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Interesting Links about Ethiopia Tourism

Tour Ethiopia - Ethiopian Tourism Net
http://tour.ethiopiaonline.net/

Experience Ethiopia Travel
http://www.telecom.net.et/~eet/

Etiopia Contrastes - (1997)
http://www.abaforum.es/users/1078/ethiopia/index.htm

Mungo Park Tekeze River Expedition - (1996)
http://www.mungopark.com/container.asp?issue=199609&sec=contents

Ethiopia – Africa's Enigma
http://members.aol.com/jamjamdave/wanderers3.html

Rene Van Dam's Travelogue
http://www.xs4all.nl/~renevd/index.html

P. Gordon Travel Journal
http://www.pgordon.com/ethiopia/eindex.html

Far Horizons
http://www.farhorizon.com/other/ethiopia.htm

Lonely Planet Travelers Message Board - Africa
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/afr/topics.htm

Jos Spaansons Travel Essay
http://www.traveloco.com/features/ethiopia/

OMO River - 300 Miles of African Adventure (SOBEK)
http://www.travelon.com/Files/adv_country/trips/trip_87.htm

Chris Kind Safari Consultants
http://www.digigate.net/safari/ethiopi.htm

Unusual Destinations Tour
http://www.southern-africa.com/ethiopia/index.html

Infohub Tours to Ethiopia
http://www.infohub.com/TRAVEL/SIT/sit_pages/Ethiopia.html

National Travel - OMO Valley
http://www.nationaltravel.com/ethiopia.htm

African Safari in Ethiopia
http://www.tcsn.net/africansafari/

Canis Simiensis - Ethiopian Wolf
http://www.oit.itd.umich.edu/bio/doc.cgi/Chordata
/Mammalia/Carnivora/Canidae/Canis_simensis.ftl

African Wildlife Organization - Search "Ethiopia"
http://www.africanwildlife.org/

African Safari in Ethiopia
http://www.tcsn.net/africansafari/

Ethiopian Black-Maned Lions
http://pages.prodigy.com/cats/barbary.htm

Note on the Crocodiles in Lake Chamo
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/
newsletter/news151a.htm#Ethiopia

Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society
http://www.uel.ac.uk/pers/D.P.Humber/ewnhs.htm

Ethiopian Privatization Agency
http://www.telecom.net.et/~epa/

The Maple Companies, Limited
http://themaplecompanies.com/mapleethiopia.htm

US Embassy -Addis Abeba; Commercial Section
http://www.telecom.net.et/~usis-eth/wwwhecon.htm

MARKGET INTERNATIONAL Basketware from Ethiopia
http://www.intracen.org/virtexib/ethiopia/ethiop1.htm

Jomo Design: Specializes in Contemporary African/Ethiopian Furniture, drawing, painting, 2D & 3D graphic design for print and the internet.
http://www.kcdata.com/~jomodzn/

Genuine Leather Craft Pvt Ltd Co.
http://www.genuineleathercraft.com/

EthioMall
http://www.ethiomall.com/

Ethiopian Internet White Pages
http://comet.columbia.edu/ESS/directory

Computer Store in Ethiopia - PC House
http://192.41.9.120/ethiopia/

Merkato USA
http://www.merkatousa.com/

Saba Dimensional Stone - Marble Processing
http://www.webworldinc.com/nwnm/saba/index.html-ssi

Dasol Trading Company
http://www.dasol.com/ETHCOMR/ethcomr.html

Alem Technology - Surveying
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/AlemTechnology/

Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation
http://www.telecom.net.et/

Ethiopian Airlines
http://www.flyethiopian.com/

TransComm Technologies
http://www.tctel.net/

Ethiopian Investment - SlideShow
http://www.ethiopia.net/

Addis Abeba - Online Business Directory
http://www.addisababacc.com/

GeezFont
http://www.geezfont.com/

OromoSoft - Software
http://www.oromosoft.com/

Ethionet and Nathan Graphics
http://www.ethionet.com/

EthSoft - Educational Software
http://members.aol.com/ethiosoft/ethsoft.htm

Mekwor Plaza Building- Addis Abeba
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~mekuria/

US Embassy in Eritrea; Commerce Section
http://www.usia.gov/regional/posts/posts.htm#AF

The City of Addis Ababa Its founders called it "new flower" (Addis Ababa) after seeing a new flower in the place where rose a hot spring. This was the main reason for the king and his queen consort Menelik Taitu Entoto come down from the hills to the valley in 1886.
Addis Ababa is really new and quite young with only 110 years old. But is heir to the legacy of the country's capital as Yeha (500 BC), the splendor and grandeur of Axum that lasted almost 1000 years, Gondar (about 200 years), and the most recent and transient as Ankober, Debra Tabor and Addis Zemen.
Addis is a metropolis spread over an area of ??21,000 square kilometers and has an estimated population of 2.2 million people (1996).
With an altitude ranging from 2200 to 2500 meters, is the third largest city in the world height. Being in the tropics, the climate provides an almost permanent spring. It has also been called "the city in the forest" for its extensive greenery, especially the ubiquitous Eucalyptus. One of the unforgettable memories of visitors to the city is its characteristic smell of burning eucalyptus wood everywhere, especially in the morning and early afternoon.
Addis is also the center of national life's third most populous country in Africa. It is the headquarters of the major pan-African institutions such as the Organization of African Unity, the Economic Commission for Africa United Nations and the International Livestock Research Institute, Addis Ababa making diplomatic capital of Africa.
Located 4 degrees east longitude and 18 degrees north latitude, the city has an average annual rainfall of 1153 mm. and an average temperature of 15 ° C.
The National Museum
The National Museum is home to Lucy (Dinqnesh), probably the most famous skeleton of a hominid in the world.
Found in 1974 at Hadar in the banks of the Awash, was named Australopithecus Afariensis, has more than three million years, the oldest hominid found to date. The museum also has an interesting collection of archaeological artifacts and history of Ethiopia, as well as objects of art and culture.
Ethnographic Museum
Located in and managed by the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Addis Ababa University, is the first and only country ethnological museum, which displays the physical environment and traditional crafts of the main ethnic groups (including costumes, utensils household, agricultural commodities, hunting, military, musical instruments and manuscripts and icons both Christian and Muslim). The building was the palace of Emperor Haile Selassie, and offers the only chance to see how royalty lived Ethiopian (except perhaps modest palace visit to Bahar Dar Regional). The other sections of the former palace now used as offices and a library of the University and the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. However, the private rooms of the king and queen have been preserved and are part of the museum.

 

Lalibela on the day of excitement

The scene is biblical. The faces, the drapery, prayers, chants, the fervor, the grandiose setting of bare mountains: one feels projected in the middle of the Old Testament. The faithful thousands are scattered everywhere, some sitting, some kneeling, others lying. Almost all they like them, carry a large white mantle completely their emaciated bodies. There are those who pray, those have to sing and clap, there are conversing quietly. Some came with family, children running around, some in pairs, others in groups of friends. Are concentric around the white tent that houses the most precious circles, which came to worship: the tabot. That is, the chests enclosing a copy of the sacred Ark of the Covenant. Made of marble, alabaster or acacia wood, equivalent to the tabernacle of Catholic churches. In the morning, some processions have brought with great pomp here from different temples in the city. And now, for a long night vigil, touch venerate. A sneaky look inside (excessive curiosity causes murmurs of disapproval) allows to see, under the tarp, different chests, all covered tightly fabric adorned with rich embroidery: it is a tabot never be seen by the eyes of the mortals.
In another tent, some priests standing in a circle singing, accompanied by drums and cymbals, one melopeya that seems endless. At each level of the hierarchy corresponds a different dress: some in a white robe embroidered highlighted by bright red, with showy black cloaks, with richly decorated chasubles multiple colors, with bright white turbans, with spectacular tiaras that almost seem gladiator helmets. Several carry a scepter in which support to alleviate this long vigil. The atmosphere is mystical, intense amid the pungent sweetness of the voices. The song just wrapping the visitor, embriagándole.
After a night of fervor begins at dawn, the central part of the ceremony. The priests, brandishing a large Greek crosses, approach with much ceremony at a nearby pool crosshair. They give slowly around, before blessing the water with a cotton swab, amid chants and incense smells from. And behold, the atmosphere suddenly changes. After the quiet, peaceful slumber a night of prayer, after these hours of meditation, all seem agitated at the same time. It's anointing as this now holy water. All jostle to reach the sacred pool, drum or a canteen on hand to throw the precious liquid overhead. Until a few helpers dressed in a raincoat bright green caught a hose and start spraying generously to the faithful. Boys or girls, young or old, are pushed to be placed in the water path. Irrigators seem to have a great time, much as these youth groups and soaked running behind the flow of water to wet even more.
We are in Lalibela, in the heart of the Ethiopian mountains, 2,600 meters: famous for its cave and regarded as sacred by all Ethiopian churches (most of its inhabitants have a relative linked to the clergy). And right place, therefore, to contemplate, or rather live intensely, the Timkat, the most important religious ceremony of the year for the country's Orthodox Church, which celebrates the end of January, the local Epiphany.

Africa Hall
Built and donated by the government of Ethiopia, this is where he founded the Organization for African Unity in 1963. It is now home to one of the six regional commissions of the United Nations established in 1958. In the lobby of the old conference room
(The commission has a new one considered one of the most modern in the world), there is a large stained glass made by the most renowned master of Ethiopia, Tekle Afewerk.
Trinity Cathedral
Although it appears that in the country there is a church on every corner, almost every Ethiopian Orthodox churches have something of interest and therefore worth visiting. For some reason, in these churches is always celebrating some act and their cults and rituals are very different from other Christian churches. All have interesting legends and stories associated with its founding and have amazing relics, murals, icons and old books on parchment.
Architecturally, are rectangular or round. The oldest are in a basilica. Also some of the latest built in major urban areas.
The Trinity is the most decorated modern cathedrals. Built in 1941, was and remains dedicated final resting place of the heroes of the nation and of the most distinguished officers. The ceiling paintings are models made by one of the most important living artists country Felege Selam Ale.
Merkato, Anwar Mesgid
The markets are particularly interesting in Ethiopia to be the best showcase of everything available in the area and meeting place of different people. There are markets and outdoor covered throughout the country, usually in the center of cities. Bati, Indibir, Kofele, Shashemene, Senbete are some of the biggest and most interesting. However, none reaches the large market of Addis Ababa.
Trying to convey the feeling that causes Merkato is like trying to portray an ocean with a glass of water. It is a concentration of all that is Ethiopian with everything from the world blended into a cacophony of colors and endless objects.
Merkato is not only the shopping center of Addis Ababa, is the engine of the commercial development of the country, and its union with all industries and businesses worldwide. It is said that 60% of the country's currency is at any time in Merkato.
Unrivaled throughout Africa, Merkato is one of the most open markets in the world. Although operates daily on Saturday morning is the busiest time, attracting around 50,000 buyers and sellers, both the city and the surrounding area. When it comes to shopping, it is said that there is nothing in the world that can not be found there. Bargaining is the rule.
Anwar Mesgid
One of the most characteristic monuments Merkato is the grand mosque of the city. It was built by Haile Selassie as a gesture of fairness to the two main religions.

The extensive range of Entoto, north of the city, was the original site of the capital of Menelik before the current move to Addis Ababa. All that remains today are some ruins and two churches: Entoto Mariam where Menelik was crowned in 1882, and the unusual two-story Entoto Raguel (Elias) that is reminiscent of traditional Chinese structures. There is a museum in Entoto Mariam which opened on the 100th anniversary of Addis Ababa in 1986. It contains interesting exhibits, including artifacts and costumes that belonged to Menelik and Queen Taitu. The ascent through a forest of Eucalyptus, to the summit of Mount Entoto, is an interesting walk especially at sunset for its magnificent views of Addis Ababa. Immediately

Lucy
The National Archaeological Museum of Ethiopia, in the capital of this country (based, of course, of the OAU (AU), houses the skeleton of Lucy, this ancestor of 3.5 million years, the hominid skeleton that walked upright , until recently the world's oldest ... The next "oldest", although I have been clear that there is completely ratified, was found just 60 miles from where Lucy was found, so everything still remains "home" :-). Lucy was discovered in 1974, and got its name because its discoverers, Donald Johanson, Johanson and Tom Gray other anthropologists, just when they found this fantastic skeleton, were listening to the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" . The Ethiopians call Denkenesh that AMARINA language means "you're wonderful". I liked this museum, not only be dealing with ... Is the original or the copy? This fabulous find that once confirmed that we all come from Africa, but also because the whole museum is organized and posed with effort, care and educational guidance ... in Africa and this is noteworthy. There are many panels that explain the evolution of our ancestors, accompanying paleontoatropológicos found more remains in this country. In addition, there is a good collection of tools, very different objects and old photographs of the different tribes that populate Ethiopia. In short, a good place in which to spend a couple of hours learning about ourselves, about Africa, about Ethiopia.

Our Oldest Ancestor
Lucy is a pre-hominid skeleton belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis, 3.5 million years. Located in the National Museum in Addis Ababa and was one of my dreams in this fabulous trip to Ethiopia to see Lucy. His name is because when it was discovered in the camp of archaeologists sounded the Beatles song "Lucy in te sky with diamons" or Lucy in the sky with diamonds, a fabulous song. The museum located in the city center is small but very well kept, has a bit of everything interesting yes, have pictures of Lalibela, the thrones of emperors, clothes and utensilios.La really worth a visit, a museum in Africa is not current and this deserves

Lucy, the world's oldest fossil, leave home
Text: Associated Press and Editorial

Lucy (named by paleontologists). This skeleton was found in Ethiopia in 1974, has 3.5 million old, belongs to one of the eight species of Australopithecus that lived in Africa between 4.5 and 1 million years.
Directors of the Museum of Natural Science Houston want to display the remains in 2006. Some anthropologists fear in transit from Ethiopia (site where they were discovered), deteriorate. The first public display of Lucy, a fossil discovered 3.2 million years in Ethiopia, will open in Houston in 2006, to the chagrin of some anthropologists that the project fearing damage to the fragile skeleton. Ethiopia, where Lucy is stored in a museum safe, hopes to encourage tourism and investment in the country offering the treasure on loan to the Museum of Natural Science Houston. "Nobody is happy Lucy export of Ethiopia's original," said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, curator at the Natural History Museum of Cleveland. "People think that Lucy could hurt exports," he added. The fossil represents 40% of the skeleton of a woman who died between 25 and 30 years. It is "the most complete skeleton, best preserved, of any ancestor of humans to walk upright ever found", refers in the book Lucy: The beginnings of humankind, which is co-author Donald Johanson, one of the discoverers. Johanson and other anthropologists who unearthed the fossil in Hadar (Ethiopia) in 1974 was baptized with the name of the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds during a celebration of the discovery. The skeleton, experts say, indicates that our ancestors walked upright before the appearance of the first stone tools, and before they grow the brains of these hominids. The Museum of Houston will be responsible for organizing a possible tour of Lucy by the U.S. for four years, once an agreement is realized with the Ethiopian Tourism Commission. The scales could include New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. "It is a dream for the entire museum," enthused Dirk van Tuerenhout, curator of anthropology at the Houston museum. "But for the department, for the field of anthropology, it is as if we have received the Holy Grail." Negotiations between the Ethiopian government and the museum still trying which objects on the history of this African country will accompany Lucy. The museum would like to include crowns, costumes and manuscripts of a dead language. By allowing the journey of Lucy, the Ethiopian authorities hope to offer an image of the country other than the stereotype of famine and war, Gezahgen said Kebede, Ethiopian-president of the American Council on Trade and Investment, in Houston. Haile-Selassie, who moved from Ethiopia to the United States a decade ago, said other museums have exhibited casts of Lucy and argues that the Houston Museum could do the same. "What is the difference between a good show and an original mold?" He asked. "Why keep it in a safe when in the home country and then send it to another country?". But van Tuerenhout says people want to see the real skeleton, not a cast, and Lucy has not been exhibited in Ethiopia because it has the resources to do it safely. "Of course we would love for people in Ethiopia to see her first, but now the government and the museum feel it is not possible," he said. "There is no infrastructure," refers. He added that the fossil will travel in a special container. At the end of the tour, all objects related to the exhibit, computer program, windows, lighting and background information, go to Ethiopia to Ethiopians can finally see the fossil, said Van Tuerenhout. If the Ethiopian government wants to share Lucy, no one can stop him, said Bernard Wood, director of the Center for Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology at The George Washington University. But there is a precedent to their liking or the other anthropologists. "Paleoanthropologists museum curators and well supported in the United States should find another way to raise funds for these African museums," said Wood. "Lucy is your ancestor and my ancestor and all.'re Talking money here and do not think should be left to speak." The Houston Museum authorities do not reveal whether they are providing funding or other support to the Ethiopian government or its national museum in exchange for the exhibition. Museum spokeswoman Lydia Baehr said the cost to take this exhibition center for mounting the exhibition and to ensure the transport of the fossil will be included in the final contract, and stressed that it will be confidential. But Haile-Selassie said when Lucy molds are exposed on the outside, "it is natural for the Ethiopian National Museum, one of the third world, expect financial and material assistance." The Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor said the Lucy exhibit could produce an economic influence 5 to $ 7 million. A little history The fossil found in the genus of the australopithecines (Australopithecus), primate fossil hominid family who lived in Africa for 5.5 million years to a million years ago and is characterized by its upright position. In Hadar were also discovered in 1975 and 1983 remains of hominids twenty men and women, adults and children. The researcher Donald Johanson gave them that name to be a mixture of human and ape.
An old Fiat walking the streets of Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa). The largest city in Ethiopia with a population of 3,384,569 inhabitants, according to the census of 2008.2 It is also the capital of the African Union and its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity Designated Africana.3 city and state while according to Ethiopian territorial organization in Addis Ababa is home to more than 80 nationalities and languages, besides Christians, Muslims and Jews. In it lies the University of Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa is located at an altitude of 2300 meters and is a prairie grassland. It is located at the foot of Mount Entoto. From its lowest point, around Bole International Airport, to 2,326 meters above sea level in the southern periphery, the city rises to over 3,000 meters in the Entoto Mountains to the north.
Portrait of a teenager near the airport in Bahir Dar. From Bahir Dar port can be accessed by boat to several historic churches and monasteries located on the lake, in its various islands. Most of them dating from the XVII century and is characterized by polychromatic richness of its walls, some of these churches have museums illuminated manuscripts, crowns and royal robes and ecclesiastical. Even today, some of these islands monasteries are forbidden to women, but others can be visited by both sexes. Furthermore, since the city depart tourist services to Niagara Blue Nile (Abay River), located about 30 km south of the city, and constitute one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
Portrait of an Ethiopian in the path between Bahir Dar and Blue Nile Falls. Bahir Dar offers a small daily market and weekly one larger. How much further with some hotels built around the lake, and various music clubs. In turn, is home to Bahir Dar University, founded in 2000 on the basis of former Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1963. Currently Bahir Dar University has four faculties: Education, Engineering, Economics and Business and Law. The city is equipped with an airport with paved runways, identified by ICAO code and IATA HABD BJR. Ethiopian airlines operate scheduled flights between Bahir Dar and the capital as well as with Gondar to the northwest. The city is also connected through roads and bus routes to Addis Ababa and Gondar.
Interior of the car on the way from Bahir Dar and Blue Nile Falls. The earliest historical records we have of this area date from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, Jesuit missionaries settlement on the banks of Lake Tana. Even today it remains a building of this period near the central square, which is associated with Pedro Páez, Spanish Jesuit missionary sent to Ethiopia in 1589. During the Italian invasion of 1935-1936, an Italian military column mobilized from Gondar occupied the city on April 23, 1937. During World War II, between 21 and 22 October 1940 the city was bombed by the Royal Air Force, and although the action did little damage served as impetus for the Ethiopian resistance. After months of skirmishing, the Italian garrison under the command of Colonel Torelli empezaró to evacuate the city on April 27, 1941. One of the palaces of Emperor Haile Selassie is located near the city, which is why the Emperor considered moving the national capital to the city, which did not materialize.
The Blue Nile Falls, Tis Abay AMARINA language (smoke water), are one of those mythical places with a dream when you read stories about early explorers, discoverers .. Precisely, Pedro Paez, a alcarreño born in 1564 in a village of Madrid today, was the first European "modern" was here. He was a Jesuit missionary, who became an expert on indigenous languages ??and culture, and was lucky enough to know the source of the Blue Nile in 1613. As he and his colleagues have, it seems that little has changed in these places ... Well, now there is a dam to generate electricity just above the falls, and has made his wealth dwindle, why not ... But the mule path continues along the river that runs between Abbai volcanic rocks hard ... It is the path that we started, and after crossing the bridge to the Portuguese rose, and continued walking with Amhara cruzándonos going to market with their goods (butter, honey ...), until, after climbing a small hill, we began to hear the sound of water, the sound of waterfalls, magical ... Gradually raising the volume until we can spot one of them, we move forward and there are, which was long thought were the sources of the Blue Nile (located nearby, on Lake Tana, while not cataracts. ..), magnificent brown because we are in the rainy season and dragging mud and slime, but equally beautiful and splendid.
Tis Isat, the Blue Nile Falls. In the vast and beautiful Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile, the great branch which flows back in Sudan on the White Nile, the great Nile which runs through Egypt and the Mediterranean will die. The great Nile crocodiles which was inhabited by huge, and crossed by the pharaohs and priests worshiping the sun god, Ra, and the entire pantheon beneath his wings. Discover the source of the Blue Nile (Abay River in Ethiopia) was one of the big goals of the early explorers. One of those mysteries, along with the White Nile, which brought many heads. And long been confused with cataracts that sit a few miles beyond the right place (the falls are about 30 km from Bahir Dar).
Portrait of an Ethiopian in the area at the foot of the Blue Nile Falls (Abay River). A few years ago, the Ethiopian government inaugurated a hydroelectric plant that uses the gradient of the cataracts of the Nile water is diverted just before jumping into a turbine and produces 750 megawatts of electricity, not much, but enough to bring light and energy lead north of the country. Even left over for export. Before its construction, waterfalls covering a total of 400 meters of frontage. But now 85% of the flow is diverted through the canal to produce electricity. Only between 10 and 15% still falling for the falls. And that, in dry season, it shows. The natives called Tis Isat cataract, the steaming water, because the whole area was enveloped in a cloud of vaporized water visible from miles away. At his feet grew a rainforest with parrots, monkeys and hundreds of species.

The search for the sources of the Nile
The Nile in National Geographic magazine, number 31, 1917.
Falls in Ethiopia.

The Nile seen from the temple of Isis. Your current location is the island Agilkia.
Despite the attempts of the Greeks and Romans (who were unable to penetrate the Sudd) the upper reaches of the Nile remained largely unexplored. Several expeditions had failed in their attempts to determine the source of the Nile, which motivated the Hellenistic and Roman representations of the river as a male god with the head and face hidden by fabric. Agatharcides recorded that in times of Ptolemy II a military expedition had sufficiently traced the course of the Blue Nile to determine that the cause of the summer floods were seasonal heavy rains in the Ethiopian highlands, but it is not believed that any European Age reached Lake Tana and continue the steps of this expedition beyond Meroe.
Europeans got virtually no new information about the origins of the Nile to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when travelers to Ethiopia visited Lake Tana and even the source of the Blue Nile in the mountains south of the lake. Although James Bruce claimed to have been the first European to visit the source, modern writers with better knowledge give credit to the Spanish Jesuit Pedro Páez. Paez's description of the source of the Nile (History of Ethiopia, c. 1622) was not published in full until the early twentieth century. This text is a long and vivid account of Ethiopia. But the story is reflected in several contemporary writings to its composition, as history geral da Ethiopia a Alta (Balthazar Telles, 1660), Mundus Subterraneus (Athanasius Kircher, 1664) or the current state of Egypt (Johann Michael Vansleb, 1678) . The Europeans had lived in the country since the late fifteenth century, and it is possible that some of them had visited the source above, but was unable to send a report with their findings outside Ethiopia. The Portuguese Jerónimo Lobo also describes the source of the Blue Nile, having visited shortly after Pedro Páez. His story also appears in the work of Balthazar Telles.
The White Nile was even more mysterious and misunderstood, and in ancient times it was thought, wrongly, that the River Niger was actually the upper White Nile, and Pliny the Elder wrote that the Nile had its origins "in a mountain Low Mauritania "ran along the surface for a distance of" many days ", then back underground, reappeared as a large lake in the Masaesyles territory, then disappeared again under the desert floor, through which ran" for a distance twenty days of travel to reach the nearest Ethiopians. " A merchant named Diogenes reported that the Nile's water attracted animals such as water buffalo or camels (after its introduction by the Persians in the seventh century. C.).
Lake Victoria was referred to by Europeans for the first time in 1858, when the British explorer John Hanning Speke reached its southern shore while traveling scanning Central Africa with Richard Francis Burton and aimed to locate the Great Lakes. Believing he had found the source of the Nile for the first time seeing this "vast expanse of open water" Speke gave the name of the sovereign of the United Kingdom at the time. Burton, who had been recovering from an illness resting A little further south, on the corner of Lake Tanganyika, was furious to learn that Speke had given his discovery was shown that the true source of the Nile when Burton regarded as still as uncertified something. What followed was a very public feud, which not only led to an intense debate within the scientific community of the time, but encouraged many explorers to confirm or refute Speke's discovery. The famous British explorer and missionary David Livingstone failed to confirm the assertions of Speke to move too far west and entered the Congo Basin. Finally was the Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley who confirmed the truth of Speke's discovery to circumnavigate Lake Victoria and describe the large outflow of water from the Ripon Falls on the North Shore. It was during this trip that was supposed to Stanley greeted the British explorer with the words "Did Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" To find the Scotsman ill and despondent in his camp on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
Some local boat cross the Abay River near the Blue Nile Falls. The Blue Nile Falls is a waterfall on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. They are known as Tis Abay in Amharic, translated, means "smoking water" They are situated on the upper course of the river, about 30 km downstream from the town of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. The falls are considered one of the best known tourist attractions of Ethiopia. The falls are estimated between 37 and 45 meters high, consisting of four streams that originally varied from a thread in the dry season of more than 400 meters wide in the rainy season. Regulation of Lake Tana now reduces the variation somewhat, and since 2003 a hydroelectric station has taken much of the flow of the falls except during the rainy season. The Blue Nile Falls have isolated the ecology of Lake Tana ecology from the rest of the Nile, and this isolation has played a role in the evolution of endemic fauna of the lake.
In Addis Ababa, great dusty African city where modern buildings line the slum populations and where the cement is omnipresent, we started our road trip to Abyssinia. There were 220 pilgrims with our prayers, in twelve buses, touring country roads. Like the sailors of old, who ventured into the sea, aboard his ships routes to discover new lands, we were to discover a new country and ourselves. Our journey is a true epic that takes us from the north to the south of Gondar, Lalibela, to finish the trip on Lake Langano.
Sunk in the life of Ethiopian families
The landscapes we cross are majestic. The highlands have cut hills and deep valleys with crops. On the bus window, I see people parading with round huts, covered with a thatched roof with on top a pot of soil, fertility symbol. There are houses everywhere, in the fields of gold or of all shades of green fields of teff, coffee or khat.

Almost everything here is round houses, stacks of wheat, food. In the fields, men inclined, as in the drawings of Van Gogh or Courbet, Segan grain with the sickle. Children keep herds of sheep and cattle with giant horns. Long lines of men, women and children, in sandals or barefoot, they walk on the roads. Little nervous horses with harnesses decorated with red fabrics, prance. On our way, we all smile and greet us. Occasionally, a herd of camels crossed we block the way. Along the way, we see donkey carts carrying sacks with eucalyptus branches or cereals; small buses Toyota brand here called "Al Quaida" by his driving fast and dangerous, and the big international trucks moving slowly and painfully. All other vehicles advancing them, each more rapid, even when cornering. Accidents are frequent. We witnessed several.

In Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar we. We are too numerous to stay in one place and we divide up into several hotels and pensions. There are a nice contrast between the hotel and the hotel's location in Africa. From the balcony of the Blue Nile Hotel, located in the city center, directly at me in the lives of African families. It's six in the morning and, at my feet, a woman dressed in a traditional costume, consisting of a long skirt and a large white veil, washed, crouched in front of a bucket of water. Children play on an old baby-foot that seems to be there by chance, in front of houses built with poor quality cement and corrugated iron. Men cross greeting, without fuss. Maybe, today is one of the many holidays dedicated to the Virgin (there are 33 per year), to San Miguel, or any other saint. That first day, in the afternoon, do vibration under a huge tree. I wear melee him. I can feel her numerous roots lie deep in the earth, while its crown rises, grandiose, over me.

 

Like that tree, one heaven and earth.

A magical moment
We crossed the lake Tana to reach an island where there is a monastery. It is a circular building thatched mud, nothing ostentatious. But the treasures are inside: a succession of XVIII century frescoes depicting various biblical scenes. The faces have eyes very large black pupil and iris. When we return to the dock, there is a row of religious souvenir sellers who try to get our attention. Buy some crosses of nickel, an icon of Mary and also a small wooden boats selling rush children.

Throughout the trip, we see hundreds of children. They have large eyes and live like icons and wonderful smiles. They usually beg at the entrance of the city. We are rich, they are poor and they say: "Pen! Pen!" We often give our empty bottles that will serve them for school canteens. Anything to not become little beggars. In the fields, we were greeted with wild enthusiasm. When our caravan passes, they come down from the hills, leaving their animals and waving both hands to greet us. We continue to form a committee.

At a stop for gas, some children become massage before the open door of our bus. "Pen! Pen!" exclaim. A few we have stayed in the vehicle and, instead of shutting the door, we sing a Hail Mary. We listen in amazement. Then we asked to sing a song in Amharic. Tehodorus, our guide, is with us, and is the link that unites them. It makes a translator. One of the children, at first hesitant, he sings. His voice is shy but harmonious. As we give some chocolates to thank the song, another child starts singing. Then another, many smiles, laughs. For half an hour we live a magical moment. In the end, there are more than thirty children huddled in front of the bus, and we respond to our other songs to finish singing together. USA. It is a moment of true union.

Reyes mythical greatness of the past

In Gondar, visit the royal city built in the seventeenth century by the king and his sons Johannes Fasilidas and Yassou. Reyes mythic grandeur of the past. Until Fasilidas, Ethiopian kings descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, were traveling in nomad camps. At sunset, the castles of Gondar strikingly resembled the Celtic castles. It seemed we were in Scotland or Ireland. Currently, the rock is bare, unadorned. Formerly was decorated with gold, silver and ivory, explains our guide. But the Italians went out there during the Second World War, after the British with their bombing.

Lalibela. Twelve churches carved into the rock in the twelfth century by King Lalibela. Legend says that angels helped dig the churches, and who came to work at night. It is an extraordinary place where each name (Betlem, the tomb of Christ, the Jordan, the church of Golgotha, Tehsemania) reminds Jerusalem. But here it is the New Jerusalem, in a country that is not divided by any war between brothers. We were a day to visit the place.
While our churches have been built from the bottom up, pointing to heaven, to God, the churches of Lalibela were carved from above, in the volcanic rock. They are imbued with God on earth. The telluric energy is not rising to the sky, is the cosmic energy that descends to the earth-mother. In all these churches queen quiet atmosphere. The carpets are scattered on the floor, on the walls, magnificent frescos mingle with paintings of saints. On the corner, there are objects of worship heteroclite. Several women pray sitting or kneeling. Everywhere, the Christian cross cohabits with the Star of David and the Swastika.
In the church of Mary, there is a central pillar covered with curtains. Tradition says that Christ appeared to the king Lalibela leaving here on this pillar the history of mankind, the alpha to omega. The world would disappear if that story was revealed. We attended a party in honor of Mary. A white-robed priests chant, sacred texts and reading some great playing drums.
An extraordinary epic
From Labilela, we headed south to Lake Langano, last leg of our trip. We walked down the hill where the churches were excavated. The road is full of hairpin turns. Perceive in a bend our bus rosary. I have the feeling to be living an extraordinary epic.

On my bus, are twenty with our guide and our driver Tzagai Theodoros. We are of various nationalities. The journey is difficult, steps are sometimes very long and we arrived at night, late, no star hotels, to go again, long before dawn, on the roads. The discomfort and fatigue, nerves originate some states but, beyond the small problems that arise, a link is being born among us. We are all different but we are united in prayer and mile after mile, this is cementing our souls. Installs the sweetness. The testimonies of the last hours are very strong and deep wounds reveal each of us certain that express these injuries will lead to healing through love. For me, the bond of love that unites us is identical to that unites tiny particles of matter, is the bond of life. Yvonne reminded us that fundamental cosmic law.

In Langano, I stay two days in bed. I was always afraid to get sick because, as with my decaying body, the mental barriers that I made to channel the pain in adolescence and surely, when my son died, and I find collapse exposed, naked. The first day, I cried so much time in bed. I experienced a real heart and soul cleansing. Am I the only bus sick, therapists and volunteers take turns next to my bed. The care of each other and deeply shock me if he knew he was loved, now I know ... For the body to heal, what matters is that the soul feel loved!
Langano The second day, I get up and enjoy the sweetness in the lake shore. About a dozen of us, sitting comfortably in our chairs in front of the brown water, which great white pelicans glide. All is quiet.

 

Moving mountains with prayer

We have come numerous to Ethiopia, to the sources of Christianity, to the African country as authentic, full of magnificent landscapes and big smiles children. With the strength of our prayers, I have the feeling that we have moved mountains. For me, this pilgrimage is different from the others. Very hard on the physical plane, but it seemed like a divine breath impulsase us.

Also, I think we were very protected. Back in France, I speak with a botanist who travels around the world because of passion for plants and has been twice in Ethiopia. I love this country for its rich flora. "But it is a dangerous country, he said. I traveled once at night around Harare and a pistol bullet through my Land Rover. 'If I knew hundreds of kilometers we did at night! I did not tell. I should have spoken of the angels also, no doubt ...

Ethiopia is a country that offers ancient cultures, historical monuments, amazing mountain scenery and a great African wildlife. It is a very economical tourist destination. The many historical sites in Ethiopia, as orthodox traditional ceremonies, the bustle of the big city of Addis Ababa and national parks ideal for watching the local wildlife are the main reasons to visit Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is a country located in the highlands of East Africa bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan. With a culture of over 3000 years, is home to some of the oldest human remains ever found. It is the oldest independent country in Africa and the second country in the world to adopt Christianity. Still not a popular tourist destination, so it attracts 200,000 tourists annually.
Tourist attractions in Ethiopia: historical sites, markets, wildlife and trekking

Ethiopia has a long history that reaches the beginning of mankind and has more historical and architectural sites than any other country in SSA. The remains of some of the great civilizations of the past can be found in cities like Gondar, Axum and Harar. The incredible medieval towns of Lalibela are carved directly on the rocks and are works of art of ancient Ethiopian architecture, where ceremonies are still the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

City and destinations for safaris. The Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, is a large and vibrant city with a colorful urban life, museums and deals. The mountains in the highlands of Ethiopia offer good opportunities for trekking, rafting and bird watching. National parks and wildlife reserves in Ethiopia are well maintained and savannas and jungles are home to wildlife equivalent to some of the African countries most famous Eastern.

 

Ethiopia, directions and tips

The climate is tropical monsoon Ethiopia and large variations due to the mountainous terrain. The climate in the highlands of Ethiopia can be quite cool, while in the valleys north and south of the country tend to be mild throughout the year. The rainy season in Ethiopia is between June and September.

Traveling to Ethiopia by air is easier because there are good connections to Addis Ababa from many cities in Africa, Europe and Asia. Public transport in Ethiopia focuses on buses, but the country also has a railway line. Trains are cheap but slow and roads in Ethiopia are in poor condition.

There are also local airports with frequent flights from Addis Ababa. A good way to see Ethiopia is to rent a car with a local driver.

And security services. There are many hotels, restaurants and some nightlife options in Ethiopia. There are also five star hotels and hostels very economical. Most young people in the cities speak some English, but it usually occurs in rural areas. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, but crime is not common. The regions bordering Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia are dangerous and not advised to travel there. Mainly to avoid travel to the northeast of Afar.
A brief history of Ethiopia

Ethiopia has been inhabited for more than 6 million years. Some of the oldest traces of humankind have been discovered here. As a nation, Ethiopia is one of the oldest in the world: The Ethiopian dynastic history started 3000 years ago. The country adopted Christianity as its official religion in 300 AD After two centuries of decentralization, the monarchy of Ethiopia met in 1855. Unique among African countries, Ethiopia was not European colony, except for a brief period of Italian occupation during World War II. In 1971, a socialist military replaced the emperor. Military rule ended in 1991 and the first multiparty elections were held in 1995. Ethiopia recently lived border war against the newly independent Eritrea, which ended in 2000.
Ethiopia still is for most in the West stands for malnourished children and arid landscapes, but fortunately this is a situation of the past (the early 80s), and even today remains one of the most world's poor, fortunately this is not the usual, although famines can occur at any time in case of persistent drought.

For the traveler, Ethiopia, the former Abyssinia, is the mythical birthplace of the Blue Nile, where the highlands cover most of the territory and the Rift Valley diagonally across the country, giving rise to a variety of landscapes that harbor a rich fauna. Moreover it is the only African country that has never been colonized, its people also feel very proud to fight for their independence. It also has a cultural richness unusual in the continent with a rich Orthodox Christian heritage, maintained even when all the neighbors went over to Islam in the s. VII.

Travelling in Ethiopia is not easy as the tourism infrastructure is minimal or nonexistent, the distances are large and very poor transport, but the reward is great: fabulous landscapes, a very friendly and welcoming population, an amazing cultural and historical heritage, and very few tourists, even in the most visited places. And all this is possible, also traveling with a fairly low budget.

Money
The official currency in Ethiopia is the Ethiopian Birr. Ethiopia can take Euros as they may change at any bank and even can be used to pay Ethiopian Airlines domestic flights, but only at his office in Addis Ababa. But you also need to take a certain amount of U.S. dollars, as the U.S. $ 20 for international departure tax at the airport in Addis Ababa compulsorily payable in U.S. dollars (you can not even pay in local currency). Bring dollars also can do well to pay directly with them if there is no local currency (the euro still not accepted in the street), and this is the only feasible because there is exchange office at the airport in Addis closes night, and if your flight arrives at odd hours you will meet that you can not change until the next morning and you will have to pay while at least the taxi to go to town.

Moreover, our experience tells us that it is better to change in Dashen Bank offices to do in the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, as in the first change is slightly better and they do not charge exchange fees (approximately 0.2% of total).

Credit cards are only useful in Addis Ababa (eg to pay for domestic flights on Ethiopian Airlines offices, or in the luxury hotels).

Average change: 1 = Ethiopian Birr € 0.12

Travel Expenses
+ 825'94 € (flight outward / return + exit rates)
+ 38 € (visa)
+ 241'76 € (3 internal flights)
+ 301'41 € (hotels, food, transportation, tours, gifts, ...)
'11 = 1407 € (total per person)

Visa
You need a visa to enter the country. This visa can be formalized, before traveling through the
Ethiopian Embassy in Paris (Avenue Charles Floquet, 35 - 75007 Paris - Tel and Fax 47.83.83.95. 43.06.52.14)
using a courier or registered mail.

But since March 2002 this visa can be obtained upon arrival at the country as long as the entry is made by the Addis Ababa International Airport. You need a passport valid for at least six months and a visa obtained is valid for one month and two extendable once there. In this case the price of the visa is 315 Birr (change cost around € 38).

Moreover, the immigration office in Addis Ababa airport closes at night (at least going by the dates of the trip). So if your flight arrives at odd hours, still have no visa, and the office is closed, then the officer will give you a receipt and your passport will stay. The next day in the morning you will have to return to the airport to find a passport and visa, upon payment of the 315 Birr. We assume that with the opening of the new international terminal, scheduled for next year, this should no longer happen. (!)

Health
We vaccinate for everything specified for international vaccination center, but is mandatory yellow fever vaccine (this vaccine costs € 15.30 and we have, at least in theory, the Proof of vaccination to enter the country ). As we recommended meningitis, tetanus, typhus (Vivotif) and hepatitis A. Also, if you visit the south, is recommended treatment for malaria (Lariam).

Security
No special security problems in the areas visited regularly, although, as always, the usual precautions should be taken that any traveler should always have anywhere in the world, especially in Addis Ababa. Furthermore it should be noted that there are still mined in areas bordering Eritrea and Somalia. There have also been episodes of banditry in road access to Kenya and Sudan. Yet we insist that Ethiopia is a fairly safe country (in any case far more than its neighbor Kenya). It is strange to see men armed with a Kalashnikov rifle or the like that take as a working tool, with all the natural world. It is shocking, but should not cause concern.

As in many other countries, here too there is a certain obsession in banning photograph anything that could be considered a sensitive infrastructure (not only the prohibition exists, but also there is usually expressed surveillance to enforce it). This includes any bridge, public buildings, military installations, but our experience has taught us that this ban can be arbitrarily applied to anything. One aspect not directly related to security, but that should be considered in Ethiopia is what Philip Briggs, the author of the Bradt travel guide on Ethiopia, has aptly christened as alien hysteria.

Refers to the state of distress that can cause being continually accompanied by crowds of children (or not so young) all while screaming "You, You," "Faranji" (Amharic word meaning foreigner), "Where you from? "or" Give me one birr "and all its possible variants. This affects mainly the traveler who kicks the streets, traveling by bus and staying in local hotels, and occurs mainly in rural areas, where children are under the stones and obviously have all the time in the world. Clearly we see that some children ask for money abroad more as a hobby than real need. Given this fact there is no magic formula, but one should try to take it with good humor, even if sometimes it becomes very difficult, because from experience I can say that there are times when exhausted the patience of anyone. Certainly this phenomenon occurs not only in Ethiopia, but here there is more acutely than elsewhere.

Transport
The transportation in Ethiopia is one of the important aspects to consider when planning our trip, because the distances involved are usually quite large (the surface of the country is more than twice that of Spain), the terrain is very complicated and the road condition is quite poor (only 20% of the nearly 40,000 km of roads are paved or so). We describe alternatives and more common:

Bus. From our point of view is the best way to experience the country, but we must say it is quite hard, mainly because the routes are endless (for example, in the northern circuit comprising two tours are travel days). Buses are always out around 6 or 7 h. morning and circulate normally never beyond 18 h. because it avoids night driving. For long journeys faithfully follow the ceremony advise bus: first of all it is convenient to buy the ticket the day before (up to 18 h.), Although the seats are not numbered and even sold more seats than they actually are. For this reason you should go to the bus station at 5 in the morning, to enter the premises of the station before the Ethiopians do so (the access door is closed until 5'30 h. Foreigners but are allowed to enter before that time), go to the assigned bus (ticket usually indicates the number of bus) and stand in front of the door and wait for the open and allow access to the bus (sometimes we come immediately, with the Bus still empty, and choose the seat you want). Yes we got to the station just as the doors opened or after this time we will have little chance of getting a seat, and in any case we can not choose the site. To get an idea of ??what usually happens in Ethiopian bus station when the doors open imagine opening doors of the English Court the first day of sales. No compassion whatsoever grandparents, women with children, and everyone in general, sets out on a mad dash to get a spot. Ethiopia is one of the few African countries where people are not allowed to stand or sit in the aisle of the bus, and this is usually respected because no roads policing to enforce the law. Therefore, everyone who travels on the bus must have a seat. On long journeys usually stop at least for breakfast and lunch (up to 20-30 minutes). In two-day trips to the end of the first day in a village intermediate driver's convenience, where we find somewhere to sleep. It's not too difficult to find a hotel, but we must be aware that they are very basic. Ethiopian buses are not too comfortable, especially after a few hours away. Also, for some strange reason, the Ethiopians are very reluctant to open the windows, but the heat and / or odor inside the bus are suffocating. This, coupled with the high and winding paths, makes some passengers often dizzy (hence it is common to see them sniffing a lemon for much of the trip to try to avoid dizziness).

Private transport by road. You can rent a car with driver, Internet before reaching the country or through an agency or individual in Addis Ababa. This option significantly shortening the time taken to make road journeys, as well as being more comfortable and allow greater freedom to stop and go where they want us.

The big drawback is the price, as prices start at U.S. $ 100 per car per day, reaching easily ask $ 200. If you choose this option you must monitor the hired vehicle is in good condition, take all necessary replacement material and also the driver is familiar with the route to go. It is also desirable that everyone is clear about which includes the agreed price and does not include.

Domestic flights. Ethiopian Airlines has flights connecting major cities and in particular any of the items on the northern historical circuit (Bahir Dar, Gonder, Aksum and Lallibela). You can book and make changes virtually unlimited dates. It is advisable to buy the cheap once in the country, but to do it from here. In any case we recommend not waiting until the last day to book a flight or buy, as there are paths that planes are made with very small and fill up quickly. Moreover, in case of a reservation is essential realitzado reconfirm and / or pay at least 3 days before, or otherwise shall be void. In any case it is advisable to reconfirm the day before flight departure. Moreover, on each flight must be paid 10 Birr additional taxa airport concept (if possible it is better to pay them at the time of buying the ticket to do at the airport). In short, the option has the advantage of leaving the gain of time involved and we saved getting certain road paths. The main drawback is, as always, the price, but would add the fact of losing touch with the real country, and also some road routes are truly spectacular, as is the case of Gonder to Aksum (across the Simien mountains ) or Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar (crossing the Blue Nile gorge).

