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Sof Omar Caves, Ethiopia

Sof Omar caves are located towards the east of Robe near Weyib River. The explorer Arthur Donaldson Smith first discovered them in 1984. Henri Breuil in 1934 conducted several archaeological surveys in the area around the cave. It is the longest cave of Ethiopia and is 15.1 kilometers in length.

The cave has 42 entrances, out of which mostly four are used for entering into the cave. These include two upstream village entrances including east and west village, tourist entrance downstream from the Holuca Resurgence and a right bank of the downstream of Holuca. The main eye catching feature of the cave is the Chamber of Columns that is a wide passage making its way 100m downstream. Apart from this, various characteristics of the caves are limestone pinnacles, cave passages and various land formations that occur due to geological changes. The Moossadie passage and railway tunnel passes through the north of the chamber. Only living creatures that can be found in the cave are the bats, crustaceans and fishes. Crocodiles are found near the river but do not enter the cave. The cave plays a significant role from religious point of view and is also known as Islamic Shrine named after Saint Sof Omar Cave, who had used these caves as a hideout place many centuries ago.

Image Source : Flickr

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