The Temple of Ampamarinana, the standing memorial to martyrized Christians

Under the reign of Queen Ranavalona Ist, from 1828 to 1861, the first Malagasy Christians converted by foreign missioners were prosecuted over a long period of time. Ranavalona Ist was a queen who effectively stood tall to any form of foreign incursion in the Great Isle. Her nationalist policy, however, surged against the first Christian believers of the Island as well. More than a few scores of them were pushed down the main cliff of Antananarivo city, from right behind the Queen’s palace. Historical records revealed that those ones sentenced to death got wrapped up from top to toe, then recklessly dumped down the cliff and left to decompose into the gulch. Much like a monument of victory, a temple was constructed ever since where the first martyrs Christian believers used to be gruesomely put to death. The Temple of Ampamarinana can easily be reached and offers a superb vantage point over Antananarivo city