Railway. There is only one railway line, linking Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa Djibouti past, but does not seem advisable to consider this option, except for that we have all the time in the world.

In our case we opted for a combination of buses and domestic flights. The latter allowed us to save time and take a break from grueling bus journeys. See more details in the description of our itinerary by Ethiopia that follows on this page.

Climate
Given the average height that are most visited places (Addis Ababa, Harar and northern circuit, for example) the weather is warm when it's sunny, but it gets cool or cold when it is sunny and above all, if rains. In Dire Dawa or the south, with a much lower altitude, temperatures are already higher. By this we mean that we should bring summer clothes, but also warm clothes, because they often are sudden changes in temperature.

Regarding the rain, in the time of our visit, it rained almost every day in the northern half of the country, but usually rains it rains for a while and after a while, and sometimes it rains in the evening or during the night. Therefore, the rain is not particularly annoying to the traveler, aunquees must go prepared with a raincoat or umbrella in case. In return we will enjoy a totally green landscape, very pleasing to the eye.

Offset
+1 Hour

In addition, travelers should keep in mind the following characteristics:

- Ethiopia did not adopt the Gregorian calendar was revised as the rest of the Christian world in the s. XVI, but it continued with the Julian force until then, and so to this day. Thus the Ethiopian calendar consists of 13 months (the country's tourism slogan is Ethiopia, 13 months of sunshine). They are 12 months of 30 days and one month of five days (six days in a leap year). The turn of the year is celebrated to coincide with our September 11. Specifically, in our day has passed 11/09/2002 Ethiopia in 1994 to 1995. Therefore, if you visit Ethiopia at this time should not surprise you see signs of type Happy new year and Christmas decoration type.

- At the time also work in their own way, as they measure the time in 12-hour periods starting at 6:00 and 18:00 hours, such com fan also make the Swahili of Kenya and Tanzania. So when Ethiopian has an offset of 6 hours compared to ours. Thus, given a time Ethiopian system enough to just subtract 6 for our hora.En many places, especially at official or airplane flights operate with the international system, but at street level usually work with the Ethiopian system . This is important especially with bus schedules, because if we say, for example, a bus leaves at 11:30 h. usually want to say that leaves at 5:30 pm. (World Time). If in doubt it is worth always clarify whether the time they give us is Ethiopian time (hours Ethiopian) or faranji time (hours foreign).

Language
The Amharic (known locally as amhariña) is the official language of Ethiopia, along with English, and is used as a vehicle for communication between different language groups living in it. It is not difficult to find someone, especially in the cities, who speaks some English, but often this knowledge is restricted to only a few words and common phrases. So learn a few words of Amharic facilitate contact with the local population. Furthermore, our effort will be sincerely appreciated as it shows further integration into their culture. We also cut to allow children often become too heavy or to avoid being charged extortionate prices (they call them faranji price and is what we know as a foreigner price).

In any guidance you can find more vocabulary, but here's a few words very helpful and easy to speak to us (in brackets, the word is written in Amharic which we pronounce as us): Hello (Selam), Goodbye (XAU) Thanks (amesekenalu), Yes (au), No (i), OK but in a broad sense (ishi), Bus station (magnajariya), Coffee (buna), Milk (wotet), 1 (and) 2 (Hulet ), 3 (SOST), 4 (ARAT), 5 (amist), 6 (Sidist), 7 (Sabbath), 8 (simint), 9 (setegn), 10 (grab), 11 (and grab), 100 ( methodological), 1000 (shee)

It may also be interesting to know a word of Tigrinya (and more specific language used in the Tigray region) and Oromigna (the language spoken in southern Ethiopia, in the Rift Valley area, west of Addis Ababa and Bale region). In any of the guidelines suggested on this page you can find some words and expressions commonly used in these two languages.

Guides
Ethiopia, Bradt Publications (3rd edition, 2002). Pp. 530. Price € 25.20

Ethiopia, Eritrea & Djibouti, Lonely Planet (1st edition, November 2000). Pp. 520. Price 25'25 €

The Bradt guide provides far more practical information, and more current and detailed than Lonely Planet. In favor of the latter are their maps of cities and pricing information that sometimes is not in the Bradt.

Related literature
God, the Devil and adventure of Javier Reverte. Plaza & Janes Ed's story Pedro Paez, a Spanish Jesuit who discovered the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopian territory, early s. XVII.

The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski. Anagram Ed. Fascinating book on the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia as an absolute monarch for nearly 50 years.

Ethiopia: people, places, and myths, the Comboni missionary Juan González Núñez, published in 1990 by Editorial Black World. This is not a scientific text, academic, or history, but some travel from the author, a national story structure simple, evocative, whose centerpiece is the Christian presence.

GETTING
Flights Barcelona-London Heathrow (1 hour 50 minutes) and London Heathrow to Alexandria (Egypt) (4 hours 20 minutes), 40 minute stopover in Alexandria, Alexandria and finally Addis Ababa (3 hours 45 minutes).

If the flight arrives early morning, as was our case, find the immigration office closed, so if you're not already a visa, the passport must be left at the airport and pick it up the next day (see Visa). In the arrivals hall is no single exchange office of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, which also closes at night (see Money).

Anyway this may change (or not) when it opens the new super terminal, at this point, I was almost finished. And we must assume that there will be more services ...

All day (6:00 to 20:00) you can catch minibuses to the city center, about 6 miles, for 2 Birr (up near the Piazza, and less if we are to areas closer airport), from the car park to the terminal there. The minibuses are blue and white, and usually do not go too full, allowing go comfortably with luggage. Before reaching the area of ??minibuses will address a few taxi drivers and / or commission that will try to convince you that you must take a taxi, giving the most diverse reasons. But if you arrive at an ungodly hour and then we are forced to take a taxi and negotiate the price, though obviously do not have much choice. A good idea is to look for other travelers interested in going to the same area to share a taxi, hardly get a price below U.S. $ 9 (price of the taxi) to go to the hotel Wutma, for example.

Sleeping and eating
We were at the hotel Debre Damo, Yeka area, far from the center, but before going to the hotel we tried Wutma, the Baro and others close to the Piazza, but find full. Is the problem so late ... Debre Damo in a double room with bathroom and hot water costs 75 Birr, and although basic, is correct and fairly quiet as it overlooks a courtyard. The hotel also has a bar where breakfast is pretty good, and the reception staff are very helpful, changing money at a price only slightly lower than the bank.

In Dej Jote Street, which rises in the southeast corner of the Plaza de Gaulle or Piazza, Omar Khayyam is the restaurant with Moorish decor and serve good food where Ethiopian and Arabic. Here you can test the injeera (Ethiopian national dish) meat or vegetable. A generous plate injeera, drink and coffee costs about 11 Birr per person. A highly recommended bakery in Adwa Avenue northeast of the Piazza is the Soul Kid. The place is very welcoming to hang out while eating a delicious plum-cake and drank coffee, and all this for four Birr.

GETTING
The 578 miles that separate Bahir Dar and Addis are a day and a half bus. It is better to buy the ticket the day before the trip to the main bus station in Addis (next to Mercato). From Addis to Bahir Dar is possible to go by two different routes: the west via Debre Markos and track this by Mota. The latter is perhaps somewhat less interesting but is considerably shorter in distance and especially in time. With the company Ethiopia Cross Country Club via the fare is 50'7 Mota Birr.

In any case, we recommend doing this journey by road and by air, as the stretch of road between Fiche and crosses the gorge Let Blue Nile and is certainly a very spectacular way. This huge gorge, over 1 km deep, form an impressive landscape of green terraces on the slopes of the mountains, sometimes shrouded by mist. The track begins to descend along a path impossible to get to the bottom, cross the Blue Nile by a bridge built by the Italians, and began the ascent on the other side of the gorge. You can try to convince the bus driver to stop for a moment at some point early in the fall so we can make panoramic photos. Cost to us, but finally we got it.

The bus leaves the main station in Addis sometime between 6 and 7 am, but you should be at the station at 5:30 am. (Since minibuses begin to circulate from the 6, and these so early there too much movement through the dark streets of Addis, we advise having concluded a taxi for the day before we go to the hotel to pick up some hour). The first 300 km to the past Let's fork, paved road are combined with stretches of track, but from here everything is track, with some sections quite dismal. Past the point of bifurcation the landscape becomes relatively flat, resulting in large stretches of straight track, between green fields and herds of cows and sheep. In our case we Mota at 17:30, after 10 hours of bus with only a 20 minute stop at 10 in the morning to eat. Seven hours without getting off the bus is a good starting point in preparation for the fantastic world of Ethiopian buses!

Sleeping and eating
In Mota really very few housing alternatives. The drinking is more Tsiday hotel, about 300 meters from the bus station. It's very, very basic, with rooms around a large central courtyard. They have a big bed and nothing else. The bathroom is outside and is even more basic. The price is up and the room only costs 10 Birr.

For dinner we recommend the restaurant Sheowa Ber, just 50 m. the Tsiday, where you can order a plate of spaghetti, very good, for only 7 Birr. There are many opportunities to watch the ceremony of brewing, very interesting. Starting at 8 pm this restaurant becomes the meeting place to drink beer, tea or coffee (possibly because it has a small generator that supplies electricity when it is cut into the rest of the people).

THINGS TO SEE
Mota is a small town with no interest, being typically just a place to stop between Addis and Bahir Dar. In any case you can stroll along the track / street and capture life in this secluded place in the world. Yes, we will ride surrounded by crowds of curious children and say things will not stop and ask for everything in amaringlish. Apart from this, there is a church that may have some interest, like Khidane Weyzazirt Mihret or Gonji also of Tewodros, but are more than 15 km of Mota and private transport is required and sufficient time to conduct the tour.

DAR BAHIR
GETTING
Arriving, walking in the dark, at 5:45 pm. to small Mota bus station, just off the bus at 6:30 am. That is the onward journey of the previous day, with the same bus ticket, does not mean that we can relax when boarding the bus. We must fight like the first day! The 110 km drive to Bahir Dar are made in only 4 hours pass between a beautiful landscape with elevations, gorges, rivers, fields and animals people walking down the runway.

Sleeping and eating
The Ghion Hotel (Tel. 200 740) is a great value. A double room, bungalow style, very spacious, quiet and private bathrooms and hot water costs 100 Birr but a little haggling is easily pay 60. The garden of the hotel, nice and well located, extending to the shore of Lake Tana. In addition the hotel has other services such as bar, restaurant (a bit pricey), or rent a bike. It also has its own boats to visit the monasteries of Lake. His manager, Mr. Bisrat Weldu, despite its hyperactivity that makes you in fifty things at once, always available to personally discuss with him details of prices and services offered. A cheaper place (only 20 Birr), but much louder (is on a bar-restaurant), basic and shared bathroom is Tana Pension, 200 m. from the bus station.

To eat a good recommendation is Enkutatash restaurant, behind the building of telecommunications. Your best cottelet specialty is fish, a very full plate with breaded fish fillets with salad, pasta, rice, chips and bread. All this costs 10 Birr. Another specialty is the fish goulash composed of portions of fish with a spicy sauce. The local beer costs 3 Bedele Birr and is pretty good. A Coca-cola costs 2 Birr. Also highly recommended is the restaurant and pastry Pansion Tana. The restaurant is on the first floor and has a terrace with tables, being a great vantage point over the city's main street. The prices are very good, a fish costing 8 Birr and 5 Birr cottelet a plate of spaghetti. Another option, less desirable, is the restaurant Ethio-Españolito (so called because the owner is Ethiopian and now lives in Spain) and is behind the hotel building Anbessa Dir. Chapter of bakeries and cafes also recommend Mugera Café, across the Ghion Hotel. A coffee and a pastry cost 2 Birr.

THINGS TO SEE
Bahir Dar. This provincial capital is, in our opinion, of the most beautiful and tidy urbanistically to be found in Ethiopia. Perhaps influenced by the fact that it is quite on the shore of Lake Tana ... In any case it's nice stroll along the wide avenues lined with palm trees.

A highly recommended walk is the bridge that leads to the Blue Nile, close to the birthplace of this river. This bridge is about 2.5 miles from Ghion hotel along the shore of Lake Tana. From the bridge, looking towards the lake you can see the source of the Blue Nile and, depending on time of day and with luck, you may see some hippo. Certainly neither the bridge nor the view of the river from this point are too charming, at least if you compare with the sources of the White Nile in Jinja (Uganda). Yet we reiterate our recommendation to make this trip. If we continue the trail beyond the bridge and 200 m. turn right towards the mountain Bezawit, and walk about 3 km you reach the palace of Haile Selassie. We can not recommend or discourage this tour because we did not, but it seems not worth it. No public transportation to get there. The palace is open to visitors and is forbidden to take pictures from the outside. There is only the possible view from up there. Returning to the center of Bahir Dar on the same path we recommend making a stop at the Tana Hotel. This hotel is already somewhat decrepit, but has a magnificent lakeside garden, with plenty of birds, where it is very nice refreshments and enjoy the peace and relaxation in a setting so beautiful, justifying the premium payable (a Coke Birr-cola costs 4).

You can also visit the main market of Bahir Dar, 200 m. south of the bus station, any day, but especially on Saturdays when there is more activity. Another possible excursion is to walk to Weyto area, on the western edge of Bahir Dar, where you can see how boats are built Tankwa (papyrus) that can still be seen browsing the lake. To get here you need to walk about 2 km from the Ghion hotel, following the walk along the lake, towards the airport or Zege peninsula.

Monasteries of Lake Tana. The visit to the monasteries that are scattered among Zege peninsula, several islands and other points of Lake Tana is required if we docked in Bahir Dar. His main interest lies in the interior paintings of any of them or the treasures that keep others (like old books or other monastic relics from centuries ago). Together are about 20 monasteries and some of them are only allowed in the men (!). If you do not have much time and money we recommend hiring a boat to make a half day visit to the closest to Bahir Dar, especially Ura Khidane Mihret and Azwa Maryam in Zege Peninsula, Gabriel or Debre Maryam Kebren. Anyway, in negotiating the price of the boat should make clear that this price includes and indicate our preferences if we have any in particular. Also recommend hiring the boat directly to whoever has one, as many on the street offering this type of service, but always tend to be intermediaries that raise the price and we can leave if they do not get hung up a boat on the agreed conditions. Again recommend negotiate directly with the Ghion Hotel manager, because it has boat and is open to discuss the price and itinerary. We did well and we did pretty well. Got a good price of 200 Birr, going away in the boat and making a five-hour journey described below

- Lake Tana. Just browse this fact alone justifies the mythical lake excursion. The boat starts heading to the island of Kebren Gabriel, but along the way we find colonies of pelicans found on rocks which emerge a few inches of water. The boatman was about the pelicans almost stopped with the engine not to make noise and scare them, allowing them closely.

- Sidi Iesus. The first stop is a very small island where is this monastery, which has no interest in itself, but it is interesting to see how the community lives of monks and nuns who live there, very friendly and we get to sample some local products. On the way from the pier to the monastery is easy to see wild coffee plants.

- Kebren Gabriel. Browsing just a few meters you will reach the neighboring island, where the monastery of Gabriel Kebren. This is the only one of all the monasteries of this itinerary, allowing access to women, being due be accompanied by a monk in the jetty area. In this case the interest is that the monastery has the library of old books largest in the region. View the contents of the museum (from the doorway) and enter the church costs 20 Birr. We think not worth paying this price, but everyone there ... In any case it is nice the way up to the monastery and its elevated position above the island.

Paintings in Ura Khidane
- Zege Peninsula. The next stop is in the peninsula, on the pier closest to the monasteries to visit. In this pier are a few guys willing to also make guides. If you want to reach the monastery alone, without a guide, you should take the left path to exit the pier and go always following the wider road. The entrance to the monastery of Ura Khidane Mihret and outbuildings costs 20 Birr, but this price is more than justified, as it is possibly the most impressive monastery all of Lake Tana. The monastery church is circular, quite large, and inside find magnificent religious paintings on biblical grounds. The paintings are based mud and straw walls coated cotton clothing, and the paintings themselves are made with natural dyes. They really are a watermark. After seeing the church also visit the museum, which displays crowns and robes, very old books and other objects equally interesting. Finally you can visit the room where the monks gather to eat and drink injeera tella (local beer made with corn artesanamente). Near this monastery, on the way back to the dock, you can visit the monastery of Azuwa Maryam, which also has some interesting paintings.

- Debre Maryam. After a good while navigating the lake reaches the pier of this monastery, located right next to the point where the Blue Nile rises in Lake Tana. The luagr is beautiful and evocative, with papyrus plants on the banks of river budding, birds flying over the water and a hippo. To reach the monastery from this point must tread about 100 m. between fields. Admission is 15 Birr, and although the paintings that have not comparable to those of Ura Khidane, does have interesting things to see as cups, vases and especially very old books, watermarks on genuine leather leaves that remain admirably. The monk in charge is very friendly and kind. The tour of the Lake Tana is just getting back to the dock home after more than five hours fantastic.

Blue Nile Falls. They are also known locally by Tis Abay (Smoke of the Nile) or Tis Isat (water that smokes), and are one of the most spectacular in Africa. When the river is at its maximum flow have a width of about 400 m. and a drop of 45 m., filling the air with microscopic water drops hundreds of meters around, resulting in a microclimate that allows the existence of lush green vegetation which stains the entire surrounding area. The set is a wonderful spectacle for the senses. At the time of our visit, at the end of the rainy season, the Nile carried a significant water flow, allowing us to see the falls in all their splendor. Moreover recommend doing this tour in the morning, before noon, in order to behold the colorful rainbow that is formed by the effect of sunlight passing through water droplets.

Blue Nile Falls
This is a trip one morning and can be perfectly free. We recommend being in the bus station of Bahir Dar at 5:45 h. am. If it is not open for lunch can be exploited in the cafeteria Galaxy in front of the door. When you open the doors of the station we hurry in order for the vehicle to be Tis Abay and once located buy the ticket with all speed to ensure a place, since there seems to be very often. This vehicle is a pick-up with cab-trailer bus. The journey of 32 miles that separate track and Tis Abay Bahir Dar is done in about 80 minutes and costs 3.60 Birr. Once we reached the small village of Tis Abay must go to the ticket office there at the end of the track that serves as the main street (only 50 m. Whence for transport). It is a small house on the left and the entrance costs 15 Birr. At this point, you may have a few candidates appeared to improvised guides, arguing that the road is very difficult and it is very easy to get lost among many other amazing stories (we recognize that they are persistent). Nor is it true, as some guide says that if you do not hire a guide then we should expect an aggressive attitude on the part of some, or at least we did not have such problems. The path you must follow to get to the falls is as follows: at 30 m. the ticket office to take the road to the left and out of town bordering the hydroelectric plant (should be on your left). Leaving the village, 1 km or so of the previous point, make a bridge to the left and continue straight another mile until you reach the car park tickets and control. In this way we see a fence to our left near the power plant. From the control point tickets must walk down a road full of rocks and vegetation to find the Portuguese bridge (so called because it was built by the Portuguese in the early s. XVII). Crossed this beautiful bridge continue on a path of ascent that passes between a few houses and souvenir stalls. A 50 m. a high baobab there to the left of the road you will reach the top of a small hill and down the other side and we can begin to see the successive waterfalls, from lowest to highest. As we have said before, the whole is simply spectacular. After contemplating them from several natural viewpoints can return to the village on the same road or a spin move, some fields down to the base of the waterfall, climb up the other side and cross the Nile with a Tankwa (papyrus boat) to the village. For this second alternative maybe yes you should be accompanied by someone who knows the terrain and keep in mind that during the rainy season the great current of the river with boats may discourage cross so weak. Due to time we returned to the same place we had come. One time back in the village must be patient and wait out a bus back to Bahir Dar (we had to wait 3 hours). The last sale on 15 h.

GONDAR
GETTING
It is convenient to buy the bus ticket the day before (before 18 h.) In Bahir Dar station. The ride costs 20 Birr. Our bus ended up leaving Bahir Dar at 6:55 am, but as always, you should get to the station before 5:45 h. The approximately 150 miles of track are in fairly good condition (the last 10 miles are paved), which allows the bus to go faster than usual and make the trip in about 4 hours and a quarter.

Sleeping and eating
Belegez Pension (Tel. 114356). A small room with king bed, private bathroom, hot water and very quiet costs 60 Birr. It is quite new and everything is very clean. Also responsible are very friendly and helpful.

To eat an inexpensive alternative is the Tana Snacks. The location is somewhat cumbersome, but eats well, especially fish. A fish cottelet costs 7 Birr. Another option, more level, is the restaurant of Hotel Circle, where you can order a plate of roast lamb very good for 12 Birr (is the specialty of the house). Mini Fogera The restaurant on the other side of the square where the Hotel Fogera, a plate of roast beef, a Coke and a 10'5 cost you Birr. In the main street there are a few cafes.

THINGS TO SEE

Castles of Gondar
Royal Enclosure Fasil Ghebbi or (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979). This closed area of ??70,000 m2 containing six castles, auxiliary buildings, tunnels and corridors, all of s. XVII, and really very surprised to find these castles here. Not surprisingly Gondar is also known as the Camelot of Africa. The site is fantastic and is very nice to visit. Of all the castles the best and most well preserved castle is Fasilidas, but is now closed to the public for works inside (seems they want to make a museum). The ground floor of the castle is now Mentewab public library where children come to read. Visiting this exhibition can be done on two or three hours and admission costs 50 Birr. This entry is only for once (in some guide says it is valid for the whole day), but also valid for the visit to the pool Fasilidas on the same day. The site is in central Gondar and its main entrance is located on the west side.

Fasilidas pool. This construction, attributed to Emperor Fasilidas certainly has always had a religious ceremonial function. It consists of a large rectangular pool and a small two-story annex building, surrounded by a wall that closes the exhibition. The place is very quiet and especially beautiful by the lush vegetation that makes it very dark. Also on the wall some trees have taken root so reminiscent of a temple of Angkor (Cambodia). Highly recommended visit. To get here is worth the entrance of Fasil Ghebbi, but must be done the same day. You can not buy a separate entrance to the pool only or can buy it on the spot. It may also happen that getting this far in visit schedule is not responsible for opening the door. If after searching and sounding the warning does not appear (we did) you can choose to open the door yourself, as there is only one bolt unlocked. This place is located 2 km west of the Piazza, along the road to Bahir Dar and comes almost Kuskuam way to go. To get here you can walk, asking not to be missed on the streets, or taking a minibus that costs 1 Birr at the west end of the Piazza (order Fasil's pool), Ras Dashen in front of the supermarket.

Debre Birhan Selassie. This church is located 1.5 km east of the Piazza and the only gondarino built during the rule at the end of s. XVII, who survived the entire destruction of the Sudanese dervishes. His main interest is not so much the building itself but the magnificent paintings that are in it, both on the walls and the ceiling. Especially the latter, decorated with paintings of 80 cherubim faces looking in all directions, is surely one of the most typical of Ethiopia and reproduced on postcards and souvenirs. The entrance to the church costs 15 Birr and is a must if you visit Gondar. Besides the young monk they hold the doors of the church is very kind and friendly. Besides, as a curiosity, we say that the exterior of the church, stone, reminiscent of the churches in the Pyrenees.

Gondar Center. Apart from the aforementioned essential visits also suggest strolling through the streets of central Gondar. Down the road from the office of tourism can be seen outside the palace Suhal Ras Mikael (not visited). You can also stroll down the street that goes to the market and the bus station or go towards the Fogera Hotel. In some downtown streets, looking round the Garis (a horse-drawn carts carrying passengers or goods) and many Ethiopians dressed in their traditional clothes, in addition to the castles and background, you feel like you are in the Middle Ages.

Kuskuam. This is another royal enclosure, retreat for the Empress Mentewab, on top of a small hill with a magnificent view of Gondar and Fasil Ghebbi. Currently Kuskuam is very dilapidated and neglected (vegetation covers much of the enclosure). Still highly recommended is a trip for the place itself and the setting of absolute tranquility. Within the enclosure are the remains of the main palace and some outbuildings, where you can still appreciate some details like animal figures and crosses on the walls of the large banquet room. Also contains Kuskuam Maryam church, rebuilt during the Italian occupation, where supplies Mentewab bones. Admission to the exhibition costs 15 Birr. Kuskuam is 5 km from the center of Gondar and to get here we take a minibus (cost 1.20 Birr) at the west end of the Piazza and ask for Medical College, on the road to Bahir Dar. Lowering front of Medical College must go back about 100 m. down the road and turn left a track with a steep upward. Seguiendo this track for 1.5 km you reach Kuskuam, passing through a point where there is an excellent view of Gondar, and across a small group of houses. To return to Gondar On the trail to the road and wait there a minibus to the center.

Aksum
GETTING
There is a direct bus to make the journey Gondar, Aksum. This should be done in two tranches: Gondar-Shire (about 200 km) and Shire-Axum (60 km). As always, you should buy a ticket to Shire (also known as Inda Selassie) the day before at the bus station in Gondar (costs 45 Birr). Our bus ended up leaving at 6:55 pm. Until everything is Aksum track except the first 3 km off of Gondar which are paved. Much of the route runs along Shire Gondar-Simien Mountains (see National Park Simien mountains in paragraph THINGS TO SEE), which makes this path is es-pec-ta-cu-lar, and we should not miss it for the world. In the last kilometers before reaching the runway Shire improvement to be more smooth, flat, with many straight sections. We arrived at about 16:00 Shire, destroyed by the long journey, but we're lucky and we are still in time to catch the last bus Shire-Axum. This bus leaves at 16:30 h. and costs 10 Birr. Although the track is not bad just taking about 2 hours to travel the 60 km to Aksum, mainly debiddo countless stops along the way. Of course, being a door to door service, leaving us just outside the hotel we have chosen. Today only been 13 hours bus (!).

In the case of being too late to Shire to connect with the bus to have to spend the night in Aksum and Shire continuing on the next day. There is much to Aksum Shire transport. Behind one of the Shire Bus Station is the National Hotel. The remaining hotels Shire already seem far removed from the station.

Sleeping and eating
Hotel Africa. Located Aksum ena main street and is a favorite of travelers (and apparently also of UN personnel, yaue the courtyard is full of Toyotas). A basic room with king bed, private bathroom and hot water costs 50 Birr. There may be power outages and problems with water pressure in the shower, but we assume that this also happens in the rest of the city (we recommend having a flashlight handy). Otherwise we believe it has a good value and the staff is quite helpful. It also has other services such as a bar, restaurant, laundry, internet, and free airport shuttle.

For lunch the restaurant of Hotel Africa is also highly recommended. All dishes cost between 6 and 10 Birr. A more level place is the restaurant of Hotel Ramhai, but the dishes cost almost double.

THINGS TO SEE
Mountains National Park Simien (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978). At approximately 2.5 hours of leaving Gondar (90 km) is for breakfast in Debark. This small town, to a considerable altitude, usually the base camp for all treks through the Simien mountains. It contains the offices of the park and you can also buy some basic things needed. A few kilometers from Debark, resuming the journey back to the Shire, the track falls squarely in the park area and begins an amazing spectacle, not suitable for people with vertigo. The section between Debark and Adi Arkay descends nearly 2,000 feet in the mountains. The track is often hung over bottomless pits, with 180 curves without sides, and sometimes under waterfalls (some tens of meters) falling by the rock walls directly on the track. It's really awesome. At 13:00 h. we reached the small town of Adi Arkay, where the bus for 10 minutes to rest. This can be exploited to stop looking to the horizon and see a spectacular landscape formed by the jagged peaks of the Simien (remember greatly Valley Canyon of Arizona).

Aksum (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980). Even in the distant past (centuries before the birth of Christ) was the capital of the Axumite empire and a great civilization, today is a modest rural town very, very quiet. It contains scattered remains of palaces, tombs, stelae and inscriptions. Perhaps the most surprising to know that have yet to dig most of Aksum archaeological remains. But our view is that Aksum is less interesting, in whole, Bahir Dar, Gondar or Lallibela, unless you have much interest in archeology, although it must be said that, as soon as possible, it is worth making the effort to get here (the road from Gondar and Aksum and tranquility alone justify the visit). With this we mean that only in case you can not visit the four cities of northern circuit due to time constraints, we prescindiríamos of Aksum.

Leaving the hotel and heading west, toward the museum, the first thing we find, behind the office of Ethiopian Airlines, is the tomb of King Basen and other adjoining tombs carved into the rock wall. Close by there is the park of King Ezana, where we can see pillars, stelae and a block of stone with inscriptions in Ge'ez (Amharic ancient), Greek and Sabaean.

The next point of interest may be the museum of Aksum. Here you can buy a ticket (50 Birr) which gives access to all the archaeological sites of Aksum for every day of our visit. We decided not to pay into and fellow travelers that we had been warned that many of the archaeological sites is not necessary to enter (it looks perfect from the outside) and it only planned to spend a whole day Aksum.

Behind the museum is the church of Tsion Maryam. It seems that this was the first church to be built in Africa (fourth century), but we can see now is a construction that was Emperor Fasilidas term in s. XVI, because the original was destroyed (it is said that in a well guarded this church is the Ark of the Covenant, but there is no chance to see it, because it seems there is only one person alive who has seen and is its current stores (!)). Access to the church and a museum annex built by the wife of Haile Selassie and costs 60 Birr entrance is forbidden to women. We opted not to visit because we also had come comments that the price is exaggerated for the actual value of what's to see. In any case you can walk around the gardens outside of the church.

Few meters north of Tsion Maryam is the main field of stelae, which contains about 75 trails of various shapes and sizes. Some reached the 33 meters (Ramhai trail), but now lies on the ground heading into multiple pieces. Of contrails left standing the higher the Ezana stele, with a height of 23 m. The stelae field is visible from outside the enclosure.

Following the path northeast there stelae field find first paved road climb to Yeha Hotel. From the terrace of this hotel is a good view of the main field of stelae and also a part of Aksum. It is also a good place to have a drink in pleasant surroundings. Returning back to the road and immediately to the right are the pool of the Queen of Shaba, so named because legend has it that built the legendary queen. Currently it is nothing more than a large cement tank walls. Half a mile further, on the left, we find a small shack where the table is stored trilingual. This can only be seen if you have the input and if the keeper of the place to open the door of the shed (at the time of our visit there was no one, and the door was padlocked). Walk 1 km you reach the palace Kaleb, of which only the remains that can be visited only with the entry. Continuing our journey and a half hour walk upstream by a beautiful way between rocks and trees euphorbia is reached Pantaleon monastery, high on a hill from which there is an excellent view of the surroundings. The monastery can be visited freely, but the entrance to the church costs 15 Birr and is only allowed to men. To return to the center of Aksum can undo the way you came or take a shortcut through field down the hill towards the city, reaching the main street of Aksum after going past the hotel Ramhai. The whole circuit is highly recommended: besides archaeological remains we can see beautiful landscape.

About 3 miles west of Africa Hotel, and outside on the road Aksum and Shire, is Gudit stelae field, made up of dozens of small plain stelae and with no more than 2 m. tall. The set is perfectly visible from the edge of the grass field where they are. Across the road are the remains of the palace Dongar, also known as the Queen of Shaba. To visit the palace also need to have input, but from the outside you can see quite well.

LALLIBELA
GETTING
To save the two-day trip involving the approximately 475 km of road (via Adwa, Aby and Sekota Aday) between Aksum and Lallibela no doubt that the best alternative is the plane. The price for this flight Ethiopian Airlines is 64 €. We had booked and purchased days earlier in the Ethiopian Airlines office in Piazza Addis Ababa, but could change later in Aksum no problem flying the final date (even though the changes are of course always subject to availability of seats in the flight in question).

Aksum airport is 5 km from the center and it is best to go free minibus service of Africa Hotel. The flight leaves at 10:50 h, but SHOULD be at the airport at 9:00 to go quietly successive passport control and baggage (all done manually and even luggage is checked with a magnifying glass). Like all domestic flights at the time of check-in must be paid 10 Birr in respect of airport charges. The journey is made in a Fokker 50 propeller and lasts 40 minutes. Once in the miniaeropuerto of Lallibela we seek Lallibela transport, 25 km. It is important to consider all the alternatives presented to us in the terminal and outside and haggle for a good price, as the prices offered are often expensive. The NTO official agency charges 50 Birr per place, but you can get pay 25 Birr bargaining with one of the other agencies. The journey of 25 miles to Lallibela crosses a paved road that goes up to 2630 m. height to which is the town, and is done in about 30 minutes.

Sleeping and eating
Asheton Hotel. A room with two double beds, private bathroom, hot water and overlooking a courtyard costs 80 Birr, but haggling is available for 70. It also has a bar and restaurant. After seeing others as the Seven Olives Hotel (U.S. $ 25 for a room in the same style as the Asheton) or Fikre Selam hotel (only 25 Birr, but it is very, very basic) thought the Asheton has a good value money.

For lunch or dinner alternative is the restaurant Blue Lal (also known as Chez Sophie) where a good pizza costs 12 Birr. It is also fairly good restaurant Blue Nile, on the street down to the ticket office of the churches. Another is the hotel restaurant Asheton, but more expensive than usual and unremarkable. In the central square have Shallom cafeteria, a good place to sit on the terrace and admire the view while drinking a delicious tea with cinnamon. Right next to it we have the cafeteria John, like the one above.

THINGS TO SEE
Lallibela. This small town, also known as the Petra of Africa, and its marvelous rock hewn churches are a must on a tour of the historic Ethiopia. A 2,630 m. high and virtually cut off from the world until recently maintained a medieval Lallibela that makes it unique in the Christian world. Since 1997 already can get here all year, since the main road is now passable in the rainy season. This does not mean that the overland journey easy, rain or not. Moreover, it is strongly recommended to bring enough cash, as there is no change in a bank where the whole area.

Rock-hewn Churches (declared World Heritage UNESCO per 1978). Legend has it that, in an attempt to create a Jerusalem on African soil, the king ordered the construction Lallibela of these churches during his reign, in the s. XII and XIII. But the difference in style and condition suggests that in fact the last time period between construction of the first and the last was higher. The churches are divided in two groups separated by the small river Jordan: Northwest group (composed of seven churches) and the southeastern group (5 churches), although there is still a thirteenth church of Bet Giorgis, separated from the other two groups . Some of the churches are covered with metal and wooden structures that deform much and sometimes can not get an accurate idea of ??the whole, but we must understand that the goal is to preserve the serious problem posed conservation water leaks. The visit to the churches can do perfectly without a guide, even if sometimes it is difficult to find the churches because there are no indications of any kind. Acquaintances recommended the Mekonenen Yirgu guide, alias Jordan (Northwollo, c / o Post Office Lallibela - Lallibela).

In any case, if you want a guide to make sure you will really be useful, because we talk to a visitor who had hired the services of a guide without any preparation. Down about 600 m. from the main square to the market is the ticket office where to buy entry. Costs 100 Birr, but gives access to all the churches in every day throughout our visit. The visiting hours are theoretically 6-12 and 14-17 hours.

- Group Northwest. It is the first group that is going through the point of ticket sales. The churches are very close together and access other usually through corridors carved into the rock. The tour begins with our visit Bet Medhane Alem church, continues with Bet Maryam, Bet Danaghel, Meskal Bet, Bet Mikael, Bet Golgotha, and just coming out of a cell called cruciform tomb of Adam. The churches of Bet Golgotha ??and Bet Mikael enters through the same door and appear as one, being the innermost Bet Golgotha. The latter is the only one that is not allowed access to women and is just one of the most beautiful, and in their interior walls are sculpted a life-size saints.

- Southeast Group. This group of churches is very close to the preceding, but access to each of the churches is far more complicated and labyrinthine. Yet it is difficult to find someone by the way, ask for the name of the church and follow his directions to locate it. Traveling through the tunnels and corridors, natural and artificial, leading from one church to another, it is easy to feel transported to a movie Indiana Jones (here understood why the nickname Petra). The group consists Southeast Gebriel-Rafael Bet, Bet Abba Libanos, Bet Lehem and Bet Bet Emanuel Mercuries. For us the best of this group is Bet Emanuel, though being now protected by a metal roof scaffolding and loses some of its charm. It has a height of 12 meters and it is believed that it was the private church of the royal family.

Georgis Bethel Church
Finally say that it feels that this group is less visited than the last and no wonder visit these churches without finding virtually any other visitor.

- Bet Giorgis. In our opinion the most beautiful, original and impressive of all. Obviously it is also the most famous. It has a height of 15 meters, excavated below ground level. On the outer walls of the rock where there are holes make life anchorites who come seeking spiritual recollection and prayer. In one of them is a human skeleton, possibly of a hermit who found spiritual peace definitive. The interior of this church has nothing special, outside the usual paraphernalia of crosses, old books and ceremonial utensils.

Bet Giorgis is south of the group's departure northwest, crossing the street that runs past the cemetery.

La'ab Nakuta Monastery. Outside Lallibela are other monasteries and churches that are very popular because of the difficulty of access, and that are in very isolated places in the middle of the mountains. Of these only two are accessible on a day trip or less: Nakuta Aheton La'ab and Maryam. We chose to visit the first because it is the most accessible. It is about 6 miles down the road Lallibela airport tarmac. First we get to a small town with the same name that is on the left of the road and then continue 500 m. a road that crosses the village to reach the monastery. Admission is 20 Birr. We made this journey on foot from Lallibela, but ultimately could not find the monastery following the few indications of the guide and the inability to find someone who understood where we were going. Anyway, if you have time, we can recommend this nice long ride because it enjoys a beautiful and quiet countryside. Moreover, halfway, cross a gorge where Little can be seen many birds of different species. When we hitchhiked back and fortunately a pickup stopped and dropped us back in Lallibela. You can also try to go to the monastery to hire a vehicle to the state agency E (costs about 30 Birr per head).

Dessie
GETTING
To exit Lallibela the faster alternative is obviously the plane (the flight to Addis Lallibela costs 97 U.S. $), but there is also the option land, much cheaper, but also more hard and time consuming. First you can try to find someone to do the same route in a private vehicle, which on some square and reach an economic agreement, even if there are too many coincidences and would be very lucky (hire a cab is as or more expensive the plane). The alternative public transport by bus is two days to reach Addis, with two or more connections. There is a daily bus-Woldia Lallibela at 6:00 h. (Takes about 5 hours recoorer 120 km away). Once Woldia should take another bus to Dessie and the next day, another Dessie-Addis Ababa. But now there is also a direct bus Lallibela Dessie (Tuesdays and Thursdays only) where we spend the night and continue travel to Addis Ababa the next morning.

We take the bus directly to Dessie and costs 36 Birr. It is advisable to buy the ticket the day before going to the office of the Church Comissionary (is shortly before arriving at the ticket office of the churches. The bus leaves from the central square at 6:15 pm approx., Although we must be there before 5:30 h. for that to get a good seat. (?) The first 22 km are asphalt (is the road to the airport), but immediately begins a very bad track that goes up and up until to Gashena, about 3 hours after leaving. Gashena, where we stopped for breakfast about 20 minutes, is a seedy small town that's really a crossroads.'s very cold due to the altitude. since Gashena to Woldia (about 56 km) track more or less in good low continuously into a valley, with curves of 180 and ramps impressive, not suitable for people with vertigo. In Woldia, after 6 hours and fifteen books, there is a new stop for lunch. quite here and hotter. De Woldia to Dessie's 120 km, of which the first half is paved and follows a track in good condition. The bus takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes to travel this distance. First we should do once in the bus station of Dessie is buy a ticket for the next day's trip to Addis. There is a small office on the perimeter of the station where they sell for 37 Birr.

Sleeping and eating
The hotels offer Dessie leaves much to be desired. The hotel Ambaras (according to the best of the city, 60 Birr double room) is closed, at least at the time of the trip. The next thing we look at is the hotel Fasika (seen on the outside looks good), but it was full. Finally we were at the Royal Pension, which is reached asking because there is no sign anywhere. A very basic room with king bed, private bathroom and hot water costs 40 Birr (50 Birr after initial haggling). The remaining hotels are coming puti-clubs that rent rooms to hours, although it is possible for the entire night. Precisely Dessie is renowned for its nightlife, with many bars where the music blaring until the wee hours of the morning. This means that sleep in this city, at least in this central area, is almost impossible until you close it.

To eat one option is the restaurant Blue Nile, in the same street as the Royal Pension, but has the problem that the card is only in Amharic and must be ordered blindly. Another option is the closest hotel Dessie, a multi-function as it serves as a hotel, pub, restaurant and puti-club. The rack of lamb or tibs are pretty good. The pub-restaurant decor is very kitsch, with a dim light. Across the road there are a couple of bakeries.

THINGS TO SEE
Dessie is a fairly large modern city without much charm, and serves only as a stopover for the night on our long journey to Addis Lallibela. Aside from giving a short walk through the main street there is nothing more to do here. Yes you can take advantage of the fact that there is an office of the Ethiopian Airlines to book or buy cheap.

ADDIS ABABA (II)
GETTING
The bus costs 37 Birr and Addis leaves at 6 am, but as always, you should be at the station by 5:30 pm. The first installment to Kombolcha is paved and it's all downhill. From Kombolcha and for many miles the road is in improvement works (the works are carried out by a joint venture between the Spanish company Dragados and a local company), which slows the trip. When you finish the section under construction until the rest is paved road Addis Ababa. The bus stops at Debre Sina lunch. The journey between Debre Birhan Debre Sina is spectacular and takes a high altitude because, among alpine forest areas, and passed by only three tunnels in Ethiopia (Mussolini called tunnels because they were built by the Italians). You get to the bus station in Addis Ababa on 16:15 h. A total of 380 km and more than 10 hours away.

Sleeping and eating
In front of the bus station are taken by minibus to Piazza 0'55 Birr (cross Mercato area). This time we stayed at the Baro Hotel, where a double room, a bit decrepit, with private bathroom and hot water costs 70 Birr.

We found a place to eat that is fine. It Tseday Restaurant, near the Continental hotel. It is a very nice place and serving various types of pizza very good for about 12 Birr. To go have a drink, eat and / or have a good time in a charming hotel recommend Taitu, the oldest of Addis Ababa.

THINGS TO SEE
Addis Ababa this time is only a late-night traffic on our trip from north to south. We use to go to the Ethiopian Airlines office in Piazza and buy a flight for the next day bound for 74 € Arba Minch. In passing we reserve for another flight to Addis Ababa Dire Dawa provided at the end of our trip.

 

Arba Minch
GETTING
To go to the airport from the Piazza as economical a minibus (leave from the west side of the square beginning at 6 am and costs two Birr). The flight leaves at 9 am (must be 2 hours before at the airport) and takes 90 minutes to land at Arba Minch. The plane is a Fokker small propellers only 25 seats and is the same flight then continues to Jinka. The ride is very nice because shortly after leaving Addis Ababa from the window we can see the different lakes and craters of the Rift Valley. The last thing you see before landing in Arba Minch is the huge lake Abaya. Once at the airport in Arba Minch no transportation, public or private, to go to the city, 5 km. If you do not have the great luck to have a vehicle at the airport that we want to take or pass any vehicle on the road and stop, considering that traffic on this road is nonexistent, then you most likely have to walk that distance with backpacks (which is what we had to do).

Sleeping and eating
In Arba Minch only seems to have a hotel with hot water: the Bekele Mola hotel. A large bungalow and that is fine, with a queen bed, private bath and hot water costs 121 Birr. It is very quiet and is located in an exceptional place with Lake Abaya left, Lake Chamo to the right, and faced Nechisar National Park. This view alone already justifies the premium. This usually overnight hotel groups going by private vehicle to visit south Omo tribes, as the Bekele Mola hotel is the latest face and eyes that are on the route south. We believe that this fact makes are not used (or not interested) to receive free travelers going by without a vehicle and that leads to a certain antipathy and contempt by the reception staff. Another drawback, perhaps related to the first, is that the hotel is 2 km Shecha core and no transportation to cover that distance (perhaps assume that everyone has their own vehicle). For hotel guests traveling with public transport is only possible to do this walk or hitchhike.

Bekele Mola hotel itself has a restaurant with a beautiful terrace, from which there is a breathtaking view, but as expected everything is much more expensive than out of here. A lot cheaper option is the Soma restaurant in the heart of Shecha. One fish served with a side cottelet very complete for only 10 Birr. We also recommend the restaurant Quma Keethaa, in the same street as the post office. Moreover, the outdoor terrace of the cafe Flamingo, near the central roundabout Sikela core, is a great place to enjoy the daily life of this provincial town.

THINGS TO SEE
Arba Minch is the capital of the province of Gamo-Gofa and the largest city in southern Ethiopia, but it's still an incredibly quiet. Arba Minch actually consists of two towns separated by a road of 4 km and a vertical drop of 200 m. The core and the lower north Sikela while we Shecha south. To go from one to another minibuses there all day and make the trip for 1 Birr. Arba Minch, as a city, there is nothing special, but we served as a base camp to explore the area and make a foray further south. So we take as a place to relax after a few days and traveling in Ethiopia. Moreover, the core is a Sikela Ethiopian Airlines office location has changed and now is three blocks from the main roundabout on the street coming out of this roundabout northbound.

