kuskuam
(Mentewab's palace)

Mentewab was a wily empress who, after the death her husband (Emperor Bakafa) in 1730, managed to retain control of Ethiopia without actually declaring herself the ruler.  She is famously linked with James Bruce one of the few foreigners to enter Ethiopia after they were expelled by King Fasil a century earlier.

Kolo students, are trainee monks who live in these small huts during their training and are encouraged to beg for food - kolo is dried barley that is a traditional snack and forms a staple part of a poor man's diet.