It's hard not to notice Gonder's impressive Royal Enclosure, with its castles and high stone walls sitting streetside. The entire 70,000-sq-metre site (also known as Fasil Ghebbi) was declared a World Heritage site by Unesco in 1979. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/19

Almost completely restored with the help of Unesco, Fasiladas' Palace (in the compound's south) is the oldest and most impressive castle. It stands 32m tall and has a crenulated parapet and four domed towers. Made of roughly hewn stones, it's reputedly the work of an Indian architect, and shows an unusual synthesis of Indian, Portuguese, Moorish and Aksumite influences.

Behind the castle's eastern corner are various ruined buildings, including the remains of the kitchen (domed ceiling) and water cistern (thought by some to be a pool).

To the palace's northeast is the saddle-shaped palace of Iyasu I. North of Iyasu's Place are the relics of its banquet hall and storage facilities.

The compound's northern half holds vestiges of Emperor Dawit's Hall and House of Song, in which many religious and secular ceremonies and lavish entertainments took place.

Between the stables and Dawit's Hall rests the Turkish bath (wesheba).