- Crocodile Farm and Lake Abaya. In this farm there are some 8,000 crocodiles between 1 and 8 years in order to balance the natural population of crocodiles from the lake and also for export of skins. The farm consists of different tanks with water separating the crocodiles by age. The visit to this farm is the excuse for an excursion can enjoy walking around in a forest where you can see birds and monkeys. Also, walk about 300 m. from farm to arrive at the very edge of Lake Abaya. The water from this lake is brownish because of the amount of iron oxide present. To get to the farm from Sikela (about 6 km), if you do not have your own car, we walk out of Sikela by the airport road. Few meters after crossing a bridge we take a path on the right indicated by a label. After walking about 2.5 km along this road between trees and shrubs will come to a head. We will take a right and follow it about 2 miles until you reach the farm. If you pass a vehicle in the same direction can try hitchhiking. The entrance to the farm costs 10 Birr and the visit is made in the company's facilities manager.

- Lake Chamo. A highly recommended activity is a boat trip on Lake Chamo. We can see, apart from the lake itself and its environment of volcanic mountains, large colonies of birds, crocodiles and hippos (especially in the Crocodile Market, named after the place number of copies that can be seen). Said to be the best place in Africa to see large crocodiles. We recommend doing this tour late in the afternoon (from 16:30 pm) because the sun is lower on the horizon, the light is very nice, and crocodiles and birds come to eat. The pier where the boat takes is about 7 km from Shecha (1 km of paved road and the rest of a very bad track leading down to the lake shore). This makes it necessary to have a 4x4 to go, and this we must add the cost of the boat (officially the boat of the Marine Authority in Shecha costs 300 Birr for 6 people), but the problem may be finding people to share the cost of the vehicle and the boat if we do not reach that amount. We recommend running the voice of the people and ask other travelers who may be interested in making the trip together. We also advise that we should be very careful with certain brokers who promise to organize everything, but ultimately paid a heavy premium for a trip that is not agreed. In our case we paid only 50 Birr per head (4x4 and boat) because we were lucky to find four Ethiopians own vehicle, with whom we share the boat.

Nechisar National Park and Hot Springs. In the absence of a 4x4 vehicle itself and not wanting to pay the stupidity that is asked to rent one (from 600 to 800 Birr per day) did not consider the possibility of a game drive to the park Nechisar. But we set out to visit the hot springs that give the town its name (Arba Minch means forty fountains). These are within the National Park Nechisar, about 4 km from Sikela, and according to the Bradt guide to go to the sources should not be paid park admission because officially it is considered that the road is public. But this has changed and now must pay 70 Birr to entry costs (valid for two days) to the park, but only want to visit the source. There are park rangers who monitor the path and therefore does not seem too wise to walk past the park office without paying the entrance, but up to you!. We believe that it was not worth paying this amount to see the sources and did not go. In any case the way to go is: from the main roundabout Sikela we take the road from the airport and about 750 m. turn right onto a sandy track marked with a large sign in the park. Following the trail, a mile beyond crossing the gateway to the park and a few meters there is a turnoff on the left which leads to the park headquarters, about 100 m. If we continue straight on the same track we reached the hot springs, about 3 km.

Dorze and Chencha. The interest of these two small towns at 30 and 36 miles respectively Arba Minch is the existence of huts constructed with a very peculiar way, like a huge beehive. This region is inhabited by ethnic Dorze and found at 2,900 m. has a cold and foggy weather. Chencha is also famous for its cotton fabrics. To go to these two towns no regular public transport, but it may take some of the 4x4 in the morning and make the trip out to a place near the bus station Sikela. We could not make this trip to not find any vehicle out there (and without cost faranji, of course). Anyway we believe it is a trip worth trying.

More in southern Ethiopia
Travel to the south and the Omo valley.
Konso and South Omo. Since we were in Arba Minch and We had one day extra, and it was not the initial goal of our trip, we decided to make a small raid southern villages visiting Konso and surroundings only a one-day excursion. After our experience on the ground must say it is really very difficult, if not impossible, to visit the area without a 4x4 vehicle at our disposal, unless us to spend many, many days to move between different peoples trucks undated output and fixed time. If you want to visit the south of Omo, Mago National Park including, to see the different ethnic groups living (Hamer, Mursi, Konso, karo, ari, tsemais, ...) seems like the best option is to rent a 4x4 vehicle with driver and everything you need in Addis Ababa and begin the tour from there (the prices seem to range from 90 to 200 U.S. $ per car per day).

Konso Our tour begins at 4:30 am, walking the 2 miles of track to Bekele Mola Shecha main roundabout, where we are told that a bus to Konso at 5:00 pm. But it is supposed that the bus is actually a passing truck ends at 5:25 pm. and load passengers in the cab and trailer (maybe it was a bus-Konso Arba Minch was happening later, but as it was not clear and they expected the Ethiopians told us we caught the bus as we did). The 85 km ride costs 13 Birr and we got to Konso at 9 am, after an intermediate stop in a village to load bags for the market of Konso. Once in Konso, after breakfast at the hotel Edgetl Konso, go to the tourist office, as directed by the Bradt guide to get permission to visit and rent a vehicle to enable us to conduct a half-day excursion to villages of Dekatu, Mecheko and Gesergiyo, near Konso. In the office we get the permit paying 30 Birr, but we say that they have no vehicle and that we should seek and negotiate with someone who has one: in short, the tourism office puts only guide. Before we decided to visit only Dekatu, the only town within walking distance from Konso, and reject the services of a guide.

Konso only has the courage to be the gateway to the Omo region and a base camp from which to explore the villages of Konso ethnic group is in the nearby hills, as mentioned above. Especially worth the visit to coincide with market day (Monday and Thursday), not only because they are more likely to see people going to the market, but also why there are more transport between Arba Minch and Konso.

Women Konso
Walk about 2.5 km climb up the road from the roundabout to Jinka Konso central point is reached, close and Konso market, from which there is a small road 1 km downstream from the fields to Dekatu . It is a very nice and well-traveled by hundreds of people on foot carrying all kinds of goods to the market. Dekatu is a traditional village surrounded by a fence and inhabited by people of ethnic Konso. In short it is very beautiful and photogenic, and wander through the alleyways that run inside the village is a wonderful experience, but also advise that children here are particularly annoying and impossible to avoid follow you everywhere (perhaps with the company of a guide this would not happen?). Also note that they are accustomed to the presence of visitors and ask for money for absolutely everything (maybe the Mursi have created this school to get money to the visitor!), But we can say from experience that you can avoid paying without problems, if we avoid photographing people.

To return to Arba Minch appears that there is a bus, but not daily, and your schedule is erratic (we asked several people and each one hour gave us entirely different). So the solution is to find a truck to go to Arba Minch (all pass or leave the central rotunda of Konso) and agree a price for going the cab or trailer. We returned to the cabin Shecha a double trailer truck, agreeing on a price of 10 Birr. We left at 14:00 Konso. and we Shecha at 19:00 h, including a 90 minute stop at the market Kato, a small village about 20 km from Konso, to load more sacks, and other technical stops.

 

Nazret
GETTING
The journey Arba Minch-Nazret be done in two stages, and Arba Minch-Modjo Modjo-Nazret, they involve only a 1 day trip, as there is generally a good paved road.

For the first stage we bought the day before at the bus station Sikela the bus ticket to Addis by 46'5 Birr (actually got off the bus in Modjo, about 75 km from Addis, we paid the entrance fee). This bus leaves from outside the hotel Wibaate Shecha about 5:30 in the morning to go now to Sikela bus station, where for a long time, and comes out around 7 am. The road from Arba Minch and Sashemene is pretty well paved, but from Sashemene is already real treat for this country: too wide, asphalt spotless and painted lines. Finally got off the bus at a road junction near Modjo at 14:30. (435 km in just 7 hours!).

At the junction where the bus took a minibus that takes us to the small Modjo bus station in the center of town, where we found another minibus immediately after filling out to Nazret. The journey Modjo-Nazret is only 25 km, costs 3 Birr and done in about 30 minutes.

Sleeping and eating
Although the preferred budget hotel Bradt guide is the Bekele Mola, at the eastern end of the city, at the time of our visit was under construction and was only open a few rooms with cold water at the price of 60 Birr. For this reason we were finally in the hotel at random, across the road, where a room quite correct with private bathroom and hot water costs 55 Birr us. Just one drawback is that the rooms face a courtyard where there is a small bar that can result in noise, but closes at 23:00 hours and when it does everything is very quiet. The next day we changed hotel to be closer to the bus station and choose the Garden Bedrooms, where a room with private bathroom and hot water costs 50 Birr. Close by is the Royal Pension which costs the same and is similar in quality. A drawback with the hotels in this area is also evening entertainment here is great and it's hard to sleep until they close the bars and clubs.

Regarding the restaurant restaurant recommend Frank (aka Franco Hotel), with an atmosphere reminiscent of old European cafes. Always full of locals and the staff is efficient. A half a roasted chicken dish costs 15 Birr.

THINGS TO SEE
Nazret is a large city with much commercial activity and an important agricultural center, but from the point of view of tourism has nothing interesting to offer. The reason we stay here is nothing here that taking the bus that goes straight to Harar, to avoid having to go back to Addis Ababa and begin the journey there. Incidentally also serves as the basis for an excursion to Debre Zeyt highly recommended. In any case it is possible to capture the atmosphere of the city just walking along the stretch of main road between the Bekele Mola Hotel and Alpha, as an example.

Debre Zeyt. It is a city midway between Addis Ababa and Nazret with the charm of having the whole crater-lake more accessible in Africa, with two of them in the same town. In the east exit of the city (on the road to Nazret) is a major Air Force base and therefore should leave with very careful not to take pictures in the area.

Go to Debre Zeyt from Nazret is very easy and is an excursion to do well in a day or less. From the bus station in Nazret leave many minibuses to Modjo (25 km, 3 Birr, 30 minutes), where we have to change and go to another minibus to Debre Zeyt (also 25 km, 3 Birr and 30 minutes). Arriving at Debre Zeyt is convenient front off Bekele Mola Hotel to start visiting here. The crater lake near this point is the Bishoftu, because you can just cross the road and go towards the hotel Bishoftu, about 100 m. Perhaps this is the least beautiful lake, but it serves as a first approximation. Then we went to the crater lake Time, following the street from the Ethiopian Air Force Officer's Club. In this street you can see the many Garis (carts with pneumatic wheels pulled by a horse) circulating in this population, as well as the variety of vegetation and flowers in the gardens of the houses. Right next to the hotel Ras Time, now closed for renovation alleged, there is a small viewpoint from where you can see the beautiful crater lake from above Time. Walking down a path behind the hotel you reach the shore of the lake, where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery as we watch as some children and young people bathe beside a shepherd his flock thoroughly washed in water, not without opposition from them. The crater lake Bishoftu Guda is on the outskirts of town, but you can also go on foot. Following the road along the Time for 2 km more will reach the Agricultural College, where the paved road ends and begins a track 1 km after bifurcates at a point where there is a sign with the inscription ILRI. Taking the ramp on the right and walk 1 km you will reach the Galilee Catholic Mission. Continuing straight for about 100 meters to the left of the door, is the entrance to a house with a terrace-bar from which there is a magnificent view of the lake. If you do not want to take anything from the bar just give 1 Birr entrance fee (see the lake from other sites is difficult as it is surrounded by fields and lush vegetation that keep closer to the edge). The landscape around these parts is very very nice: small hills, green fields with flowers, rural environment, etc. For this alone already worth the trip. For tired because it's late and we ended up here our route of crater-lake. There are a few more, but they are further away and would need a vehicle. To return to the town center we retraced our steps to the front of the Agricultural College, where you can take a minibus (up to the new bus station costs Birr 0'95)

A 100 m. of the new bus station is the Tommy Zeyt Debre Restaurant & Pastry, instead we recommend especially since you can eat well, is cheap and has a very nice landscaped outdoor terrace. A fish cottelet costs only 8 Birr. To return to Nazret just go to the new bus station, ask and take the first exit minibus, which may be direct or change Nazret Modjo. The final price is the same: 6 Birr.

 

HARAR
GETTING
Since there are direct buses to Nazret Dire Dawa, but there is also the Harar (although the guides consulted said nothing about it). To take the shuttle bus to Harar recommend being in front of the bus station before 5:30 am, because the bus is already the doors open and you can go up and get a place. Despite already having almost all the seats occupied, at 5:30 pm. enters the bus station and there until 6:00, leaving time and definitely (again, the mystery of the buses in Ethiopia). In this case the Harar ticket can be purchased on the bus for 60 Birr. After about 110 km for Awash in about 5 minutes to stretch your legs. Until Mieso, about 70 km from Awash, the road is paved and runs along a fairly flat terrain, but from here begins the mountain again with continuous ups and downs. The road becomes track, some parts of which are under construction (it seems that in a not too distant future is now paved). This track runs through the mountains and Arba Gugu Chercher and provides some wonderful views, making this route one of the most beautiful trip. About 20 km of Mieso stopped again, this time in the village of Abse Teferi to eat. This place looks like a town in the American West in the ass of the world, they look dusty wooden houses and two-story balcony (inherited from the Italian occupation). Finally you get to Harar at 18:30 h. A total of twelve hours to travel about 425 km.

Sleeping and eating
The Beylaneh hotel, just 200 m. bus station, seems to be the best alternative among hotels fairly cheap (at least have hot water). Although we asked 100 Birr for a standard double room, haggling got let in 80 Birr.

In the hotel restaurant Beylaneth eat well. We also recommend the restaurant Tewodros, where half roast chicken costs 15 Birr and is very good. For breakfast, next to the hotel, we have the Sunshine Cafe. Also very good cafeteria Canal, and the square of the city Feres Magala old Ali Bal have the cafeteria, with a magnificent outdoor terrace to contemplate life Harari over a drink.

THINGS TO SEE
Harar. It lies at an altitude of 1870 m. and only 150 km from the border with Somalia. Harar became an important commercial center that served as a meeting point of Africa, India and the Middle East. The first known European who visited Harar was the Englishman Richard Burton in 1855. Today, the city remains the spiritual center of the Ethiopian Muslim community. All this motivates that has a very special atmosphere and different from the rest of the country, but someone figured a walled city in the desert, like Rajasthan Jaisalmer in India, think again, because the height Harar provides a very moderate climate and surroundings are green fields. A remarkable feature of this entire region is that its people are great consumers of chatting (leaves of a plant are chewed and gently stimulating effects). Moreover Harar is relatively little visited by travelers despite the attractions that brings.

Harar's main interest is the old walled city with a strong Muslim spirit can be seen in their homes and streets. In this area, only 1 km2, there are about 90 mosques, but many of them go unnoticed. The old town has a circumference of about 3.5 km, marked by a wall of 5 m. with a total of 6 doors. Therefore, the visit to the old town can be walked without fear of getting lost, because although some streets are labyrinthine area is small enough to always find a reference point to guide us.

 

Harar Street
We started our visit incoming Harar Gate. Following this main street, full of shops, bars and shops, is reached Feres Magala Square, the focal point of the old town (if you want to hire a guide for the tour this is the best place to find it, but we recommend getting lost alone aimlessly through the streets with so much character). In this square there are some very interesting old buildings, and on one side Medhane Alem church. Around it there is a small garden with a bench to sit a while and enjoy the peace and spirit of Harar. On the southeast side of the square is the Oriental Theater, where he announced action movies and American Oriental Z series for the price of two first class Birr (?) And 1 Birr in second (?). Continuing along the main street, first found in an alley adjacent to the dome Emir Nur (looks like a beehive with spikes), past the Museum of Harar and the tourist office (closed on Saturdays and Sundays), and finally reach the Gate of Erer, impossible to see why long ago collapsed. Continuing to the right and along the wall on the outside can see the dome Ansar Ahmed Aw, white and invaded by the trunk and roots of a large fig tree (behind this dome is the house of Yusuf Pepe, the man hyena). We return to enter the Old City through the Gate of Sanga, where is the supermarket Oromo. Following the road from here goes to the market or market Magala Guddo Muslim, a very interesting and straight out of another era (like the rest of the old part), you can see some houses with beautiful colors and details on the facades. After the market, the street leading to the main square is filled with men tailors and weavers with their old sewing machines. This street is also a good place for people-watching from the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups to or from the market with their bundles. Taking a small alley to the right leads to the Rimbaud house (known locally as the Rambo house), where it is said that he lived the French poet Arthur Rimbaud during his stay in Harar, although certainly it was precisely in this house. In any case this house is a watermark, a restored wooden facade and a roof with beautiful frescoes inside. It has been rebuilt with pleasure and now hosts a very interesting museum explaining the poet's life, his feature artifacts and photographs from the late s Harar. XIX. Viewing these pictures you can see that little has changed in this city in the last century. From the top of the house there is a good view of Harar and vicinity. The entrance to the museum house costs 5 Birr. Next to the house found the house Rimbaud Ras Tafari, with many oriental motifs because it was built by an Indian merchant. Haile Selassie It spent some years of his childhood. We leave the old city going back towards Harar Gate but before turning left onto the street that leads to the door of Showa.

Traditional houses hararís. There are about 100 houses that retain the traditional style of decoration typical of Harar. Although construction is nothing special, the interior decoration is unique and door frames and windows are carved with true watermarks. To see some of them we ask someone to tell us some and, of course, ask permission from the owners or occupants of the house to gossip a bit inside. Really worth it and are very nice to see.

Outside the Old City there are interesting things to see as the City Hall, a beautiful example of Italian colonial architecture, or the Christian market, located between the door and the hotel Beylaneh Showa, where every day many Oromo peoples fall neighbors to buy and sell.

The hyena man. For lovers of gore this is the star attraction of Harar. Every day at 19:00, outside the walls between the doors Erer and Sanga, a man named Yusuf Pepe, meat feeds the hyenas who come from around Harar. To attend this show can be organized by a guide or dealing directly with the hyena man. We went to find his house (behind the dome Ansar Ahmed Aw). Initially we asked the official price of 50 Birr per person, but haggling got a price of 32 Birr per head. Although rain and subsequent failure to be clear if you really wanted to see the hyenas dinner made us quit.

 

DIRE DAWA
GETTING
From the bus station and around Harar numerous minibuses depart daily (when filled) to Dire Dawa. The journey of 55 km of road in not very good condition is 9 Birr and done in about 90 minutes (or less if they are not chasing police controls smuggling chat).

Sleeping and eating
The National hotel room with a queen bed, private bath, cold water and fan costs 50 Birr. For the first time on this trip here not miss the hot water and change the fan itself is appreciated. The room is neither good nor bad, but this hotel has the advantage of being centrally located.

The restaurant Paradiso, 1.5 km from the center, on the road to Harar, is a very pleasant place to eat. This is a big old house with a garden in the back. It serves Italian and Ethiopian. It's a little more expensive than other places, but worth it. A cottelet fish costs 14 Birr. The Ras hotel is a great place and very quiet to take a drink sitting in his garden or poolside. Next to the bridge that connects the two parts of the city have the Dini Paradise, a garden bar where a drink or eat a snack in comfortable surroundings. For breakfast the hotel cafe recommend Makonnen, opposite the railway station.

THINGS TO SEE
Dire Dawa is Ethiopia's second city in population and has grown in recent years mainly with Eritrea's independence and subsequent border problems with China, as the railway line linking Addis Ababa and Djibouti via Dire Dawa is currently the only possible way of goods arriving or leaving by boat from the port of Djibouti. This has provided the strategic importance of this city, which has only one century.

If we come from Harar or Addis first thing we notice here is how hot it is (Dire Dawa is very low altitude) and the arid landscape. The city of Dire Dawa has two distinct parts, divided by the river Dachata (indeed, more than a river bed is a very wide and generally dry, with no trace of water). Kezira, west of the river, is the center of the city, consisting of a grid of streets with trees on the sides and colonial style buildings (this area was designed by the French). On the east side, however, is the old Muslim quarter of Megala, with labyrinthine streets and Moorish-style houses. Overall, we believe that the interest you may have for visitors Dire Dawa perhaps not much, but if we made the effort to get to Harar then it is worth spending at least half a day to Dire Dawa.

Surely the best interest of this city is Kefira market, Megala area. It operates mainly in the morning every day except Sundays, and he can see people of various ethnic groups like the Oromo, Afar and Somali. Part of the market is in an area of ??narrow aisles where they sell all kinds of vegetables, meats, and especially a variety of spices. Another part of the market extend Dechata dry riverbed, where they sell all kinds of tools and spares. Overall it is very curious: is more like a refugee camp than a market, as the stalls seem shacks and people and animals are among piles of dirt and junk. It is also interesting to see the caravans of camels laden mainly wood, which are coming to market.

We also found very interesting the streets from the standpoint of urban and architectural. In Kezira, with its avenues, colonial buildings and trees, there is an urban order not found anywhere else in Ethiopia, while in the Megala we see very photogenic houses with colorful facades and very beautiful forms.

Another point of interest is the railway station of Addis Ababa-Djibouti line, a colonial building situated next to a large square with an old locomotive decorative medium. Also Haile Selassie's palace, used by him as his residence when he came to Dire Dawa. This palace can not be visited, although there is a good view of it from across the river. As curious element have the modern building where the offices of Ethiopian Airlines, opposite the National Hotel, with a very similar to the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

ADDIS ABABA (III)
GETTING
Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa (we had bought days earlier in Arba Minch by 93'5 U.S. $). Dire Dawa airport is about 4 or 5 km from the center and it is reached in 10 minutes by taxi. We we agreed a price of 20 Birr for the taxi to the airport. As always, the 10 Birr payable when billing rate. A remarkable fact is the strict control of access security to the departure lounge, even forcing us to take a picture with the camera to see that it was a real camera (?). The plane is a Fokker 50 propeller. It leaves at 16:00 h. and arrives in Addis Ababa after an hour. A time outside the airport terminal take a minibus to Piazza for 2 Birr.

Sleeping and eating
We choose again the Baro hotel for the last night. As on the previous occasion rather large double room with private bathroom and hot water costs 70 Birr us (there are smaller rooms to 60 Birr, but windows give an interior hallway and there is a strong musty smell).

THINGS TO SEE
Addis Ababa is the third city in the world in altitude, at 2400 m., Making the weather is cool at night and often is cloudy or raining. It is usually safer than other African cities, and even European, but this does not mean that you should let your guard down. Its geographical position in the center of the country motivates going through Addis circulating between north and south or going east. We believe it is a city without a major attraction for visitors, although it does have a few that you can visit in the case to have time.

- Area Piazza. A walk through the Piazza (or plaza de Gaulle) and the surrounding streets allows us to see a few buildings from the period of Italian occupation or earlier, but are quite deteriorated. An exception is the Taitu Hotel, the oldest hotel in Ethiopia, nice for the construction and interior decoration of time (a good place for a drink or eat in the restaurant). We also recommend a visit to the Cathedral of Beth Georgis (San Jorge). It is a traditional octagonal church built in the neoclassical style. Not particularly pretty but can serve as a first approximation to the Ethiopian churches. Right next door is a museum where you can see the usual religious objects in all churches of the country: crosses, ceremonial sticks and umbrellas. Admission to the museum and church costs 15 Birr, but you can visit the outside of the church and grounds freely. Bet Georgis is on the north side of the square Menelik, 300 m. north of the Piazza.

- Mercato. Said to be the largest market in Africa. Whether or not the truth is that it is very large: streets and street stalls of all kinds of products. Going from the Piazza to the bus station or vice versa crosses this vast shopping area. If visiting the Mercato at street level it is advisable to carry minimum and beware of thieves.

- Sheraton Hotel. As counterpoint final journey Ethiopia recommend a visit to this island megalujo. Opened in 1998 and built with exquisite taste, in our humble opinion, is said to be the most beautiful and luxurious hotel in Africa. It really seems incredible to find this hotel in this country: just enter the door and suddenly it's like moving to a European city. You can go smoothly and take a walk around their living rooms, gardens, illuminated fountains, pools, bungalows-suite, etc.. Has a few restaurants and dine at any of them is not too expensive (in terms of European prices, not Ethiopians price, of course). Afford the pleasure of dining at the Indian restaurant Sasheen costs the equivalent of about U.S. $ 15, enjoy a luxury and exquisite. Within the hotel there is a Dashen Bank office that closes at 23:00 h. and for changing Birr to Euro or vice versa.

- Shopping. The best places to do some last souvenir shopping Churchill Avenue is below Tewodros Square, where there are many shops full of all kinds of objects from all regions of the country. Prices are correct and, moreover, are negotiable.

- Otros.También about other things to see in Addis Ababa, Entoto and climb the hill to see the view of the city or visit some interesting museums like the National Museum, but we already did not have enough time.

THE JOURNEY ENDS ...
The flight back home leaves at 7 am, which forces us to take a taxi to be at the airport at 5:00. The day before we agreed with a taxi driver to come pick us at the hotel, all for a price of 35 Birr. When checking in at the airport must be paid in a window of the $ 20 departure tax (can only be paid in U.S. dollars). As at this time that the airport bank is closed you can change the remaining Birr, for example, the night before at the Sheraton Hotel Dashen Bank (closes at 23 pm, much later than any other bank, and allows changing Birr to € or U.S. $).

Then we are 3 hours and 45 minutes flight to Alexandria (Egypt), 90 minute wait inside the plane, and 5 hours to London Heathrow. Finally, after six hours of waiting at the airport in London, a final 90-minute flight to Barcelona.

Ethiopian coffee has a tremendous importance in social life. The coffee ceremony is called an act of social gathering where time does not matter and through which the community demonstrates its enormous hospitality. Perhaps this is what most unites Ethiopia from north to south, since from Lalibela, to the depths of the Omo Valley, always present the coffee ceremony.
Simien Mountain National Park is one of the few parks in Africa, which has not been altered by the irresponsible tourism. On its mountains rising to 3.260msnm, the tallest hotel in all of Africa: Simien Mountain Lodge. Addis Ababa is the third highest capital in the world, situated at an altitude of 2,400 meters.
This route enables us to discover the ancient Ethiopian history framing a formidable natural. The tour begins in the capital, Addis Ababa, where it is recommended to visit the National Museum, the "Merkato" and end the day with a show of music and dance.
Historic route begins north of the country. Arriving in Bahar Dar, Amhara region heart sail along the magnificent Lake Tana barren islands dotted about twenty Christian monasteries. Tissiat Falls are one of the great attractions of the area. Besides its great beauty, and are considered the only true Nile River Falls
Along the lake Tana northward journey in which we discover its vastness, you get to Gondar. This city, founded in 1635 by Emperor Fasilidias, is known as the "Camelot of Africa" ??for its impressive set of European-style castles.
After visiting the Simien Mountains Natural Park, crowned with Ethiopia's highest peak (4,195 meters), the journey takes us to the legendary era of Aksum, the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant.
While Ethiopia is considered the birthplace of humanity due to the discovery of Lucy, our oldest ancestor 3.5 million years, you can consider the kingdom of Aksum the start of the historic Ethiopia that has so enriched the country's national identity .
We moved from the beautiful landscapes of the Tigray region where we will discover the unique churches carved out of rock and decorated with colorful paintings Orthodox. The highlight of the trip, and perhaps the most emblematic of all the country's eleven monolithic churches of Lalibela, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Nile

The Nile is one of the largest rivers in the world and perhaps the most important with regard to the birth of civilization. Its channel runs along seven nations coming to tour the 6,700 km. to its mouth at the Mediterranean Sea.

The word Nile (Arabic 'ni-l) comes from the Greek word Neilos, meaning "river valley". In the ancient Egyptian language, the river was called Iteru, meaning "Great River". In Coptic, the word piaro (Sahidic) or phiaro (Bohairic) meaning "The River" (literally "The Grand Canal"), which comes from the same old name. This great river reminds the world of the Pharaohs, the pyramids, as well as where they live deep African primates, gorillas, lions, giraffes and elephants, a world where it combines history and nature at its peak.

The Nile on its journey to the sea from Uganda and Kenya share what has been called as the White Nile from Ethiopia and what has been called as the Blue Nile. These two channels come together in the city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital to cross the desert heading to Egypt through Nubia region where it reaches its peak, there you are immersed in the world of pharaonic pyramids, sarcophagi, as the temples of Abu Simbel and the crossing where large cities like Luxor and Cairo Nile finally come to the mythical city of Alexandria where it will mix with the Mediterranean through a vast delta.

It is also a river in the past and who have lived, but unfortunately not always peacefully, the major religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They have also left their mark along the magnificent river. They emphasize the core Christian Cairo, the great library that Christians gathered in Alexandria, the desert as the birthplace of monasticism and asceticism, the Coptic monasteries ...

 

BIRTH AND GETTING THE NILE

This is one of the greatest enigmas of world geography since no one knows exactly what the source of the Nile Some suggest that begins at Lake Victoria, the largest of African lakes with an area of ??68,000 km2 whose main tributary Kagera river, so where the Nile waters begin to separate from Lake Victoria (da Hence this part of the Nile is termed as Victoria Nile) John Hanning Speke, a former officer of the Indian army, placed a plaque indicating when he arrived in 1848. Others like Waldecker Burkhart in 1937 suggest that rises in the Kagera river sources or as Ptolemy in the second century. C. Nilo said the born of Ruwenzori glaciers and therefore your origin remains a dilemma to discover today.

Lake Victoria is surrounded by small colonial villages engaged in fishing for tilapia. Here the ports are characterized by the absence of springs where silleteros are responsible for transporting both cargo and people to the boats beyond the sandbars. The fish collected were transported to towns across the savannah.

This is Uganda, the center of black Africa, from where one can sit to watch the lake and goes on slowly and patiently watching as the lake is exploited to wash, to transport goods, washing the car or even using their banks to rest in the hottest hours past noon.

Another of the many tributaries of the Nile after passing by many streams flows into lakes and Jorge Eduardo being collected by the Semliki River to carry up to Alberto. From here joins the Victoria Nile where we glimpse her power and narrowing the river in a gorge to Murchison Falls where several hops to get down to a height of 122 meters.

Here the countless birds, crocodiles, elephants, hippos, antelopes, warthogs and lions impose the true face of beautiful Africa, where the cycle of nature remains almost unchanged with the passage of time. From here the Nile widens immeasurably papyrus plant covering on their way by the Sudd in Sudan.

 

The White Nile

The Nile after its journey through Uganda enters now in Sudan through its vast savannah confluence Muslims and Christians of different ethnicities (Shilluk, Nuer, nomadic Dinka, Sufi ...) that seem to be in a period of peace tas war has caused thousands of deaths.

In this area the Nile enters the marshes where it is dispersed into a series of canals and branches that reach confused with a large muddy grassland with abundant water hyacinth and papyrus plants, resulting in a great diversity of animal life among them hippos, crocodiles and antelopes. Here much of the river flow evaporates.

The river now entering a channel bounded up to Malakal and so impetuous flows can succeed big floods and natural disasters in the rainy season. From here picks up other small rivers that flow fatter Nile as the river of the Gazelles, the giraffes and the Mountain through the arid African savanna up to Khartoum where it merges with the Blue Nile.

This area is clearly defined to Khartoum area where life flows on the banks of the river opposite the vast, arid savanna, reminding us how further north has been possible life of whole peoples as Egypt through the Nile

 

The Blue Nile

They call for the color blue waters contrasting with the muddy his brother the White. Born of a river called Abbai covering over 1500 kms. before emptying into Lake Tana, characterized by its muddy banks and by the multitude of islands where they hide the passage of time a lot of Orthodox Christian monasteries.

We in Ethiopia and can not describe the atmosphere without mention of the Orthodox Christian faith as rooted in place for centuries immemorial. This was brought by Orthodox monks in their escape oppressive Islam and here he found his place where he was bit by bit, over the centuries in the nations to become the most sacred. Their monasteries are richly decorated with colorful paintings of biblical scenes, Jesus, the Virgin Mary and saints' lives.

The march of the Nile begins its journey here down by Ethiopia to the north by Lake Tana through a small opening that soon will grow enormously. The width of the river channel will continue its journey some thirty kilometers to Tississat cascades where after a fall of about forty-five meters continue their journey in search of his brother the White Nile, passing through a series of canyons seems to have been forced by the passage of the river in the mountains Goggiam until entering Sudan, crossing the plains of Sennar, to finally reach Khartoum where he will find and will merge with the.

 

Nile OF THE SANDS

We are in Khartoum, capital of Sudan where the Nile is insolent and unlimited because of their wealth to join two fronts. Here begins the arduous journey through the desert where you can see how the sands are mixed with the vegetation of the banks taking a big contrast to the landscape.

Leaving Khartoum the great river is moving northward into well in Nubia, a wide region that reaches Aswan in Egypt, where the Nile and go jumping in cataract cataract to pass a total of five before reaching the lake Nasser and more before reaching Aswan.

Nubia, ancient land of pharaohs who remembers the splendor of Egypt, although its name comes from the Roman era and whose etymology can probably derived from "nbw" gold, the main wealth of the region. It is a land full of memories that stick out of the sand in the form of archaeological sites, ancient palaces, tombs and early Christian churches, pyramids and cities now hidden under the huge arena and that man has struggled to recover. Here the so-called black pharaohs of Dynasty XXV. C. all dominated by a single rule Egypt from Sudan to the Mediterranean between the eighth and seventh centuries. C. Around the year 750. C. created the kingdom of Kush, whose king, Shabaka, was the one who conquered all of Egypt in 712 BC and moved his capital to Memphis, where he founded the XXV dynasty called Kushite or Ethiopian. The Assyrian invasion pushed back into the Nubians Africa, where in 663 a. C. founded the kingdom of Meroe. Nubia remained alone for nine centuries until the s. IV d. C. Nabataean town destroyed Meroe and settled in the region. It was Christianized in the sixth century and so remained until the fourteenth century Mamluk armies succumbed.

Here in the Nubian desert yellow together with the Blue Nile and the green of the palm of the river bank. Contrasts that make this earth a place of warmth and tranquility where the great flow of the Nile takes you.

The river flows through the area Bayuda, a large region lying between the sixth and the fourth cataract and dominated the desert and some small crops in river banks: corn, tomatoes, wheat ... This area seems to happen time, inward traveling nomads with their herds in search of water wells, scenes reminiscent of the biblical passages. Also noteworthy in this area Meroe pyramids, the great temple to the god Amun in Karima, the necropolis of Napata, which recall the splendor of the black pharaohs. After falling hopelessly for five Nile cataracts in their amplitude reaches Lake Nasser.

 

PHARAONIC Nile

The Nile, after its journey through Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan reaches Lake Nasser in Egypt being enclosed by two dams at Aswan. The first and oldest dam was built in 1902 and the second largest was completed in 1971 growing to a height of 111 meters. These dams caused flooding of a vast territory and with many of the archaeological remains of the ancient Nubian Egypt so that the sixteen most important (the Abu Simbel among others) were disassembled and transported safely staying above water. Spain contributed to this work and as proof of that the Egyptian state donated the temple ruins of Debod, which is located in Madrid Area Pintor Rosales near the Plaza of Spain.

Here silence again make an appearance Peace mixing blue waters contrast with the golden sands that come ashore. Local people take advantage to bathe, to refresh or even to water their camels of this great source of fresh water that is the Nile

The barges plying the river travel to small islands which highlights the island of Elephantine (called "ibu" which means elephant) that was, as the name suggests, a place of trade in ivory plus southern border during the period Pharaohs. It is an island rich in archeology where two Nubian villages that are characterized by richly colored houses.

Aswan is located near the archaeological site of File where the remains of the temple led to put it under water. It was a place of worship the god Ra and the goddess Isis (goddess mother and sister of Osiris and mother of Horus). There is also a tradition that on the island of Philae was the source from which the Nile flowed into a cave where he lived the god Hapi (the Nile god).

To understand the proliferation and splendor of Egypt is necessary to understand why this area was the most fertile Nile in Aswan Here is where began the annual Nile flood between late May and early June, growing rapidly until August level and mid-September to begin to decline in October and in May reached its lowest level. The waters of the flood came mostly Blue Nile thanks to the heavy rains that occurred in the mountains of Ethiopia, which provided fertilizer washed away silt would be deposited on the fields of Egypt guaranteeing crops. So the flood was a source of concern to know the water level and also of joy.

Departing from Aswan Nile continues its journey and diminished by the dams to Edfu, where the temple of Horus is one of the best preserved structures. Built by Ptolemy XIII (Cleopatra's father) in the first century. C. From then continues its journey to Luxor, Pharaonic land where we can contemplate his temple, which together with the Karnak located on the right bank of the Nile are the greatest monuments of pharaonic Egypt.

From Aswan the Nile flanking the desert that extends westward to the border with Libya. In arbores of mankind this was a stunning savannah full of animal species where it is believed that the Egyptian civilization began and over drying time was becoming the Great Sand Sea and called him here.

Following the river we Kharga, where in the sixth century. C. rose a temple in honor of Hibis still preserved. A little to the north lie the Dakhla oasis where there are more than five hundred water sources and in its wide area over ten kilometers is covered rice crop. Here wildlife resurface as varied in contrast to the sea of ??sand that marks the horizon.

Other big are the Farafra oasis, where the overflow are brightly colored houses on its walls and drawings related to the pilgrimage to Mecca from its inhabitants and Baharya where hypogea recently found about 10,000 sarcophagi, becoming a stunning discovery for archeology. Have been quick to call it the "Valley of the Golden Mummies."

For this area becomes desert limestone, ie limestone abounds in all shapes and sizes giving a desert full of blank forms that have been piercing the stone over the centuries. In this desert are some of the oldest Coptic monasteries, some of which, four in particular have endured since the early centuries of Christianity, located between Cairo and Alexandria. This last is from where he left San Antonio in the third century. C. to retire to the desert to live a life of prayer and meditation with God apart from the world, founding monasticism. After the schism of Acacius in 484 separated from the Catholic faith because of Christ's conception Monophysite (which only has the divine nature and not both) and remained until today. The Coptic tradition believes that the Holy Family came through this area in their flight from Herod celebrating Jesus' entry into Egypt on 24 June and places where they worship the stay there of the Holy Family.

The Nile, which is now reaching its destination comes slow and exhausted in the city of Cairo, but without losing certain majesty due to its width and flow.

 

NILE AND THE SEA

Today Cairo is a big city, populated with nearly 15 million inhabitants, where more or less harmoniously old and new. Due to the great expansion funerary monuments of the Pharaohs of Egypt, such as the pyramids, are being swallowed up by the urban, like the Great Sphinx of Giza. What was once desert and sand around, now is becoming a cluster of houses and asphalt.

The Nile, the water source of the city was submerged to make way for the concrete jungle and civilization. Since then the river has moved a quarter mile. That crosses the entire city, so almost silent sound being off your cars, people, boats and other noises of the big city until the delta where several channels will branch to die in the Mediterranean.

In his last agony to the Mediterranean is divided into two branches, Damietta and east, west, Rosetta. The latter passes near the great city of Alexandria. Mythical city founded by Alexander the Great in 331. C. Egyptian culture that merged with Greek and echoing one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as was the lighthouse of almost 250 meters high and built around the year 280. C. Here is housed the largest library of old who came to hold about 700,000 volumes before suffering a major fire in their cases is still no agreement among scholars. This city was also the city of Cleopatra and the Vatican and the Copts in the nineteenth century, was known as the Paris of the Mediterranean.

Today is the second largest city of Egypt as far as population is concerned and it is mixed with the modern religion. Mix the minarets, the mausoleums, madrasas, strong Qayt Bay ... The mix of Arabic and Western, the Muslim with Christian city makes it a very attractive and open to the future. From here came Naguib Mahfouz, Nobel Prize for Literature.

In this branch called Rosetta also remember that it was in 1799 where he met the famous black marble slab engraved with a decree of Ptolemy V written with two different spellings Egyptian and Greek text, where François Champollion could decipher hieroglyphs and characters understand the friezes and writings of ancient Egypt.

This river was represented by the Egyptians as a bearded man with breasts and aquatic plants in the head (usually papyri), painted in green and blue, the colors of regeneration and water, after his great journey from distant lands, ends here Mare Nostrum in their freshwater mixing with the salty Mediterranean.

 

Exploring the sources of the Nile

1618 - Pedro Páez
He was the first European to reach the source of the Blue Nile in 1618.

1854 - Sir Richard Francis Burton
(19 March 1821 - 19 October 1890) was a British consul, explorer, translator and orientalist, born in Hertfordshire, England. He became famous for his explorations in Asia and Africa as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages ??and cultures. According to a count twenty-nine spoke European languages, Asian and African

1871 - Sir Henry Morton Stanley
January 28, 1841 - May 10, 1904) was an explorer and Welsh-born American journalist, famous for his expeditions to the then mysterious central Africa, in one of which met the late David Livingstone.

1872 - Francis Sanfilippo

 

Carriers
Ethiopian mothers all day carry their children in this type of carrier. Sometimes the simplest things prove to be the most sophisticated. So I think after watching Mursi women carry their babies. These African, like many other women in the world, taking their children constantly in arms, tied to his body with a cloth as a sling. In this way the babies are part of the daily life of their mothers, in each and every day activities. As you can see in the pictures, not only brought in the fabric that makes carrier, but also take the opportunity to feed them with the breast whenever the baby needs it. So from small babies feel integrated in all areas: from preparing food, to preparing festive events. It also calls attention to the Mursi vanity (both men and women). It is a vanity so extreme that some designers have been inspired ornaments intheir their collections, but hey that's another story.

 

Ethiopia is growing at 11% annually and leaving extreme poverty with a growing middle class

Ethiopia is the third fastest growing economy in the world, after China and India, with an average of 11% annually over the past five years. "The process of transformation and growth, which began a decade ago, is now an undeniable reality and you can see up on the street, since Ethiopia is one of the African countries where most rapidly growing middle class," says David J . Mülchi, Ethiopia's honorary consul in Spain, the equivalent of ambassador since there is no Ethiopian Embassy in Spain.

Mülchi warns that "in Spain little is known of Ethiopia and usually is associated almost exclusively with an image of country of extreme poverty and human emergencies, this no longer corresponds to reality, although there are of course situations of poverty and emergencies due mainly to migration of refugees from neighboring Somalia and Sudan. "

The Ethiopian government has developed its strategy through planning systems, which provide increased productivity in the agricultural sector (the most economically) and industrialization and infrastructure development, which will be invested 35,000 million , and will be aimed at increasing the power generation capacity and the modernization and expansion of rail and road networks. It is also committed to the development of mining and manufacturing and textiles.

As one of the African countries over water resources, Ethiopia "wants to become the powerhouse in the Horn of Africa, with the construction of large dams, dry ports (in the absence of access to the sea), and roads and railways to better bring the goods coming into the country, mainly through the port in neighboring Djibouti, "explains Eduardo Valero Exporter, Chief Operations Tancuir, Spanish company dyes the leather industry in Ethiopia installed.

Bilateral relations

Bilateral economic relations between Spain and Ethiopia are very rare, according to information provided by the ICEX. Trade is very small and the Spanish investment is even more so. Figures Hispanic-Ethiopian trade were favorable to Spain in recent years, with high coverage rates (a 445.56% in 2011), but much as the total of its components have been shown to perform very erratic.

In 2011, our exports fell 21% over the previous year and are really low for a market of 87 million potential consumers, much as their disposable income is very low. These figures are also a reflection of the lack of funding available in the country.

Spanish companies seeking to export to Ethiopia also face difficulties in obtaining coverage CESCE, which is closed to the public sector credit to medium and long term. For private credit, operations will be analyzed case by case. In the short term, the coverage is open without restricciones.A Nevertheless, "there is a growing interest on the part of our companies to this country, both commercially and in the development of major projects," says the Office Trade Commission of the Embassy of Spain in Cairo.

Canoas Canoas papyrus to papyrus together on Lake Tana. Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana; previously written as Dambea Tsana or) is the largest lake in Ethiopia, source of the Blue Nile. The lake is located in the highlands northwest of the country, to 1,840 meters, and is about 84 km long and 66 km wide. The maximum depth is 15 m and covers an area of ??2,156 km ². The lake receives its water from rivers Reb, Gumara, Lesser Abay, Kilti and Magech. The lake is about thirty islands and islets, whose number varies according to the level of the lake has dropped about two meters in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a sixteenth century Portuguese missionary), the lake was 21 islands, seven or eight of which had monasteries on them "formerly large, but now much reduced." When Robert Bruce visited the area in the late eighteenth century, seated left that locals had 45 inhabited islands, but he believed that there were only eleven. A newer geographer mentions 37 islands, of which 19 have and have had monasteries or churches. In monasteries isolated from these islands were buried the remains of Ethiopian emperors. On the island of Tana Cherqos there was a rock in which, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary rested on her way back from Egypt, is also said to Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia would be buried in Tana Cherqos. Amlak Yekuno body was buried in the monastery of San Esteban, in the Isle Dagger, Dagger also contains the tombs of the emperors Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other major islands of the lake are Dek Island and Meshralia. It is thought that monasteries were built on earlier religious sites and include Debre Maryam and Dega Estefanos fourteenth century Narga Selassie, Tana Cherkos (where according to Ethiopian tradition would have been the Ark of the Covenant), and Ura Kidane Mecet nineteenth century. There is a ferry service that connects Bahir Dar with Gorgora through Dek Island and several villages on the edge of the sea.

