http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Ethiopia , Amhara Region en-us Thu, 10 Dec 09 05:06:12 +0000 Thu, 10 Dec 09 05:06:12 +0000 GondarThe Royal EnclosureTuesday we spend the whole day visiting some of the sights of Gondar one of the old capitals of Ethiopia.Top of the list for me is The Royal Enclosure which is where all the castles are. The sight of these medievallooking castles must be one of the most unexpected sights in Africa. Someone makes the observation that they look similar in design to some of the castles in I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Gondar/blog-454817.html I Was Only 5 Hours From Simien I Love You You Are Beautiful Give Me Your BananaIt's another early start today 530a.m. as we have a long drive ahead to The Simien Mountains. The tour company literature says it will take about 5 hours Good We should be there for lunchWe get underway at about 630. There's already a lot of Ethiopians moving on the roads making the most of the coolest p http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Simien-Mountains/blog-454807.html The Raiders of The Lost Ark are all Poorly SickDon't Tell Anyone But........Today is Imodium day. A lot of the group are looking the worse for wear at breakfast time as stomach upsets seem to have taken hold.In the morning we see the remaining sights of Axum. Firstly The Palace of The Queen of Sheba. Only a small part of the palace has been uncovered as it is below the ruins of another palace http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Axum/blog-454769.html AxumToday we move on to Axum the old center of Ethiopia and the Axumite civilisation home of the Queen of Sheba and The Arc of the Covenant. We have to leave the hotel at the far more reasonable time of 8a.m. to get our flight. I seem to be part of a comedy routine without realising it when I go looking for Bryan and other people are sent in turn to look for each other.Our short drive to the a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Axum/blog-454693.html More Amazing Churches More Amazing Dad DancingNatata La'ab MonasteryWednesday Morning. Some of us go for a short drive to the Natala La'ab Monastery built into a cave near Lalibela.Our first stop is a religious school near the monastery. The teacher who we are told is 83 years old has a class of about 10 boys no girls who are training to be priests. The boys are all chanting different pas http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Lalibela/blog-454646.html Lalibela Underwear Churches and Cool Priests Security AlertToday is a bad day for the women.We have to leave the hotel by 5a.m. to get the early flight to Lalibela. Everyone even me makes it on time. Our bus is on time and we get to the airport on time It's all good. At the airport though we have to go through bag scans and body scans twice. The second scanner seems to be set a bit t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Lalibela/blog-453890.html What a great name to a great community... we found some info in the guide It's a small community isolated secular believes that education is the key to development so one can find adults attending primary school they are socialists they believe in Gender equality and childrenrsquos rights the kids are not allowed to beg money from foreigners and visitors the community charges the same pr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-440465.html The Rural AreasTraveling to the rural area was literally a step back in time. It is a simple difficult and fulfilling life people lead. Women men and children spends their days pretty much the same everyday. They get up and go early to gathering water for the day to tend to their farm animals and families. The earlier you get to the watering hole the less muddy it is from everyone else who http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/blog-412701.html Here are some photos I took while I was in the rural areas of Ethiopia. Click on them to make them larger for the full affect. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/blog-412148.html Where do I begin There is so much to tell I donrsquot know where to start. We arrived in Bahir Dar and almost immediately went to Feledge Hiwot Regional Hospital where the CEO of the hospital along with a doctor from Spain who is working on the sewage project and my friend Charlie who is assigned here from the Clinton Foundation met us with open arms. Nolawi my filmmaker with camera in t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-411918.html Charlie and Deehellip The best way I can describe my first face to face meeting with Charlie was a white man in a sea of Ethiopian faces who spots me with my bags in tow at the hospital and runs up and hugs me like a long lost favorite uncle would. His smile was warm and his hug was deep. I know in that instant he was a man I was proud to know. He couldnrsquot have helped more in my visit http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-411891.html I love the Bahir Dar area. I love it. But it is so sad because it's citizens deserve more. The city by the lake is a mixed blend of new and old with condos and huts within the same area of town. Just walking the streets you get a sense of all these time periods colliding into one. There is so much I could write and I have volumes of photo's of the rural areas the hospitals and Bahir Dar. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-411768.html Up very early or late I couldn't sleep with the upcoming trip tomorrow actually today. This is very windy night and I lay in bed wondering about the little subdivision next door to the hotel and what it must be like inside a press metal house with strong winds that roar like lions half the night. I am sure they are use to it but I know in my own strong house my kids coming running and jump rig http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Bahir-Dar/blog-410304.html Aksum's airport is even smaller than Teesside's but the security is tight. My hand baggage is searched both when I enter the terminal and just before I board the plane it's the same woman on each occasion but second time around she starts asking me questions about items that previously she'd ignored. The plane is small and the passenger list smaller still so only ten minutes elapse between t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Lalibela/blog-386792.html I have difficulty determining whether the bus to Aksum will be departing at 5AM or 530AM so decide to get to the bus station for 415AM to be on the safe side. Even at this time in the morning there are plenty of tuk tuk drivers whizzing around who all shout at me from distance to offer their services. I see many people asleep at the roadside wrapped in sheets. The very faintest of silver l http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Axum/blog-386791.html I have heard nothing good about Ethiopian bus journeys and aim to be at the bus well before the departure time to ensure I get a decent seat. With the expectation of a long day's travel ahead and covered in a layer of dried sweat from the previous night I decide the least I can do for my sanity is to wash my hair. Thus at 4AM I am crouched in my undies next to the communal tap lathering and http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Gondar/blog-386784.html The journey to the border with Ethiopia is much simpler and shorter than I expect and it is a pleasant surprise to arrive there as early as midafternoon. Sadly after 3 weeks of 99 honest treatment in Sudan my defences are illprepared for the onslaught of a pair of Ethiopian hustlers detailed in the Dull but possibly useful info section. My mood is darkened by the scams that I sidestep a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Metema/blog-386782.html The main tourist trail in Ethiopia although not particularly well trodden is the so called historical circuit which consists of a loop to the north of Addis Ababa. Due to limitations in both time and enthusiasm for historical sites we chose to carry out a truncated version of the circuit. Our first portofcall was the town of Bahir Dar on the shores of Lake Tana. Here we organised a boat t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Lalibela/blog-381592.html Itrsquos Tuesday today which Irsquove decided is a good day for writing blogs. In my Kebele subdistrict there is no electricity however by the genius of modern technology laptop battery I have about an hour until my computer poops out. Ooohh.To add onto last weeks post my landlord Nigist continues to be especially almost uncomfortably friendly. There was a problem with my shower http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/blog-379301.html Growing up in the lsquo80s the one enduring image of Ethiopia we were exposed to is that of fly covered emaciated children starving in a desert. Therefore we naively spent most of lives assuming that this was an accurate representation of the whole of Ethiopia. It has been pleasing to find that although most people are far from well off poverty isnrsquot any more prevalent than in the o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ethiopia/Amhara-Region/Simien-Mountains/blog-378765.html