Gondar

The city of Gondar was our last stop in Ethiopia and was very different from Axum. Although once again the seat of an ancient Empire, the ruins at Gondar are gigantic and much more impressive than those found in Axum. To imagine the Axumite empire one must bolster the imagination with only old coins and pottery as inspiration. In Gondar, the buildings of the royal enclosure feel as though you are walking through a fairy tale.. No extra imagination is required, you just know this Empire must have been incredible!

In the 1600's Emperor Fasiladas seeing that Gondar had promise, opted to move his capital. The little agricultural settlement grew into a metropolis of more than 60 000 people and with their riches came castles, royal baths and religious buildings. For more than a century the capital grew in reputation, until it finally fell. At the heart of the modern city sits the Royal Enclosure. Fasilidas Palace, built by the founding emperor, stands high above the compound, near the main entrance. You enter this castle via an impressive stone staircase, and immediately you imagine grand banquets, eloquent balls, Knights and Emperors. Surrounding the main castle, there are a few other castles built by the successors of Emperor Fasiladas, including one belonging to his son. Some of the building sustained some damage during the Italian occupation and when the English bombed the area. All in all though, these ruins were very cool!

The modern city of Gondar also offered up an amazing 4 star hotel and a great coffee shop! Given the rainy weather we were happy to be out of the tents and surrounded by a little bit of luxury!

Axum

The small unassuming town of Axum was our next destination in Ethiopia. It is said that the roots of modern day Ethiopia lie in the ancient Axumite Empire. The Empire was known to be one of the most important and technologically advanced civilizations in the ancient world and is listed as one of the 4 great Kingdoms. The Axumites conducted trade with the Persians, China and Rome and the Empire was a major trade site as early as the 1st century AD. The most important of Axumite Kings was King Ezana. In the 4th century he converted to Christianity and brought the religion to his people. To this day, Axum is considered the centre of Ethiopian Christianity and the Ark of the covenant resides in a church here.

In Axum we visited churches, monasteries, museums and the Stelae field. These huge engraved blocks of granite are left over monuments to commemorate past kings. It is said the granite was transported by elephant from a quarry some 4 km away. At the quarry we saw huge chunks of granite that had been cut but never transported. The museums housed many old coins and remnants from Axum's days of grandeur.

Unfortunately modern day Axum can only be described as the most poverty stricken place I have ever been. Restaurants had menus but no food. Most places could only dish up pasta and sauce! Also children as young as 4 years old were begging or selling trinkets. This city is within the region of Ethiopia that was hit hardest by famine in the early eighties. Although the surrounding areas are lush green and fertile, the people here have very little, or so it seems.

Ethiopia -Lalibela

Lalibela is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and enchanting places I have ever been. The town is set amidst the lush green mountains and seems suspended in the fog that rolls in over the mountain tops. The main reason for a visit to Lalibela is to see the churches and nothing can really prepare a person for what one finds here! These churches are nothing short of incredible. They are huge, and cut into the earth in ways that seem impossible even with modern technology. The grandeur of the architecture will leave you speechless yet the decor inside the churches is humble. The churches are still in use today and pilgrims come from all over the countryside to worship here during the Christmas season. Stone graves and hermit cells ring the outside walls of the complexes and underground passageways link the various churches together. Perhaps the best part of the visit to Lalibela was the lack of other tourists. Visiting here, you have the sense you've stumbled upon one of the world's best kept secrets! Or stumbled into, a living & breathing display of faith that has changed little in the last 800 years.

Ethiopia -Bahir Dar

After addis we bush camped for one night in the looting rain on our way to Bahir Dar. We spent a day and a half here exploring old monasteries and enjoying lake Tana and the Blue Nile Falls. The artwork in the old monasteries reminds me of that found on the tarot cards I have back home! The little girls walking with us attempted to sell us calabashes or get us to give them...anything we could.

Northern Kenya driving to Ethiopian border

When we left Nairobi we settled in for five days of bush camping and straight drive days to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. We had been told to expect some of the worst roads in Africa and a barren landscape. Northern Kenya did not disappoint! We passed through about three rural villages and saw many tribal people in traditional dress herding cattle. Other than that, we were greeted by hours and hours of dust and nothingness! When we crossed into Ethiopia the customs agents were surprised to see us. Apparently with the problems in Somalia, not many people travel this road!

Ethiopia -Addis

We spent 5 days in Ethiopia's capital city awaiting our Sudanese visas. Addis provided a welcome break after 5 days of dusty roads. I was really looking forward to seeing my friend Hortense here. ( We met in the residence in Lille) Unfortunately she moved to Tunisia three weeks before we arrived! She did however provide me with some excellent recommendations for restaurants, spas and other interesting things to do in her city! The very first day we were there some of the girls headed off to the spa for a cheap massage. Only 11.00$ an hour including the tip! The ladies at the spa took suck good care of our aching muscles we went back a second time!

In Addis we went to see Lucy. She is a 3.5 -million-year-old skeleton thought to be a huge discovery in the human chain of evolution!

We also went to Tomoca a famous coffee shop. Ethiopian coffee is fantastic and I bought some to bring home!

Ethiopia -Introduction

In a word, Ethiopia is absolutely unique! We have now been here for two and a half weeks and have had many incredible experiences both good and bad. Almost every facet of life here is just a little off kilter from what we're used to. This all adds up to make Ethiopia a bizarre and intriguing experience!

Let's start with the basic everyday skill of telling time. It's complicated here! Time is measured in 12 hour cycles starting at 6 o'clock and 18.00. In other words, their 7 o'clock is our 1 o'clock! You can well imagine this makes organizing taxis and appointments a bit tricky! Even the Calendar is different! Apparently it is only 2004 here! In 1582 the Christian world changed from the Julien calendar to the revised Gregorian calendar. Ethiopia never did change and therefore they are always between 7 and 8 years behind the rest of us! Ethiopian New year falls on September 11th every year and their calendar has 13 months. 12 regular months and one month of 5 days. One probably false explanation for their time gap is explained by religious history. It is said that King Balthazar was one of the three wise men that went to see the baby Jesus and that it took him 7 years to return to his Kingdom and share the birth of Christ with his people. The time gap reflects this. The Ethiopian people were 7 years behind the rest of the Christian world in receiving word of the birth.

Ethiopian food is delicious and very unique. The staple source of carbohydrates is made from a locally grown grain called Tef. The tef dough is fermented for three days and then cooked into a flat foam-rubber type pancake known as Injera. The Injera is slightly sour and is served with different types of stews. People do not use cutlery, rather they use the Injera to scoop up the stew. The Injera is actually very healthy and supplies more fibre than any other grain! It is also an excellent source of calcium. it sounds pretty horrible, but actually it is pretty good stuff and the stews are usually spicy and delicious! We have all enjoyed familiarizing ourselves with the different stews available but some people have been sick from the local food. We think this is because we are not accustomed to the spices used.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is also just a bit on the original side! Ethiopian Christianity developed in relative isolation and it's rituals are infused by all sorts of archaic Jewish influences. For example, people here observe many fasting rituals and do not eat meat on certain days of the week. The Ark of the covenant was known to be the most treasured artifact of Jewish faith. The Ark disappeared from Jerusalem and was never found. At the heart of the Ethiopian orthodox church lies a belief that the original Ark of the covenant resides in Axum's Maryam Tsion church and was once housed in a monastery on lake Tana. No one will ever know for sure since only one living person has ever seen inside the building where the Ark resides.