 

ORIGINS OF ETHIOPIA
We finally got probably the best known city in Ethiopia and this for the famous rock-hewn churches. Protected by UNESCO and judiciously declared a World Heritage Site, we travel the best known, enter them and were shocked by the fervor. It is certainly the African country where Christianity has penetrated more deeply.
We leave the icing for last: St. George's Church is certainly the most impressive. It is a temple pierced in the same stone, carved to perfection with a cross and a depth of about 15 meters. It is also the masterpiece that is still in perfect condition. It is clear that is the pride of the city of Lalibela, but despite being so obviously, we are not any tourists visiting some of the churches. In fact, some of them even opened so they could be visited exclusively by us.
It was a short stay in Lalibela, just one morning we need to see enough churches and lead a very full. In our hotel, the 'Seven Olives' (incidentally the oldest in the city) at 11:30 in the morning we came to pick up the driver we hired to take us to Bahir Dar, about seven hours in a minivan. It is still daylight when we reached the destination. No time to leave backpacks in an authentic Ethiopian house we had rented a room, and no chance to rest, we approached one of the best restaurants in the city on the edge of Lake Tana. This is a beer terrace offering St. George running cool and where we were entertained watching the wealthy snobs Bahir Dar. There is everything in Ethiopia.
The next day we collected our guide to take us to the pier Solomon Lake Tana. The captain of one of the boats up invites us to visit three of the best sixteenth century monasteries that are located in some of the islands of the vast body of water that serves as a source the Blue Nile. It is the third largest lake in size throughout Africa.
AUTHENTIC CROWNS OF KINGS ...
For 100 birr, about four euros, entered the best preserved, Uda Kidane Meret, one of the most well known for his religious paintings in perfect condition. The work of artists has much merit even if you consider that they have used paintings taken from the plants for more than five centuries. A five minute walk from the monastery, take us to Beta Giorgis. Our guide called the guard, taking off his keychain to show a small museum. Open a door, then another and so on until three doors that protect this small but valuable museum. Valuable addition it contains ancient paintings, authentic Ethiopian kings crowns. This country's greatness, true greatness.
Back to the pier and headed to another island, where the well known Kebran Gabriel Monastery, noted also in addition to his paintings, books, wreaths and other valuables. But mostly owes its fame to the current prohibition on women entering.
Time to get back to Bahir Dar, eat in the restaurant one of the best known hotels, Ghion Hotel, also on the edge of Lake Tana. We are surprised that there is free wi-fi, we spent ten days in Ethiopia and is the first site that has wireless which we used to make our friends jealous of this incredible journey.
We can only accomplish a goal before our return to Addis Ababa. These cataracts of the Nile River Nile always relate with Egypt, but we all know that is not their sole owner, visit Ethiopia also has its charm and if we'll see a waterfall about 100 meters wide and 45 fall. Our guide told us that the Blue Nile in Sudan with the White Nile, which is the one that flows into the Mediterranean, thus becoming the world's longest river.

Ethiopia, the land of a thousand secrets
From the primitive tribes of the Omo Valley to modernity of Addis Ababa, a journey through legends, landscapes and ancient traditions
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The echo of the chants ringing through the stone walls of an ancient temple in darkness. In the candlelight, men and women covered with white veils and robes swirling behind priests and huge bronze crosses, in a ritual that remains as alive as hundreds of years ago.

We are in Lalibela, a small town in northern Ethiopia, considered a sacred place for the followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Here is one of the greatest treasures of this country of secrets and ancient customs: eleven underground churches, carved directly on the rock, reminiscent of Petra, in Jordan.

The jewel of the set, the sanctuary of Bet Giorgis, is a temple in the form of a Greek cross that is viewed from the top, before descending and lost in its intricacies. The story goes that, in the twelfth century, King Lalibela wanted to build his own Jerusalem and turn the city into a religious center, for that, ordered a group of temples excavated on the rocky ground. Legend says it was helped by a gang of angels. In Ethiopia, myth and reality are constantly confused.

This beautiful country in the Horn of Africa is one of the poorest in the world, but surprises at every turn with its history populated by legends, the richness and diversity of its culture and scenery, and the deep religiosity of its people. Although most of the population is Christian, there is also a large Muslim community among the 85 million inhabitants.

Sure Ethiopians walk the roads is not easy. Involves moving away from comfort, open to the unexpected and live the reality of a country with enormous needs. In the early 80s, Ethiopia made headlines when he suffered a severe famine due to unprecedented drought. Since then, its mere mention in the popular imagination refers to starving children and vast desert, but even though the vast majority of the population live in deep poverty, the ancient Abyssinia is much more than that.

Ethiopia is not only the cradle of humanity, the birthplace of Ardi, the oldest ancestor of man, or his predecessor Lucy (see Notes). In his story also echoes biblical echo: legend has it that the Queen of Sheba, mentioned in the Bible-reigned in Ethiopia, and in that former stronghold, located in the city of Aksum, an old monk custody today the Ark of the Covenant with the Tables of the Law

If we talk about recent history, Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that was not colonized, a fact that Ethiopians living with immense pride. The brief Italian occupation between 1935 and 1941, bequeathed the pasta and pizza, ciao in salute, and some traces on the architecture.

SANTA ROUTE

Ethiopia Public Transportation Walking is an adventure anxious unsafe. It should reach the terminal at dawn to secure a place, and that the passages are sold in advance, but are not numbered. The bus has no fixed starting time, and only when complete starts.

Circuit paths historical-religious North are virtually deserted. For more than 10 hours of travel, we do not see a car or truck. Sometimes a 4x4 vehicle. Women and children walk to the side of the road, carrying jerry cans with water or woodpiles. In the fields are only ox-drawn plows. No agricultural machinery in a country where 85 percent of the population lives in rural areas, based on subsistence agriculture, in homes of mud and straw and major problems in accessing water. Power cuts are common throughout the country.

Already in Bahar Dar, the city surprises with its beautiful avenues lined with palm trees, order and neatness. It is one of the main urban centers of the country, and the place to make a base to visit the Blue Nile Falls and monasteries around Lake Tana. In a small boat you can take a tour of some of the 17 temples, mostly built between the sixteenth and seventeenth-located in some of the 30 islands that surround the lake. A monk official guide for the rustic shrines, impacting with the vibrant colors and beauty of ancient religious paintings adorning walls and ceilings.

The next destination is Gondar, another important city, former capital of the Christian emperors of Ethiopia between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Surprise encounter a beautiful medieval castle in the middle of Ethiopia. It is the Emperor's Palace Fasiladas within the imposing Royal Enclosure, which along with five other castles were built with the collaboration of the Portuguese, who came to the region to help fight Muslim invasion in the fourteenth century.

A gravel road not suitable for fragile bones leads to Debark, 150km north of Gondar. In this small village hires everything you need for hiking and camping in the National Park of the Simien Mountains, at altitudes up to 4500 meters. Mountains stretching beyond sight, steep gorges, and the onlookers gelada monkeys that move in herds, make this an unforgettable trip.

Aksum, Aksumite ancient seat of empire that dominated trade between Asia and Africa, and reached its peak between the ages III and VI, the city is visually less attractive travel. But this is where the legend again mixes with history in a small chapel of the complex of Santa Maria de Sion sleeping Ethiopians swear the Ark of the Covenant, a belief that nobody dares to question. They also claim that only the monk guarding the chapel is the person authorized to see it. Legend says it was King Menelik, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, who brought the Ark to Ethiopia from Jerusalem.

According to some historians, this mythical sovereign-a figure very much in the Ethiopian culture-reigned in Aksum in the tenth century BC Today you can see there ruins of his former palace, discovered by German archaeologists in 2008, and dozens of obelisks, over a thousand years old, perfectly preserved, pointing ancient tombs of kings.

Leaving behind the religious spirit of the North and undertake the most pagan way South. But before we make a stop in the chaotic capital, Addis Ababa. This city, headquarters of the African Union, is one of the favorite destinations in Africa by diplomats and expatriates, for its nightlife, its luxurious five-star hotels, and the security it offers compared to other African capitals. The traces of the communist past are still evident in the architecture of the city gray, while the emerging modern shopping centers contrasts with the image of goats grazing in Meskal Square, in the center.

After a walk through Piazza, the Italian heritage district, messy and untidy as everything in Addis, a good idea is to enjoy a heavenly pasta Castelli's elegant restaurant, the best in town. We know that for the rest of the trip Ethiopian food is the only option in many places.

At the entrance of the site, a photo of the owner of the restaurant next to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt-in when the two actors visited the country to search for his daughter-Ethiopian reminds travelers that this country has become a trendy destination for adoptions. At the hotel where we stayed abound foreign couples with their newly adopted children.

After lunch it's time to savor the delicious Ethiopian coffee. The coveted bean originated in Ethiopia, the ancient region of Kaffa, and even in the most remote places is delicious. The coffee ceremony, which includes roasting and grinding the beans, is a daily ritual, Ethiopian fixture in any home.

The export of coffee is the main foreign income for the impoverished country's economy. In recent years, a thriving and incipient flower export market also installed economic growth prospects.

 

SOUTH TO REMOTE

Arba Minch, the largest city in the South, is the first stop before venturing to discover the primitive tribes of the Omo River valley, the Karo, Banna, Mursi and Hamer, and bustling markets. Hippos and crocodiles enormous sidelong look while strolling in a fragile little boat on Lake Chamo. The next day, the journey continues to the remote villages of the South, gravel and dirt roads almost nonexistent.

Get to Turmi, Hamer ethnicity heart, is to enter a place where time seems to stand still. Sitting in a bar-four simple rustic benches on dirt floors-see the beautiful women pass hamer, sharp-featured and perfect bodies, wearing goat leather skirts decorated with traditional ornaments and necklaces. Remarkably hair dyed reddish brown with natural dyes.

Men walk all your borkoto in hand, a small wooden object used as a pillow or seat. And although they maintain the same customs for thousands of years, the Hamer already know how to leverage the scarce tourists who come there and offered to pose for photos in exchange for money.

Our final destination is Harar in the east of the country, a few kilometers from the border with Somalia. Walking inside the old walled city, lost in the labyrinthine alleys and white, and discover its 90 mosques us forget for a moment that we are in Ethiopia. The old town has an atmosphere and architecture is very different from the rest of the country.

Harar is the spiritual center of the Ethiopian Muslim community, and was the last refuge of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, where he arrived in 1884 and lived for seven years before becoming ill and returned to Paris. The visit must be the Rimbaud Museum, an old tastefully renovated house, which displays photographs and samples of your life.

The hararis are known to be heavy users of chat, a plant stimulant properties. Its consumption is a habit spread throughout the country. Ethiopian men spend hours sitting chewing its leaves. And although in some countries it is forbidden in Ethiopia consumption is legal.

Harar was an important commercial center that served as a meeting point between Africa, India and the Far East. Today is renowned for the quality of coffee produced there for the beer, and the number of tailors, with their sewing machines and meters of colorful fabrics to offer their services in view of the old alleys.

Ethiopia, the land of eternal sunshine and roads impossible, is not an easy destination for travelers. But hidden treasures for those who venture to discover.

USEFUL

Directions. There are no direct flights from Buenos Aires. We fly to Johannesburg (U.S. $ 1600, South African Airways), and connect with a flight to the Ethiopian capital (U.S. $ 1100, Ethiopian Airlines). The Argentines may apply for visa (U.S. $ 20) in Addis Ababa airport.

Health. Bring an official certificate of vaccination against yellow fever. In some regions there is a risk of malaria, so we recommend advice on medication before traveling.

Where to sleep. The tourist infrastructure is minimal. Simple hotels with private bathrooms and no frills are found throughout the country. Not to despair by frequent power outages.

Moving. Distances are large and transport is poor, but it's best to get on the buses and be patient. The other option, the more expensive it is to rent an SUV.

NOTES

In 2009 it was confirmed that the man's oldest ancestor lived in Ethiopia. Ardi is a hominid who lived 4.4 million years ago, whose skeleton was found in 1994. Before Ardi was found the fossil of Lucy, 3.2 million years. The discovery took place in Ethiopia in 1974, about 72 miles from where Ardi was found 20 years later.
President Meles Zenawi, entrenched in power for 19 years, again won the elections in May 2010 with 99.6% of the votes, amid allegations of fraud and strong criticism for its human rights policy, persecution politicians and opposition press. The UN announced in February that almost three million Ethiopians will need emergency food aid this year due to drought in some regions.
The Ethiopian staple food is injera, a kind of large pancake made from a grain called teff. It is eaten by hand, usually accompanied by lamb-meat-sauce. The vegetarian version is the shiro, a preparation with chickpeas. In the capital there are variety of options, but in some villages all limited to Ethiopian food, or at most a noodle dish.

Lake Tana. Monasteries

 

This lake is the largest Ethiopian lakes with 85 km long, 65 wide and a depth of approximately 14 meters. Dot the lake over 37 islands and its shores are Gorgora peninsulas, and Zeghe Mendabba (the closest and most visited for its proximity to the city). Obviously, visiting monasteries that are located within the lake, is the most important reason, but also for nature lovers and especially for ornithologists as they will have the opportunity to see storks, herons, eagles, parrots and so to 823 of which 16 species are endemic to Ethiopia, also sometimes can see crocodiles and hippos but I will say that I have not noticed anything. The islands are home to more than 20 Christian monasteries in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and some treasured works of art, manuscripts, relics and impressive paintings. What I like least is that many of them are allowed only to men. The lake transport is effected in small motor boats can be rented at the piers and negotiate the price according to the monasteries to visit. It is also common to observe the fishermen sail their craft boats made of papyrus leaves called "tankwas" whose design may have more than a thousand years old.
I remember that in my last trip I visited the monastery of Kibran Gabriel - my memory is not that good, but that's what the travel diaries - which I found very interesting and this time we visited Ura Kidane Mihret and Azuwa Maryan, and in these two, if allowed the entry of women. There are many people, who said that the most interesting is the monastery of Narga Selassie was the place chosen by Empress Metewad and is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, but being the farthest need almost one day to visit and why decided to visit the two monasteries that I mentioned earlier. After leaving the pier and breathes absolute tranquility, interrupted only by the noise of the engine, and directly headed to the peninsula Zegue, after get off the boat, walk for about 15 minutes through a thick vegetation to reach the entrance of the monastery Ura Kidane Mihret, entry strikes me as the bell are two stones fastened with a rope on a wooden stand, built in the XIV century, its architectural style is a typical example temple of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, of mud mortar circular thatched, conical shape and surrounded by a large garden, after our shoes at the entrance (required), penetrate inside where we can enjoy their magnificent frescoes deal with religious subjects, made with natural dyes. After recreate these beautiful paintings, returned again to the jetty but not before stopping at one of the posts that are in the way where you can buy local crafts, jewelry, paintings and original manuscripts. Back in the boat and within walking distance we stop to visit the monastery of Maryam Azuwa that is a bit more of the same, with some interesting paintings, but with more animation than the previous because there is a celebration. On the way to the monastery, we found people, dressed in white that went to worship and also as people so friendly, I was invited to drink beer typically slash-and not make the ugly I have taken, but then I Neguse said that the catch of lake water, although things can not be helped that is what God wants!

HERITAGE FRESH
Inside the debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana fresh as you can see this. Magnificent frescoes. The monasteries of Lake are among the best preserved. Have been declared a World Heritage Site. The Church of Maria or Debre Maryam is within walking distance of the monastery of Gabriel, another island in Lake Tana and near the beginning of where the lake becomes the Blue Nile. This river is crossed by boats made of papyrus (tankwas), especially for pescadores.La Church owes its name because it is assumed that the Virgin Mary here step (a big if). This fresh filled with lots of color, although not cool properly paintings such as they are glued to muros.Estas igleias, monasteries and islands of Lake Tana give a special charm.

The earliest Christian

The islands of Lake Tana monasteries s house. XIII and XIV, still inhabited by monks and nuns (apart, of course), which follow a secluded life, and never better, monastic ... surprised by the thinness of some of them, which are maintained with a handful of grain a day and some more! Were dundados by early Christian hermits who sought a place to leave the underworld, and there are still approaching the pilgrims, especially señaladas.Uno dates of the prettiest Ura Kidane Mihret is also the most frequented by tourists . A half an hour walk through the woods leads to it, a circular building, typical example of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made of mud mortar and thatched conical, preserved its fresh manuscripts, ecclesiastical objects, crowns and royal garments of various emperors of s. XIV .... One of these monks agreed to let us take pictures while reading one of his "incunabula", a manuscript of s. XIII or XIV. Yes, there are books kept for museum, still in use! When he decided that enough was enough, with a slight gesture, but serious and full of authority, dismissed us.

The vastness of Lake Tana
In the region survives waters that bathe the past imperial splendor and culture of this unique African country

At the eastern end of the city of Bahr Dar, of the waters of Lake Tana Blue Nile flows.
A travel should go chasing myths, and mine, when I visited Lake Tana, in northwestern Ethiopia, was none other than set foot in the birthplace of the Blue Nile. But the land surrounding the Tana, and the lake itself, are much more than a geographical area from which flows a great river. This is, without doubt, the most important region of Ethiopia from the historical point of view. For several centuries, between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, the area was chosen by the Abyssinian emperors to establish their courts, which in those days were traveling, changing location as water scarce and hunting, and forest were felled dutifully. All that's past adventures and countless imperial wars has left its traces in the area surrounding the Tana and within the lake itself. It is not without a trace of cultural riches, given that Ethiopia is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa has for centuries with written language, Amharic, and royal chronicles and legends transferred to book more than five centuries old.

HISTORY. The Tana is the largest of all Ethiopian lakes with 75 miles long and 65 wide. It extends about 1,700 feet above sea level and depth never goes beyond 14 meters. It is a tranquil lake, hardly hit by the storms, and has inside with 37 islands. Apart from some tourist boats, the only local lake transportation is an old ferry, the Tanana, sailing from South to North on Sunday, the port of Dar al Bahr Gorgora, and from North to South on Wednesday. Normally, the trip would take five or six hours. But as this boat is a kind of milk, then stops at several ports of the islands and the coast, the trip takes at last a day and a half.

Although as we walked in the XXI century, in the Tana navigation survives otherwise whose age is impossible to calculate, perhaps more than 1,000 years. These small canoes that the inhabitants of the region known as tankwas, built of papyrus, bamboo and rope, and moved by oars. The tankwas no more than three or four feet long and no keel. So when heavily loaded will sink into the water to the gunwale. Last about four months before the contact with water the rot. But do not take a new one, in the shipyards of Bahr Dar, over three days. Its waters have abundant fish, especially perch, catfish and tilapia, and there are some families of hippos, very dangerous for fragile tankwas. In the rugged shores abound pythons and black mamba, hyenas and sometimes leopards.

Major cities in the region are Bahr Dar Lake, south, and Gorgora and Gondar in the north. Bahr Dar is a beautiful city, crowded and cheerful, lined by majestic jacaranda, palm trees, almond trees and frangipanis Indians. Smells like flowers on its banks, which abound in cormorants, pelicans and black kites. Every Saturday, the city attracts the largest market in the region and Bahr Dar is full of people coming from neighboring villages.

At the eastern end of the town flows the Blue Nile, wide, gentle and solemn, and from there begins his long journey, crossing the western Ethiopian and South Sudan to meet his brother the White Nile in Khartoum. About 30 kilometers from Bahr Dar, south, there is the first big jump the river in Tis Isat Falls, an impressive spectacle of nature, with water vapor in the air filling one of the clearest skies Africa. No wonder, Tis Isat in Amharic language means smoke without fire.

Gorgora port opens the door to the city of Gondar, the capital of the empire for more than a century in the days of the dynasty of the Fasilidas. In Gondar rise several castles that they built the emperors and for that reason the city is known as the Camelot of Africa.

 

Traces of the past. The builders of the towering stone castles were craftsmen Portuguese, who arrived with lusas troops to the region in the sixteenth century to help the Ethiopian kings to fight an invasion of Muslims. Also, those Portuguese left several bridges, with all traces of medieval European architecture.

Gondar around, especially in the village of Wolleka, are some dozens of members of a Jewish community whose existence, say there goes back 2500 years in time. They are called falachas and they themselves are named Beth Israel, the people of Israel. According to legend, traveled from Jerusalem to King Menelik I, around the sixth century. C., and with them they brought the Ark of the Covenant which, according to legend, is hidden in the church of Santa Maria City Axun in Tigray, north of Gondar. The falachas are very few, as most of them were rescued by Israel in 1990, during the civil war, by sending tens of transport aircraft, in a company that Tel Aviv dubbed Operation Solomon.

The falachas, at the entrance to Wolleka, have put up a sign that read "Welcome to Zion." They live in extreme poverty and the tourists who come there, usually Jews of Europe and America, they sold a curious craft: a box where they lie after mating Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who gave birth regia intercourse, for two millennia and half Ethiopian and according to mythology, the dynasty of their kings.

Unique civilization. Ethiopia is a country of Orthodox Christian religion, obedient to the Coptic Church of Egypt. Surrounded by countries of the Muslim faith, has maintained its liturgy, influenced by Islam and Judaism, almost untouched since many centuries ago. If you consider that Ethiopia is the only African country never colonized, but was invaded several times, most recently by Mussolini's troops, we must agree that this is a highly original civilization in the great continent black, single, and very proud itself.

Many of the best expressions of their culture are in the Tana region. First, in the islands, 20 of which are raised temples and monasteries, some of the seventeenth century. In Kentran-Gabriel a community of monks held a church of that age where they can be beautiful art murals Ethiopian, Byzantine cutting. Is there a rustic and small museum where they keep old codices, royal chronicles, leaflets with religious paintings and swords and crowns of ancient emperors. In several of these communities Tana Islander women can not enter, but in one of them there is a small community, with only two nuns, where those who are banned from entering men are.

On the small island of Dagger-Estifanos are niches with the mummies of some of the emperors of the dynasty Fasilidas, including its founder, Fasilides, and his father, Susinios, converted to Catholicism by the Jesuit Pedro Páez Spanish in the early seventeenth century. Well, not far from the lake, is worth closer to the city of Lalibela to admire the Coptic monasteries carved into the stone.

Ethiopia is a unique country in Africa. And Tana region, in a way, his heart and his sanctuary.

BEST ETHIOPIA TRAVELERS GUIDE PDF

 

Geography: The region of Lake Tana is located in western Ethiopia (East Africa), which borders Sudan.
Population: Ethiopia has about 65,900,000 inhabitants.
Language: The official language is Amharic.
Currency: The currency is the birr.
Climate: Although it varies by geography, is tropical.

DIRECTIONS
Ethiopian Airlines (tel: 91/402 27 18) flies daily to Addis Ababa, via London, Frankfurt and Rome, from 123,000 pesetas. (739.24 euros). Once in the Ethiopian capital, the company has domestic flights as Gondar, from about 19,000 pesetas. (114.19 euros). Another way to reach the Tana region is in 4X4 vehicles, and organize various agencies.

ACCOMMODATION
The hotel infrastructure is usually not as good as it could be, so it is advisable to know the Tana region on organized trips, like those offered Canister 5 (tel: 91/547 6117) from 399,200 pesetas. (2399.24 euros) or Amber (tel: 91/364 5912), from 429,000 pesetas. (2587.34 euros). Cathay (tel: 91/409 32 81) does not offer organized trips in December, but prepared individually.

WHEN TO GO
Any time is good to visit Ethiopia, but should avoid the rainy season comprising of months of June to October.

RESTAURANTS
The most popular dish is injera, a kind of cake made with teff flour (typical cereal), accompanied with vegetables or meat in sauce. They recommended the hotel restaurants.

LAKE TANA
A girl collects water from a nearby well to take home next to debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana. There are 37 islands on the surface of Lake Tana, of which, 20 house churches and monasteries of immense historical and cultural value. These churches, which are decorated with beautiful paintings, in addition to give cobi jo countless treasures. Because of their isolation, are often used to store art treasures and religious relics from all over the country. Access to some of these churches is restricted to women, although they can reach the shores of the island, not allowed to move beyond. However, women do have access to the churches of the peninsula and the nearby church Zeghne of Ura Kidane Mehret, and also Narga Sellassie. Kebre Gabriel: He is known for the magnificent manuscript of the four Gospels which is believed to date from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth. Ura Kidane Mehret: It is much more decorative and contains a conical thatched roof. It is painted with biblical scenes. Estifanos Dagger: It is considered as one of the most sacred islands of Lake Tana and according to legend was the temporary hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant. On this island is the church of San Stefano, which houses the "Blessed Virgin", painted around 1434. The real historical interest lies in the ark, where the window sides coffins, containing the mummified remains of ancient emperors of Ethiopia. Tana Cherkos: This former monastery is located on the western shore of Lake Tana. According to legend, it was here that St. Mary jo ba a wall rested during their flight to Egypt, and remained for three months and ten days. The monks say they have owned a necklace of his, who was allowed to leave. It is also said that the monastery was sacred to the Jews. Menelik I and other noble Jews, who after fleeing from King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant to the monastery and did build a temple on this, that is decorated with precious stones. Six hundred years later, the Ark was carried Aksum.

The National Park Simien Mountain
The mountain massif Simien is one of the major mountains of Africa, rising to the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Let (the 4620m), which is the fourth highest peak in the continent. Although Simien is in Africa and not too far from Ecuador, snow and ice appear on the highest points and night temperatures often fall below zero.

The national park has three general botanical regions. The higher lands are mountain grasslands with fescue grasses as well as heathers, splendid Red Hot Pokers and Giant Lobelia. The park was created primarily to protect the Walia Ibex, and over 1000 are said to live in the park. Also in the park are families of the Gelada Baboon with its single scarlet 'bleeding heart on his chest, "and the rare Simien fox. The Simien fox, although named after the mountains is rarely seen by the visitor. About 50 species of birds have been reported in the Simien Mountains.

Access to the park is landed, the 101km from Gonder, where riding animals and the package can be used. This must be arranged in advance through your local tour operator or office of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

 

The Blue Nile falls (falls Tisisat)
The River Nile, the longest river in Africa, in Ethiopia. Lake Tana, the Blue Nile, known locally as Abbay, flows from Ethiopia to resolve the White Nile in Khartoum to form the great river that gives life to Egypt and Sudan. It has been said that the Blue Nile contributes up to 80% of the Nile flow Nowhere is it more spectacular than when it thunders on Tisisat Falls near Bahar Dar. Here millions of gallons of water cascade over the cliff face and into a gorge, creating spectacular rainbows, in one of the most awe-inspiring displays in Africa, earning the name "smoking water". The Blue Nile falls can easily be reached from Bahar Dar and the scenic beauty of the Blue Nile Gorge, the 225km from Addis Ababa, can be enjoyed as part of a tour of the capital.

Lake Tana
Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia is the source of the Blue Nile which begins its long journey to Khartoum and on to the Mediterranean. The 37 islands that are scattered over the surface of the churches and monastries wrap fascinating lake, some of which have histories dating back to the thirteenth century. However, it should be noted that most of the religious houses are not open to women. The most interesting islands are: Birgida Mariam, Dega Estefanous, DEK, Narga, Tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasiledes, Kebran and Debre Maryam. Kebran Gabriel is the principal monastery can be visited by male tourists from Bahar Dar with its impressive Cathedral-like building first built at the end of the 17th century. Estephanos Dega, which is also closed to women, is on an island in the lake, and is reached by a very steep and winding path. Although the church is relatively new (only hundred years), contains a Madonna painted in the fifteenth century. However, the Treasury of the monastery is a prime attraction with the remains of several emperors, their costumes and jewelry.

On the banks of the lake are many more religious houses such as Ura Kidane Mehret and Narga Selassie, many of which are open to women.

Near Gorgora, at the northern end of the lake, the palace is a precursor Susneyos palaces and magnificent castles of Gonder, and dates from the reign of Emperor Susneyos. In the same area, the medieval church of Debre Sina Mariam is particularly important.

A sail or cruise on Lake Tana is one of the most pleasant excursions for visitors to this region, particularly in the heart of summer. Boats can be hired from the Marine Transport Authority in Bahir Dar. Along the shores of Lake bird life, local and migratory visitors, make this an ideal place for birdwatchers. Bird lovers will not want to miss Fasilidas Island, which is especially famous and important wetland. The whole region of Lake Tana and the Blue Nile Gorge have a wide variety of endemic birds and visitors. The variety of habitats, from rocky crags to rain forests and important wetlands, ensure that many other different species are spotted.

Sof Omar Cave

Sof Omar is one of the most spectacular underground systems and the largest cave in the world. Formed by the Wabi River as it changed its course in the distant past and carved out a new channel through limestone hills, Sof Omar systems is an extraordinary natural phenomenon of breathtaking beauty.

The cave is now an important Islamic shrine was named after the saintly Sheikh Sof Omar who took refuge here many centuries ago. The cave has a religious history that predates the arrival of Muslims in bullet - a history calculated in thousands of years.

The Rift Valley
The Ethiopian Rift Valley, which is part of Valley East African Rift famous covers numerous hot springs, beautiful lakes and a variety of wildlife. The valley is the result of two parallel faults in the earth's surface, between which in distant geological time, the crust was weakened and collapsed earth. Ethiopia is often referred to as the "water tower" of Eastern Africa because of the many rivers that flow from the high plateau. The passing of the great rift valley through Ethiopia is marked by a chain of seven lakes. Each of the seven lakes has its own special life and character and provides ideal habitats for the exuberant variety of flora and fauna that make the region a beautiful and exotic destination for tourists.

Most of the lakes are suitable and safe for swimming and other water sports. Abiata lakes and Shalla are ideal places for bird watchers. Most of the Rift Valley lakes are not fully exploited for tourists except lake Langano where hotels are built economy class. The Rift Valley is also a site of numerous natural hot springs and the chemical contents of the hot springs is highly valued for its therapeutic purposes it is not used yet fully present. In short, the Rift Valley is endowed with many beautiful lakes, numerous hot springs, warm and pleasant climate and a variety of wildlife. It is considered as one of the most ideal areas for the development of international tourism in Ethiopia.

Axum
The historical and archaeological sites in Axum, Tigray (Region of Tigray) famous for its obelisks right, Axum was the capital of the Axumite kingdom - once one of the four kingdoms of the world. It was also home to the Queen of Sheba who ruined palace and bathing pool can still be found in and near the city.

Located in the west of the country and more than two thousand square kilometers, Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a sacred place since time immemorial. Bushy islands stand in the distance, green upholstered to the peaks, forests conceal some of the most important monasteries and churches of the Ethiopian rite, many with more than seven hundred years old. In this lake, says one of many legends, first came the Ark of the Covenant, when a small Jewish community fleeing persecution in Egypt transported from Aswan, upriver through the Blue Nile, until the great lake. On the island of Tana Kirkos, continues the legend, the ark remained hidden for eight years until he was transferred to the city of Axum, where it is believed that still rests in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, guarded by an old priest and blind.

We took a small boat to the islands and while moving river in engines, hippos greet us with outsized heads submerged in water, pelicans spread their wings and are carried away by the waves, indolent. Once at the dock, we must walk a few minutes inland, as churches are usually in the higher parts of the islands. There the vegetation is abundant and colorful: birds fly emitting strange sounds, while lizards and insects come to gawk. Children from neighboring islands and other memorabilia sold crossings along the way. Soon we see, on high ground and clear, the thatched roof of the church and the first surprise is its circular structure. We asked everyone, but no one can determine with certainty the origin of this practice: some explain that retains its shape elements of ancient animist symbolism, others associated with practices of early Judaism and endemic to Ethiopia. Anyway, nothing conclusive.

The church has been divided into three concentric enclosures. In the first, the outermost, the walls are covered with murals with images of Christ, of St. George slaying the dragon from his horse, or the Virgin Mary, through whom the Ethiopians feel a special devotion. The paintings are yellow and bright green and blue, in the eyes of the saints there is a strong influence of the Coptic and Byzantine art.
The priest recites the mass in the second chamber, and always standing with his back to Sancta Sanctorum: a dark interior and pregnant with incense, which keeps the most important element of the temple, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. It is amazing to note how this object meets today in Ethiopian Christian church, a function similar to that he had, for thousands of years in the Jewish tradition, when was worshiped above all things, in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

Tadesse's father is the priest in charge of this church. It is a tall, thin man, takes the skull shaved and wears a white coat coming down almost to the heels. Walk barefoot on bamboo floors, while tells the story of St. Tekle Haymanot, who lost a leg to force sharp spending seven years praying about it. He explains the complex symbols that hide the crosses engraved on the scepter in her hand and then tells excerpts of the unique history of their religion, similar to Egyptian Coptic Christianity, but with strong Jewish influences and animists. As we take a last look at the murals, the priest asks us for us to send a pair of shoes size forty-two.

We left the church attracted by the sound of a drum. In a kiosk near the village children receive religious education. Sitting in a circle on a sand floor, clap to the rhythm of the music and her teacher repeated old songs, songs I ever learned their parents and their parents' parents.

Injera
Interior of a restaurant. Men kill times with an old TV. The injera is the typical dish found in any restaurant, bar, and in every house. The Ethiopian injera bread is. It has a very distinctive sour taste and special. It is made with teff flour (teff is a local cereal-grain gluten-very small, it is very difficult to find outside of Ethiopia). The injera is shaped like a large French crêpe. Plate is used as where foods are placed and pinching pieces is used for spoon feeding mode. In Ethiopia is baked on clay plates placed over the fire but at home we will do with an iron skillet or larger than we.

Castles of Gondar
Gondar. Castle of the Fasilidas. Most know little Spanish in Ethiopia. In the center of Gondar is the Royal Enclosure or Fasil Ghebbi, declared a World Heritage Site in 1979. The walled area has six stone castles, Portuguese style inspired Axum or Indian influences. Some are great, others more modest, there are more and less luxurious, worst and best preserved. The castle is the largest Fasilidas, the founding emperor of Gondar. Successive presidents were also build your own castle not to be outdone and also other agencies like to file a building, cages for lions, stables, banquet ... Within the set are preserved three churches.

 

The Camelot of Africa
Gondar, the Simien mountains feet, was founded by Fasilidas in s. XVII, and was a political, administrative, commercial, religious and cultural center for over 250 years. Its decline as a result of intrigues and dynastic struggles, worsened when Tewodoros II moved the seat of the imperial government to Debre Tabor, 100 km southeast. Later, the city was sacked by the Mahdist Sudanese during the s. XIXI, and finally occupied by Italian fascist troops in World War II. Some buildings were damaged by the bombing of the Royal Air Force during the liberation campaign. This, then, another amazing historical sites and Ethiopia. Who would have thought that in sub-Saharan Africa you'll encounter with some authentic medieval castles? It was the emperor who built the first Fasilidas, and his successors continued to build the rest of fortresses around, churches and bathrooms, to complete an architecturally unique in the country and in Africa. The royal enclosure, Gebbi (enclosure means in AMARINA), in the heart of the city, is full of castles and auxiliary buildings: the actual file, the house musicians, the stable, the sauna, the bathrooms, the house spinners ... all connected by tunnels and corridors, and surrounded by high stone walls. For a moment, forget you're in the "black continent" and you will be transported to anywhere in Europe, it could be Scotland ... I do not know if it's good or not. Particularly, I was not enthusiastic, beyond which is a curious place.

The Church of Cherubim
Just outside the town of Gondar is the Debre Birhan Selassie church known for its wall paintings, is on a hill above the city, with beautifully painted walls that have many religious stories. If you look up the eighty heads are winged Ethiopian cherubs smiling, each with a slightly different expression. It is the most famous ceiling Ethiopia.

Historical Circuit (III): Gondar
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I set the alarm for 7am to seize the day but turned it off fatigue. The bustling neighborhood I woke up just after 9am. I decided to take the day quietly. At the end of the day was on vacation. To my surprise surprise had cut the water, so I could not take a shower. I chose not to do math on how long my body had not seen water. Without a Paddle, so it hardly mattered least one more day. Breakfast climbed a spot on my list of priorities.

The Royal Enclosure, composed of several castles and palaces, is probably the most attractive of Gondar, remembering the days when the emperor Fasiladas turned this city into the first permanent capital after Lalibela. The splendor of the city would last a century.

When I arrived I passed two more tourist guides and a few idle would accept no for an answer without any verbal scuffle. The tranquility of the venue instantly absorbed me. Savor every step I took. I walked around the walls and peered at life from the viewpoints secrets. Explore each castle backwards and forwards. I felt sorry for Abyssinian lions who had the misfortune of living in those cages. For once, my ears did not complain of competition from several nearby churches giving Mass for your speakers. I spent most of the day in the Royal Enclosure. Relaxed. Enjoying this haven of peace, so welcome after the tourist bustle of Bahir Dar.

From there I went to the baths of Fasiladas, 2km from the Royal Enclosure, and whose entrance was also included in the price. The best, the roots of the trees, fun, seemed to invite me to sit with them on the walls around the pool.

I guess I have to thank the army of bees could visit Debre Berhan Selassie church. According to legend, when the end of the nineteenth century Sudanese dervishes tried to destroy this church, a swarm of bees chased them from the place, chasing angry until the dervishes were forced to abandon their attempt. Debre Berhan Selassie Church is an intimate crammed Ethiopian art. Lives of saints, martyrs and lore are disputing the walls while dozens of winged cherubs look back at the visitor from the ceiling.

The guide recommended visiting Kuskuam complex, former residence of Empress Mentewab for Gondar views the situation of this palace offered. We arrived when the Mass had already started, and seeing that no one stopped, walked with determination. We snuck up to the walls of the ruined palace. Then we drove nicely.

We returned to the hotel. I still needed a shower but the water was cut off. Fortunately, someone had the bright idea of ??asking them to open the water tank. After the shower, I was glad to see that everything was still in place.

Debre Birhan Selassie Church
It is a treasure of Unesco and a summary of the culture of an ancient country, suffered and about to disappear forever. And is one of the most remarkable cultural constructions of this world.
Russians go around saying that the dream summer palace of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage, is the summary of his country needed. That the vast collection of art, almost completely foreign, is considered the ark of the Russian soul is a real definition, rare, contradictory but acceptable because who you are to walk discussing with others. And how rich is to introduce the idea of ??an ark-seed, a place that would ideally rebuild an entire country.
The Ethiopians are quiet and modest people who do not go around talking about coffers. It's a national thing just, because if anyone knows of scorched earth, cut violence clashes in a culture, they are. Again and again in his long history of disappearing were brought there by a wave of anarchy, invasions, resentful burnings. Always returned, lost and never learned to use their seeds.
To understand the use of the church of Debre Berhan Selassie in Gonder splendid imperial city, you have to be a little context. Ethiopia started 2500 years ago with the name of Axum, a contemporary of Athens is now the quiet capital of the province of Tigre. The Axumite invented his writing, his style of architecture, the first coin minted in black Africa-and its laws, and engaged in trade with the world and conquer eccentricities as Yemen. While friends come and go and quasi ended that fans of a Mediterranean neighbor, Israel. The next step was to convert to Judaism, taking the one God and, in a great act of cultural appropriation, proclaiming the new Judah.

The main wall of the church, with the Passion of Christ in a mural composed of fabric glued.
The conversion to Christianity in the third century, were the second-Christian nation did not alter the founding myth of Ethiopia was their first king Menelik, son of Makeda Queen of Sheba and Solomon wise, that Yahweh smiled at the newborn prince granted their gifts, that the descendants of Ethiopian became the "other" chosen people, that the pledge of this distinction was that the Tablets of the Law, kept in the Ark of the Covenant, were stolen with impunity by Menelik and carried Axum.
With such enticement, not surprising that Ethiopia was an imperial nation and remains fairly impervious to foreign influences. There is not even the year 2012 but in 2005, the year does not start in January and not twelve months, but thirteen. Conversations with strangers are friendly and curious, but nothing imitative: one thing to want to know how to do things the other, another thing another is taken outside hobbies. This explains, in passing, that after countless Muslim invasions the country remains Christian, albeit with a large percentage of Islam.
These invasions were almost constant almost to a nationality. Beys emirs and various cut all contact with the outside world by surrounding the Ethiopian plateau with his conquests. There was no more ports to trade with the world and the neighbors to the north, south, east and west were ideologically hostile. Ethiopia was impoverished, fell and was brutalized in a certain way: a state libraries and archives holding, maintaining open routes regularly published posts and exchange value with the coins of the Roman Empire became a peripatetic court that traveled the country from side to side like a traveling circus, because it could not sustain even a palace.

St George on his white horse, national patron of Ethiopia.
In fact, almost no one knows what happened there in the mountains between the 7th and 14th century, an entire Middle Ages which are no books or records. What is known is that the Ethiopians invented their coffers and called monasteries.
A random geographical ensured the success of the idea. The historic plateau is a land of high peaks and screened, high ridges and plateaus, a true mountain forest. They both usually have vertical walls, inaccessible, that become impregnable fortresses. With efforts untold, up there were built monasteries, churches and libraries, and then cut the ropes that were the only communication.
So he was saved gue'ez writing, the dead language that is still used at Mass, as a Latin Africa. And saved the writings and lives of the saints, poems and prayers, historical cycles and legends. And painting techniques and musical notation, the art of lost wax casting and producing paper. Even the architecture, the art so complex and dependent on the transmission from master to apprentice, saved at least one book written in traditional style stone and adobe.
The Ethiopian Renaissance was literal, a return of some central authority, social stabilization, growth of some cities. Gonder was the capital of this period and therefore owns a set of ruined palaces protected by Unesco and the church of Debre Berhan Selassie. The temple is shaped like a boat to remember that other ark, Noah-the other traditional is the circle, symbol of time and perfection, and a pronounced gallery to tour in procession. The surrounding terrain represents Jerusalem, with corners called Olivet and Calvary.

The church is shaped like a boat, symbolizing the Ark of Noah.
But the treasure inside, the walls covered with religious paintings. The spectacular collection of fabrics bonded forming the famous murals and wooden ceiling painted with angels morochos is a summary of reasons, techniques and conventions of a culture canon. And the glory of the so-called Second Style Gonderino, born of the Greek Orthodox tradition, filtered by an African sensibility and influenced by a Venetian painter who went and stayed for many years, teaching.
The walls, the altar with the famous Trinity represented by three severe bearded, ceiling with angels who look at the four possible directions, is a pictorial book reading, a Bible that would, if all is lost, rewriting scriptures.
And to rescue a whole art, nothing less.

Nearly 200 years of relative peace and stability, very unusual in Ethiopian history, made possible a revival of civilization known as Ethiopian Gonder period. At that time flourished a rich and distinguished expression in architecture, art and music. Much care and attention was paid also to the culture of leisure and providing every luxury to the elite classes of the country. Witnesses of this are the building of baths, the magnificent palace Mintewab kitchen, the playground of King Fassilides and dedication of a mausoleum to a favorite horse. In the center of this development, the city of Gondar was known for its medieval celebrations, glittering ornaments and extravagant ceremonies.

The castles, the only of its kind on African soil, and Debre Birhan Selassie church, famous for its ceiling decorated with faces of angels, are now all that remains of the glorious past of Gondar.

The castles of Gondar
Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. This closed area of ??70,000 m2 containing six castles, auxiliary buildings, tunnels and corridors, all of s. XVII, and really very surprised to find these castles here. Not surprisingly Gondar is also known as the Camelot of Africa.
After the fall of Lalibela towards the end of the thirteenth century, Ethiopia had no capital for several hundred years. The emperors were always in constant motion campaigns to safeguard their vast empire and ensure the loyalty of his subjects.
Tired of this nomadic lifestyle of many of his ancestors, the emperor Fassilides Gondar founded in 1636 and built the first and most magnificent of castles. Emperors were later additions to this, most in the same complex as the original.
The Emperor Fassilides is also admired by another pioneering achievement in the history of public works in Ethiopia. He attributed the construction of no less than four stone bridges (two of the Blue Nile and two in rivers near Gondar).

The church of Debre Birhan Selassie
Along with about 11 castles and outbuildings, the seventeenth-century church of Debre Birhan Selassie is the only one that has survived the repeated destruction of Gondar at the hands of the Dervishes (Egyptian-Sudanese), the Italians and the British.
His main interest is not so much the building itself but the magnificent paintings that are in it, both on the walls and the ceiling. Especially the latter, decorated with paintings of 80 cherubim faces looking in all directions, is surely one of the most typical of Ethiopia and reproduced on postcards and souvenirs.

Fasilidas restrooms. Crossing an old wooden gate in a friendly dozing old man who apparently is the "guardian" of all, after a brief chat we entered the premises, before our eyes has a small building "Gondarino style" which highlights a pair of two-storey towers at the foot of the building opens a pond or "pool" of about 3,000 square meters, are the famous baths of Emperor Fasilidas. The trees present in the room, aware of the beauty of the place merges with the stone wall surrounding the pond achieving a magical symbiosis. Admiring this environment it is not surprising that some time, every January 19 is celebrated in this site come the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, known locally as Timkat. (On this feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan) For the occasion, the pond is filled with water from a nearby river, which as we discussed is an arduous task that can take several hours. On the appointed day the faithful, carefully dressed crowd around the "pool" where they attend the Liturgy, which never misses a copy of the Ark of the Covenant wrapped in a cloth. The highlight of the celebration is when the faithful are immersed in the pool to renew their baptismal promises and purify his soul, the crowd is such that all attendees can immerse themselves in the sacred waters. After the ceremony, the purifying water is returned to its roots and now Fasilides baths deserts, the echo of the chants of the faithful will fade with the passage of time ... the trees in the pond back up again erected in silent and almost only witnesses such beauty and solitude.

