being terrible at basketball. He makes cameos in the videos for Cobra Starship's 2007 single "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)" and The Sounds' single "Tony The Beat".

On January 2012, Steve Aoki released new tracks on Turntable.fm in conjunction with SOL REPUBLIC Headphones^[17] making him the first established artist to fully orchestrate a listening session using the platform.^[18]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Mix albums[link]

Singles[link]

As featured artist[link]

Promotional singles[link]

Remixes[link]

• Michael Jackson – "Dancin' Machine" (Universal Motown)
• Autoerotique – "Gladiator" (Steve Aoki x DJ AM) (Dim Mak)
• NASA – "Gifted" (feat. Kanye West, Lykke Li, Santigold) (Anti)
• Chris Cornell – "Part of Me" (feat. Timbaland) (Interscope)
• Chester French – "She Loves Everybody" (Star Trak)
• The Killers – "Spaceman" (Steve Aoki & The Bloody Beetroots) (Polydor)
• Fact – "Rise" (Avex)
• All American Rejects – "The Wind Blows" (Interscope)
• Good Charlotte – "Misery" (Epic)
• S.P.A. – "Pets Dance" (Dim Mak)
• Lenny Kravitz – "Dancin' Til Dawn" (Virgin)
• Robin Thicke – "Magic" (Interscope)
• Duran Duran – "Skin Divers" (feat. Timbaland) (Interscope)
• Drake – "Forever" (feat. Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem)^[7]
• Weezer – "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To"
• Kid Cudi – "Pursuit of Happiness" (feat. MGMT & Ratatat)
• Klaxons – "Echoes"
• Bassnectar - "Red Step"
• Girls' Generation – "MR. TAXI"
• Mike Posner - "She Looks Like Sex"

Weird Science production[link]

Steve Aoki and Blake Miller's production group

• Haus of Cards – "Original" (Dim Mak)
• Snoop Dogg – "Sensual Seduction" (Geffen)
• Teddybears – "Cobrastyle" (Atlantic)
• Bloc Party – "Helicopter" (Dim Mak)
• The Rakes – "Work Work Work" (Dim Mak)
• Metro Station – "Control" (Columbia)
• Younglove – "Discotech" (Island)
• Peaches – "Boys Wanna Be Her" (XL)
• Under the Influence of Giants – "Mama's Room" (Island)
• The Fashion – "Like Knives & Solo Impala" (Columbia)

Featurings[link]

• The Bloody Beetroots – "Warp 1977" (feat. Steve Aoki & Bobberman) (Dim Mak)
• The Bloody Beetroots – "Warp 1.9" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Dim Mak)
• The Bloody Beetroots – "Warp 7.7" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Dim Mak)
• Junkie XL – "1967 Poem" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Nettwerk)
• Motor – "Kick It" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Dim Mak)
• Tai – "Paradise Poltergeist" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Dim Mak)
• Travis Barker – "Misfits" (feat. Steve Aoki) (Dim Mak)

Collaborations[link]

• Steve Aoki & Armand Van Helden – "Brrrat"
• Steve Aoki – "I'm In The House" (feat. Zuper Blahq)
• Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke & Lil Jon – "Turbulence"
• Steve Aoki & Afrojack – " No Beef"
• Steve Aoki & Sidney Samson – "Wake Up Call"
• Steve Aoki & Atari Teenage Riot – "Codebreaker"
• Steve Aoki & Tiësto – "Tornado"
• Steve Aoki & Travis Barker – "Misfits"
• Nervo, Afrojack & Steve Aoki – "We're All No One"
• Steve Aoki feat. LMFAO and Nervo - "Livin' My Love"
• Steve Aoki, Kid Cudi & Travis Barker - "Cudi The Kid"
• Steve Aoki & Knife Party - Currently Untitled Track

Awards[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

• Best DJ of the Year – Paper Magazine (2007)
• Best Set of the Season – Ibiza Awards (2007)
• Best Party Rocker DJ – BPM Magazine (2007)
• Best Mix Album of the Year – Billboard (2008)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• The LA Times article
• Dim Mak Records website
• Steve Aoki on Myspace
• Weird Science on Myspace
• UCSB Student Interview with Steve Aoki
• The Santa Barbara Independent article
• Interview with Steve Aoki, Submerge Magazine, Dec. 2008
• Interview by Maximalminimal, April 2009
• Interview by Clubplanet, May 2010
• Steve Aoki on RCRD LBL