Rainy day in Gondar (Uploaded photos - 17 Apr 07)

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After spending two nights at Bahir Dar, i bade farewell to Dave and our partnership in travelling.. and took a lift from a british couple to Gonder.. north of Bahir Dar, 3hrs private car ride away..

The drive with the British couple was great.. they drive quite fast .. =) and we stopped by this Guzawa Castle along the way.. perched on a hill top.. qiute nice. .we had the entire castle to ourselves.. no admission charge.. and 2 little ethiopian kids (3-5yrs) came and wanted to be our guide.. haha.. they opened a gate into the castle for us (which we could have found on our own anyways actually).. and blabbered lots of amharic (the ethio language in the north) to us which we did not understand.. in the end, the british couple gave them 1 bir for their efforts..

Checked into the Ethiopia for 30birs/night.. not too bad.. the hotel is in a very central location.. Gonder is supposedly the Camelot of Ethiopia.. with its series of castles and churches.. it's a small town.. and can be done within a full day..

Went to the Royal Enclosure where there are old castles built by Emperor Fasilidas in the 17th century.. and then it started to rain.. heavy.. with lightning and thunder.. took shelter in one of the old castles.. the rain was intermittent, and after finishing the tour of the enclosure, i decided to check into one of the internet cafes here..

Maybe later when the weather eases up, i can go visit the Debre Berhan Selassis Church and the Fasilidas Bath.. and if i complete Gonder in one day, i may take a bus to Lalibela tomorrow.. haven't really decided if i want to skip Axxum or not.. see how..


Uploaded the photos except the Holy Trinity Church (Debre Berhan Selasie) (16 Apr 2007)
Uploaded the Selasie photos (17 Apr 2007)

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Photos

View of the Debra Berhan Selasie ceiling
Quite a famous angle to shoot from.. used by many ethiopian tourism posters..

On the Way to Gonder
That's the land cruiser belonging to the british couple i travelled in..

Ruins of Castle Guzawa
All to ourselves..

Guzawa at 10mm (x1.6)
Difference between 10-22 and my 18-35.. which one do you like more? =)

A View of Gonder
The green and yellow building on the left is where i stayed...

More ruins
It's a big compound.. only uploading a couple shots of some of the castle ruins in the compound..

The bath compound of Fasilidas
Sadly under rehabilitation.. really a great place to have a bath..

2 levels of the bath complex
You enter at the ground level.. and the water flows from ground to the pool at the basement level..

View of the Bath Compound
And the entrance to the bath complex..

Front view of the selasie church
the afternoon light didn't make it easy to take a good shot..

Inside the church
The church is known for its colourful murals..

The main altar of the church
main altar.. front... dunno what it should be called