The town of Gondar is situated 400 km north Addis Ababa, and was the capital of Ethiopia between 1632 and 1855. Great center of culture and learning, the city has retained many vestiges of its imperial past. Discover Fasilidas baths in which believers are baptized, Selassie church and its frescoes and the ruins of castles and palaces of breathtaking beauty, the result of crossbreeding European architectural and native

PATH GONDAR

 

Another CIA to get up early. We said goodbye to the staff of the hotel where we felt quite at home and headed to the bus station, where upon entering, we besiege the minibus drivers, to take his. We are surrounded by about 10 people, pushing and shouting in their language. Although, we are not the only besieged. Also, the locals suffer his. A woman already advanced in years, having fuss around her, who chooses to cover her ears with the palms of their hands.
We decided that we offer the best price (65 birr). It took an hour to get out, after the vehicle has been filled and when we do, we go through different parts of the city, to collect luggage. It starts to rain heavily. Fortunately, the road is pretty good. The landscape is extremely green and is flat.
Come through villages and towns, where there are shacks, goats, sheep and vintage cars. All very rural. The minibus uncomfortable, makes numerous stops where people seesaw. A longer, we do it in azazo, a decrepit village, but really vital.
Then three hours and ten minutes and having stopped raining since we arrived at Gondar, where noon.

GONDAR
After asking two expensive hotels, find one that is more suited to our means. Abba is the Jalie (4.50 score). The double, which costs 50 birr, is pretty basic, but clean. The bathroom is shared and this time, for a change, no water.
Across the street, a bar is quite charming. So, do not waste more time and we will take a drafts-beer-more economical and more, that bottle, we've swallowed so far in this country.
It did not take even ten minutes, make friends, with friendly locals, with enough economic capacity, since mobile phones have touch-something very rare in Ethiopia, and invite us to a couple of beers each and a few glasses of gin , to be taken with lemon juice, like tequila. We round we refused at first, but ended up accepting, after insistirnos, saying "yes, we can".
Although, that does not know much English, if you speak enough as to know us and throw us a few laughs. And again, when everyone started to see, something affected by alcohol. The intense evening ends with a joint photo session. They then five, they get into a tuk-tuk single-juntitos well, while we, we were rushing the last round. Previously, the bar had tried to deceive us with the return. Nothing new!.
There are about three in the afternoon and we had trouble finding a place to eat. In the end, we do it in a nice restaurant, a rich base of spaghetti, with huge chunks of meat is ketchup. We take the bread, which always put, to put most of the latter, in a sandwich.
Everything is going well, until we cheat more than ten birr-rather than quantity, the fact-annoys us, with buns that we order dessert. In this country, as in most of the third world can not ask for anything, without having previously asked the price and we seem new!
We went out to the streets, kicking the city and not take us long to discover that Gondar is one of the most beautiful in the world. Not only for its impressive Royal Palace, its Fasilidas Baths (joint entry, 100 birr) and their many beautiful and strange-for us-churches-including the Gabriel-chaired by its huge crosses and striking symbolism, but by the idiosyncrasies of its streets and its people. Everything oozes everyday environment and genuine, in its purest
The royal enclosure of Fasil ghebi, is surrounded by a wall of nine meters long, with twelve gates, and two bridges. Inside are grouped several historic buildings. Among them, the castle Fasilides, rectangular building flanked at the corners by four round towers, topped by domes, which is the masterpiece of the style of Gondar. Moreover, the emperor's castle, Iyasu, the Foreign Ministry and the library Tzadich Yohannes (two pavilions annexes Fasilides Castle), the banquet hall, the tomb of the king's horse Fasilides and three beautiful churches, among which the chapel San Antonio, with beautiful wall paintings.
Furthermore, ghebi Fasil, have also been included in the World Heritage: Abbey Debre Berhan Selassie (with circular church decorated with paintings), the aforementioned Fasilides baths (a multi-story palace, located in a pond and within extensive grounds of recreation, annually celebrates the blessing ceremony of the bath), the church of Yohannes Kuddus, Qusquam complex (which includes a round church and Mentuab palace, reminiscent of the European Renaissance) Ghemb Mariam monastery (called Socinios) andthe Guzara Palace
Despite the earthquake of 1704, the civil war of the nineteenth century, the decline of the city, losing the capital of the empire and some unfortunate reconstructions, made by the Italians during World War II, the state of conservation of buildings is pretty good.
Amicably shared by people, goats, cows, sheep, vintage cars pulled by horses, tuck-tucks, cars and all that or that you want to add to the perfect party urban coexistence and harmony .. And all this while the kids spirited, greet, shake hands and try to be photographed with the few whites who swarmed the streets (especially off the main road and perpendicular). I never saw such tenderness and for nothing, because here rarely ask for money, pens, carameles or chocolate.
Even teenagers cling to our arms-on the order of six or seven each-to manosearnos, achucharnos and especially touching the hair. A full-scale shaking, but with tons of love.
Gondar is an island, in Ethiopia suffering. Most of the streets are paved and the houses are of a unique beauty. Some, painted in colors and other built in elegant stone. We are not sure, but we sense that this town has enjoyed a privileged position compared to the rest of the country. Besides the quality of housing, there is little street stalls and street vendors, are reduced to children, marketing with gum and other goodies. We do not know who will live, but it is not selling, or fortunately, neither of strangling travelers ..
After comforting visit and still at night, we returned to our hotel. Near the bar, where we spent most of the morning, there is a monastery, which have been placed along a huge tent, with many people inside. For now, stay calm, but at dawn, begin the maddening repetitive prayers, chants, music and monotonous speeches of several hours, we will put it very difficult to sleep a wink.
Apparently, we had the dubious fate of tomorrow to be one of the most important religious festivals of the year and to celebrate, along all day and all night. Since we had been warned, the boys this morning, but did not tell us his name, the holding in question. In this city and throughout the country, everywhere smells of incense. Good, because well, they kill other unpleasant aromas.
Before pick, had a few beers in the morning den. There are our friends, as promised. Carrying cocked, not even agree Well. So have we saved that correspond to your invitation. Yet, we still shaking with laughter, with occurrence of this morning, we have to be parents, Cesc Fabregas, because we look like much to them. What an imagination!.
In the end, we sleep more than expected, thanks to get earplugs. Our first task of the day-that has dawned sunny and warm, it is closer to the bus station. We know that there is often vehicles for our next destination, which is none other than the famous town of Aksum (where the Ark of the Covenant).
We suggest that there is only one daily service and for a change, partly to half past five. Furthermore, only goes to the town of Shire. Here, we will spend the night and take another bus the next day in the morning, to get closer to Aksum. The first journey costs 125 birr. As we do not have enough money to pay for two tickets, we decided to purchase, for after lunch.
We are back on our feet. We went into a bank to change some money at a very favorable rate, but the bureaucracy is doing just lose patience and get the cash, having endured three tails and have a firm, in each of the windows. Once completed this process, we undertake our usual morning beers. We continue with the problems with returns and prices, as these always, throughout our lengthy journey through the country.
We are looking for a place to eat and tasted rich and spicy spaghetti with vegetables, which have to cassava. As we discovered yesterday, positions filled lentil samosas, we completed our lunch, zampándonos few. In the restaurant we have been able to serve the pasta with meat, because the damn festive prohibited. I do not know why we always sites, at the height of their religious celebrations and these never benefit us!. Resignation.
After an agency and we got a free copy of a map of Gondar, from a German guide. We could have found this site yesterday, before they tour the city. And no, we were all afternoon, asking the tourist police, to visit the sites. Fortunately, they are usually pretty friendly and seviciales.
when we met the Catalan Bhair Dar. They had to have left this morning, but on reaching the bus, still night and up early after, there was no space. Another oddity of Ethiopia, in relation to the rest of Africa, is that people on buses, standing never travels. Elsewhere on the continent, including South Africa-standing could have traveled, had they so desired.
Anna, Joan and Alex, have gone a few hours to buy tickets, making travel tomorrow, on the same bus as us. We agree that whoever comes first to the station, keep the seats of the other, since they are not numbered, unlike the bus, which took us from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar. We said goodbye, precipitously, as the rain intensifies.
Fortunately, we have no problem, in order to purchase bus tickets. As for the Catalans-foot aches Anna, we have not ruled out conducting the typical trekking, which is done from here, besiege the mountains.
It rains and stops raining and so spends all afternoon. We were approached by a pleasant walk to the pools or baths Fasilidas, which are not as well as the Royal Palace. Just arrived, the rain intensifies and we have to take refuge in a pool hall, outdoor but roofed. We play to the locals, while we drank some tea.
When it clears, return. We entered into an agency of Ethiopian Airlines, to ask the price of tickets to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. We, to look for next autumn-predictably, internet-, since here we are asked, 7,000 birr each. Our idea is to continue journey to those territories, so too, to visit Oman.
We walked through the same area of ??the churches today. Today, they are more popular because of the religious celebration. The speeches, songs and music, we rise headache. Children continue to need our attention, shouting: "hey, you, you, you!", While teenagers, catch us again and like yesterday, both bracos to manosearnos and especially touching the hair. We owe them seem pretty exotic.
Once blackened, always return to the bar, where there are many more people than yesterday. I do not know if it will have anything to do, the fact that it is Friday. A couple of locals initiate conversation with us. Be very cautious when talking to people on these sites, because they always seem to have an interest. If something does not sell, it may be sufficient to obtain the information, as in this case, to cross illegally from Morocco to Spain.
A nuño moves through the various tables, selling corn, with some success. Not in bars, or in almost any other public place, have television. About ten o'clock at night, tired and cramped celebration ends and finally, all is silent. What a blast.

GONDAR
In the Amhara region in Ethiopia, Gondar city is famous for its medieval castles and churches that were built by the emperors between 1635 and 1855 years.
Until the sixteenth century, the Emperors of Ethiopia lived a nomadic life, moving from place to place within the territory that reigned, with his family, courtiers and royal guards, were set up in tents with the consequent problem that caused rains.
Thus, to shelter from inclement weather, the ancient Ethiopian emperors decide to build a shelter, giving rise to a medieval, walled with spectacular castles that were for decades the capital of the kingdom of Ethiopia, the magnificent castles of Gondar .
In 1979, the citadel of Fasil ghebi with its particular architectural style is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The walled city of Fasil ghebi is a unique example of a particular style of architecture, called Gondar style, with Arabic, Indian and European introduced into the region.
Fasil ghebi royal enclosure is surrounded by a wall of about 900 meters long, with twelve gates, and two bridges. Inside are a number of historic buildings such as the castles Faslidas, real buildings that form an architectural admirable. These castles are actually palaces of rectangular shape with three stories that are topped by a square tower at whose corners rises another smaller tower.
They are also very attractive for Faslidas Baths, the Palace and the Church Kusquam Brhan Debre Selassie, with its beautiful paintings of the seventeenth century, one of the oldest in the city a total of 44 churches.
During the nineteenth century, Gondar began to decline by the loss of power to the emperors, being repeatedly looted and burned. However, he survived until today as an impressive medieval historical complex, constituting one of the most visited tourist attractions for tourism in the city of Gondar, Ethiopia.

GONDAR
Sixty miles after leaving Debark we Gonder. At the entrance to the enclosure of castles Abebe awaited us, our guide in Gondar. On the way we cross the village of Felasha, Ethiopian Jews.
The city of Gondar, the second capital of the empire after Axum, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. For over two hundred fifty years (between the XVII and XIX) was the political, commercial, administrative and cultural center of the empire due both to its strategic location and its natural resources.
The town of Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilidas (Fasil for Ethiopians) son of Emperor Susinios circa 1635. It was the emperor who built the first Fasilidas castle and its successors the rest of the fortresses, churches and bathrooms that make up the so-called royal enclosure. Tradition states that a buffalo led the Emperor Fasilidas up pond and it was an old man who lived nearby who told the emperor that he must build in the capital there. Fasilidas then filled the pond and built his palace on it.
The ghebi Fasil (royal enclosure) is a walled complex consisting of six castles and many outbuildings,. The castle is the most imposing of Fasilidas, a rectangular building, with three floors, flanked at the corners by four round towers topped by small cupolas.
Within the enclosure is also Emperor Iyassu Castle, Castle Bakaffa, the banquet hall, the blocks and the actual file.
When visiting the castles started to rain, but the explanations of Abebe, adorned with a few drops of humor, made the visit special despite the rain. Like most Ethiopian Abebe never failed to smile on one side and not lose the opportunity to use the joke to get our attention. For example, on the way from one end to another campus, told a legend about the origin of their race, the Abyssinian. They say that God, when he arranged the mass at which created man first introduced a pan in the oven, but the first man, was insufficient time in the oven and became the first white man. Then God decided to try again and kept the second man to fire longer, maybe too much, and got a second man, the black man. Finally, on the third try, God matuvo dough just enough time in the oven and then got the perfect man, the Abyssinian.
That same afternoon, also clothe, one kilometer from the center of Gondar, the Monastery of Debre Selassie Dirham, whose name means "Mountain of Light of the Trinity". This church was founded in the late seventeenth century by Iyassu I already form part of its entry Leon this church is especially important because of its ceiling covered with rows of winged angels.
If you have time, concentration and patience can be counted a total of 88 angels. Abebe we wonder how many angels are in heaven?, And we, of course, our answer is 88 .... But the correct answer was that the number of angels in heaven is infinite. Yet the number 88 was not chosen at random, as the number 8 is the infinity symbol rotated ninety degrees. At this point of the trip and joked with Which means that time and again used our guides to explain that in Ethiopia everything has a meaning.
When we arrived at the hotel in Gondar raining heavily and the monotony of the water we brought to mind the thought that we wanted at all costs aside, the calendar voice in our heads that tell us that after the visit to the castles the trip was nearing its end.

GONDAR
Gondar. Founded in 1636 in northwestern Ethiopia, was the seat of the court of Emperor Fasil or Fasilidas. For nearly 200 years it was real city, and commercial crossroads of the culture. Prompted one of the most fertile periods of Ethiopian art.
Splendid capital whose reign lasted over two centuries from 1636 and at first was a camp set up for the emperor, nobles and officers with their servants. The simple village became the center of a complex urban life, attracting people of diverse talents. The period was an important milestone in the history of Ethiopia, with relative political stability that brought a flowering of economic and social life of the whole population. They were used again the ancient trade routes linking the country with the rest of the world through the Red Sea. He specialized crafts and diversified to meet the demand for jewelry and ornaments which played an important role both in ceremonial occasions as in everyday life. The streets should be full of musicians praising God and emperors, heroes, and even the beauty of the city itself. There was a development of the traditional teaching of theology, law and grammar.

Abandoned Capital
In the second half of the eighteenth century was a period of uncertainty that led to the decline of the monarchy and the city. The decline of the kingdom of Gondar can be established from 1769, under the Lordship of Iyoas adyam Tragad. These circumstances of decline that lasted a century, in Ethiopia called the era of Princess (Zemene Mesafint), time of civil unrest and cultural regression. Gondar was abandoned by the Emperor Theodore (1855-1869), who moved his capital to Magadala. Later, the city suffered the looting of the Mahdist dervishes, who arrived in Sudan in 1888.

Architecture
Inside the city and in the surrounding villages are the ruins of many imperial buildings and churches and bridges originally built by order of the emperors of the great nobles. The Emperor Fasil had great interest in architecture and performed great works. These include several castles, half a dozen bridges, seven churches and a pavilion called popularly Mawagna bathrooms.

Fasil Ghebbi
Campus imperial city, which occupies a considerable area in the center of modern Gondar. It is surrounded by a great wall of stone and mortar, with several doors retain their names: Fit Ber, door; Wonber Ber, gate judges, Quali Ber, door betrothal; Embilita Ber, musicians door; Kechin Fetay Ber, the door of spinners; Tezkaro Ber, the door of the funeral commemorations, among others.

Fasil Ghemb
The Ghemb Fasil, exceptional witness called Gondar style
It is the most grand and imposing castles of Gondar. It was the first of the buildings erected in robust Ghebbi Fasil. It is a two-story structure, built on a square plan. The crenellated walls, thick at the base are flanked by four round towers topped by cupolas. In the back stands a large square tower, surveillance, rising two stories above the battlements of the main wall and flat roof which is also protected by a crenelated parapet. The roof of one of the small rooms on the first floor, said outside the throne room, has survived in its original form. The flat roof is covered with stones decorated in burgundy and supported by wooden crossbeams, linked to the main beam. The four facades of the palace have several wide doors, culminating in arcs of different colors, supported by highly decorated capitals. Some of those doors lead to wooden balconies.
Mawagna
It rises some distance northwest of the real, and is surrounded by a stone wall. In a sunken space for bathing are also a three-story pavilion with crenellated walls and a square tower. The Mawagna was used for ceremonial purposes in the annual festival of Timkat, baptism, held to commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. The pool size indicates that it was also used for swimming.

Other buildings
Each one of the successors of Emperor Fasil built his own residence and other factories to various functions. Highlighted among these monuments Anabessa Bet the house or lions, the Wereket Ghemb, library building, which was used previously as a public record, the Duket Ghemb, which is where they were stored grains; Wusheba Ghemb, the houses steam rooms and Dorao Bet, the house of hens, believed fura used to raise fowl, but has versions that ensure that it was somewhere else for public steam baths. The Debra Berhan Selassie Church of the Holy Trinity, commanded by the emperor build the Great Yasu, grandson of Fasil, was the only building not damaged by the dervishes. By basilica, is surrounded by a high wall that leads to a two-story portico. The eastern wall paintings are dedicated to the life of Christ, while in the West is worshiped saints and emperors. The legendary artist who made these paintings, Abba Haile-Meskel, portrayed his characters with dark eyes and faces of Ethiopians and black hair.

World Heritage
In Gondar developed an architecture that features the contributions submitted Portuguese, Arab, Jewish, Indian. In addition to these external inputs obvious Ethiopians They note archaic traits. It is the case of semicircular arches supported by carved capitals and slightly protruding stone rows between floors, which are common to all buildings in Gondar. These characteristics can be found in pre-Christian monuments. For example, the organization of the stones and the art of using clay bodies to join together small irregular stones is an ancient tradition, well established in the construction of houses in Ethiopia. The flat roofs supported by wooden beams, are characteristic of Aksumites. The decoration of the exterior walls, which often represent altars, crosses Gondar and monks sitting in the back of a lion, is characteristic of Ethiopian culture. This remarkable architectural monuments and Gondar Fasil Ghebbi makes them a unique set of values, why were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. Since that time the project was launched global conservation that served to consolidate the structural deficiencies of most endangered buildings and restore the walls surrounding the royal complex.

SIMIEN
From Gondar a dirt road just over 100 km leads to the Simien Mountains. We must have nearly three hours of road to traverse.
At barely 5 km from the exit of Gondar is Wolleka. It is a small village until recently inhabited by a Jewish population that remained from ancient times in the region. These Ethiopian Jews, who lived isolated for centuries, were welcomed into the 80s by Israel where moved mostly-the same thing happened with the Yemenite Jews. Wolleka Today, few remember these ceramic tallercitos Jewish roots with black figures of King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba or Stars of David.
As one moves down the road, the people who are on the road are clearly poorer than they have been in the flat in the region of Lake Tana and around Gondar and probably reflect greater isolation suffered region.
The field, however, is inhabited, is cultivated in its entirety and cattle herds appears that suggest many productive agriculture and living.
The mountains of Ethiopia are old and rounded. Few beak-shaped peaks appear in the landscape, despite the height. The mountainous horizon is wavy and sometimes flat profiles, unlike usual in the alpine landscape.
The National Park of the Simien Mountains is an area of ??unspoiled nature which develops at a height of about 3,000 meters. The highest peaks far exceed 4,000 meters, and the valleys and mountain cuts create unevenness with vertiginous walls in these high plains that were generated after centuries of erosion.
The special geological, landscape and nature that is this massive relief settled over the Ethiopian highlands made a declaration Heritage.
A small population of farmers living in small villages in the park that give life to the surroundings and pristine nature combined with small spaces cultivated by simple means.
The park is visited often in a day trip from a hotel located on the boundary or even from Gondar. It is therefore advisable to force things because what I want is to enjoy the place and to travel safely. Therefore it is advisable to sleep in the park itself, if it can be two nights to have at least a full day there.
The visit to the park is controlled entry and requires a special guidance given by the Office in charge of conservation. This office is in Debark, a village just over ten miles from the park entrance and managed permissions.
A type of tour is the most 'tourist'. Is to perform some walking from certain points especially attractive accessed by car.
Another method is to hire a trek of 3-5 days, can be extended to 9 - to make a circuit walk the trails and roads through the mountains.
In all cases it should be noted that the height is felt in those not adapted to it. Although the difficulty of the road can be scarce, is undertaken as soon rise, fatigue due to lack of oxygen, is common and leads to calmly take the walk.
The landscapes in the Simien mountains are beautiful. Visitors will attract special way Gelada monkey colonies, which can be approached without problems, the species of wild goat of the place-Walia Ibex-more surly than monkeys, and numerous birds. Those who know say wildlife is a leopard and wolf lives a kind of typical of the region, but it seems very unlikely that a visitor tripped over.

SIMIEN
Simien National Park
The beauties of the Simien mountains are genuine and universally admired, to them it only remains contemplation. One may wonder that supernatural forces and have created this wonder.
The park Simien Mountains National has many peaks above 4000 m, with Ras Dashen the highest peak in Ethiopia and the fourth in Africa with 4620 m.
With at least three different botanical areas, the park is known for its diverse ecology, fauna and flora. Three of the seven major endemic mammals of Ethiopia - the goat Walia, the Gelada baboon and the Simien red fox, are found here.
The park is located in a region of semi-arid climate, with less than 600 mm annual rainfall, distributed from October to April.
There are three types of vegetation as a function of altitude. On the lower level, between 3000 and 3300 meters, the original vegetation mañíos cedars and has been replaced by agricultural crops, except in the most inaccessible areas. The intermediate level, up to 4000 meters, is also very degraded and only in a few enclaves are preserved original clumps of heather and sage. The upper level is dominated by prairie semialpinas, dotted with rocky outcrops and groves of giant heather, reaching up to seven meters high.
Known as the "roof of Africa" ??and situated 120 km from Gondar, the park Simien Mountains National was the first of the seven world heritage sites in the country to be designated as such by UNESCO.
Park visitors should be prepared for the possibility of hot days and hot sun. The months of November and December are the coldest months.
Gelada Baboons are monkeys endemic Simien mountains, or whether they only occur in this region of northern Ethiopia. Monkeys are hairy and males are distinguished from females by a stain red heart-shaped having chest. They are nothing violent and you can get closer to them if you do a lot of noise, the truth is a real charmer, about all the little that are carried on the backs of the females.

The gelada (Theropithecus gelada) is a species of primate Cercopithecidae family endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Like baboons, are terrestrial and spend time feeding in the meadows. Some authors include in the genus Papio gelada, but since 1979 it has been included in another separate genus, Theropithecus. Theropithecus gelada is the only living species, although there are at least two separate lineages in the fossil record. Although today the gelada are restricted to Ethiopia, fossils of the genus known from South Africa, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain and India. It can be distinguished from baboons by brightly colored skin on his chest. The stain is poorly defined and, in males, is dyed red and surrounded by white hair. In females, the stain is much less pronounced. However, during summer, the stain of females becomes shiny and dotted with blisters. This process is similar to the swelling of the buttocks during estrus, which is common in baboons.

Gelada female.
The gelada live in small groups consisting of one male, several females and their offspring. These small bands are joined with others to feed, forming groups of up to 350 individuals. Occasionally has been gathered over 650 geladas feeding, forming smaller subgroups including within that set. The gelada preferentially feed on grass, eating the entire plant, including seeds, roots and stems. They have more developed opposable thumbs of Old World monkeys, allowing them to separate deftly herbs to find the most nutritious parts. Are known to also eat fruit on occasion. Although not considered a threatened species, it is believed that there are only a geladas 50-60000. Hunting and habitat destruction have forced geladas to penetrate the areas inhabited by olive baboons and there have been cases of hybridization between the two groups. Furthermore, in the southern part of the plateau of Amhara, the gelada males are killed every two years to use their manes in the welcoming ceremonies at maturity. The loss of most of the adult male population regularly has upset the stability of the species population.

BABOON GELADA
It's eight o'clock, but the bar can not be a soul. Dozens of Ethiopians are clustered to watch a Real Madrid game on tape delay. Each one has paid a few birr (about 15 cents) per entry. Nobody consume anything. Not a coffee. Not even a glass of water. No eye off the screen, barely 24 inches. We review as the food we have prepared for the long journey: an omelette sandwich, boiled egg, a baked potato and a bottle of water. Come to the Simien Mountains, one of the most fascinating places in Africa, in search of Gelada baboons (in Amharic, the local language, "bleeding hearts"), a species found only in these places above Ethiopians 3,000 meters of altitude.
Debark preparing their stalls for a lively market day. An SUV takes us through a mountain track to the starting place, located nearly 3,300 meters. A 15 kilometers away is the entrance to the park, where they checked our permits are in order, and seven cast beyond dismounted next to Simien Lodge, which autocorona as the highest located hotel in Africa. Here ends the track. You can only keep walking.
Simien get us wrapped in mist, as expected in the middle of rainy season. In return, we walk alone
The alpine landscape is: stones and shrubs gradually gaining ground trees. Simien get us wrapped in mist, as expected in the middle of rainy season. In return, we walk alone (7,000 Simien tourists visit each year). Very soon begin to accompany our steps dozen Gelada baboons not take away eye. On the chest, the males look a red heart-shaped inverted explains his nickname. This pack is no more than fifty, but some exceed 700. Like any mammal, react with violence if they feel threatened. One does not walk quite quiet, really. Especially because the fog makes baboons appear and disappear from view as if by magic as a natural circle skirt that wraps a valley that is sensed hundreds of feet below.
In Simien not only inhabit Gelada baboons. It is also suitable for other territory two endemic species: the Simien jackal of Abyssinian ibex and
In Africa you are never alone. Even in these inhospitable landscapes. A group of ragged children emerge from the fog, accentuating the magic of these places, waving their trinkets: goat wool hats, wicker baskets and "jwiraf" whips with leading the cattle, a daunting task in these lands ravines and precipices. Making them cracked in the silence of the mountain to scare away monkeys earned the rebuke of the ranger, while I wondered if it would end up doing emerge aggressiveness. The fog eventually swallow up the street early.
In Simien not only inhabit Gelada baboons. It is also suitable for other territory two endemic species: the Simien jackal of Abyssinian and the ibex, a wild goat of powerful horns. Of these, more cautious, we saw none. Baboons, however, joined us for most of the journey. No wonder, considering that nearly 8,000 living here. Sometimes you saw, in solidarity with parsimony despiojándose brotherhood, others intuías and often listened only their guttural grunts. The dominant male led the orchestra (baboons are extremely gregarious and are used to follow the leader of the pack). Alzado on his hind legs, he climbed a rolling stone all his authority to his fellows and, incidentally, auscultated our movements and reminded us that we were in their territory.
The dominant male leading the orchestra. Alzado on his hind legs, he climbed a rolling stone all his authority
The trail runs sometimes on edge, so you should not lose sight of the steps of the ranger, armed just in case, especially when the rain begins to tarnish the way. It is a primeval landscape, high mountains, once again breaking those stereotypes Ethiopia's western desert horizons and devastating droughts.
Crowned a hill after several minutes of breathing. At our feet there is a small village of ghostly look. As spectra abstracted from the fog, several children running towards us waving in English. They walk with bare feet and legs in the air, despite the cold weather, and waving their tattered Gabis threadbare blankets. Bordering adversity, smile as if life ought not nothing. His hands chapped by the wind, cold as stone naked palpated and scrutinize our backpacks. It is a moment of joy wrapped in mist. Tens of baboons watching us, proud perhaps bringing us this far.
We passed the defiles of creepy cut and we go into bush and forest landscapes where walking placidly between lobelias and heather
Take this opportunity to rest and eat something on a hill. From here, go up Sankaber losing height, the camp where they begin the main walking routes through the Simien Mountains, as we are, for lack of time, not to win, we are closed this time. The culmination is the summit in Ras Dashen, with its 4260 meters the third highest peak in Africa. We passed the defiles of creepy cut and we go into bush and forest landscapes where walking placidly between heath lobelia and moldy with moisture, between black horses mane grazing unperturbed by our presence. After nearly three hours of walking we went to a track with plenty of nearby mountains where landslides appear and disappear, as the inevitable baboons, at the whim of the low clouds.
A woman invites us into his hut and the miracle occurs: two bottles of beer Dashen to smile to life
At last we see a Abyssinian ibex, but only painted a faded sign that heralds the approach of Sankaber, a handful of huts where, four hours after driving off, our frugal lunch supplies to 3,200 meters. Makes a numbing cold muscles. A woman invites us into his hut and the miracle occurs: two bottles of beer Dashen to smile at life.
When we met again with the driver, who has come to fetch the SUV, start our way back. Here, as elsewhere in Africa, you can not miss a spot. The guide's sister and her daughter to take advantage of the trip to Debark and relocate them fit in the back. The baby, barely two years, not even blink with vehicle jiggling down the mountain. A lesson for our kids western subscribers to tears the first setback. I look back. A lonely baboon is watching at the side of the track. The pack leader wants to make sure we left of their land.

SIMIEN
Simien Mountains, located in northern Ethiopia 100 km from the city of Gondar, is a beautiful mountain range was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1978.

It has several peaks over four thousand feet, deep valleys and a huge variety of endemic animals like Simien wolf, Walia Ibex and Gelada baboon animal well as the hyena and leopard.

During this trip we will visit the Simien massif to various trekking routes and know the mountain scenery. When we are already acclimated to the altitude, climb Mount Bwahit (4,200 m) and the Ras Daschen, which with 4,600 m, is the highest mountain in the country. Both mountains we will demand a lot of effort but will reward us with great scenic beauty.

In addition to the Simien will visit Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia and the beautiful Gondar, city of castles, completing a memorable trip.

Fatigue has taken hold of us. While we place the bag down and recovered his breath, check excited the horizon. Despite the considerable height, a green mantle dominates the landscape. Accustomed to abruptosidad the Pyrenees or the Alps, the mountains around here is, well, nicer. Some figures seem unrecognizable welcome us. We try to accustom the eye, but no way. Braham, our guide, laughing openly. "What's that Braham?" Balbuceamos English. "Heh, heh, heh," he replies, "are baboon, Simien owners."

It may not go so far off. Simien Mountains (which in Amharic means "North"), a World Heritage Site by Unesco, with its 180 square kilometers of unique beauty, is territory of the endemic gelada baboons. For the hiker, check how herds of up to 400 individuals of these monkeys roam at an altitude of between 2000 and 4000 meters, is a thrilling experience.

Known as monkey lion, which directly affects its lush mane, his presence is a classic in these latitudes. Coexist in space and time with other surprises: the Abyssinian ibex (Walia), the Ethiopian wolf (less numerous) or saltarrocas antelope. The richness of the area (as well as the proliferation of birds) is complete with a majestic flora where we can not forget the rhynchopetalum Lobelya endemic. With a wealth of attractions of such a high caliber, it is not surprising that the camera works without ceasing.

The journey here from Addis, has been long and winding, but it was worth it. We have one week embaucándonos in this range, but it seems that we all life. We moved to the magnetic Gondar, could "taste" the idiosyncrasies of public transport between the famous city founded by Emperor Fasilides and Debark, here meticulously prepare the trekking. A guide and a mule, former guerrillas turned-National Park rangers Simien Mountains, will lead us down a path of unfathomable magnificence, with stop and inn in the camps and Chennek Sankaber.

Experience unforgettable moments in store for us, as the welcome offered by a lost village. Upon discovering the couple of "Farangis" (foreigner in Amharic) with faces contorted with the effort, do not hesitate to ask us for help. White equals physician should assume. The fact is that a simple (to Western eyes, of course) badly injured his leg heals earns us unconditional friendship. At night, in the heat of a fire, a representation of the community gives us, by way of thanks, a hearty meal. The evening could not be more perfect. Contemplating the fire, downing dinner, communicating with fuss with our new friends and knowing that there, at close range, someone looks with her expressive eyes, while tempting red skin of his chest. Robust observers seem that we have accepted. And it's a joy coming from gelada baboons, the owners of the Simien Mountains.

Debark Market. Several children play football while their parents are selling or buying.
The town of Debark is the starting point to the Simien mountains one of the wonders of Etiopia.Aqui gather to buy and sell their products, the market is the heart of the town, the center of this small World.In this shirts are made with sewing machines that was your grandmother sold species, clothes, shoes, wool and a myriad of things but it is a world of scent and color.
A girl filled to the brim with wood Debark market. Debark has a few shops and stalls where you can buy vegetables and some basic items. In Gondar several shops with reasonable stocks of foodstuffs. If you do not have all the necessary equipment can be rented mostly in Debark. Simien National Park rules require that all park visitors must be accompanied by an armed ranger, they charge about $ 3 per day. Hiking takes you through small villages and terraced fields in the lower valleys, before reaching a series of cliffs and escarpments. Beyond the cliffs leads to the beautiful alpine meadows and rugged wilderness areas of the high peaks. You have several choices of routes, depending on time and distance has to be covered, some tourists spend ten days trekking, but most tourists make a shorter trip. The route is also determined by the places where you can sleep at night. Most hikers stay near the National Park Sankaber, Geech and Chenek. Avoid traveling to the mountains in the rainy season.

Aksum
Aksum (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980). Even in the distant past (centuries before the birth of Christ) was the capital of the Axumite empire and a great civilization, today is a modest rural town very, very quiet. It contains scattered remains of palaces, tombs, stelae and inscriptions. Perhaps the most surprising to know that have yet to dig most of Aksum archaeological remains. Auksum, is less interesting, in whole, Bahir Dar, Gondar or Lallibela, unless you have much interest in archeology, although it must be said that, as soon as possible, it is worth making the effort to reach here (the road from Gondar and Aksum and tranquility alone justify the visit). With this we mean that only in case you can not visit the four cities of northern circuit due to time constraints, we prescindiríamos of Aksum.
Leaving the hotel and heading west, toward the museum, the first thing we find, behind the office of Ethiopian Airlines, is the tomb of King Basen and other adjoining tombs carved into the rock wall. Close by there is the park of King Ezana, where we can see pillars, stelae and a block of stone with inscriptions in Ge'ez (Amharic ancient), Greek and Sabaean.
The next point of interest may be the museum of Aksum. Behind the museum is the church of Tsion Maryam. It seems that this was the first church to be built in Africa (fourth century), but we can see now is a construction that was Emperor Fasilidas term in s. XVI, because the original was destroyed (it is said that in a well guarded this church is the Ark of the Covenant, but there is no chance to see it, because it seems there is only one person alive who has seen and is its current stores). Access to the church and a museum annex built by the wife of Haile Selassie and costs 60 Birr entrance is forbidden to women.
Few meters north of Tsion Maryam is the main field of stelae, which contains about 75 trails of various shapes and sizes. Some reached the 33 meters (Ramhai trail), but now lies on the ground heading into multiple pieces. Of contrails left standing the higher the Ezana stele, with a height of 23 m. The stelae field is visible from outside the enclosure.
Following the path northeast there stelae field find first paved road climb to Yeha Hotel. From the terrace of this hotel is a good view of the main field of stelae and also a part of Aksum. It is also a good place to have a drink in pleasant surroundings. Returning back to the road and immediately to the right are the pool of the Queen of Shaba, so named because legend has it that built the legendary queen. Currently it is nothing more than a large cement tank walls. Half a mile further, on the left, we find a small shack where the table is stored trilingual. This can only be seen if you have the input and if the keeper of the place to open the door of the shed (at the time of our visit there was no one, and the door was padlocked). Walk 1 km you reach the palace Kaleb, of which only the remains that can be visited only with the entry.
About 3 miles west of Africa Hotel, and outside on the road Aksum and Shire, is Gudit stelae field, made up of dozens of small plain stelae and with no more than 2 m. tall. The set is perfectly visible from the edge of the grass field where they are. Across the road are the remains of the palace Dongar, also known as the Queen of Shaba. To visit the palace also need to have input, but from the outside you can see quite well.
Mountains National Park Simien (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978). At approximately 2.5 hours of leaving Gondar (90 km) is for breakfast in Debark. This small town, to a considerable altitude, usually the base camp for all treks through the Simien mountains. It contains the offices of the park and you can also buy some basic things needed. A few kilometers from Debark, resuming the journey back to the Shire, the track falls squarely in the park area and begins an amazing spectacle, not suitable for people with vertigo. The section between Debark and Adi Arkay descends nearly 2,000 feet in the mountains. The track is often hung over bottomless pits, with 180 curves without sides, and sometimes under waterfalls (some tens of meters) falling by the rock walls directly on the track. It's really awesome. In the small town of Adi Arkay, can be leveraged to look to the horizon and see a spectacular landscape formed by the jagged peaks of the Simien (remember greatly Valley Canyon of Arizona).
St. Mary of Zion Church
A couple about to marry in the church of St Mary of Zion. The Church of St. Mary of Zion in Aksum (Ethiopia). It belongs to the Coptic Patriarch of Ethiopia one of the patriarchs of the Coptic Church. According to tradition, this Basilica is kept the Ark of the Covenant, which was allegedly deposited there by Menelik I, son of Solomon, although we can not fully secure because there is a whole discussion on the exact location, but the theory that is in the Church of St. Mary of Zion is the strongest. The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred object that held the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and the manna that fell from heaven. The importance of such an object is from its symbol as covenant between God and the Jewish people. Women can not go inside since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. Currently the Ark is the central point of worship and Christian worship in Ethiopia, not in vain, the 20,000 Ethiopian temples contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Unable to enter the temple and a monk only properly prepared is the only one who has the privilege to access the building.
The Ark of the Covenant in the church of St Mary of Zion. The Church of St. Mary of Zion in Aksum (Ethiopia). It belongs to the Coptic Patriarch of Ethiopia one of the patriarchs of the Coptic Church. According to tradition, this Basilica is kept the Ark of the Covenant, which was allegedly deposited there by Menelik I, son of Solomon, although we can not fully secure because there is a whole discussion on the exact location, but the theory that is in the Church of St. Mary of Zion is the strongest. The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred object that held the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and the manna that fell from heaven. The importance of such an object is from its symbol as covenant between God and the Jewish people. Women can not go inside since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. Currently the Ark is the central point of worship and Christian worship in Ethiopia, not in vain, the 20,000 Ethiopian temples contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Unable to enter the temple and a monk only properly prepared is the only one who has the privilege to access the building.
The holiest shrine in Ethiopia is the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum town, there Ethiopians say that is the true Ark of the Covenant of the people of Israel, and is mentioned in the Old Testament. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that are the repository of the Ark at St. Mary of Zion, but there are several alternative hypotheses about the whereabouts of the Ark mysterious. The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church says that the Ark of the Covenant is at St. Mary of Zion REFLECTION fraternal delegate, His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (ETHIOPIA) IN THE SECOND SPECIAL ASSEMBLY FOR AFRICA SYNOD OF OCTOBER 2009. In his address SS Abuna Paulos said the Ark of the Covenant is in St. Mary of Zion in the city of Axum, Ethiopia: I am honored and privileged to have been invited to this great Synod to give a short speech about Africa and Churches on this continent. I express my deep gratitude to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, who wanted me here today among you and who personally testified to me his love for Africa and its respect for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, during our last fraternal meeting here in Rome last June. Anthropologists, philosophers and scholars have confirmed that Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular, are the "cradle of humanity", and the Holy Bible confirms this conviction. The story, according to the Ethiopian calendar, begins with Adam and Noah. This means that for the Ethiopians, the beginning of mankind, our present and our future, are marked, now and forever, for God and His salvation. Africa, whose ancient dignity of people is engraved on the stones of the Axum obelisk in the Egyptian pyramids, monuments and manuscripts, was not only a source of humanity. According to the Holy Bible, Africa was also a refuge for those who suffered hunger: it was the case of the Jews in the time of Jacob, when he spent seven years in Egypt. The Holy Bible tells us that the Jews and the prophet Jeremiah, suffered greatly from the attack of the Babylonians and were brought to safety in Ethiopia and Egypt. People from the eastern half of the world satisfied their hunger in the land of Egypt and Ethiopia. Jesus Christ himself and St. Mary were welcomed in Egypt, as they fled from the cruel threat of Herod. It is clear that Africans care for mankind! Africa remains a religious continent whose people have believed for centuries in God almighty. The Queen of Sheba taught his countrymen the Old Testament that she had learned in Israel. Since then, the Ark of the Covenant is in the city of Axum, Ethiopia. The son of the Queen of Sheba, Menelik I, following the example of his mother was the one who managed to bring the Ark of the Covenant of Moses to Africa, in Ethiopia. The story of the Ethiopian eunuch and the Law of Moses, strong and well organized, together with the deep religious and cultural practices existing in Ethiopia indicate that the Mosaic Law was implemented in Ethiopia more than in Israel itself. You can even record of it having to study the culture and lifestyle of the Ethiopians. It was in Alexandria, Egypt, where the Holy Bible was translated into Hebrew languages ??not. This is known as African translation "Translation of the Seventy" (Sebeka Likawunt) The Holy Scriptures tell us that, as in the Old Testament, the Africans were accustomed to worship according to the law of conscience in the period of the New Testament. The then king of kings of Ethiopia, Emperor Bazen, was one of the kings who went to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus. The gospel tells us that an African, a man named Simon of Cyrene Libya, he took the Cross of Jesus while He was on his way to Golgotha. In addition, an Ethiopian eunuch in the year 34 AD went to Jerusalem to worship God according to the Law of Moses. By Order of the Holy Spirit the eunuch was baptized Felipe. When he returned to Africa, preached Christianity to his nation. Thus Ethiopia became the second country after Israel to believe in Christ, and the Ethiopian Church became the first church in Africa. HISTORY ...... SANTA MARIA DE SION Although the present building is relatively new, the Church of St. Mary of Zion has ancient roots impressive. In the fourth century, the Axumite prince Ezana was instructed in Christianity by two Syrian monks shipwrecked on the coast of the Red Sea. Prince promoted Christianity when he became King Ezana, and is considered a saint, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and in Catholic churches. It was then, in 300 AD, a St. Mary's Church was built in Axum. This church stood for hundreds of years and was spotted by a Portuguese friar shortly before its destruction in the sixteenth century. Francisco Alvarez wrote in his diary: "In this city of Axum, we found a remarkable church, is very large, has five naves of a good width and a length, all the vaults are covered up to the roof and the sides are painted." Axum was the first Christian kingdom in the world and the largest outside of the Roman Empire. Located in the caravan trade routes to Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Late V century, Christianity spread beyond the royal family to the general population through missionaries fleeing the Eastern Roman Empire. In the sixth century King Kaleb (also called San Kaleb) Axum did a great military power and assumed the role of protector of Christians in the region, including Spain. Kaleb conquered several small kingdoms Jews in Arabia, which led to the incorporation of Jewish customs in Ethiopian Christianity can still be seen today. In 1635, St. Mary of Zion was rebuilt by Emperor Fasilidas on the ruins of the church that had been destroyed by the Muslims, and this is the church that stands today. The destruction and reconstruction of the church has become an important part of its significance for Ethiopians. Surrounded by Islamic countries, invaded several times, which led him to the brink of extinction, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity sees itself as a bastion against Islam. St. Mary of Zion symbolizes the struggles and triumphs of the Church and the nation of Ethiopia. Ethiopian emperors were crowned here. Until the 1930s, criminals could receive shelter in the grounds of the church ringing the bell on the porch. In 1955, to celebrate its Silver Jubilee, Emperor Haile Selassie founded a new church of St. Mary of Zion next to the old. It was completed in 1964. Emperor Selassie stopped state visit to Ethiopia of Queen Elizabeth II to attend the dedication of the Cathedral. The British monarch visited St. Mary of Zion few days later. Unlike the original St. Mary of Zion, the new Basilica of St. Mary of Zion, allowed in women. In 1965, Selassie relic built a chapel next to the old St. Mary's to celebrate the treasures of the church, especially the venerated Ark of the Covenant. THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

