Under the Derg regime, the 'Inda Nebri'd was used as a prison. The building was badly damaged by abuse and neglect.

Before the Axumite Heritage Foundation was given stewardship of the compound, it was being used by squatters.

  The library's staff pose in front of the library at a celebration.

                           A front view of the library today.

A side view of the 'Inda Nebri'id at dawn.

                     Children playing in the library's garden.

                One of Axum's famous obelisks. The obelisks were erected to honor the kings of the ancient Axumite empire.

Abune Paulos, the former Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, presides over a ceremony in Axum. Axum is the spiritual center of the Ethiopian Orthodox faith.

A hillside view of Axum.

A young Ethiopian Orthodox deacon poses on the side of a road in Axum.