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Published: January 1st 2015
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\Arriving in Axum, it is a pleasant town with sections of it, palm lined streets and lots of hotels, and restaurants. We meet back up with Jeffrey (from New Caledonia who we met in Bahir Dar), and enjoy touring the town with him.
The Axumites were a major civilization from 3
rd to 15
th century (?) , extending into Yeman and Egypt. The Stellas are 90 feet tall and are thought to be from the 3
rd century. We walk the town, also seeing Queen of Sheba’s baths, and several tombs and tablets. The archeological museum is fascinating with coins, pottery, even glassware from the Axumite time perio
Axum also has the church where the Ethiopians believe houses the Ark of the Covenant, which only two person has seen. Women are not allowed into the church, so we do not pay the 200 birr to tour the grounds.
As we bid goodbye to Jeffrey, a couple of hours later, we re-meet Mariom from the Simien tour. She tells us she is leaving within the hour for Mekele and is the only one in her van. We were planning on taking Public transport tomorrow to
Axum stelae from the 3rd century marking the tombs
of the Axumite leaders, similar to the pyramids. 100 feet tall of one solid piece of rock hauled 2 miles away. Another unexplained construction feat. Mekele so when she offers the transport, we quickly call Beset, who says no problem.
It is a long dusty drive in the back of a Landrover Defender with side facing bench seats and no windows. We are glad to arrive in Mekele by 8pm, a bowl of delicious soup and we call it a day. Hot and dusty, but too tired to take a shower, which is abit of a mistake as we wake up to no water. Mariom tells us that her trip to the Danikel is delayed until tomorrow, and they have offered her a trip to the rock hewn churches in Tingray. Which is where Ed & I are hoping to go. A quick trip to Et&T office $40 each and an hour later we are in our van and on our way to Tigray. So much for a rest day
Its about two hours to Abuna Yemata Guh, which is the main Tigray church I wanted to visit. It is known for its beautiful 15
th century murals, and also for the difficult climb up to it. I had watched several YouTube videos, while still sitting in our comfortable home
and wondered if I would be able to do it…. It’s a steep climb up a 1500 ft with the last 25 ft clamboring up sheer face, using hand and foot holds carved in the rock. Oh, and they make you do it in your barefeet! Fortunately there are guides there who tell you where to place your feet and hands. Also, that God does not let anyone fall…. For what ever reason, we all make it up and down safetly. And the view from the entrance of the cave is incredible and the murals are beautiful. Due to the dry climate and remoteness, the murals are still in pristine condition! Later Marion and Ed continue to Debre MaryAm Korkor. I decide to go back into town and enjoy a nice cup of tea. The second climb takes 3 hours and although larger than the first, the murals have faded.
Dark by the time we head back to Hawzien, where Ed & I will be staying the night, Marion still has a 2 hr drive back to Mekele. We tried to book a room at the Geralta Lodge which sounds wonderful, but unfortunately is full tonight, but
we can stay there tomorrow. We stay in an ok lodge and then stumble around in the quiet town, trying to find some dinner. We finally find, a small place serving njero and shero, the local dish, and call it a night.
The next morning we wake up to the sound of an espresso machine downstairs. What we remembered last night was a room with 6 tables, a Tv and several men drinking beer. Somehow we missed the large industrial size espresso machine, that serves us probably some of the best macchiatos we have had so far! Just coffee and beer are served!
This morning, the town looks much friendlier and we enjoy just walking. They are fixing the roads, and it definitely looks like a community project with lots of women helping. We grab a tuk tuk and head out to the beautiful lodge! The area is known for its beautiful circular, drystacked (no mortar) rock homes and the lodge using local material does a great job displaying this. It sits up on a hill with a beautiful vista of the dry farmland and mountains. They fix a delicious breakfast and we settle
The climb up
Thank goodness for the guides in on the veranda, relaxing and enjoying. Early afternoon, a helicopter lands nearby, very nearby (about 50ft from the lodge) to collect fuel. They return later in the afternoon to collect their recharged cell phones and batteries, the lodge they are staying at does not have power. The Helicopter was rented from Nairobi and is hauling a Brit and a couple of friends around, touring Ethiopia for one week. Definitely a much different level, at all levels!!
The next morning we go to the large weekly local market. Probably about 1000 people have come from the surrounding area. A local high school boy helps us as we negotiate the purchase of 2 small coffee pots. I actually just wanted a picture of the 2 women, but end up buying 2 pots, there small, and get a pic too. J He then escorts us and explains the different sections of the market. Thru his eyes, it looks much more organized then what we saw at first. There is a large indoor section where the traditional cotton dress and scarves are sold, an entire section where honey is sold in large buckets – red and yellow for the traditional
Inside view of Abuna Yemata Guh
Most beautiful paintings from the 15th Century honey wine, white for the common house honey. We see 2 people from Addis who stayed at the lodge and are now buying the honey. He grins and tells us, I have no idea what I am buying J. There is also a large animal section where goats, sheep and cows are being sold.
By noon, our guide shows us which bus to take back to Mekele, our first attempt at public transport. After about an hour sitting in the bus park, we finally head out, as nothing leaves until full. We change in Woldia and get lucky as that minibus is just about full and leaves about 10 mins later. Back in Mekele, a cold shower and we get ready for the Danakil trip tomorrow morning. (Written on the earlier blog).
Lalibela – the churches are amazing! There are 13 of them of various sizes and detail. Several of the churches are monoliths, free from surrounding rock on 3 or 4 sides. They are excavated from below the ground, using windows to carve out the interiors. The interiors of some consist of tall column and arches with intricate carvings. We are told all
were completed in 23 years and that they would have needed 40,000 craftsmen to complete on this time frame. Which for the 13
th century seems difficult to believe. The Ethopians believe they had help from angels. Looking at them that seems almost as plausible as anything else. Amazing to see! We celebrated Christmas there, and on the 26
th a travel day - a very long day, but eventually ended up back in Addis.
It is now New Year Day, we spent 4 days in Harar and tons of more pics to be posted later.
Happy New Year to all!!
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ruby andridge
non-member comment
Thank You for sharing your adventure
Amazing churches and your pictures are wonderful. Coffee pot is very unique. We found the coffee in other countries to be wonderful, but when we get home, it doesn't taste as good.