In the Old Testament Yahweh himself gave instructions to Moses to build the ark. These instructions were followed to the letter by Bezaleel and other "working men who had expertise Yahweh" who not only built the Holy Ark, but also worked on the development of the Tabernacle, the menorah, the costumes of the priests, the sacred table, the objects for which it was intended, etc.. When it was finished, and the tablets of the law within them, according to Exodus (40, 20), and Aaron's rod part of the outfit that she was saved, according to numbers (17, 10), the Ark began to occupy a prominent place in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, the portable temple of the Israelites during their exodus in search of the Promised Land, thus becoming a real talisman representing God's covenant with his people, when no one's material embodiment of the LORD. The Ark of the Covenant, was considered a representation of God's Throne of Heaven on Earth. According to tradition, after the death of Salvador the skies darkened and the earth trembled, crumbling the foundation of the cross and opening a crack to the Ark chamber. When the Roman centurion Longinus thrust the spear into Jesus' side, the last drops of blood were falling on the Mercy. ARCA ROUTE Just after the Red Sea was opened to the cross the "chosen people", the Ark is talk. Until his arrival in Jerusalem and final installation in the Sancta Sanctorum of Solomon's Temple, the track seems extraordinarily clear. First was taken near Jericho where Israel gave his first military victory in Canaan. Then she was inducted into Gilgal, near the Dead Sea, to move it later to Shechem, where he renewed the covenant with Yahweh symbolizing the Ark and its contents: Tables of the Law After a brief hiatus in Bethel, the Ark stayed during a good season at Shiloh, where he was cared for by the family of the priest Eli and from where she was taken to the battle of Aphek, where the Philistines took it and then exhibited as a war trophy. However, the happiness of the Philistines was short lived, as a series of strange diseases swept over them forcing them to return to their original owners Ark seven months later. By then, the Ark remained in Bet Shemesh, killing seventy Jews who tried to look inside, maybe, to see if there was something missing from their precious contents. The truth is that fear of Ark made it "exiled" to Quirat Jearim, where he guarded for twenty years by some Abinadab, until King David was proposed to take her to Jerusalem. In moving a man died, Uzzah, touching the chest, and it was decided that this "rest" in house Obededom of Gath. Once past the incident, he prepared a shop in Jerusalem where the Ark was until Solomon had finished his Temple. And it was there, curiously in the safest place of all that was in the Ark, where the track was lost forever ... THE ARK IN ETHIOPIA There are many theories about their mysterious powers and their possible location. As for the assumptions about their whereabouts, we note first that provided by the indefatigable British researcher Graham Hancock, in his bestseller narrated Symbol and Sign, which for many years traced the Ark of the Covenant from his mysterious disappearance Bible. In 1983 Hancock first heard of his connection with Ethiopia, while writing a book about the African country. Hancock was political correspondent in Ethiopia and on his visit to the city of Axum, met claiming to be the guardian of the Ark or Tabot, who told him the legend of the son of Solomon and Belkis, the legendary Queen of Sheba, and its relationship with the sacred object. Hancock's hypothesis shows that the Ark came to Palestine, visited a while at Elephantine (Egypt), and then may have been hidden in Ethiopia. Command and Signal, Hancock tells how the Jews of Elephantine fled to Sudan and from there to the highlands of Ethiopia, eventually settling at Lake Tano, an inland sea more than two thousand feet. Visiting this area knew the existence of ancient texts which told as the Ark of the Covenant had been placed in a sort of tent on the island of Tana Kirkos, where he remained eight hundred years until King Ezana of Ethiopia led to its current site in Axum. Robert Goodman refers thus Hancock's theory in his paper The Ark of sacrifice: "After the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, the Israelites during their exodus trasportaron through the desert until they returned to Jerusalem, where King Solomon, a decades later, he built his famous temple.'s Ark and other sacred objects were deposited in the Temple of Jerusalem in 935 BC During his reign, he was visited by the Queen of Sheba (probably located in the country known as Arabia Felix, in the current South Yemen). Ethiopian Royal Chronicles say that the queen returned home expecting a son of Solomon, the future Menelik I, who would become the founder of the dynastic line that has lasted until Emperor Haile Selassie . Menelik was sent to live with his father to Israel, where he was educated until the age of nineteen, becoming the Jewish faith. As a parting gift, Solomon had built an identical copy of the Ark to take her away to Ethiopia and thus The Falashas (Ethiopian Jews to some romantic scenarios considered descendants of the lost tribes of Israel) would have their own Ark of the Covenant. At that time, Solomon was allowed to be erected pagan idols in the temple, in line with the decline of his reign under the influence of Babylon. Menelik, fearing for the safety of the original Ark, and changed the copy was authentic. Graham Hancock argues that the Ark of Menelik I is in the church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, guarded by a single guard, almost blind and unwillingness to answer questions about the Ark, as could verify even the research team that developed a BBC story on the subject, and whose head was himself Hancock . Other theories suggest that the Ark did not move the Temple of Solomon until the formidable army of Nebuchadnezzar razed Jerusalem in 586 BC Apparently, Hancock has found connections between one of the first works that speak of the Holy Grail, Parzival's medieval poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, and relieves some of the French cathedral of Chartres, representing the Queen of Sheba. thus tying ropes, Hancock concluded that the Templars had known the legend of Menelik and had left shaped in poetic key in Parzival and the stone of Chartres, with the Grail, therefore, an update of the Ark, whose search Hancock repeatedly traveled to Ethiopia to discover that the Orthodox churches of this country kept in a replica of his tabernacle Tabot or Ark, which was borne in procession once a year, covered by fabric, during the festival of Timkat ceremony apparently also appeared in the engravings of the era of Pharaohs Tutankhamun. Thesis similar to Hancock says the writer Grant Jeffrey, Armageddon prophecies, which recounts a conversation with Prince Stephen Menghesa, grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and supposed descendant therefore of Solomon and Menelik. Menghesa Jeffrey spoke to after the proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948 Many Ethiopian Falashas began discussing plans for the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Israel and help build the Third Temple, which would contribute to an authentic atmosphere of peace and harmony, uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims and burying forever the friendly voices of eternal discord, ideal many also attributed to the Knights Templar. ARK on Mount Calvary The great archaeologist Ron Wyatt said, however, that the real Ark (because apparently there are numerous replicas), is buried under Mount Moriah, in the Grotto or cave in which Jeremiah hid the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and the Altar of Incense, closing after the entrance. place indicated by Wyatt to start the search, which began in the company of two sons Danny and Ronny, was a landfill located along the steep slopes of Mount Moriah, which some call the "wall of Calvary" and whose relief draws a kind of skull alluding to Golgotha ??where Jesus was crucified. After researching around, archaeologist decided to dig perpendicular to the rock. After nearly two years of work, finding a cave ended five by five meters, and after entering she found that were under Mount Moriah. On January 6, 1982, after an intense search in all passageways and cavities found, Wyatt found what he was looking for. In the dim light of his lantern guessed a stone box with lid halved and just above, on the roof of the cave, saw a blackened crack some sediment. reached the box and found that the cleft of the lid was imbued with the same substance from the ceiling. Nevertheless, given the lack of space to move back a few days later with special optical instruments whose reading concluded that the contents of the box was none other than the Ark of the Covenant. later Wyatt himself was found that the crack in the ceiling was a natural extension of one that had been in a hole he had played as a support base for cross Jesus. Wyatt concluded that the black substance could be blood that had slipped through the crack, flowing directly onto the stone box and, of course, on its content.'s position at the top splashes, that blood, supposedly of Christ , would have fallen directly on the Mercy Seat of the Ark ... of being there. Wyatt informed the Israeli authorities about his discovery, but they do not believe-well, or fear reactions after news of that caliber-you " recommended "secrecy. truth is that after his tenure, Wyatt sealed the entrance to the tunnel and the Ark could still go down there. ARK on Mount Nebo in the Bible (Macabaeos 2, 1-8) refers as the prophet Jeremiah secretly hid the Ark and the altar of burnt offering in a cave located in "the mountain that Moses climbed to see the inheritance of the Lord." That mountain from which Moses saw the Promised Land would never tread, He died in the wilderness, is the ancient Mount Nebo (now identified with modern an-Naba Jaban), a place which is about thirty miles from Jerusalem, in a straight line, in and of Jordanian territory. could be deduced from the biblical text Jeremiah removed the Ark from its original location and moved to Mount Nebo. What the Bible does not say is whether the Ark was brought to Jerusalem after when the Jews returned from exile in Babylon in 538 BC and rebuilt the temple. In the twenties of the twentieth century, Anthony F. Futterer sought the Ark on Mount Nebo. apparently found her and before he died, he left clues to its location at a certain Reverend Clinton Locy. In 1981, Tom Crotser, American archaeologist visited Reverend and obtained a copy of the inscription Futterer seen outside the tunnel under the Nebo. According Crotser, the translation of this inscription was "here lies the Ark of the Covenant". Locy Crotser also provided a sketch of the tunnel, why which the latter traveled to Jordan in October 1981. Pisagh At Mount (in the same mountain range of Mount Nebo) found a cavity that corresponded to the entrance of the cave. Without official permission, they removed the plate covering the tin entry and placed in the passageway on October 31, 1981. crossed several niches shaped widenings and Crotser had to break two walls of mud and rock blocking the way. Towards the end of the passage, found another wall sturdier and without inscriptions. Al overthrow appeared before them a chamber carved into the rock. Crotser felt that this camera was under an ancient Byzantine church with which he communicated through a vertical shaft. researcher claims to have seen in that chamber the very Ark of the Covenant . He described it as a gold box of 1.55 meters long by 93.5 inches wide and 92.5 high other. touched not the case for fear of receiving a discharge, but received several photographs and measured. The golden cherubs were not at the top, but in a corner of the camera was wrapped in gauze lumps that could be the images of angels. bats were also used to transport the ark and gold rings on the sides. After , Crotser and his companions went to Amman, where they tried unsuccessfully to interest the Jordanian authorities in their finding. Upon his return to the United States, the UPI news agency issued a statement which stated that the Ark had been found. News appeared in most newspapers. Nevertheless, this finding did not find the notoriety he sought, and that the only photograph of the "ark" was of very poor quality and showed a modern-looking box with nails and metal strips perhaps cut machine. TEMPLE UNDER THE ARK Jewish religious texts Ark recorded two stops. According to the Mishnah and the Talmud, was buried in one of the secret tunnels dug under the Temple Mount. Burial would have been the work of King Josiah, alerted by a prophecy of the future desecration of the Sancta Sanctorum (Holy of Holies) by the Babylonians, hid in a secret cave under the Setiyyah blinded or Stone of Foundation, an axis mundi that was only the ground Holy of Holies on which the Ark rested. A wise quote from Maimonides (1135-1204) says: "... when Solomon commissioned the building of the Temple destruction predicted and built a secret cave, very deep, where Josiah instructed to hide the Ark of the Covenant. "This information, which Maimonides attributes to a Jew named Arabaita, may have inspired an expedition sought the Ark in 1908 under the ancient Temple of Solomon. Expedition Parker began his work in the Topkapi palace museum in Istanbul, where the Swedish Bible scholar Walter H. Juvelius sacred code found in a manuscript of the Book of Ezekiel. claimed code that described the exact location of the lost treasures was under the temple, in a place which was reached by a complicated system of tunnels. Juvelius teamed Captain Montague Parker under the patronage of the Duchess of Marlborough, to make the Ark of the suspected hideout. Achieving permissions to dig under Jerusalem was only possible thanks to a long chain of bribes. And thanks to them, between 1909 and 1911 the group discovered several secret passages. But his search stopped abruptly on 17 April 1911 when Parker and his men tried to enter a natural cave, just below the sacred rock upon which the Ark was placed in the so-called First Temple period. The British and his team ventured down using ropes to the cave and began to remove the stones blocking the entrance to an ancient gallery. Unfortunately, one of the guards who was spending the night in the temple, he heard the noise of the work of the expedition. Tracking the movement of the group to the Sacred Rock, and horrified to discover aliens under the Sancta Sanctorum, ran to town to warn people about the desecration that was being committed. In less than an hour, an angry mob by the rumor that some foreigners were stealing the Ark of the Covenant Muhammad's sword and gathered in front of the temple walls. The crowd was willing to pay such a crime with life but, fortunately, Parker and the rest of the expedition managed to escape to Jerusalem and from there to the port of Haifa, where embarked precipitately. brought Parker is not a shred of evidence that guaranteed the existence of the treasures of Solomon, but proved the existence of secret tunnels under the temple. evidence that could confirm that for centuries had been visited by the Templars, perhaps more fortunate when snatching the coveted riches. Logically, the warrior monks used nine long years of digging and searching through the tunnels, without anyone importunase. Randall Price published in 1993 in Messianic Times an article in which he stated files that ancient rabbinic mention that the Ark was taken from the Second Temple, hidden in a secret location under the Temple woodshed. himself Price says "based on the historical description of the situation of the wood storage and current knowledge of underground corridors beneath Mount Moriah, it is believed that there is a tunnel leading to a chamber about forty-eight feet below the surface, which houses the Ark is. "An affirmation is perfectly consistent with the findings of Wyatt in his excavations in 1979, which found the Ark ensures impregnated the very blood of Jesus during the crucifixion. Surprisingly (or not) the archaeological work of Wyatt were vetoed by the Israeli Government before they culminate. Logically, leaving the Wyatt discoveries of light, could have proved that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Son of God incarnate, which can not admit Jews. ARK IN RUINS GILGAL Vendyll Archaeologist Jones reported in 1994 to the Reuters news agency I knew the exact location of the Ark thanks to high-resolution photos of Israel taken from a NASA satellite. The images showed a rectangular esplanade, surrounded by the remains of a wall. Following three months of excavation, Jones and colleagues concluded that this site reproduced at the Temple of Solomon. minirréplica This is in Gilgal, the city described in the Old Testament as the starting point for the attack of Joshua against Jericho. Jones stated that the bailey wall served as ritual for the Tabernacle, the place where the Ark was supposed ... or a replica. Jones works at Qumran, digging in the caves called Column and spices. Their interest in this site deciphered arose from one part of the Copper Scroll found in 1952, consisting of a list of objects of the Holy of Holies of the Temple, indicating up to sixty-two places where liturgical objects were hidden after the destruction of the Second Temple. Vendyl Jones says that the Ark of the Covenant is in the relationship and is in the city of Gilgal, as he claimed in his day. ARK IN GERMANY In his book The Emerald Cup, an American physician Col. Howard Buechner, narrated that the Ark of the Covenant, along with the Solomon's treasure, arrived in France by the Visigoths and the Templars. This writer states that in AD 70, following an uprising of the Jews, the Roman general Titus reduced to rubble in the city of Jerusalem and the Temple Solomon Herod reformed. Following the destruction, the Romans excavated to find the treasure of the temple, "combing" also the stables area. Well Buechner says that were successful in their work and found the Ark and other treasures of great value. Thereafter, Tito sent the booty to Rome and ordered to erect a monument in the Forum to commemorate the victory over Palestine. In one of the reliefs of the Arch of Titus is still a group of soldiers carrying a huge chandelier seven arms, which could well be accompanying the Ark in the days of Moses. Despite enormous erosion of the figures, we can see that two soldiers have something suspended between two poles resting on their shoulders. To the English researcher Michael Baigent that was the ark. According to him, once in the hands of a Roman emperor happen to another until the Christianization of the Empire, when perhaps would go to the Vatican. Well, in 410 AD, Alaric the Visigoth king encountered this treasure in the third assault on Rome, transferring it to France and hiding it in the last Visigoth stronghold, south of Carcassonne, in the province of Languedoc gala, near the Pyrenees. According to Buechner, the Visigoths would have hidden the treasure in a cave, where would be forgotten. But in 1931, the German historian Otto Rahn was the Languedoc to seek Treasury Solomon. Though not known to found in that first glance, it must have been significant enough to Heinrich Himmler sent him back to perform further exploration in 1937, funded by the Nazi party. died shortly after and it was not until 1942 that the Nazis were defeated in Russia to carry out a mission that seemed impossible. Otto Skorzeny, chief of staff who rescued Mussolini, who conducted the new attempt. After choosing a team of climbers and mountaineers front row, established his headquarters at Montsegur. Firstly organized an advance in recognizing the nearby mountains and the Cathar fortress, discovering the route they used to escape the siege Catholic in the thirteenth century. It was a smooth vertical wall, impossible to climb, but accessible to descend, perhaps with treasure in tow. truth is that at the foot of this wall found a path leading to the highest peaks and finally to a grotto with "something" inside. was on March 15, 1944, the eve of the seven hundredth anniversary of the fall of Montsegur. expedition are thought moved the Ark and the rest of treasure to Germany, where would hidden, perhaps Externstein Caves, near Wewelsburg, where Himmler was the palace. ARK IN THE VATICAN Other sources claim that when Italian troops evacuated Eritrea, brought to Rome as a trophy secret the Ark, preserved in the Vatican since, thanks to a pro-fascist government of Mussolini.

In the church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, is an artifact that confirmed its authenticity, add lots of crumbs to Ethiopian legends. Unfortunately, only a living person has seen this artifact. The Ark of the Covenant is, according to the Ethiopian Christians, locked up in this church and only official guardian can enter [non-Orthodox, Ethiopian priests we can not even bring five meters of the fence surrounding the temple] . There is no doubt of the importance of the Ark legend plays in Ethiopian Christianity and few people dare to question it. But, superficially at least, their presence in Axum seems rather unlikely.
For those unfamiliar with the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was built by the children of Israel to keep the tablets of the law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to the Bible, God gave Moses instructions concerning their design and ornamentation. He was endowed with mortal powers, especially useful during battles. After the Jews to settle in Jerusalem, the Ark was located in a temple built by [King] Solomon in the tenth century BC, where he remained until the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC At the time he was in Jerusalem, the Ark was the most precious object of the Jewish faith, the virtual personification of God, and in many biblical passages refer to it simply as Lord. After the destruction of Solomon's temple, disappeared. Despite many attempts to recover during the subsequent centuries, was never found.
In his book The Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock Ethiopian investigated the claim and built a sequence of events likely to bolster this theory. Hancock says-and not the first to do it, that there is reason to believe that the Ark disappeared from Jerusalem long before 587 BC Nowhere in the Bible says that the Ark was taken by the Babylonians, which is strange, considering its religious importance. Several books written during the reign of Josiah (640 BC) suggest that probably disappeared by then. Hancock suggests that the Ark was taken from there during the reign of Manasseh (687-642 BC), a king horrifying religious leaders because they considered sacrilegious worshiped an idol in the temple of Solomon. The author indicates that some priests upset [with the practices of Manasseh] took the Ark of the kingdom. [...]
Hancock jumps gaps Ethiopian historical theory about it, as the evidence currently available suggests that Axum was founded several centuries after the reign of Solomon, and the arrival date of the Ark in the well-documented conversion to Catholicism of King Ezana, in the fourth century after Christ. [In the chapter on the history of Ethiopia, the guide tells the story that the traditional Ethiopian Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem, concebieron a son and the queen gave birth back in his kingdom and-son named Menelik kings. Several years later, Menelik returned to visit his father, learning the laws of Moses and ended up taking the Ark to Aksum. It would be the beginning of the Solomonic Dynasty in Ethiopia. Thus, very resumidico]. Hancock discovered that some priests Krikos Tana Monastery on Lake Tana, claim to have evidence that the Ark was on the island for 800 years before being transported to Axum. [...]
Hancock then discovered a large Jewish settlement and a temple built in the likeness of the original Solomon on Elephantine Island, near Aswan, on the Nile is generally accepted theory that the temple was built around the reign of Manasseh [687 - 642 BC], and the fact that some priests of the temple were written with colleagues in Jerusalem is well documented. Looks like there's priests performed ritual sacrifices similar to those of the Falasha [Ethiopian Jews], confirming that moved away from orthodox Judaism before the reign of Josiah [640 BC]. Moreover, the Egyptians destroyed the temple around 410 BC It is believed that the Jewish community of Elephantine Island have escaped from there, but no one knows where they went. Looks like they disappeared. Hancock, of course, suggests that they were to Ethiopia. It also ensures that this theory is consistent with the story told to him by an old priest he met in Israel Falasha, who rejected the theory of Makeda [the Queen of Sheba and her son Menelik] and claimed that his ancestors had lived in Egypt for several centuries from Israel. And that the Ark was carried with them on Lake Tana long before Axum Christians stolen.
As a non-historian, I do not know whether to take me seriously Hancock's book [...] central to the book, the ideas outlined here above-sound credible [...] My conclusion is that, if the facts are correct , Hancock has shown that it is possible that the Ark is in Axum [...] But I am just as prepared as any mortal expert on the subject. I hope that the Ark is in Ethiopia, but no money to play me so. The book is easy to read and the theme is exciting. I invite you to give you a copy and you judge for yourselves.
As persuasive as Hancock's arguments are Stuart Munro-Hay, who says that the Ark story does not appear in any of the stories about the conversion of Ezana, or any of the stories about the Nine Saints, or the conquest Yemen by King Kaleb (against a Jewish king, also). Not even in the Ethiopian stories about the end of the monaquía, when Queen Judith attacked the country or when the Zagwe came to power. In fact, the first reference to the Ark is in Ethiopia is Abu Salib, during the reign of Lalibela, about 1210 AD I agree that there Munro is rare [that was not mentioned before], if not anything else, if the Ethiopians believed then that the most powerful symbol of God was on his [then] capital. [...]
The holiest shrine in Ethiopia is the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum town, there Ethiopians say that is the true Ark of the Covenant of the people of Israel, and is mentioned in the Old Testament ...
The Ark of the covenant in the Old Testament Yahweh himself gave instructions to Moses to build the ark. These instructions were followed to the letter by Bezaleel and other "working men who had expertise Yahweh" who not only built the Holy Ark, but also worked on the development of the Tabernacle, the menorah, the costumes of the priests, the sacred table, the objects for which it was intended, etc.. When it was finished, and the tablets of the law within them, according to Exodus (40, 20), and Aaron's rod part of the outfit that she was saved, according to numbers (17, 10), the Ark began to occupy a prominent place in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, the portable temple of the Israelites during their exodus in search of the Promised Land, thus becoming a real talisman representing God's covenant with his people, when no one's material embodiment of the LORD. The Ark of the Covenant, was considered a representation of God's Throne of Heaven on Earth. According to tradition, after the death of Salvador the skies darkened and the earth trembled, crumbling the foundation of the cross and opening a crack to the Ark chamber. When the Roman centurion Longinus thrust the spear into Jesus' side, the last drops of blood were falling on the Mercy.

Axum is the oldest city in Ethiopia and probably the world. Legend has it that in this city is created by the inhabitants of the port when it was destroyed Adulis, born Melenik I, son of King Solomon and Princess of Saba. In fact, still remain the ruins of the palace of the Queen of Saba near which there is a lake where the queen supposedly bathed and where city residents collect water as the considered magical. Also interesting are the granite monoliths known as stelae Arabs techniques are built to the highest height reaches 34 meters and they all have a memorial. It further distinguishes the Church of St. Mary of Zion in the interior can not pass women since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. The interior retains the Ark of the Covenant, which according to tradition was brought to this chamber by Menelik I from the holy city of Jerusalem. If you have time we recommend a visit to the City Museum.

Axum, Ethiopia. The Queen of Sheba and the search of the ark ... Lost??

From the Bible to the Temple of Solomon, this chronicle takes us to Ethiopia, where, say the believers, is the Ark of the Covenant.

"They shall make an ark of acacia wood, whose length is two and a half cubits, its breadth a cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half. Overlay it with pure gold inside and out, and do about it a crown of gold round about. shall cast for it four rings of gold, and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side. shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark with them. " (Exodus, Chapter 25 10-15).

Such were some of the precise instructions given in the Old Testament Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant, which would keep the Tablets of the Law jealously guarded in the temple of Solomon, little is known of her after the destruction of the temple in 587 BC.

Steven Spielberg popularized the story of the Ark of the Covenant and its mythical powers in the film Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, in the eighties. The famous archaeologist finds the precious object in Egypt, but if the writer had studied more history should have located the finding in Ethiopia. The whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant may be unknown to the Western world, however, is the core of Ethiopian culture. Its inhabitants would cause huge surprise that the Ark look elsewhere other than the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, in front of which are as silent witnesses to the glorious past of the Kingdom, the famous obelisks or granite steles over 24 meters and 160 tons, now supported by cables. The trail that led Mussolini to Rome and has been recently restored, the largest, 33 meters, is now lying on the floor.

Despite being full of surprising places, Ethiopia is not a popular destination. Most people associate it with the 1984 famine, extreme poverty or the recent adoptions of children by famous actresses. Few know the history of that country that once was known as Abyssinia, Saba or Kingdom of Axum. But Ethiopia breaks all expectations.

Upon my arrival I was surprised that sealed entry date on my visa. No. There was a misprint: they are in 2002. Ethiopia is not governed by the common Gregorian calendar in the West since 1582, but still follows the Julian calendar, imposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, and his day does not start at midnight but at dawn, with six in the morning is the zero hour.

To get to Axum, Ethiopian Airlines has a flight from Addis Ababa with some scales. It is possible to drive but due to bad road conditions is complicated. While it is true that most of the signs are written in Amharic, Semitic language that is written with the same characters as the Ge'ez, a liturgical language of the Ethiopian Christianity and the Kingdom of Axum, the most important signs have English translation.

Axum is the second largest city of the Tigrai after Mekele, the capital. Little now remains of its former glories. Although Ethiopia is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa contains historical remains extended to the Mediterranean civilizations, cities are plunged into a profound underdevelopment. It is a relatively safe country, almost no one hears of assaults or kidnappings, but enemies here are much smaller and lethal: besides the anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, there is a worm called Onchocerca volvulus, which causes river blindness or blindness River, the second cause of blindness in the world, and Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera. Just a drop of water to produce wrong terror fortunately easy to get bottled water and swim in rivers has never been mandatory.

The taxi tumbles by dirt roads to the Ghion Hotel (which until recently was owned by the government). Next to it is a small lake (almost a puddle) and the driver says, proudly, that are the baths of the Queen of Sheba. According to oral tradition, was founded by Ethiopia Ethiopic, great-grandson of Noah (of the Ark, but the animals). Aksumai, his son, founded the city of Axum and the ruling dynasty ended with Queen Makeda, better known as Saba, glorified in the Old Testament when he narrates his legendary visit to King Solomon in the Book of Kings. (1 Kings chapter 1, 1-13).

The Kebre Negest, XIV century book supposedly written in Ge'ez, is a Coptic translation of a much older-book, narrates that Makeda, Queen of Sheba, Ethiopia and Yemen ruled for 31 years from Sabean, near the capital Axum. Impressed by the stories of his wisdom, traveled to Jerusalem to visit King Solomon taking substantial gifts. Apparently the monarchs maintained a romance and Queen Makeda result not only converted to Judaism but came back pregnant with Menelik I, who started a Solomonic dynasty that would rule almost without interruption until 1974, when Haile Selassie was overthrown by the communist revolution.

When Makeda converted to Judaism, she did it with his people. To date, the Ethiopian church places more emphasis on the Old Testament that other Christian churches and their faithful practice of Orthodox Judaism proper rites such as circumcision in men, the prohibition of eating pork and fish without scales and that women are prohibited from attending church during menstruation and must cover their hair with a scarf, as Orthodox Jewish women.

The Kebre Negest tells how at age 22 Menelik returned to Jerusalem to visit his father, King Solomon, who offered him to inherit the throne, offering who declined. Among those who accompanied Menelik was the eldest son of a high priest, who stole the Ark after dreaming that he should take it. Menelik enraged to learn of the theft, but then turn dreamed that it was the will of God and kept going. When King Solomon realized the theft thought of sending an army to chase his son, but he also dreamed that it was the will of God and the disappearance of the Ark kept secret. The version about Makeda and Solomon, in the tradition of the Orthodox Jewish Falashas of Ethiopia, is virtually identical to the Negest Kebre. Despite being a story rejected by Western historians, Ethiopians accept without hesitation. They are convinced that the original Ark was brought to Axum in the first millennium BC, and remaining there ever since.

The Ethiopian churches have several inputs: the south entrance for women and for men the north, the east can be used interchangeably. Built following a scheme inspired by the Temple of Solomon, have three parts: a choir, a sacred space where the Eucharist is distributed and a closed sanctuary accessible only to the priests. There, in that part called "holy of holies", every church keeps a Tabot, a replica of the Ark and its Tables of the Law, in a small wooden box. In the important religious days out in procession Tabot sacral santorum covered with fabric draped. No one seems to ask how, if according to the legend who see the Ark goes blind or dies, it is possible that all churches have a copy of it. My questions about causing trouble: for Ethiopians do with Ark is an article of faith.

The walk from the Ghion Hotel to the church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum is relatively short. The new cathedral, which allows entry to women, was built by Haile Selassie to commemorate the Jubilee in the fifties. No notable features in its architecture, few ferenghi (foreigners) would visit the church, but for the legend that says that in a chapel attached is the Ark of the Covenant, although it is impossible to approach him or look at her, only the official guardian has permitted entry and no other priest, including the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church, you can. Even the Emperor Haile Selassie could ever do.

When the priest guarding the Ark feels close his death, Debre Damo monastery select his successor. The monastery is practically inaccessible, the entrance is 40 meters high, and scale necessary to enter. Once the priest has been appointed official guardian, to the death of his predecessor travels to St. Mary of Zion, where it will remain within the gates that guard the chapel and will retain the title of guardian of the Ark for life. Confined only to that small space, spends his days praying. I asked him. It's not easy, but the guide comes over and asks if he can bless a cross as a pretext to know. Access, but you have to return in the evening. The guide informs me that there will be given a gift and it is strictly forbidden to take photographs. Buy crosses in Ethiopia is a very simple task, they sell them everywhere. The hard part is choosing them; varied and ornate designs, each has an important church processional cross different.

Finally it's time to return to the temple. On the way to the chapel I run several parishioners leaving a wedding. The groom is a deacon of the church, so that both grooms wear crowns. The guard is there, at one end of the fence. I take a photograph and guide chides me. We approached the gate and through the crosses give. The blessed. A sign I ask him to bless me. Smile and immediately proceeds to bathe in the holy water takes me by surprise and I have no time to close your eyes or mouth. I assume that if you are blessed not to have bugs. I do not know if the look of the guardian but the blessing touches me and I begin to mourn. The guard throws me more holy water.

Having traveled many miles to be separated by a wall a few feet from what could be the Ark of the Covenant, I understand it does not matter if the Queen of Sheba was really Ethiopian Haile Selassie or a descendant of King Solomon. Even if what is there is the Ark saved. What really matters is that Ethiopians think so, and that this will resolve your identity.

The Ark in history
In his book The Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock builds a plausible sequence of events Ethiopian defend the theory. Hancock suggests that there is strong evidence to believe that the Ark was not in Solomon's temple when it was destroyed and argues that a priest of the monastery of Tana Kirkos Island on Lake Tana, claims records state that the Ark was on that island 800 years before it was taken to Axum. Hanckok found a Jewish settlement and a miniature temple of Solomon's temple had been discovered on Elephantine Island in the Nile River There are documents proving that the priests of Elephantine Island corresponded with those of Jerusalem and sacrifice rituals observed Similar to the falasha. When the temple on Elephantine Island was destroyed by the Egyptians in 410 BC, it is known that the Jewish community left the island, but do not know where, and Hancock suggests that fled to Ethiopia carrying with them the Ark. To date the arrival of the Ark to Aksum in the time of King Ezana (fourth century AD) and his conversion to Catholicism (Ethiopia was the second country in the world to adopt the Catholic religion as official only after Armenia), Hancock resolves the discrepancy suggesting historic Axum was founded several centuries after the time of King Solomon.

The disclosure of the millennium. The Ark of the Covenant, according to the Bible, is the box that contained the Tablets of the Law of Moses with the Ten Commandments, and is, without doubt, the most coveted sacred object of those who have been searched by man in different places of the earth, from Africa to the Middle East. Surrounded by mysteries, is still one of the most legendary treasures of the Old Testament. For centuries, the Ark has fired the imagination of fans, mystics, adventurers, archaeologists and writers. Your search for history has been relentless, the Masons or the Templars themselves were close to finding it, but few are chosen to have seen her. It seems that the Ark is in Ethiopia and that humanity is about to attend his revelation: Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, Abuna Paulos, just to react to the relic and has said in a press conference, at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, which "has been" the Ark of the Covenant and that his condition is "good". Paulos believes that now is the moment of truth, he says he can not say where the Ark, but ensure that it is seen and as described in the Bible. According to Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic tradition, the Ark of the Covenant is kept in the Cathedral of Tsion Maryam, in the kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia, after it was stolen from Jerusalem by King Solomon the son of Emperor Menelik-stem I-, and taken to Axum, regarded as the Jerusalem of Ethiopia. In Axum has been guarded for centuries and even today, Orthodox monks of the city ...
Paulos said he has invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit Ethiopia and the holy city of Axum which to build a major museum, but has yet to decide whether it will be the place to keep the true Ark of the Covenant.
Will the next Pope to see the Ark, before the world attend his revelation?
And one last question, if indeed the relic has been all this time in Ethiopia,
How the world has not noticed it before? The answer must be sought again in the legend.
How does the Ark from Israel to Ethiopia
3000 years ago the Ark was brought to Jerusalem and worshiped as the most sacred of sacred objects for people of that time, the Ark meant the embodiment of God's presence on Earth. However, at some point in the distant past, the Ark disappeared, this gave rise to a quest that has inspired believers and fortune hunters for millennia. The Bible tells us that in Solomon and Sheba, Menelik I was born, his son stem and first king of Ethiopia. Years later, Menelik was sent to his father's house in Jerusalem to be educated, despite efforts to stay Solomon, Menelik returned to Ethiopia with the first son of the high priest. Tradition has it that carried the Ark and placed in a temple on the island of Elephantine near the Nile River, where it remained for 800 years. But what happened after those 800 years? Ethiopia was converted to Christianity and the Christian king arrived with his armies, took the Ark to Aksum and placed in the Church of St. Mary of Zion where this ever since. Interestingly, the Ark is the central point of worship and Christian worship in Ethiopia, each of the 20,000 churches of Ethiopia contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.
The mystery of the Ark of the Covenant will be revealed. Has begun, then the countdown to finally be revealed the mystery of the sacred Ark of the Covenant. In more than 200 references the Old Testament describes in detail the legendary Ark amazing powers, capable, among others, to release bursts of divine light whose rays can burn anyone. According to Jewish tradition, in it are the tablets of the Law, ie the Ten Commandments and among its materials can be found acacia wood. Built by Moses, outside is decorated with gold and was in possession of the Jewish people long ago, accompanied them on his past experiences, his battles and struggles against the Philistines and held in various places until the King David thought put in the fortress in Jerusalem.
But Solomon, David's son and successor, who finally put the Ark in the Temple of Jerusalem, which he had built. This story is intertwined with other historical and religious events. In fact, the Ark disappeared in 586 BC with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. During the reign of Solomon, Jerusalem became the center of political and religious life in the holy land. In the heart of Jerusalem once stood the temple built by Solomon to alvergar the Ark of the Covenant, the Ark remained in the Temple until sometime after 900 BC when, mysteriously disappeared. Since then not much mention was made of it in the Bible. Inexplicably the Ark disappeared and for more than 2000 years of research and exploration have been woven dozens of legends and theories surrounding the Lost Ark.
The search for the Ark of the Templars. For almost 1000 years, the Christian Crusades regained control of Jerusalem from the Muslims who had ruled the city from the seventh century. In 1119 AD, a group made up of nine French nobles, who called themselves the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, came to Jerusalem. They settled on the mountaintop, where once stood the temple of Solomon. The Knights claimed that his mission in the Holy Land was kept free of bandits along the way to Jerusalem. However, they never left the mountain-temple and, instead, began digging. Working from the outside of the mosque began excavating the natural cavern lying beneath the sacred stone. The cave, according to Islamic tradition, became known as the "Well of Souls", a passage leading to the bowels of the earth, and that led to a treasure guarded by demons Actually what was sought gentlemen's Ark Alliance. But never found. More recently, Israeli archaeologists discovered the tunnel they dug out the knights of the temple-mountain. The tunnel runs beneath the mountain, but due to restrictions imposed by the Muslim government, has never been explored. In 1989 a British journalist made a statement that shook the world. Legendary Lost Ark was not actually lost but safe, hidden in a church in Ethiopia which had been moved secretly over 1000 years ago. Now we have news of the existence of the Ark in Ethiopia.
Conclusion: If confirmed the authenticity of the relic could wait for any response from the various religious communities that have been involved with the Holy Ark in the past. Perhaps, we should evaluate the pros and cons of telling the truth, it may be preferable to remain the mystery surrounding the Ark of the Covenant and its enigmas are still not disclosed.
In northern Ethiopia heard countless times exposed to similar statements by Patriarch Abuna Paulos, appropriately enough the Ark of the Covenant is a relic venerated by the Ethiopians earnestly why churches keep in their most sacred enclosure a replica the Ark of the Covenant containing the Tabot. The Tabot that is saved in the Ethiopian church is a replica (wood or stone) of the Tables of the Law would be retained in the original St. Mary of Zion in Axum. We are in Axum, before the facade of the Church of Our Lady of Sion, place where tradition says and as is currently the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the temple a single person, a priest, a chosen one, a direct descendant of the Levites, jealously guards the treasure and not allow anyone to touch or see. My efforts to enter the sacred precinct and see this marvel are unsuccessful, and they tell me, but aspire to the tent in which rests the Ark and lifted the cloth with which to protect the Ark of furtive glances, my lack of faith prevented me see the precious treasure. But what is the origin of this fierce and unwavering conviction that leads to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians as a way to assert categorically that the Ark of the Covenant rests in Axum?
Recall that the Legend and history go hand in hand in this country, do not understand the one without the other and come to merge to create an unquestionable truth .... The epic of the Ethiopian people is contained in Kebre Negest (Glory of Kings), a book written in Gue'ez (ancient Ethiopian language) at the end of the thirteenth century by a priest of Axum. As stated in this great work, the origins of Ethiopian history, closely linked with the biblical world, would go back to the short but fruitful relationship that kept the Ethiopian Queen Makeda or Belkis (historical names to be known to the mythical queen Saba) and the wise King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba, would travel to Jerusalem full of valuable treasures (jewelry, precious stones, spices ...) looking for the wise advice of famed King Solomon, this honorable assured his guest that would require compensation only if they take some good of the people of Israel.
Solomon's cunning led to concoct a scheme by which the queen after a copious dinner spiced up thirsty in the middle of the night and drank the glass of water that had been maliciously placed next to his bed. The water was a precious commodity for the Israelites, the Queen and Solomon took the tribute claimed ..... The chronicles real that after this brief encounter the Queen of Sheba returned home with a son of Solomon in his gut. This child would be crowned the first king of the country by the name of Menelik and eventually became the founder of the dynasty Solomonid Ethiopia that has endured well into the twentieth century (the last representative of the dynasty would have been the emperor Haile Selassie who remained on the throne between the years 1931-1974). The young Menelik was sent to his father in order to receive appropriate training for a future king. Fulfilled the educational cycle, when Menelik was 19 years old, his father arranged for the return of this to the Ethiopian court. As a parting gift the Israelite monarch built a replica of the Ark of the Covenant to take her with him Menelik. For strange reasons, Menelik instead of taking the replica of the Ark, he managed, with the help of a character named Azariah, to replace the authentic relic of the copy that his father had given him. When the temple priests realized the deception, the party was too far .... On arrival of the Ark to Ethiopia Menelik was deposited in the temple of Axum, his mother (Queen of Sheba) abdicated in his favor and began the dynasty Solomonid that as mentioned above has the designs run the country until the last century . Point out a curious fact that the Ethiopian Constitution gathered in one of his articles that the emperor was descended "without interruption from the dynasty of Menelik I, son of the Queen of Ethiopia and Solomon of Israel."

TEFF
Some women screened in cereal grains ATBA village. The Teff, the grain arrived from Ethiopia. Teff is a cereal with great future as we will see in this article has some nutritional benefits off the charts that make it special. Source Ethiopia teff is the origin of this very small grain cereal, brown in color which has been cultivated for over 5000 years. One of their most important crops and used in your diet by this country of its grain flour is obtained, with which made the "ingera" a large tortilla type that accompanies the "wot" a typical dish of Ethiopia. Teff has begun to grow and market in other countries around the world due to its easy adaptation to arid and its rapid growth. Properties teff. High nutritional value, being far superior to other cereals such as wheat or barley, providing immediate and lasting life energy. Gluten-free cereal. What makes it ideal for diets with intolerance to wheat or gluten-free diets. Rich in carbohydrate degradation slow release or slow, making it very suitable for high-performance sportsmen have a quick and prolonged need for carbohydrates. Teff is also very convenient for people with type II diabetes by controlling blood glucose levels or for overweight people who want to control their weight, with a high satiating power and appetite regulator. High in fiber and highly digestible. Contains a high proportion of starch that can be ingested slowly, making it very suitable for stimulation of the natural flora of acting as if it were a probiotic. Rich in minerals free as Ca, Mg, Mn and K that help in quick recovery after physical exertion or mental exhaustion.
Stresses its calcium content recommended descaling process, osteoporosis and child growth. Source of eight essential amino acids, lysine highlighting, absent or scarce in some cereals such as wheat or barley. Lysine is very important, involved in the metabolic process of Calcium Calcium helping to pass from the bloodstream into the bone structure. Teff nutritional information (per 100 g. Flour)
Calories: 330 Kj Kcal/1399.
Protein: 13.3 g.
Carbohydrates: 65, 4 g.
Fat: 2.1 g.
Saturated: 0.7 g.
Monounsaturated Fat: 0.7 g.
Polyunsaturated 0.7 g.
Fiber: 7.9 g.
Calcium: 170 mg.
Potassium: 480 mg.
Iron: 5.4 mg.
Vit. C: 0.2 mg.
Manganese: 3.8 mg.
Copper: 0.7 g.
Zinc: 4.4 mg.
Magnesium: 186 mg.
Culinary use
Because of its versatility in the kitchen teff is widely used in recipes calling for baking or oven, as well as all kinds of soups, stews and desserts. Because of its size and high density, the proportion of use in developing recipes is much lower than other grains or flours that want to replace. Example: ½ cup of Teff, replace 1 cup sesame seeds. Teff flour when cooked becomes a gelatinous texture making it ideal for puddings body or dishes that require it.
Being a good thickener can be perfectly used in creams and sauces both sweet and savory. It can be sweetened with agave syrup or honey in the preparation of breads, biscuits, cookies, cakes, energy bars, etc..
Did you know ...?
In addition to providing useful Ethiopia to teff grain for food is also used straw, grain threshing obtained as fodder for cattle being higher than other cereal straw. Also teff straw used to enhance the clay or plaster used in the construction of buildings.
The starch obtained from teff, also be used in its natural cosmetics thickening power.

Garima Gospels

The Ethiopian Garima Gospels are the earliest illustrated manuscripts of Christianity. Experts placed the work in 1100 AD, but radiocarbon dating indicated that the documents were created on a date between 330 and 650 AD.
The monastic tradition says that the monk Abba Garima Gospels copied in a day, after founding the Garima Monastery in northern Ethiopia, I grew to Adwa. The two manuscripts are composed of 670 pages in total, 28 of which are illustrated. These include four portraits of evangelists and a drawing of the Temple of Solomon. The manuscripts are written in Ge'ez and have never left Ethiopia. Several experts have carefully considered the Gospels, because the goatskin cover is so fragile that it could break during the exam. A French expert on Ethiopian art was allowed to take two small samples for testing. The tests, combined with some stylistic analysis, suggest that the manuscripts are about 1,400 years old.
It is creating a museum in the hope of being able to protect the Gospels while allowing onlookers see them up close.

YEHA
Near the ruins of Yeha many Christians live in simple stone houses. Coffee and religion are elements that must never miss. Yeha is the country's oldest temple, its construction is dated between the sixth and seventh centuries BC. It was built during the time sabaeana prior to the Axumite, although not much is known about the civilization that built the temple. Recent archaeological investigations have shown that Yeha was an extensive settlement and excavations, still unfinished, found different types of objects such as incense burners, iron weapons and pottery utensils. His condition is quite good and the wonders of its construction is being raised with huge rectangular stone blocks that are attached to each other without using any mortar. In the sixteenth century was built inside the church a Christian church in the early twentieth century was replaced by another, which now stands next to the temple. This church is dedicated to Abune Aftse monk, one of the Nine Saints (The Nine Saints arrived in Ethiopia on the year 480 from Rome, Constantinople and Syria, ended with paganism in Ethiopia, founded numerous monasteries and translated into Ge'ez Bible ). Legend says that Abune Aftse was moved by an angel to Yeha while fleeing from persecution in different parts of Ethiopia. Yeha is situated in the northern mountainous section of the Tigray region. Although this small payment survives today as a people of the shack, was once a place of great pre-Axumite civilization. Believed to be Ethiopia's first capital, Yeha was first initially discovered in an archaeological excavation around a courtyard complex of 20 C. The early settlers of this area, the Sabeans, were the founders of the Axumite Kingdom. The temple of Yeha, with one side of its walls in ruin, is otherwise still intact and testifies to the advanced level of the people of those times. There is no trace of mortar used to build the temple of the inside of the walls had been believed were paved with gold. Archaeological excavations made in 1909, 1947 and 1973 respectively, reveals that this beautiful temple was destroyed by fire. Treasures such as gold rings, golden lions, stone-engraved inscriptions written in Sabean, stone-carved animals like Walya ibex (one of Ethiopia's endemic mammals), pottery works and others were uncovered. Some of these results are displayed in the museum of 4th-century church found in the same compound as the temple while others are displayed in the National Museum in Addis Ababa. The twelve underground formations and four other structures in the deep cave (which seems to lead to Yemen, Lalibela, Jerusalem and Axum), increase the importance of the area for what concerns architecture and history.

