Blogs from Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 11

I like Axum. Small and relaxed it allows me to comfortably recharge after the Simien Mountains and the ridiculously bumpy (though scenically beautiful) journey from Debark. The town is of great significance to Ethiopians because it was the Kingdom of Axum that first brought Christianity to the country after King Ezana converted in the first half of the fourth century AD. Locals passionately believe the Ark of the Covenant resides in the St. Mary of Zion church here, although I skip going inside because the church is a recent, and not especially attractive, reconstruction. The biggest draws for me are the numerous stellae here; large, decoratively carved obelisks marking various important Axumite tombs (98% of which remain un-excavated). The largest is 33m high (or long seeing as it promptly collapsed when attempts were made to erect ... read more

I don't know when I will be able to upload this post. We are currently in Debark in the Simien Highlands of Ethiopia and I am writing this on Boxing Day. There are internet cafes around but the few that have actually been located are well closed. I don't hold out a lot of hope of finding one this afternoon and, truth be known, I won't get this completed in time to upload today anyway. No photos again. Connection just can't handle it I am afraid. A pity because some of these are ok I think. A small apology. There are those, I believe, who find that I sometimes - perhaps all of the time - write more than can easily be read quickly at work when they are really being paid to do other things. ... read more

I rise ruinously early to catch a bus direct to the Ethiopian border. The journey is long but not unentertaining. Our driver is imperious, dominating the centre of the road and out-honking any would-be challengers. Sitting directly behind him I look over to see just how blisteringly fast he is going, but, like on all good African buses, the speedometer is broken. I sometimes wonder if this is deliberate sabotage to give drivers legitimate grounds to protest their innocence should they be caught for speeding. But then I have yet to see any semblance of traffic laws or their enforcement. I content myself by watching the scenery develop into the more stereotypical 'African' landscape of my imagination; long, golden grass permeated by shrubs and stubby trees with the occasional collection of yurt-like round huts with thatched, ... read more

Geo: 12.0743, 38.8785The drive to Lalibela was great, the bitumen was new and the bends sweeping cambered and sweet. The climb up saw us reach an altitude of 3650mtrs and the Shorty was definitely struggling for breath, the exhaust fumes were thick and black!! The upper world was almost hard to recognise as Africa the people were dressed as you would expect in Afghanistan and we even passed and Aid distribution centre… now on that topic I am buggered why Ethiopians need aid at all. The whole country we have seen so far has been farming and the crops are numerous and plentiful.. In my opinion the Ethiopians appear to have become dependant on foreign aid and it does not appear they are utilising their own resources effectively. The population is 80million and is expected to ... read more

Island Hopping We spend the day on a boat trip on Lake Tana visiting some of the islands and the monasteries on them. We were supposed to make an early start but the boat we were going to use has broken down. A replacement boat has been traveling all night from the opposite side of the lake - I hope the captain gets the chance to get some sleep today! There's a further delay as our guide for the day doesn't show up and Baty has to find a last-minute replacement. There are about 20 monasteries on the islands in the lake. I'm not completely "monasteried out" yet but three or four and a pleasant boat ride would be enough for me! It's about a 3-hour boat ride to the first monastery, Narga Selassie. All of ... read more