GUERALTA
We should have visited the church of Medhane Alem Kesho yesterday, but as we got to Mekele four hours late, we agreed to pay 10 euros extra Yohannes, up early today and visit this church, belonging to the group called takatisfi, I did not want miss at all. As agreed, we got up very early and drive for 45 km to the north, with beautiful scenery, to visit the church of Medhane Alem Kesho, easily accessible. The church is beautiful. The priests, being very soon, trades are saying that we are excited. Then show us the crosses engraved on the roofs with the help of torches. We again Wukro, had breakfast and we are preparing to spend the day in the region of Gheralta to see the group of churches known by that name. Gheralta is a region of extreme beauty, with spectacular red mountains and breathtaking scenery. We drive 15 km west and visited the church, very easy access, Atsbeha Abraha. We like a lot, especially his paintings, you are restoring an Italian team. From Abraha Atsbeha can visit the church of Yohannes Maequddi, I think with precious frescoes in very good condition. But you have to climb forty minutes to get to it and do not have time to visit. Later, I read about this church, which featured David Buxton: This church of St. John, is the Most Interesting I have seen and is memorable, too, for its means of access is narrow Which clef Between bulging walls of bare, glaring sandstone (This church of San Juan is the most interesting I've seen and it is worthy of mention because of its path, a narrow crack between bare walls and dazzling bulky sandstone). From Atsbeha Abraha, you can also visit the church of Debre Zion. I think the paintings are in very poor condition and have to climb a steep road fifty minutes. There we visited. We drive 5 km more and we reach the point where you have to start the ascent to visit the church of Maryam Korkor, one of the main churches of Tigray. We started the climb of one hour. We are above 2,000 meters, it's hot and the first part of the climb is very steep, rocky terrain and huge rocks, through a very narrow gorge between two infinite vertical walls, which leave little light penetrate. We went to an open spot at the top, but the effort has been great for me and I feel like I will pass out. I stand, Yohannes knows how to act in these cases, and after a while, we continued. Priests ahead. The church is beautiful, located in those places immense and untouched, so the effort absolutely worth it. Just behind, walking five minutes, is the gem of the church of Daniel Korkor, intimate and very precious. You have to back down. We eat something in silence, enjoying the magic of the moment. But the highlight of the trip, my trip to Ethiopia, we expect 6 km from here, in the church of Abuna Yemata Guh. We headed there. It's 4 in the afternoon when we reached the vicinity of the church. A group of people are making a path. Priests are warned, but are not. Yohannes sends a girl to look. We walked about fifteen minutes along a path not too difficult. We arrived at the foot of the rock of the mountains of Guh. Priests have arrived. We have to climb the mountain wall. We took off our shoes and socks, because you have to put the heels in the holes in the wall, which over the centuries have molded the priests to climb the church. I try to climb, but the distance between these holes is huge. My legs are too short. Furthermore, we must hold hands to wall cavities, but I have not enough strength in the arms for momentum. My partner up. Yohannes trying to help me up, but I can not let go of the hands, as I indicated, I panic. A priest wants to help, but not Yohannes yells. Yohannes I get loose from the rock and down me. He starts to climb. I beg you to let me try it again and then again says about me, but I know it will not. I am very sorry to stay down. Gebregiorgis wants to stay with me, but I refuse and upload. Then the priest who wanted to help before, beckons me if I want to climb. I say yes, and with your help from above and a child of about eleven holding me from below, I get to climb the first part, it's really impossible for me. Then the climb is difficult but not impossible. When I see my partner, who is resting on a flat, Yohannes says I told you that I was up and she had told him: "You do not know." We continued climbing. We got up. We have to go around the mountain with his back against the rock. They tell us not to look down, but I look, I have vertigo. We are at a height below terrible and extends a huge circus red mountains, a beauty hard to beat on our planet. We came to a little door. We crouched and entered the little church carpeted with grass. They tell us that we may sit priests. I think they do for us to rest after experienced tremendous stress, but as I sat on the floor and looking up, I understand the meaning of their indication and feel an intense emotion, seeing on the roof, in a circle, a delicate painting fifteenth century, in shades of green and brown, nine of the twelve apostles. The walls are also full of beautiful paintings, depicting scenes from the life of Abuna Yemata. Priests let us take their ancient prayer books. The descent, with the help of two priests, not easier, but more bearable. I know what awaits me. Later I read the story of Ivy Pearce, one of the few Westerners who first visited this place: I Climbed up some pretty stiff stuff and then came face with only footholds and handgrips at irregular intervals. This climb I could not manage as my arms Were Not long enough to reach the next handgrip to let my foot go to find the next foot grip to let my foot go to Firmly grasp with my small hands. I did not want to Take Risks, so gave it up and sat on a small ledge below (I went quite difficult and I met with a few holes to support the foot and hands grab at irregular intervals. This rise I could accomplish, given that my arms were not long enough to reach the next gap and grab his hand, so that I could let my foot off to find the next hole where to place my feet and hold on tightly with my small hands . was taking no chances, so I stopped and sat on a small ledge below). Meanwhile, Ruth Plant described the church as ... the most unusual church in the most unusual place, that place being majestic and awesome (... most unusual church in the most unusual, and this majestic and impressive) . We asked why the priests did not pocket any more to make it easier to climb, and we respond that there God has made them and that they can not touch what he has done. 22 km to the south, from where we are, you can visit the church of Abuna Gebre Mikael. I think his paintings are wonderful. Access is also very difficult, so it is the least visited. We do not see, because we have no time. Have had sufficient information before leaving, we would have stayed another day in Tigray to visit this church and that of Yohannes Maequddi. Further south, 15 km from the town of Abi Addi, visit Wukien Gebriel church, which I think is beautiful, and the church of Abba Yohannes, belonging to the group of churches called Tembien. I had told the director of the Office of Tourism Mekele had no road access from the side on which we are to these churches, but Yohannes tells us that there is and you also can visit beautiful monasteries in that area . The churches of Tigray leave a lasting impression on me. My advice is to spend as much time as possible for these churches, because they are unique and the place also. Although it is interesting that the South, I did not devote more than a week and would spend three or four days to Tigray. Go back to sleep Wukro. A few kilometers before, when getting dark, we found a small caravan of about thirty camels, donkeys with load and some men, who have come from the salt mines Danakil desert to sell their salt to Gheralta, and now turn back to the desert, to nine days from now. We left the car to see them. How I would have liked to go with them, live with them nine days. The image and the desire to have remained in my heart, maybe someday try. Maybe someday Tigray again, no time limit, and go with the men of his desert camels. We are not going to the Danakil desert. I did not have enough information. Yohannes says it is out of this world (Yohannes, I think, not easily excited). It is about making an extension of one week Wukro. Yohannes just organized this expedition for five French, who has accompanied. Also the guide Bereket, supra, organizes excursions to Danakil desert. Wilfred Thesiger describes his journey through the Danakil in the first chapter of the Arabian Sands (Ed. Peninsula). In travel writing, this book is one of the most extraordinary ever written. In it, he describes his journeys Thesiger, between 1946 and 1950, by the empty land, the vast desert area extending in the remote south of Arabia. I had the great fortune to read this book two years ago, thanks to the recommendation of a coworker interesting.
Addis Ababa
Despite its chaotic appearance, without apparent center, Addis Ababa is more interesting than many African capitals. As capital of the organization African Union, Addis Ababa also offers a good range of services and leisure. Your points of interest include the Natural Museum, home of interesting collections and archaeological sites, including the skeletons of Lucy and Selam, the oldest hominid found to date, the Ethnological Museum, with a sample of the different cultures that inhabit the country, the St. George's Cathedral, the oldest church in the city, where many kings were crowned; Entoto Hills, site of the ancient capital of the country and where you get beautiful views, the Merkato, one of the largest markets largest and busiest in Africa.
Bahir Dar
Undoubtedly one of the most welcoming cities of Ethiopia, with wide avenues outlined by rows of palm trees, Bahir Dar is situated on the shores of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia and the main source of the legendary Blue Nile, the two main reasons for sightseeing. Especially interesting are the visits to some of the 28 churches and monasteries located on the lake and its islands interior, built between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, which they hold important historical treasures such as murals, manuscripts and collections of artifacts. Meanwhile, Tissisat Falls, 45 meters high and located 30 km from the city, offering one of the most impressive natural spectacles in Africa.

Gondar
Located north of Lake Tana, Gondar's interest lies in its status as the ancient capital of the empire for over 200 years, and historical relics of that golden age. Its major landmark is the Gibbi Fasil, a walled royal enclosure where six preserved castles built by various emperors who ruled Gondar between 1636 and the nineteenth century. 2 km from the city center are the baths of King Fasilidas where, during the Timkat (Epiphany in Ethiopia), a nearby river is diverted to fill an area the size of a small pool where faithful and pilgrims immerse themselves in the cold water in a reenactment of Christ's baptism in the Jordan River. Moreover, the church of Debre Birhan, the only church that was saved from the Mahdist invasion of 1880, is known worldwide for the faces of your roof covering cherubs. Other interesting visits in Gondar are Mentowab castle ruins, and Mariam Qusquam Church, located on a hill on the outskirts of town.
Simien Mountains National Park
The Simien Mountains are contained in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, constituting one of the most spectacular mountain scenery in Africa and the world. National Park, in the list of World Heritage sites since 1979, contains 57 species of trees and varieties of herbaceous plants, 22 large mammals, 13 small mammals and about 180 species of birds. Among all species in the park, the mountain goat Walia, the Ethiopian wolf, Gelada baboon and are endemic. The park includes the highest peaks of the country, including Ras Dashen, the highest peak in Ethiopia and the fourth in Africa, with 4553 meters. The front door and administrative headquarters of the park is in the town of Debark, on the road linking Gondar and Axum. The best way to enjoy the park is taking time to get around on foot. The recommended season for hiking is from early September to late December, when the pastures are green and covered with flowers. From January to March is also recommended, although the heat is more intense and drier landscape. From June to late August hiking is not recommended due to the rains.
Axum
One of the oldest cities in Ethiopia, between 200 BC and 700 A.D. Axum was the capital of an empire that stretched across the Red Sea to the Arabian Peninsula, traded with India and China, had its own alphabet and built large engineering projects, including dams. Axum is known for its extraordinary granite obelisks and Mary Zion Church, which is believed to hold the remains of the original Ark of the Covenant. Other attractions include the tombs of the emperors Kaleb and Gebre Meskel and Mai-Shum, bathrooms of the Queen of Sheba. About 50 km east of Axum are the ruins of Yeha, capital of an empire before Axumite, whose greatest relic is its well preserved rock temple built for no less than 2500 years. About 30 km further east is the remote monastery of Debre Damo, notable for its stone church built in the sixth century and its peculiar situation on the top of a cliff, which necessitates the use of a rope to climb up (only Men are allowed).
Gheralta Mountains
In this region of mountains and canyons have been more than thirty churches attractive and unique carved on rock faces or in caves, the largest concentration of the country. It is a little visited area but extremely interesting and beautiful, best exploration base is the town of Hausein. At 50 miles is the village Hausein Wukro where the church is Atsbeha Abreha, recognized as the rock-carved church most impressive provincial Tigray. The church is dedicated to the famous twin kings of Axum, and Atsbeha Abreha, who introduced Christianity in Ethiopia in the fourth century.
Lalibela
Between the late twelfth and early thirteenth century, King Lalibela ordered the construction of a series of rock-hewn churches, going to call the place as "New Jerusalem." Today, Lalibela is deservedly recognized as one of the greatest wonders of the world. In the village there are 11 churches, arranged in two groups, north and south of the "River Jordan", a ravine in which for many years does not circulate water. The northern group of churches includes Bet Golgotha, Bet Mikael, Bet Mariam, Bet Meskel, Bet and Bet Medhane Alem Denagel, while the southern group includes Bete Emanuel, Bete Mercuries, Bete Abba Libanos and Bet Gabriel-Rufa'e. Isolated from the rest, Bet Giyorgis church is undoubtedly the most elegant and recognizable of all its plant with a Greek cross, and it is only accessible by a tunnel. Many other rock hewn churches are scattered around Lalibela, among which Asheton Mariam, perched on the side of a high mountain, about four hours by mule from town, and the monastery of Yemreheanna Christos, 40 miles away, built inside a huge cave, with alternating levels of wood and stone.
Danakil Depression
Located on the triangle formed by the Rift Valley in his approach to the Red Sea, the formidable Danakil Depression is recognized as one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Dallol, its lowest point at 130 meters below sea level, is known worldwide as the hottest place on Earth, between 1960 and 1966 there was an average annual temperature of 34 ° C. Depression was created when the crust collapsed and flooded the water, and then evaporate leaving vast salt flats, which are a very attractive place to visit, then come here Afar tribesmen, locals, to extract material forming caravans of camels. The visit to the area also has the added interest of being one of the most geologically active places on the planet, with volcanic cones continuously spewing lava in some places, as in the case of active lava lake of Erta Ale volcano. In Danakil there any tourist infrastructure and roads are extremely hard, so it is not recommended for everyone.
Harar
Heritage, Harar has very little to do with the rest of Ethiopia. The city has five walls built in the sixteenth century and its interior, barely 1 km ², is an intricate network of narrow streets, whitewashed houses and mosques on the very pleasant stroll. Muslim and Christian markets are worth a visit, as well as the House of Rimbaud, the French poet where he lived and where today a museum. Another attraction of the city is the man of the hyenas, a peculiar character that every night feeds these beasts with the spoils of the carnage.
Rift Valley
South of Addis Ababa, this spectacular failure is dotted with countless lakes that are of great interest. Lake Ziway is very attractive for bird watching, as the pelicans and hamerkop, while Lake Langano, a little further south, is the only one that offers the possibility of a swim free of bilharzia, a disease transmitted by a tiny worm. Very near this, contained in one national park, lakes and Shala Abiata are very different from each other. While the former is shallow and home to a variety of fish and birds, including flamingos, the second is contained in the crater of an extinct volcano and is deep and salty water. Still further south, Lake Awassa has the attraction of being on the side of the vibrant city of the same name, and is very popular with locals. Further south, the National Park Nechisar covers most of the lakes Abaya and Chamo, forming one of the sights of spectacular mountains and lakes of Africa. The park has a large variety and number of species, and is a must for any trip to the south of the country, being Arba Minch the best base for exploring the area.
Tribes of South Omo Valley
From Arba Minch begins a territory inhabited by tribes of southern Ethiopia, a land that is becoming wilder and hotter as you go down from the highland plateau. Among others, are of great interest to the village visits Chencha Dorze the tribe, whose circular houses and high ceilings are striking; Konso villages, protected by concentric walls and surrounded by elaborate terraced fields on the slopes of the hills; and Yabelo, no more attractive city but in the surrounding area offers a visit to the Borena tribe villages, wells and house singing of salt. Further south, the valley of the Omo is one of the most remote places and difficult to reach the continent, home to a dozen tribes warlike appearance and customs, and who keep their traditions and way of life without major alterations. From the town of Jinka usually visit the Mursi village of the Mursi tribe, including Mago National Park, while Turmi is the ideal base to visit the Hamer tribe villages, Karo, and Kangatan Dasenech. Between both locations, the people of Key Afer and Dimeka house interesting markets which attract many members of the tribes of the region, on Thursday and Saturday respectively. Although the network of paved roads in the area progresses at a rapid pace in this region you must travel in jeeps and cars with guide and driver to facilitate orientation and, above all, the interaction with the tribes. The journey to the Omo Valley is discouraged between the months of March and June.

Wukro, where it all began

For the tenth consecutive week, from Africa Look We want to start it with our recommendations Ethiopians. As already announced on Monday, this article will complete the review of the corners that you can not believe that miss when you traveling to Ethiopia, and for this occasion we wanted to present the people of Wukro where everything started today is Africa We Look. Wukro is very close to the border with Eritrea, so the population is well aware of the war, already finished, that was between the two countries. Wukro is a small town with a main street through which pass all the cars moving through the town, with a roundabout at one end to provide access to the resort if arriving from Mekele, the nearest main town Wukro, about 60 miles away. From this road, paved, multiple branches arise, as ways in which you can not miss on the insides of people. There are few tall buildings and most of the houses, made of mud and straw, consisting of one room of a little more than 5 square meters, where entire families live in the best of cases headed by the grandmother, though often the householder is the brother or sister. The houses are bounded by stone walls made by the same family living in them and the gateway is normally a metal plate that holds with ropes that support and allow make the move to open and close.
Set mountainous Gheralta
More than 85% of the population lives on agriculture Wukro, so the Social and Development Program, directed by Angel Olaran, has a dedicated infrastructure to training especially for working the land. During the visit to the town of Wukro can not pass up the opportunity to visit all the infrastructure that has the Basque missionary and churches in the mountain range of Gheralta, just outside the village. To visit any of the nearly 30 churches built between the fourteenth and sixteenth in the rocky walls of the area it is best to spend at least one whole day I rented a car approaching the different temples with a guide. If you have more days, you can also stay overnight at the hotel Gheralta Lodge, located in the area, where you can enjoy a privileged setting. Sometimes access to churches is quite affordable, as are the cases we Wukro Chirkos or Abreha Atsbeha, although there are other examples that call for increased effort to visitors, such as Abuna Yemata Guh or Korkor Mryam Debre, in which can admire frescoes dating from the centuries they were built.
Abreha Church Atsbeha, semi excavated in the rock.
The magnificent church of Abreha wa Atsebha is located 15 km. owest of Wuqro. The church is one of the best and biggest churches in addition to one of the oldest in the Tigray region, dedicated to the famous kings of Axum and brothers and Atsebha Abreha. The church is located in a red rock with a view of the valley and its facade painted white with two blue doors at the height under the arches. The church is decorated with paintings depicting biblical scenes century. It also has several valuable treasures, the most important is the cross of prayer, church officials said, belonged to the first bishop of Ethiopia, whose name was Abba Salama Church (Father of Peace).

Wukro
In Wukro, located in the region of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, where more than 35,000 people, who come to 100,000 if you add up the small towns and rural villages. The city offers few attractions for visitors, except for some of the most impressive churches carved into the rock that can be located in the vicinity. Little more, because Wukro the only sign of progress is a road, passing trucks usual goods, military vehicles and buses crammed with passengers, which crosses the city and divides his way to Adigrat Mekele (the two main cities of Tigray). Life goes on either side of this road, where businesses of all kinds are mixed with the few government offices, with the occasional hotel and leisure property and small businesses of all types. The movement of people, at all hours, day and night, is also constant. The surrounding streets, unpaved, almost without light and full of large potholes (converted into huge puddles in the rainy season), home to the humble dwellings. Built around a common courtyard, houses, usually one room in which to sleep, cooking and life is, share toilet and faucet with neighbors. And this is not the only thing that is shared. Solidarity is, among these people who have nothing and give everything, amazing.

Set aside dreams
The Tsegazab is one of those stories is solidarity. A teenager and after the death of his mother, sick with AIDS, has been forced to take over his family. Knowing that her four younger siblings depend him leave parked their dreams for their care. Maybe that's why her eyes, sad and worried, does not correspond with the wide smile that greets guests at his home in just 20 square meters, where they keep, like treasures, some family photos and Spanish to those who have known in recent years. Goitom, Meseret, Tadi and Yordanos are now, along with his older brother, a pineapple. The youngest of seven and four years, seem to have forgotten his sad story and play like other children, while others may get the memories refine over time. They all accept their responsibility for housework. Furthermore, Tsegazab and his brothers are not alone. Neither are another 2,500 orphaned children with similar stories (in Wukro, because of poverty, AIDS, tuberculosis or starvation, is increasing every day, almost unbelievable, the number of orphans and single-parent households, where the responsibility for child survival rests solely on the woman). Of these caregivers, at all hours, their neighbors, their aunt and a group of religious mission of St. Mary, led by Father Angel Olaran White, responsible for an impressive work for the poorest in this region of Ethiopia in a work more justice than solidarity. Manos Unidas years supports the work of Father Angel, is not limited only to care for orphaned children, but extends to the poorest sections of the city and its environs Wukro.

LALIBELA
Lalibela is a miracle. A village in the highlands of northern Ethiopia has one of the most captivating architectural ensembles in the world: a dozen rock-hewn churches in single blocks under ground level. But the amazing thing is that, although it is hard to imagine the artists of the ancient empire of Aksum, back in the seventh century, tons of volcanic stone chiseling until they sprout monolithic cathedrals in deep trenches. The real miracle is that Lalibela has remained incommunicado until a decade ago. The fascinating thing is that their temples are still active as the first day, welcoming immutable rites, prayers and chanting as developed at the time of Lalibela, let's clarify, not a lepidopteran or an aromatic herb but the name of a king that unfairly took the glory, as the resort was almost over when came to power in the twelfth century.
A chaplain discreet. The world had no news of Lalibela for centuries. The story first came to Europe by the mouth of the chaplain of the Embassy of Portugal in 1521, but was too discreet. Decided understatement in describing convinced that if reality conformed to lose credibility. The holy city of the Ethiopian Orthodox remained so immersed in their historic dream until mid-century, when researchers repaired it. The road was opened by the Italian architect and historian Monti Della Corte after a ride of 50 hours by mule. In 1965 he created the World Monuments Fund and choose the restoration of the churches of Lalibela to its inaugural project. The cibercuriosos can see three-dimensional scanning the body did last year: www.wmf.org/video/3d-laser-scanning-churches-lalibela-ethiopia. The churches were renovated, but only for contemplation of the privileged few who managed to break the isolation. Until a decade ago there was a paved road can withstand the destructive impulses of the rainy season. Then he built a small airport that welcomes 120 passengers per day, will fit on the twin-engine turboprop that makes the daily journey from Addis Ababa. To travel bottlenose, Lalibela has become an open secret. The trickle of visitors has awakened the perillanes. And while the Ethiopian currency is devalued to encourage exports and to encourage the economy to continue growing at double-digit pace (a luxury for one of the poorest countries on earth), in Lalibela inflation is absurd. A year ago the entrance to the monastery complex cost 200 birr. Now there are 350. A year ago, the guide was satisfied with 150 birr. Now nobody stretches for less than three times. The good news comes to calculate the change. One euro equals 25 birr (so the entry goes for 14 euros) and you can eat (food recognizable) for less than 4 euros and sleep for about 20 (even less) in hotels with water and electricity (if intermittent). With 100 birr can be taken in the cozy cabins-pub to 7 beers San Jorge (brand was once owned by Haile Selassie, like so much else) or 25 bunnas, exquisite Ethiopian coffee, the main cash crop of the country ahead of khat, the local drug (legal). But it is preferable to drink less beer and not skimp on the services of the guide, which we need to guide us through the labyrinthine hits at 12 churches carved into the tuff, many of them linked by twisted stranded underground passageways and tunnels plunged into total darkness.

 

Built by God
None is equal to another and between all compose an exceptional catalog of styles. They are carved from single blocks, not bricks, wood and mortar. "Made by God" says one of the priests to drive away any temptation to technical questions of the visitor. The best known are Biet Medhani Alem (Saviour of the World), the largest monolithic church in the world and whose walls pinkish stretch from a moat of 12 meters, and Biet Ghiorgis (San Jorge), a superb cross-shaped block, very recognizable from the air. Shrines in active they are, in their gloomy interiors colorful ceremonies take place in a language unintelligible even to the parishioners, Ge'ez, the official liturgical language, the ancient language of the empire of Aksum. Life in Lalibela has not changed in centuries. People still go to Mass every day wrapped in robes and turbans of white cotton to sing, pray and practice a mystical Aerobics singular. From the rock walls, decorated with emphatic simplicity, wide-eyed look at the dozens of saints, angels and brown-skinned virgin and naive expression painted by ancient artists. A carpet futilely tries to hide the irregularity troglodyte soil. Walking becomes even more complex when, in addition to the bumps, try to dodge the bare figures of devotees who spend hours lying dead in any part of that environment reconcentrada spirituality. But curiously, the presence of the tourist and his clumsy steps (barefoot, of course) not tout. And that surprises today as in 1881. That year, the third visitor of Lalibela have news that the German Gehrard Rohlfs, wrote: "Tolerance of those priests was so great that my servant Muslim translator could go everywhere with us." Christianity arrived in Ethiopia in the fourth century and survives today in its orthodox form. 60% of the population professes, and as in 1881, at the height tolerance Islam 30%. And that's another miracle.
LALIBELA
To admire the churches of Lalibela must not look up, but towards the feet. The largest church is Bet Medhane Alem, the largest of all, with 33 meters long by 25 meters wide and a lavish decor reminiscent of Greek temples. The Emmanuel Beth, a few hundred meters east of the previous one, is one of the most beautiful and carved all that surely served as a royal chapel. Over 700 years ago, an Ethiopian king decided to make their city the "Jerusalem" of the Orthodox Christian world. But instead of lifting large temples in the classical manner, came excavate the rock to enemies who harassed his kingdom not easily locate. The result was one of the wonders of the ancient world, a set of eleven churches divided into two groups, plus a separate twelfth of these, which were deconstructing a chisel blow, emptying the rock until an internal volume equal to that which would achieved in a classical temple, with a Greek cross, columns, capitals, arbours and altars, everything is just one piece.
The place is called Lalibela, is in an inaccessible corner of northern Ethiopia, near the border with Eritrea, in the middle of arid mountains, poor and naked verdean just during the rainy season. And is one of the places I have impacted my life traveler, one of those places that I would recommend to anyone visiting before getting old.
Bet Medhane Alem or "house ... Bet Medhane Alem or" House of the Redeemer of the World "is the highest and most extensive of all the churches of Lalibela. Fully excavated in the rock, with its 34 meters long by 24 meters wide, is attributed on merit the honor of being the largest monolithic church in the world. Built like a Greek temple is completely surrounded by pillars of square columns. On the stone block is perfectly guess all elements of the temple: The portico, ships, vaults and windows and the lavish decoration with reliefs form a unique set. church is completely surrounded by pillars (the canons of traditional Aksumite period), 18 inside and 18 abroad, which for some specialists implies a clear relationship with Hebrew numerology in which 18 would correspond to the numerical value of the word "jai" ("Life")
The church has no pictorial decoration interior decoration but based geometric reliefs of the lower windows, combined with alternating square windows and semicircular area is responsible for providing superior beauty inside the temple. In one corner, you can see three empty graves that according to tradition were excavated couple symbolically hold the bodies of the three biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To some historians, this temple would be a replica of the Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion, Aksum originally located and it was destroyed by the Muslims ...
The second holy city of Lalibela Ethiopia is situated north of the country, near Lake Tana and at the foot of Mount Abune Yosef. So much for fleeing Muslim pressure Coptic Christians of Egypt and established a kingdom with its capital in what was then called Roha. He later adopted the name of King Lalibela Maskal Gabra, who between the late twelfth and early thirteenth prompted the city to become the New Jerusalem.
Most characteristic of this place are the rock churches carved into the rock of Triassic red sandstone, fine-grained, and are part of the World Heritage since 1978. This is an incredible story of churches and chapels interconnected through a complex series of passages and galleries. Each church is excavated at different levels and with pipes, in order that in the rainy season the water flow and cause flooding. They have tanks and defensive elements.
They are called houses (bet or bieta vernacular) these oratorios that match two types of structures: some are rectangular with three ships, one central and two lateral, and others are Greek cross plan. The doors and windows, and carved anogostas the same stone, have tasteful arabesques. The interior was polychromed with Byzantine-style paintings, some of which can still be seen faintly.
The temples are grouped into two sets separated by the Jordan River. To the north are the houses of the Redeemer of the world, including Mary the Virgin, of Mount Sinai and Golgotha. To the south, the houses of the Envoy, San Mercury Libanous Abba, and the archangels. The of Bieta Ghiorghis (Casa de San Jorge), alone, is the most photographed of the whole.
As churches are carved vertically around a rock, you have to get access for a few tunnels in the base. On either side of the aisle that separates the temples were excavated bedrock various niches that were used as tombs, as the faithful wealthy paid for burial near the temples.
Most of these graves, now empty, serving as a place of prayer for monks and some also use them as a home. The monks, dressed in yellow robes within those habitats of square feet, offer a prayer that seems completely unreal. Inside every church we also see people sitting on the floor, praying. Everything here breathes faith. A faith hard as stone.

Lalibela, faith in stone
It's hard to find somewhere else to the depth of faith is so evident as in the ancient capital of Ethiopia, where are some of the most extraordinary churches that the world has known. These temples excavated in rock that, overall, today part of the great world heritage.
It is difficult to find an Ethiopian pilgrimage to Lalibela has not, or at least, that does not reflect on his face mixed feelings of joy, pride and devotion when someone mentions the name of the most sacred place in Ethiopia. It is also difficult to find somewhere else to the depth of faith is so evident as in this ancient capital, where are some of the most extraordinary churches that the world has known. I refer to the numerous temples carved into the rock, which, taken together, are now part of the great World Heritage Site.

One of the things that most impresses the traveler arriving first modern Ethiopia is the religious devotion that permeates-like water, almost unnoticed-whole social fabric. Do not forget that this country was the world's first Christian state after Armenia, and unswervingly follows the Orthodox rite since the fourth century. Although it was not until the twelfth century, when the emperor of ancient Roha, Lalibela, a fervent Christian who, according to legend, God himself appeared on several occasions, to undertake this massive project, to be completed in only twelve .

Slave labor??

Nobody knows how many thousands of men had to chop around the clock to carve so quickly and so beautifully eleven churches, divided into three distinct groups, which follow, downhill, following the profile of the casting lava in which they are embedded, but admire the intelligence and low cost of the entire project. Construction materials were provided in full, on site, by the very nature. A zero cost, naturally. At issue is whether labor or slavery came from was provided voluntarily by thousands of devotees turned to faith, the truth is that was also free. Waste materials not needed transportation. What a difference from the extravagance of the cathedrals that were built at the same time in the Catholic world!

After the death of Lalibela, the ancient Roha emperor took the name of both the exalted.

After the death of Lalibela, the ancient Roha, converted and forever in the spiritual capital of Ethiopia, took the name of the emperor that both magnified. Although today is a population that does not exceed twenty thousand inhabitants, yet still attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and a growing number of tourists eager to see its unique temples. In the first group of churches, alongside the original town, is the largest of all, and certainly the most deteriorated, Bet Medhane Alem (House of the Redeemer of the world), which is more like a Greek temple to a church Christian. Chiseled from a block of stone of 33 x 23 meters, with its roof blown big subject for exterior columns, looks formidable.

The interior, too magnificent, large village appears aligned with the exterior columns, ceilings spectacular and colorful carpets covering the bare ground. Said to be a replica of the original Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, the first built in the country in the fourth century, but which are no longer but the ruins. Both inside and outside of this temple, the most poignant and striking is the devotion with which dozens of priests perform their daily rituals and chants, while prostrating pilgrims not stop hugging and kissing columns walls reminiscent gestures plus Muslim and Jewish customs that proper Christian.

Anointing religious

But the favorite church most faithful is another. In a maze of passageways carved into the rock, and not always easy to navigate, you get to Bet Maryam (Mary's House), the oldest of all, and certainly, the most devotion among the faithful awake. Always full of priests, monks and devotees who sing, read, pray and prostrate themselves in every corner, but sadly often surprising contrast between religious anointing of devotees and tourists carefree triviality. The second group of churches is, as stated above, very close to the first, together. Most churches are rather small, gloomy and bare, except for carpets lining the floor and some sacred motif fabrics hanging from the walls, but they always have at least one priest absorbed in his Bible in a corner even if they have no more light than candles.

The interior of Bet Giorgis is certainly harmonious with its symmetrical arms and perfect guidance.

Many art experts consider the most impressive Bet Emmanuel and refined of the churches of Lalibela. Snugly seated in its cradle of stone, its design plays the Axumite style developed, rather classic cut, which is understandable if one considers that all churches seem to be replicas of existing temples, rather than original works of unknown artists. Special mention deserves the third group, consisting of a single church, Bet Giorgis (St. George's House), the last to be built, overlooking the valley, far below the other ten. Legend has it that when finalized and the works of the first two groups, St. George, the patron of the country, appeared very angry Emperor Lalibela, reproaching him that he had not spent any temple. Lalibela promised the best of all and chose to do an inclined platform that overlooks the magnificent valley.

There he dug a perfect rectangle, leaving a monolith in the middle cross-shaped symmetrical broad arms, which henceforth became known as Lalibela Cross. On the deck cruciform three reliefs appear Greek cross, one inside the other. Access to the bottom of the trench is a tunnel. For there who want to see them teach 'the notches horse hooves San Jorge made it one of his visits to inspect the works. " The interior of Bet Giorgis is certainly harmonious with its four symmetrical arms, perfect orientation and considerable height, but it is the view of the temple from the nearby hills that inspires strong feelings of peace, harmony, beauty and serenity. Particularly, at sunset, when the golden light of a dying sun enters his crib and stone walls painted pink and lemon.

ETHIOPIA A different Africa

Ethiopia is Africa, but especially Africa. It has characteristics of population, religion, history and culture very particular that distinguish it from the neighboring countries and that give a unique personality. Ethiopia is different and Ethiopians themselves are aware that they represent a special case in the whole continent.
The traveler should know that at least two Etiopías that have little to do with one another. The first is that which corresponds to the Christian north. And the other corresponding to the south, with many ethnic groups and African animist religion. In little resemblance both ends and almost nothing in common. Who must travel to Ethiopia from the idea that it is two 'separate trips'.
Besides a Christian population and one of animist traditions, throughout history it has developed a significant Muslim population that has settled mainly in eastern and central and southern Iraq. In any case, the north-south distinction / Christian-animist rather reflects a general reality.

Ethiopia is an extremely pleasant and hassle for the traveler. Of course, circumstances vary and should be reported in the official U.S. websites, foreign ministry English or French. As a precaution, it is advisable not to venture into areas near the borders of Somalia or Eritrea by the unstable situation that may affect these countries.
Ethiopian regions are normally visit on organized trips in groups and individually no problems other than those of any other country.
Gone famines and wars fought for years and destabilized the country. The traveler is welcome in a peaceful environment can circulate quietly located everywhere and hospital treatment in the population. The southern regions are more complicated to the extent that it falls within the tribal territory of a more 'primitive', customs more particular and less contact with the outside.
An issue affecting safety is the extreme climate of a region that is normally not included in travel. In isolated desert areas is essential to have local support to ensure adequate logistics.

In the north, taking pictures is no special problem. It is desirable to get permission from the person you want to photograph, orally or by gesture. Almost always the answer will be positive and appreciate the courtesy. Sometimes, after a 'no', a smile and a joke ends up turning into 'yes' initial refusal.
In the south, many communities have become customary to ask for money for being photographed or photographed leaving her family members. Some tribes consider cattle like family, which the photographer has to be clever if you do not want to claim much more than I had anticipated. If in the north is not customary to pay for photographing people in southern payment claim must be served, or at least assessed case by case. If the person claiming payment is armed with kalashnikov typical, the photographer will leave a note payable and maintain a good relationship with your model.

Ethiopia raises concern in those with a little less than catastrophic image of the country. The reality is very different. Or put another way, Ethiopia is very different realities. It has deserts, miserable and unpopulated regions, and also places the harshest climates on the planet. But these are not the destinations you are traveling normally.
The reality is that Ethiopia is a small power. It has a population of between 70 and 80 million people and is based, in large part, in the fertile region of the plateau. A large area of ??its territory is at a height of more than a thousand meters, with a rainfall often acceptable that allows up to two annual harvests. The land is cultivated with much care and the people live in more than 70% of agriculture. Many schools dot the landscape and serve a population massively schooled child.
Ethiopia is also the second African livestock. Cows, goats, sheep, horses, chickens ... are grazing on the fields in more or less large herds and bring a wealth important to the country. By tradition, neither Muslims nor Christians eat pork, so that this animal is not one of those travelers will find in the fields or in the menu of the restaurants.

But Ethiopia is not a rich country. And if not poorer because standing still maintains a traditional agricultural economy that provides access to a basic level of subsistence. Without capital to invest in fertilizers, seeds, irrigation, machinery ... agriculture is unproductive for the huge population it must feed. Nor communications are good. Nor blunts economic activity that drives the country into a rapid development.
The population lives in the countryside on the edge of poverty, but not in misery. Lives in traditional media, with very poor resources, but without losing the work modes and means that have traditionally held. Everything rests on manual labor.
Along the roads are always people carrying bundles of firewood or cereal, carrying sacks on her head, holding her back and shoulders subjects using a rope bundles, baskets holding open with various products ... Men and women go from one place to another, taking what they need. A long thin cane is part of the attire of many men in the field. They take over the shoulders and arms hanging from it when not carrying anything, but but it serves to support bags, tree branches or other bulk when they have to take him back.
No tractor or any machine you see in the field. Farmers plow using oxen yoke subjected to elemental. The plow is an iron spike attached to a wooden stick that oxen slight drag. Each pass is plowing a furrow and a large area is time and effort.
In general the plots are very small. The length varies by region, but families often get just enough-or slightly less than the just-for support.

The Blue Nile rises near Lake Tana. Flows into it and then flows into Sudan where it meets the White Nile. The water provided by the Blue Nile from Ethiopia account for about 80% of the flow of the Nile when it reaches the sea. Despite much water, Ethiopia is thirsty. An agreement signed between Egypt and Sudan in 1954 and blessed by the Western powers to Ethiopia prohibits use of the Nile water bearing and Egypt, whose life depends on the river, has announced that it would consider a case of war any violation of the agreement by Ethiopia.
The world has changed since the signing of the agreement, Ethiopia is a country aligned with the West, an ally of the U.S., and more powerful than it was when World War II ended. The injustice of the treaty is also evident and difficult to maintain.
A new dam will provide electricity Ethiopia today does not suffer blackouts and systematic in entire regions. And are opening channels with caution and tact to start watering the fields trying not to arouse resentment in Egypt or Sudan. This is a slow but vital for Ethiopia that diplomacy has to overcome obstacles and political weight that gives it being the headquarters of the African Union.

It is part of the national identity. It is clear that this sentence reflects a fact: the historical Ethiopia and structured by a tradition and a common culture is the North. Ethiopia is Christian and his troubled relationship with her, of course, in the past, the Muslim. Little role plays here the Ethiopian ethnic tribal communities and southern Africa whose roots refer to the interior.
Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He settled in the fourth century, and subject to the Patriarchate of Alexandria developed side Monophysite doctrine. That is, convinced that Jesus had a divine nature only against what was obvious to the Roman side was that Jesus Christ had simultaneously two natures, divine and human.
It seems that the Ethiopians did not have much part in this deviation. Simply being in a corner of the world attended the Council of Chalcedon and when they wanted to account were out of Catholic orthodoxy.
As they fought the Ethiopians themselves is to find Jewish roots to lift their monarchs none other than the descendants of Solomon category. The effort to legitimize the rule through a direct line with the Jewish people and was revered as a king of religion and state in which one partner was to base the nation aware of the Ethiopians.
Ethiopia is a second Israel, Ethiopia would have a second Jerusalem in Lalibela, Ethiopia would keep after a theft which intervened miraculous aid of heaven, the true Ark of the Covenant and, with all this, Ethiopia would be the preferred kingdom of God, the same So what was the Jewish people before the arrival of the Messiah.
The Ethiopian Church has remained until today a fierce moral and doctrinal authority over the population. Anchored in the past, influenced by the Byzantine world, maintains rites, traditions and customs of a feudal era in Ethiopia reached well into the twentieth century.
Little has been the inclination of the Ethiopian church to change. The same icons and frescoes were painted in churches in the thirteenth century are those that have been painted in churches built today. The same language-geez-that was used when an empire headed Axum is the one used in the prayers and chanting and nobody understands, and probably many of the monks involved in the cult.
The faithful do not go to 'hear' the mass. Go to 'touch' the church, outside of which remain for hours while the offices by last purity requirements that must be taken to enter the temples. Fasting is respected practically every other day during the year. The priests and monks fast more.
But being a member of the clergy has rewards in a poor country where the church is strong. The sacrifice to pray many times a day and at night, fasting and living very humbly, not a big price to pay when the rest of the population lives in the midst of extreme frugality when subsistence is assured under the under the protective mantle of the church.
Being church became an option rather than as economic or spiritual. And this contributed to the poor relationship that is established periodically with the Patriarch of Alexandria. The Ethiopian government wanted to take over his own church and the Patriarch wished to retain the power that was given in one of the councils that had gathered for hundreds of years. In this tug of war, attempts to solve the Patriarch's sedition leaving ordain bishops in Ethiopia. If there was no bishop, nor could ordain priests and the Ethiopian Church was losing force and eventually returned to the fold of the Patriarch obedient. From this was born a ruse that became habit. When was' Abuna 'ie bishop ordered the Ethiopian children who became deacons in their mothers' arms. Thus, the threat of closing the tap of appointment by the Patriarch Abuna was diluted to a school for children with life ahead much more than he had the authority of Alexandria and all the future to maintain the operation of the church. The church became a refuge for some of the people who saw it secured their livelihood.
Experts say further that Monophysitism not contribute to change. With more divine than human Messiah, everything is frozen by doctrine and by the presence of God outright. The loss robs humanity of Jesus Christ to men of initiative and with it the church itself that repeats and repeats formulas and gestures, many centuries ago, non-change.
Finally, the church is considered the bastion of independence. The Ethiopians are proud of not giving in to the attempts of the Church of Rome is returned to Catholic obedience. The Portuguese, who helped the Ethiopians in their struggle against Muslims, developed a missionary who was about to bear fruit. But the orthodox doctrine eventually prevailed and today is considered that resistance to domination of the church of Rome is part of a story that has made a real independence from Ethiopia pride and a sign of national identity.

Advantages and disadvantages
Ethiopia will appeal to those interested in seeing people, other than those we see in Europe, landscapes, some extraordinary monuments and those who feel the itch to step into a country with a long history, very unique and full of myths. Moreover, like, no doubt, to the nature lovers.
The Ethiopians' treatment the traveler is very good, even in places rarely visited. Many Ethiopians, especially young children speak English they learned in school and that is enough to be understood.

Hotels
However, hotels are often deficient. Those seeking similar levels of hotels elsewhere will be disappointed as soon leave Addis Ababa. Very often the best hotels are poorly maintained, the facilities in the rooms are run down and with a mediocre performance. Lights, faucets, bathtubs ... function can be broken and only half. Some initiatives want to remedy the situation by building new facilities, but the results still take a while to become visible.

Climate
The weather is good, with pleasant temperatures in the plateau region in the center. The nights are cool most of the year and even cold in winter, depending on the altitude. This same altitude causes heat to warm up much during the day.
The environment is healthy. The height sometimes forces (eg in the Simien mountains or even in Lalibela) to tread carefully when walking on slopes to prevent fatigue resulting from the lack of adaptation. But does not affect the ride comfort.
There are however regions, at lower levels, where the weather can be a serious drawback. The heat is very oppressive in the eastern territories, near Eritrea (Dankali depression) and Somalia (the Ogaden).
Rains are produced in the north between May and September. There may be a storm in April. In the south if any usually in April and October. In any case, the rains are not usually an impediment to travel, they are short-lived. Any time is good to visit Ethiopia.

How long?
Ethiopia is a large country. The distances are great. It is also a very diverse country. When considering visiting Ethiopia can be seen that there are two trips.
One of them is to go north on a circuit usually comprises, in addition to Addis Ababa, Bahar Dar, Gondar, Axum and Lalibela. This is the country where churches Christian tradition and ancient monuments are part of the highlights of the trip.
The other is the one that runs south, with a visit to Harar, the Muslim capital, and above all the domains of the ethnic roots and African cultures. The big attraction is the encounter with the tribes who maintain their traditional lifestyles, living grazing and some of them at risk of extinction in the near future.
Although the north is more 'urbanized' that southern reality is that the vast majority of the population lives in the countryside and the cities have a relatively lower compared to the more or less isolated hamlets and villages.
This fact is important when planning the trip. The visit is organized Christian north often resorting to the plane to jump from one city to another. In this case, between 8 and 10 days can be enough to take a tour of the place and visit the highlights.
But having so much life in the field, there is also reason to believe that the country meet and touch hands to move overland advised as far as possible. Of course, the car trips will be long, not so much by the distances as the road conditions that force to move without haste. But it is true that the life of the people, their activities, the cultivation of the fields, the bustle of people, the movement of the markets that are on the roads and a myriad of experiences that make travel part of the journey an alternative overland especially advisable.
If so, a distance of 11 to 13 days may be sufficient to visit the most important places, unhurried and stopping to enjoy the attractions that are in the way.

Clothes
A casual dress for travel voucher. Besides the typical shirts should bring some long-sleeved shirt, a lightweight fleece pants, socks and shoes comfortable for walking and sports. A thin waterproof always useful. To prevent insects, are desirable light-colored clothes. Although the peasants not unusual wear shorts, in many places it is not considered appropriate for both men and women wear. It is best to wear long trousers.
You must be a hat and sunglasses. And not bad flip-flops come for showers in hotels.

Malaria and insects in general
A good insect repellent is highly desirable for the trip. In churches and monasteries (Lalibela, Lake Tana ...) rugs usually contain fleas. To avoid this it is wise to put the sock over trousers and spray your feet (you have to enter the churches barefoot) with some repellent.
As for malaria, prevents high threat almost the entire northern region, including Addis Ababa. For most of the tours only in Bahar Dar, located below the 2,000 m, should take precautions. Regardless of prophylactic treatments, is a good measure spray exposed skin sites (arms, face, neck ...) with a strong repellent, especially at dawn, at sunset and at night. During most of the day with strong sun disappears danger. The light colored clothing and long sleeves are recommended.
The rainy season favors the emergence of mosquitoes. They must be extremely careful going to the Shirt and more intensive use of repellents. In the lowlands must seriously consider the risk of malaria and learn about how to prevent it.

Money
Far from Addis Ababa only in the biggest cities will be easy to find a bench to change money. In hotels may change frequently, but neither will that trust it too much. Probably the best change in the capital will be obtained so you should leave it with Ethiopian money. Euros are accepted as long as the dollars.
Should take dollars (20 in 2009) to pay for the visa on arrival at the airport in Addis Ababa. And when the bank will change hands in order a certain amount of tickets one bir (about 6 cents) to provide small amounts for tips or for a small gift if necessary.
Credit cards, outside the main establishments of the capital, have very little acceptance.

Gifts and donations ...
In Ethiopia there are kids everywhere. Show up and give reasonable English conversation. Sometimes they ask for a pen, but it is unusual that ask for money or insist on it. Sometimes asking for help to buy a ball for your team or a book for school assess the traveler without being overwhelmed.
In churches and monasteries sometimes expect a small contribution (a part of the input that is paid when a monument is recognized). And especially in Lalibela, priests accept photographed posing cross in hand, on the understanding that any photographer will bir in the basket of alms.
Of course, the waiters of hotels that charge and carry suitcases to and fro expect a tip to help improve a salary that surely is very modest.

Shopping
The markets are part of the life of peoples and cities. The traveler will encounter them, especially on Saturdays, when people go around them in large numbers. Populations have some great daily market. These markets are not made for tourists. He bought and sold them what people need to live: food, pans, fabrics, ornaments ... Although these local markets, anyone can come and mingle with people in them, without risk of being bothered or uncomfortable. Lost in the stalls or between the corridors as freeing who offer their goods on the same floor, it's fun and, in the middle of the animation, is an excellent opportunity to take the pulse of the village life.
In the markets themselves or outside, always modest-shops-offer attractive objects for travelers. The textile-weaving almost always from a very limited width-are of interest. It is often white fabric with a border on the ends simply a more elaborate color or used as tunic dress as Ethiopians. Other times colored fabrics are more complex.
There are also baskets, wood carvings, leather craft, pottery and 'jewels'. The jewels are usually cheap jewelry, but attractive, with forms and elements inspired by a long tradition. Almost all 'is silver'. And each one will touch you venture much silver is offered.
The famous Coptic tradition crosses in various sizes, shapes are beautiful and come in different models and bills. In many places, be wary if the seller says it is ancient crosses. (In general you have to be careful with all that is advertised as old). Silver coins of Maria Theresa of Austria-the-thalers circulated as currency in Ethiopia in the nineteenth century and became a motif, subject to a collar. The rural women still wear, and sold as jewelry, but be wary of imitations.
Books, paintings on leather, devotional objects ... are appreciated by travelers. And finally, leather shields, swords, spearheads, small ivory can still be found. (Ivories and hippo skins, for example, have serious restrictions for export). Those seeking quality-original objects, silver or gold find in the shops in Addis Ababa to the top hotels, for example, in the Hilton, or jewelry.
At the beginning of the Churchill Road stores will find a wide variety of typical objects of the country.

The days and hours
The Ethiopian calendar takes about a week late compared to ours. And is 13 months. Twelve of them are in the last thirty days and has only five days.
This feature affects little the traveler in case of airline flights and booking number will be governed by the calendar smoothly 'latino'. As it must be aware of is in the hours, because sometimes they miss the Ethiopians talk about his own schedule when dealing with a foreigner.
In the traditional schedule Ethiopian day starts at 6 am, which is about when the sun rises. At this time, start to count the hours, so that our 7 are to them 1, 2 our 8 is ... And the hours start from 0 again when the sun sets, again at 6 pm, so that the 7 pm back to being the one and so on.

Not be forgotten ...

Although the temperature in many places can be tempered, height plays into the sun. Bring a hat and no evil shall come a sunscreen.
The risk of mosquito bites in places located within 2,000 m of the occasional flea, especially in visits to churches, Bring an energetic repellent to skin and, if possible, in areas where there may be cases of malaria, a repellent for clothing.
The sunglasses are very convenient. A cord to fasten the neck when using the camera will be very helpful. And a hard case to avoid the displeasure of breakage during a drive in the middle of nowhere, too.
You should not drink more water than bottled. An aluminum bottle to carry in your backpack and fill with excess water from the hotel's food will be quite useful.
Although advertised a new dam that will give the country enough electricity, blackouts are common yet. Advisable to bring a flashlight or a 'front' for reading in bed or to function in the hotel when no generators.
Many places in Ethiopia are above two thousand meters. Those who intend to hike, surely appreciate a folding aluminum cane.
The rains are usually dispersed-in-wet months and short-lived. Should wear a raincoat extremely thin and light that can be left in the backpack when needed.
It is not proper for the trip, but the fact is that sometimes when children ask travelers a pen. Bring some of them serve to make a gift.

LALIBELA
In the twelfth century, Prince Lalibela was built north of the current Ethiopian territory a dozen churches carved in stone. All connected by underground passages that pierce the volcanic rocks of the parched and aisladísima population that bears the name of the monarch, stands as an unexpected and wonderful miracle of Christianity in this unknown corner of the African continent. Indeed, the misty mountains of central Ethiopia hiding a big secret. Its villages, nearly 3000 feet high, are inaccessible during the rainy season and dry the rest of the year. This, of course, contributed to their isolation for centuries. So hard to believe our eyes when the ground suddenly collapses, carved by skilled hands, and appear the lines of a cross-shaped temple.
Lalibela constructs are unmatched in the world. And is that the religious complex of Lalibela, composed of twelve churches, defies classification because they simply do not fit any known architectural movement. Scholars are responsible for the completion point of the dozen major churches of Lalibela and the others found in the mountains surrounding assumed had no less than a century of work. Either way, the result of all that effort bore fruit punch eleven churches carved into the rock chisel and divided into two groups, and a final withdrawal of the other, adorned with columns, capitals, altars and other elements as if were a classical temple.
The larger the Beta Madani Alem, and the best known, the Beta Gyorgios. Tour the architectural and alone justifies a trip to Ethiopia. When one enters the depths of the pit Gyorgios Beta church, for example, is well aware that these unique buildings were hidden in the eyes of the enemies. In addition, discrete passages and tunnels connect each temple with the neighbor.
But let's do a little history: Christianity in this region dates back to the fourth century. During the next three, the Ethiopian Church remained in touch with Alexandria. When Egypt embraced Islam (seventh century), Ethiopia was isolated for more than 800 years of their primary connection to the world of Christianity. So, tradition was developed separately from the rest of the world. Still maintains very unique traditions: every January 19, the people of Lalibela celebrate the birth of the Messiah. The priests are then dressed in their finery and the tabot borne in procession, the Ark of the Covenant, where they keep the Tables of the Law is the feast of Timkat. Tradition has it that King Menelik, son of the legendary Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, the subtracted from Jerusalem for fear of falling into the hands Saracen. It is said that the mythical kingdom of Saba was in Ethiopia.
Most visitors to Lalibela travel the whole afternoon and are amazed at such fantastic work. But first thing in the morning, between six and seven, when the churches of Lalibela come to life and join the faithful in a trance-driven morning sounds of drums and voices of the singers repeated, while the priests bless the people from the surrounding area.

Maybe that's why Lalibela UNESCO included in its list of World Heritage, because it is alive, it still practiced rituals that began over 800 years ago.
Church of St. George in Lalibela. The church of St. George is the main eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, a holy city for Christians Ethiopians in northern Ethiopia. These churches are a World Heritage Site according to UNESCO and represent the city of Jerusalem (with its stable of Bethlehem, the door to Paradise ...). Pose the greater pilgrimage center of Ethiopia and legend has it that the construction helped the Angels, who worked at night. If the visit to this set of cave churches, let the end of St. George, you will not regret because the final effect can not be more striking. I saw her for the first time at sunset with few tourists around, sublime would be an adjective bombastic, but successful. Bete Georgis is located away from other churches of Lalibela and as you approach, it goes unnoticed, not rise above the level of the land. When you close and suddenly appears before your eyes in the middle of the hill. It is as if a child had made a figure of a cross with a mold in the sand, with the difference that it is not soft beach sand, but reddish basalt rock. The show is impressive up close, without going into the entrance of the temple, as you can see much of the church, with some sloping walls and vivid contrast of red rock with bright green moss growing on the walls. Beautiful and incredible effort that had to involve the construction of a building and in the time of King Lalibela (XIII).
The churches of Lalibela were carved into the rock on the 1200s depicting the Holy Land as a response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims. Four of the churches are exempt, the others are attached to the bedrock, either a wall or the ceiling. The latter are also amazing, in all, the show is wonderful architecture, a work of ants, namely the 40,000 workers who were responsible for emptying the thousands of cubic meters to expose the churches. Although there are those who believe that such work, by its size and beauty, could only have been created by angels. The churches of Lalibela are divided into two main groups, separated by the channel Yordanos, representing the Jordan River, but linked by tunnels, passages and trenches. The site was designed to correspond to its topography a symbolic representation of the Holy Land. Just cross the threshold of any of the temples, tour the rock-cut passages that connect each other, admire the beauty of their Bibles, liturgical chants hear the rhythmic back in time to be the day that is the year. The floors are still covered with straw mats and rough. Furniture is sparse. The light, dim. And the priests emerge from the shadows to give his blessing to the newcomer with a large cross in his hand bearing. We are in the most unknown and ignored Africa. We are in Lalibela, the "black Jerusalem." Of all the Churches, the masterpiece, the icon of Ethiopia, is the wonderful Bet Giyorgis (Church of St. George), who is said to have been built after the visit to the Holy Lalibela made riding his white steed. Bet Giyorgis stands apart from other churches, carved into a rocky slope from which you can see perfectly his stony origin. It comes down to it by a passage carved into the rock, which crosses two portals to eventually lead to the patio that surrounds the church. As throughout Ethiopia, the monks greet visitors with "salam" (Arabic: peace) and immediately open the doors of the church so that they can admire its treasures: gold crosses beautiful solid forms, old paintings of saints Orthodox and some rock-cut sculptures, part of the columns or walls.
The mysterious underground churches, a monolithic monuments of stone extracted in Lalibela, have been used continuously by the Orthodox priests from the XII and XII, when this remote mountain town was still the capital of the dynasty Zagwe important. The purpose of every church has eluded the work of modern historians: each building is unique in its size, shape and execution, are carved on the stone accurately (some say thousands of workers) and some of them lavishly decorated. Legend has it that at least one of the churches was built by angels in one day, another legend says that the churches born of a dream of King Zagwe. Eleven churches were dug beneath the surface of the earth, and in some cases to reach 10 meters high. They are surrounded by courtyards and trenches that connect to each other, forming a maze of tunnels and passageways between a building and the next. Churches are treasures in Ethiopia as the great pyramids are in Egypt. The city of Lalibela, located between steep cliffs over 2,500 meters, is a true delight.
A woman kisses cuz of a priest in the Church of Nakuto Lab, outside Lalibela. At 2400 meters altitude in the Ethiopian highlands, north of Addis Ababa, this small town is monastic (Ethiopia's second city considered holy), known in ancient times as Roha and changed his name after being conquered in the XIII century by King Lalibela Maskal Gebra, who "baptized" as Lalibela. It was, by order of the king, when he began the construction of these unique churches, unique because they are dug in the earth, a fact that makes them unique and they deserved in 1979, recognition as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The city of Lalibela in southern Ethiopia is known for his twelve Christian churches carved into the rock 800 years ago. The most amazing is Bieta Giyorgis, in the picture, a monumental monolith 12 meters high, intricately carved in stone and cross.
The priest of the church of Nakuto Lab, outside Lalibela shows his cross. It is unknown why were excavated soil or built, high construction of the building difficulty and increased costs. Shuffle several theories, one of the most accepted is that were raised during the height of Christian pilgrimage, with Jerusalem as the center axis or principal thereof, along the way, pilgrims faced many dangers and churches were exposed to vandalism and looting, perhaps this is the reason why the king decided to bury Lalibela churches, protecting them from possible looting. Little is also known of the construction process, plans have not been found, do not know the name of the architects, the duration of the work, the methodology employed, the use of scaffolding or ramps ..., what is known is the hard work it took to build the churches, where the "workers" performed work like excavation of a mine is involved. The architecture of the Lalibela has eleven churches carved into the stone floor of reddish volcanic. First he built a moat around the stony mass or space that would occupy the future church, this pit would work from the outside to the builders and today provides access to temples by stairs or ramps. Its symbolism is the separation of the sacred from the profane space.
The churches of Lalibela carved in stone are the main attraction of Ethiopia and amaze its tourists. The small town of Lalibela is considered one of the holiest sites of Ethiopia and Orthodox pilgrims from around the country gather here, so it's still a very interesting place for those who are not lovers of history and architecture. Where else could one feel transported to an ancient empire?
Lalibela is a historical treasure located in the highlands of northern Ethiopia where tourism grows and focus the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian pilgrims. The ancient churches in Lalibela are still used for religious ceremonies Ethiopian Orthodox.
Landmarks and activities in Lalibela: stone churches, Orthodox heritage and trekking
The 12 monolithic churches of Lalibela are often described as the eighth wonder of the world and were carved into rocks, so that their roofs are at ground level. They were built between the 12th and 13th centuries D.C. The churches of Lalibela have been and continue to be used by generations of Ethiopian Orthodox priests and home to many sacred artifacts. Today is also the main attraction of Lalibela, with guides who teach tourism office history and current uses of these churches. The largest and most famous of these churches is Medhane Alem Bete, also known as the largest monolithic church in the world. The churches also house an old prison and monastery famous tombs.
Other attractions. Lalibela not have many other attractions besides the churches. Although you should make a visit to the local market for shopping and good memories of the place before leaving. You can also visit the park of donkeys, which has beautiful views of the city. If you want to explore the area more deeply, you can trek around Lalibela, in the beautiful mountainous region surrounded by Ethiopian interesting fauna.
Lalibela, directions and tips
The climate in Lalibela is mountainous, with cool nights and warm days under the African sun. The rainy season is between June and September. The best time to visit Lalibela is in spring or autumn.
Directions. You can travel to Lalibela from Addis Ababa on internal flights or bus. There is a small local airport in Lalibela. No public transportation in Lalibela, but can be rented minibuses, taxis and horse-drawn carriages at the airport. If you plan to spend more time here, you can consider hiring a car in Lalibela and stroll through the region.
And security services. There are several hotels in Lalibela, inns and varying styles and prices. Lalibela restaurants cater to tourists and pilgrims. Lalibela is a small city that is safe and walkable. People in the tourism industry speak English.
Lalibela - "the eighth wonder of the world."
After the fall of the kingdom of Axum in the twelfth century, the kings of the dynasty Zagwe moved to Lalibela, Axum on Southeast. Here built a thriving and populous capital of medieval dynasties. Lalibela, was formerly known as Roha until the late twelfth century, then changed the name in honor of King Lalibela. The city was founded as the New Jerusalem were hard times for Christians and pilgrimages to Jerusalem real, very dangerous, so the idea of ??building a city of worship and pilgrimage in African territory. The churches of Lalibela Any person fall in love. These temples were carved entirely out of volcanic rock Tufu red.
It seems unreal, created by something or someone from "another world". We have more places in the world with temples carved into rock, but only here can admire MPlayer interior space, facades and exterior walls. The churches of Lalibela are not well known, but with all the security they deserve to be called "the eighth wonder of the world" or "the Petra of Africa", declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Something very peculiar is that all buildings are carved into rock, but exist as a separate piece of it. Over time Lalibela was losing its importance, today is a small town at the foot of the mountain Abuna Josef and is virtually invisible. The true value of Lalibela discovered only in its proximity.
The greatest enthusiasm inspires the church of St. George in a cross, but the biggest is Beth Emanuel with 33 meters long, 23 meters wide and a height of 12 metreslong is believed that it was the private church of the royal family. Besides magnificent Lalibela churches, is full of underground corridors, like a different city, dark and silent. King Lalibela in city construction employed 40,000 workers, the architect Sidi Meskel arrived from distant India. Legend has it that "humans working for the day, but the work continued throughout the night and with double force, with the help of the angels. Why rock carved buildings, the answer is not known until today. One theory claims that in this way the city because of its location (invisible and difficult Access) was well protected against an enemy invasion.

DIRECTIONS
The best is to fly from Addis Ababa to Bahar Dar populations or Gondar. There will have to hire the services of a taxi or a guide.

WHEN TO GO
The best season is from October to January. Specifically, Lalibela is doubly interesting to travel at Christmas and during the festival of Timkat (January 19).

WHAT TO SEE
You have to spend one day a southeastern group churches Gebriel-Rufael Bet, Bet Abba Libanos, Bet Lehem, Bet Emanuel, Bet Mercuries; yotro northeastern group: Bet Medhane Alem, Bet Maryam, Bet Danaghel, Meskal Bet, Bet Mikael, and Bet Golgotha??.
We must also visit the church Bet Giorgios, the most beautiful of all, carved in the form of a Greek cross.

WHERE TO SLEEP
There are few hotels and are very simple. The better the Roha Hotel

(www.ghionhotel.com.et/roha.htm)

MORE INFORMATION
Ethiopian Embassy: Tel +47 838 395

CAPTIONS:

CL0219: The National Museum is home to Lucy (Dinqnesh), probably the most famous skeleton of a hominid in the world. Found in 1974 in Hadar, on the banks of the Awash, was named Australopithecus Afariensis, has more than three million years, the oldest hominid found to date. The museum also has an interesting collection of archaeological artifacts and history of Ethiopia, as well as objects of art and culture.
CL0225: The National Museum The National Museum is home to Lucy (Dinqnesh), probably the most famous skeleton of a hominid in the world. Found in 1974 at Hadar in the banks of the Awash, was named Australopithecus Afariensis, has more than three million years, the oldest hominid found to date. The museum also has an interesting collection of archaeological artifacts and history of Ethiopia, as well as objects of art and culture.
CL0252: The National Museum of Ethiopia. Representation in wax recent leaders of the country. The National Museum is home to Lucy (Dinqnesh), probably the most famous skeleton of a hominid in the world. Found in 1974 at Hadar in the banks of the Awash, was named Australopithecus Afariensis, has more than three million years, the oldest hominid found to date. The museum also has an interesting collection of archaeological artifacts and history of Ethiopia, as well as objects of art and culture.
CL0326: An old Fiat walking the streets of Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa). The largest city in Ethiopia with a population of 3,384,569 inhabitants, according to the census of 2008.2 It is also the capital of the African Union and its predecessor, the Organization of African Unity Designated Africana.3 city and state while according to Ethiopian territorial organization in Addis Ababa is home to more than 80 nationalities and languages, besides Christians, Muslims and Jews. In it lies the University of Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa is located at an altitude of 2300 meters and is a prairie grassland. It is located at the foot of Mount Entoto. From its lowest point, around Bole International Airport, to 2,326 meters above sea level in the southern periphery, the city rises to over 3,000 meters in the Entoto Mountains to the north.
CL0355: Portrait of a teenager near the airport in Bahir Dar. From Bahir Dar port can be accessed by boat to several historic churches and monasteries located on the lake, in its various islands. Most of them dating from the XVII century and is characterized by polychromatic richness of its walls, some of these churches have museums illuminated manuscripts, crowns and royal robes and ecclesiastical. Even today, some of these islands monasteries are forbidden to women, but others can be visited by both sexes. Furthermore, since the city depart tourist services to Niagara Blue Nile (Abay River), located about 30 km south of the city, and constitute one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
CL0466: Portrait of an Ethiopian in the path between Bahir Dar and Blue Nile Falls. Bahir Dar offers a small daily market and weekly one larger. How much further with some hotels built around the lake, and various music clubs. In turn, is home to Bahir Dar University, founded in 2000 on the basis of former Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1963. Currently Bahir Dar University has four faculties: Education, Engineering, Economics and Business and Law. The city is equipped with an airport with paved runways, identified by ICAO code and IATA HABD BJR. Ethiopian airlines operate scheduled flights between Bahir Dar and the capital as well as with Gondar to the northwest. The city is also connected through roads and bus routes to Addis Ababa and Gondar.
CL0487: Interior of the car on the way from Bahir Dar and Blue Nile Falls. The earliest historical records we have of this area date from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, Jesuit missionaries settlement on the banks of Lake Tana. Even today it remains a building of this period near the central square, which is associated with Pedro Páez, Spanish Jesuit missionary sent to Ethiopia in 1589. During the Italian invasion of 1935-1936, an Italian military column mobilized from Gondar occupied the city on April 23, 1937. During World War II, between 21 and 22 October 1940 the city was bombed by the Royal Air Force, and although the action did little damage served as impetus for the Ethiopian resistance. After months of skirmishing, the Italian garrison under the command of Colonel Torelli empezaró to evacuate the city on April 27, 1941. One of the palaces of Emperor Haile Selassie is located near the city, which is why the Emperor considered moving the national capital to the city, which did not materialize.
CL0588: Portrait of a mother with her son at the foot of the Blue Nile Falls (Abay River). The Blue Nile Falls, Tis Abay AMARINA language (smoke water), are one of those mythical places with a dream when you read stories about early explorers, discoverers .. Precisely, Pedro Paez, a alcarreño born in 1564 in a village of Madrid today, was the first European "modern" was here. He was a Jesuit missionary, who became an expert on indigenous languages ??and culture, and was lucky enough to know the source of the Blue Nile in 1613. As he and his colleagues have, it seems that little has changed in these places ... Well, now there is a dam to generate electricity just above the falls, and has made his wealth dwindle, why not ... But the mule path continues along the river that runs between Abbai volcanic rocks hard ... It is the path that we started, and after crossing the bridge to the Portuguese rose, and continued walking with Amhara cruzándonos going to market with their goods (butter, honey ...), until, after climbing a small hill, we began to hear the sound of water, the sound of waterfalls, magical ... Gradually raising the volume until we can spot one of them, we move forward and there are, which was long thought were the sources of the Blue Nile (located nearby, on Lake Tana, while not cataracts. ..), magnificent brown because we are in the rainy season and dragging mud and slime, but equally beautiful and splendid.
CL0619: Tis Isat, the Blue Nile Falls. In the vast and beautiful Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile, the great branch which flows back in Sudan on the White Nile, the great Nile which runs through Egypt and the Mediterranean will die. The great Nile crocodiles which was inhabited by huge, and crossed by the pharaohs and priests worshiping the sun god, Ra, and the entire pantheon beneath his wings. Discover the source of the Blue Nile (Abay River in Ethiopia) was one of the big goals of the early explorers. One of those mysteries, along with the White Nile, which brought many heads. And long been confused with cataracts that sit a few miles beyond the right place (the falls are about 30 km from Bahir Dar).
CL0648: Portrait of an Ethiopian in the area at the foot of the Blue Nile Falls (Abay River). A few years ago, the Ethiopian government inaugurated a hydroelectric plant that uses the gradient of the cataracts of the Nile water is diverted just before jumping into a turbine and produces 750 megawatts of electricity, not much, but enough to bring light and energy lead north of the country. Even left over for export. Before its construction, waterfalls covering a total of 400 meters of frontage. But now 85% of the flow is diverted through the canal to produce electricity. Only between 10 and 15% still falling for the falls. And that, in dry season, it shows. The natives called Tis Isat cataract, the steaming water, because the whole area was enveloped in a cloud of vaporized water visible from miles away. At his feet grew a rainforest with parrots, monkeys and hundreds of species.
CL0813: Some local boat cross the Abay River near the Blue Nile Falls. The Blue Nile Falls is a waterfall on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. They are known as Tis Abay in Amharic, translated, means "smoking water" They are situated on the upper course of the river, about 30 km downstream from the town of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana. The falls are considered one of the best known tourist attractions of Ethiopia. The falls are estimated between 37 and 45 meters high, consisting of four streams that originally varied from a thread in the dry season of more than 400 meters wide in the rainy season. Regulation of Lake Tana now reduces the variation somewhat, and since 2003 a hydroelectric station has taken much of the flow of the falls except during the rainy season. The Blue Nile Falls have isolated the ecology of Lake Tana ecology from the rest of the Nile, and this isolation has played a role in the evolution of endemic fauna of the lake.
CL0859: A typical Ethiopian buses crammed with people and everything that can be transported. From our point of view is the best way to experience the country, but we must say it is quite hard, mainly because the routes are endless (for example, in the northern circuit comprising two tours are travel days). Buses are always out around 6 or 7 h. morning and circulate normally never beyond 18 h. because it avoids night driving. For long journeys faithfully follow the ceremony advise bus: first of all it is convenient to buy the ticket the day before (up to 18 h.), Although the seats are not numbered and even sold more seats than they actually are. For this reason you should go to the bus station at 5 in the morning, to enter the premises of the station before the Ethiopians do so (the access door is closed until 5'30 h. Foreigners but are allowed to enter before that time), go to the assigned bus (ticket usually indicates the number of bus) and stand in front of the door and wait for the open and allow access to the bus (sometimes we come immediately, with the Bus still empty, and choose the seat you want). Yes we got to the station just as the doors opened or after this time we will have little chance of getting a seat, and in any case we can not choose the site. To get an idea of ??what usually happens in Ethiopian bus station when the doors open imagine opening doors of the English Court the first day of sales. No compassion whatsoever grandparents, women with children, and everyone in general, sets out on a mad dash to get a spot. Ethiopia is one of the few African countries where people are not allowed to stand or sit in the aisle of the bus, and this is usually respected because no roads policing to enforce the law. Therefore, everyone who travels on the bus must have a seat. On long journeys usually stop at least for breakfast and lunch (up to 20-30 minutes). In two-day trips to the end of the first day in a village intermediate driver's convenience, where we find somewhere to sleep. It's not too difficult to find a hotel, but we must be aware that they are very basic. Ethiopian buses are not too comfortable, especially after a few hours away. Also, for some strange reason, the Ethiopians are very reluctant to open the windows, but the heat and / or odor inside the bus are suffocating. This, coupled with the high and winding paths, makes some passengers often dizzy (hence it is common to see them sniffing a lemon for much of the trip to try to avoid dizziness).
CL0881: Rural setting next to the entrance to the path leading to the Blue Nile Falls. Some donkeys tied to a post with the watchful eye of a girl who seems possessed. The Nile on its journey to the sea from Uganda and Kenya share what has been called as the White Nile from Ethiopia and what has been called as the Blue Nile. These two channels come together in the city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital to cross the desert heading to Egypt through Nubia region where it reaches its peak, there you are immersed in the world of pharaonic pyramids, sarcophagi, as the temples of Abu Simbel and the crossing where large cities like Luxor and Cairo Nile finally come to the mythical city of Alexandria where it will mix with the Mediterranean through a vast delta. It is also a river in the past and who have lived, but unfortunately not always peacefully, the major religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They have also left their mark along the magnificent river. They emphasize the core Christian Cairo, the great library that Christians gathered in Alexandria, the desert as the birthplace of monasticism and asceticism, the Coptic monasteries ...

CL0895: Ethiopian mothers all day carry their children in this type of carrier. Sometimes the simplest things prove to be the most sophisticated. So I think after watching Mursi women carry their babies. These African, like many other women in the world, taking their children constantly in arms, tied to his body with a cloth as a sling. In this way the babies are part of the daily life of their mothers, in each and every day activities. As you can see in the pictures, not only brought in the fabric that makes carrier, but also take the opportunity to feed them with the breast whenever the baby needs it. So from small babies feel integrated in all areas: from preparing food, to preparing festive events. It also calls attention to the Mursi vanity (both men and women). It is a vanity so extreme that some designers have been inspired ornaments intheir their collections, but hey that's another story.
CL0909: Two couples cosmopolitan upper class Ethiopians demonstrate that modernity has also come to these African lands. Ethiopia is the third fastest growing economy in the world, after China and India, with an average of 11% annually over the past five years. "The process of transformation and growth, which began a decade ago, is now an undeniable reality and you can see up on the street, since Ethiopia is one of the African countries where most rapidly growing middle class," says David J . Mülchi, Ethiopia's honorary consul in Spain, the equivalent of ambassador since there is no Ethiopian Embassy in Spain.

CL1188: Portrait of an elder in Kebran Gabriel Monastery on Lake Tana. Kebran Gabriel, the monastery near Bahar Dar, is a major tourist attraction for male visitors, as it is one of the places where women are banned. Originally established in the fourteenth century and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Iyasy me, is a modest building, but with a different impressive cathedral. Ura Kidane Mehret is populair another attraction that is open to women. Located on the peninsula of Zeghe, the design of the monastery dates from the same period as that of the one at Kebran Gabriel, but a building is more decorative, arched over with huge wooden ceiling and frescoed inside full color depicting scenes of biblical tradition and history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

CL1265: Canoas Canoas papyrus to papyrus together on Lake Tana. In Woito are built the famous papyrus canoes, are also found in the Palace Bezawit and a local market. Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana; previously written as Dambea Tsana or) is the largest lake in Ethiopia, source of the Blue Nile. The lake is located in the highlands northwest of the country, to 1,840 meters, and is about 84 km long and 66 km wide. The maximum depth is 15 m and covers an area of ??2,156 km ². The lake receives its water from rivers Reb, Gumara, Lesser Abay, Kilti and Magech. The lake is about thirty islands and islets, whose number varies according to the level of the lake has dropped about two meters in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a sixteenth century Portuguese missionary), the lake was 21 islands, seven or eight of which had monasteries on them "formerly large, but now much reduced." When Robert Bruce visited the area in the late eighteenth century, seated left that locals had 45 inhabited islands, but he believed that there were only eleven. A newer geographer mentions 37 islands, of which 19 have and have had monasteries or churches. In monasteries isolated from these islands were buried the remains of Ethiopian emperors. On the island of Tana Cherqos there was a rock in which, according to tradition, the Virgin Mary rested on her way back from Egypt, is also said to Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia would be buried in Tana Cherqos. Amlak Yekuno body was buried in the monastery of San Esteban, in the Isle Dagger, Dagger also contains the tombs of the emperors Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other major islands of the lake are Dek Island and Meshralia. It is thought that monasteries were built on earlier religious sites and include Debre Maryam and Dega Estefanos fourteenth century Narga Selassie, Tana Cherkos (where according to Ethiopian tradition would have been the Ark of the Covenant), and Ura Kidane Mecet nineteenth century. There is a ferry service that connects Bahir Dar with Gorgora through Dek Island and several villages on the edge of the sea.
CL1345: Portrait of a young woman selling souvenirs near the debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana. This lake is the largest Ethiopian lakes with 85 km long, 65 wide and a depth of approximately 14 meters. Dot the lake over 37 islands and its shores are Gorgora peninsulas, and Zeghe Mendabba (the closest and most visited for its proximity to the city). Obviously, visiting monasteries that are located within the lake, is the most important reason, but also for nature lovers and especially for ornithologists as they will have the opportunity to see storks, herons, eagles, parrots and so to 823 of which 16 species are endemic to Ethiopia, also sometimes can see crocodiles and hippos but I will say that I have not noticed anything. The islands are home to more than 20 Christian monasteries in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and some treasured works of art, manuscripts, relics and impressive paintings. What I like least is that many of them are allowed only to men. The lake transport is effected in small motor boats can be rented at the piers and negotiate the price according to the monasteries to visit. It is also common to observe the fishermen sail their craft boats made of papyrus leaves called "tankwas" whose design may have more than a thousand years old.

CL1377: Inside the debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana fresh as you can see this. Magnificent frescoes. The monasteries of Lake are among the best preserved. Have been declared a World Heritage Site. The Church of Maria or Debre Maryam is within walking distance of the monastery of Gabriel, another island in Lake Tana and near the beginning of where the lake becomes the Blue Nile. This river is crossed by boats made of papyrus (tankwas), especially for pescadores.La Church owes its name because it is assumed that the Virgin Mary here step (a big if). This fresh filled with lots of color, although not cool properly paintings such as they are glued to muros.Estas igleias, monasteries and islands of Lake Tana give a special charm.

CL1412: Women selling souvenirs near the debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana. The islands of Lake Tana monasteries s house. XIII and XIV, still inhabited by monks and nuns (apart, of course), which follow a secluded life, and never better, monastic ... surprised by the thinness of some of them, which are maintained with a handful of grain a day and some more! Were dundados by early Christian hermits who sought a place to leave the underworld, and there are still approaching the pilgrims, especially dates. One of the prettiest is the Ura Kidane Mihret also the most frequented by tourists. A half an hour walk through the woods leads to it, a circular building, typical example of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, made of mud mortar and thatched conical, preserved its fresh manuscripts, ecclesiastical objects, crowns and royal garments of various emperors of s. XIV .... One of these monks agreed to let us take pictures while reading one of his "incunabula", a manuscript of s. XIII or XIV. Yes, there are books kept for museum, still in use! When he decided that enough was enough, with a slight gesture, but serious and full of authority, dismissed us.

CL1460: A girl collects water from a nearby well to take home next to debram Maryam monastery on Lake Tana. There are 37 islands on the surface of Lake Tana, of which, 20 house churches and monasteries of immense historical and cultural value. These churches, which are decorated with beautiful paintings, in addition to give cobi jo countless treasures. Because of their isolation, are often used to store art treasures and religious relics from all over the country. Access to some of these churches is restricted to women, although they can reach the shores of the island, not allowed to move beyond. However, women do have access to the churches of the peninsula and the nearby church Zeghne of Ura Kidane Mehret, and also Narga Sellassie. Kebre Gabriel: He is known for the magnificent manuscript of the four Gospels which is believed to date from the late fourteenth or early fifteenth. Ura Kidane Mehret: It is much more decorative and contains a conical thatched roof. It is painted with biblical scenes. Estifanos Dagger: It is considered as one of the most sacred islands of Lake Tana and according to legend was the temporary hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant. On this island is the church of San Stefano, which houses the "Blessed Virgin", painted around 1434. The real historical interest lies in the ark, where the window sides coffins, containing the mummified remains of ancient emperors of Ethiopia. Tana Cherkos: This former monastery is located on the western shore of Lake Tana. According to legend, it was here that St. Mary jo ba a wall rested during their flight to Egypt, and remained for three months and ten days. The monks say they have owned a necklace of his, who was allowed to leave. It is also said that the monastery was sacred to the Jews. Menelik I and other noble Jews, who after fleeing from King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant to the monastery and did build a temple on this, that is decorated with precious stones. Six hundred years later, the Ark was carried Aksum.

CL1616: A priest sits majestically with his cross in front of the Monastery of Birgida Maryam on one of the islands of Lake Tana. Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia is the source of the Blue Nile which begins its long journey to Khartoum and on to the Mediterranean. The 37 islands that are scattered over the surface of the churches and monastries wrap fascinating lake, some of which have histories dating back to the thirteenth century. However, it should be noted that most of the religious houses are not open to women. The most interesting islands are: Birgida Mariam, Dega Estefanous, DEK, Narga, Tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasiledes, Kebran and Debre Maryam. Kebran Gabriel is the principal monastery can be visited by male tourists from Bahar Dar with its impressive Cathedral-like building first built at the end of the 17th century. Estephanos Dega, which is also closed to women, is on an island in the lake, and is reached by a very steep and winding path. Although the church is relatively new (only hundred years), contains a Madonna painted in the fifteenth century. However, the Treasury of the monastery is a prime attraction with the remains of several emperors, their costumes and jewelry.

CL1645: A woman stands next to Birgida Maryam Monastery in one of the islands of Lake Tana. Located in the west of the country and more than two thousand square kilometers, Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia and a sacred place since time immemorial. Bushy islands stand in the distance, green upholstered to the peaks, forests conceal some of the most important monasteries and churches of the Ethiopian rite, many with more than seven hundred years old. In this lake, says one of many legends, first came the Ark of the Covenant, when a small Jewish community fleeing persecution in Egypt transported from Aswan, upriver through the Blue Nile, until the great lake. On the island of Tana Kirkos, continues the legend, the ark remained hidden for eight years until he was transferred to the city of Axum, where it is believed that still rests in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, guarded by an old priest and blind.

CL1677: Interior of a restaurant. Men kill times with an old TV. The injera is the typical dish found in any restaurant, bar, and in every house. The Ethiopian injera bread is. It has a very distinctive sour taste and special. It is made with teff flour (teff is a local cereal-grain gluten-very small, it is very difficult to find outside of Ethiopia). The injera is shaped like a large French crêpe. Plate is used as where foods are placed and pinching pieces is used for spoon feeding mode. In Ethiopia is baked on clay plates placed over the fire but at home we will do with an iron skillet or larger than we.

CL1756: Interior of the Church of Debre Sina Maryam, circular. The murals in Debre Sina Maaryam are considered the most complex and richer colors that have been in the region of Tana. Local tradition states that are medieval, but it's likely to be undertaken at the beginning of period gondar under the patronage of a name, Melako Tawit, represented in a mural, and older sister of Emperor Fasilidas.
CL1786: Patio outside the Church of Debre Sina Maryam. Flowers rampant and a local boy is wearing the shirt of FC. Barcelona. Gorgora, immediately adjacent to the camp, also has plenty of cultural attractions. It has a church dating from 1334 (rebuilt in 1608) which has beautiful frescos Copts. A few kilometers from the site are the ruins of a 17th century palace and cathedral of Susenios Emperor. From the ruins has a beautiful view across Lake Tana. The base camp is on the banks of Lake Tana, a natural lake fed by a multitude of rivers and streams in the northern highlands. The lake has 37 islands, twenty of which have churches of the 16th and 17th centuries and monasteries. They are still in use and many of them can be seen. The nature around Lake Tana is also overwhelming. The lake itself is known for its abundance of bird species. Along the coast and on islands in the lake's ancient trees where many species of birds, such as weavers, born offspring and their offspring. The lake also attracts any number of water birds like fish eagles, ibis, storks, herons, pelicans and kingfishers silver. Besides birds, the lake is home to hippos, hyenas, antelopes, baboons Nile lizards, and many other species.

CL1875: Gondar. Castle of the Fasilidas. Most know little Spanish in Ethiopia. In the center of Gondar is the Royal Enclosure or Fasil Ghebbi, declared a World Heritage Site in 1979. The walled area has six stone castles, Portuguese style inspired Axum or Indian influences. Some are great, others more modest, there are more and less luxurious, worst and best preserved. The castle is the largest Fasilidas, the founding emperor of Gondar. Successive presidents were also build your own castle not to be outdone and also other agencies like to file a building, cages for lions, stables, banquet ... Within the set are preserved three churches.

CL1910: Gondar, the Simien mountains feet, was founded by Fasilidas in s. XVII, and was a political, administrative, commercial, religious and cultural center for over 250 years. Its decline as a result of intrigues and dynastic struggles, worsened when Tewodoros II moved the seat of the imperial government to Debre Tabor, 100 km southeast. Later, the city was sacked by the Mahdist Sudanese during the s. XIXI, and finally occupied by Italian fascist troops in World War II. Some buildings were damaged by the bombing of the Royal Air Force during the liberation campaign.

CL2112: A priest makes drumming inside Debre Birhan Selassie Church (also called the Cherubim. Just outside the town of Gondar is the Debre Birhan Selassie church known for its murals, is in a hill above the town, with beautifully painted walls that have many religious stories. If you look up the eighty heads are winged Ethiopian cherubs smiling, each with a slightly different expression. ceiling is the most famous of Ethiopia.

CL2147: A priest at the door of the church Debre Berhan Selassie. According to legend, when the end of the nineteenth century Sudanese dervishes tried to destroy this church, a swarm of bees chased them from the place, chasing angry until the dervishes were forced to abandon their attempt. Debre Berhan Selassie Church is an intimate crammed Ethiopian art. Lives of saints, martyrs and lore are disputing the walls while dozens of winged cherubs look back at the visitor from the ceiling.

CL2158: outside wall of the church Debre Berhan Selassie. Along with about 11 castles and outbuildings, the seventeenth-century church of Debre Birhan Selassie is the only one that has survived the repeated destruction of Gondar at the hands of the Dervishes (Egyptian-Sudanese), the Italians and the British.
His main interest is not so much the building itself but the magnificent paintings that are in it, both on the walls and the ceiling. Especially the latter, decorated with paintings of 80 cherubim faces looking in all directions, is surely one of the most typical of Ethiopia and reproduced on postcards and souvenirs.

CL2284: Baths of Fasilidas. Crossing an old wooden gate in a friendly dozing old man who apparently is the "guardian" of all, after a brief chat we entered the premises, before our eyes has a small building "Gondarino style" which highlights a pair of two-storey towers at the foot of the building opens a pond or "pool" of about 3,000 square meters, are the famous baths of Emperor Fasilidas. The trees present in the room, aware of the beauty of the place merges with the stone wall surrounding the pond achieving a magical symbiosis. Admiring this environment it is not surprising that some time, every January 19 is celebrated in this site come the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, known locally as Timkat. (On this feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan) For the occasion, the pond is filled with water from a nearby river, which as we discussed is an arduous task that can take several hours. On the appointed day the faithful, carefully dressed crowd around the "pool" where they attend the Liturgy, which never misses a copy of the Ark of the Covenant wrapped in a cloth. The highlight of the celebration is when the faithful are immersed in the pool to renew their baptismal promises and purify his soul, the crowd is such that all attendees can immerse themselves in the sacred waters. After the ceremony, the purifying water is returned to its roots and now Fasilides baths deserts, the echo of the chants of the faithful will fade with the passage of time ... the trees in the pond back up again erected in silent and almost only witnesses such beauty and solitude.

CL2295: The town of Gondar is situated 400 km north Addis Ababa, and was the capital of Ethiopia between 1632 and 1855. Great center of culture and learning, the city has retained many vestiges of its imperial past. Discover Fasilidas baths in which believers are baptized, Selassie church and its frescoes and the ruins of castles and palaces of breathtaking beauty, the result of crossbreeding European architectural and native

CL2308: Gondar is one of the most beautiful in the world. Not only for its impressive Royal Palace, its Fasilidas Baths (joint entry, 100 birr) and their many beautiful and strange-for us-churches-including the Gabriel-chaired by its huge crosses and striking symbolism, but by the idiosyncrasies of its streets and its people. Everything oozes everyday environment and genuine, in its purest form.
CL2315: Gas station in the downtown streets of Gondar. Gondar is a city in a valley between several mountains, is called the Camelot of Africa and is having a medieval very beautiful and quite well preserved. This city was the capital of Ethiopia for many years and claims to be very touristy.
CL2375: Interior of one of the oldest houses in the city of Gondar. Gondar is a city that despite its tourism potential perceive as very impoverished, but do not know if it corresponds to the reality of the global nature of the area. Many inhabitants emigrated to America and from there send money to their families. This, along with tourism that attracts the royal enclosure, allowing the city to have an extra ticket and currency of its population does not live as the limit. The people are lovely and the Goha hotel is passable, especially its location. As always, do not expect a lot of people who have few resources, this is not the purpose of our trip.
CL2503: Exterior of one of the oldest houses in the city of Gondar. Gondar castles full of imperial city of the ancient emperors, also in a city founded by the emperor moderna.Gondar Sagad or Fasilidas Alam in 1635 and was the last bastion of the Italian occupation, retired here when the British occupied Addis Ababa. It is surrounded by mountains and from one of them there are spectacular views of the ciudad.Recorimos several downtown streets and had tea with cardamom that is yummy. It is quite a sight to sit in some of its cafes and watch life pass before you.
CL2524: Portrait outside one of the oldest houses in the city of Gondar. In the Amhara region in Ethiopia, Gondar city is famous for its medieval castles and churches that were built by the emperors between 1635 and 1855 years. Until the sixteenth century, the Emperors of Ethiopia lived a nomadic life, moving from place to place within the territory that reigned, with his family, courtiers and royal guards, were set up in tents with the consequent problem that caused rains. Thus, to shelter from inclement weather, the ancient Ethiopian emperors decide to build a shelter, giving rise to a medieval, walled with spectacular castles that were for decades the capital of the kingdom of Ethiopia, the magnificent castles of Gondar .
CL2575: Small church outside Gondar. The town of Gondar was founded by Emperor Fasilidas (Fasil for Ethiopians) son of Emperor Susinios circa 1635. It was the emperor who built the first Fasilidas castle and its successors the rest of the fortresses, churches and bathrooms that make up the so-called royal enclosure. Tradition states that a buffalo led the Emperor Fasilidas up pond and it was an old man who lived nearby who told the emperor that he must build in the capital there. Fasilidas then filled the pond and built his palace on it.
CL2584: Children play soccer outside Gondar. Gondar became so cultural and economic importance, the capital of the kingdom of Ethiopia until the late nineteenth century, when the power of the emperors began to decay, and was burned on several occasions. . Their peculiar story originated when an emperor of Ethiopia, called Alam Sagaz, aka Fasilidas in 1632 built the first castle in a village next to Lake Tana and Simen Mountains, tired of the nomadic life, and to rest during the rainy season. In this haven of Emperor were adding buildings and royal castles later emperors, imperial citadel called creating a ghebi Fasil, within the city itself.
CL2611: In the central square of the city of Gondar highlights the proximity of a new cafe "Facebook" next to the old church. Founded in 1636 in northwestern Ethiopia, was the seat of the court of Emperor Fasil or Fasilidas. For nearly 200 years it was real city, and commercial crossroads of the culture. Prompted one of the most fertile periods of Ethiopian art. Splendid capital whose reign lasted over two centuries from 1636 and at first was a camp set up for the emperor, nobles and officers with their servants. The simple village became the center of a complex urban life, attracting people of diverse talents. The period was an important milestone in the history of Ethiopia, with relative political stability that brought a flowering of economic and social life of the whole population. They were used again the ancient trade routes linking the country with the rest of the world through the Red Sea. He specialized crafts and diversified to meet the demand for jewelry and ornaments which played an important role both in ceremonial occasions as in everyday life. The streets should be full of musicians praising God and emperors, heroes, and even the beauty of the city itself. There was a development of the traditional teaching of theology, law and grammar.
CL2693: Several children pose next to Simien Lodge. The National Park of the Simien Mountains is an area of ??unspoiled nature which develops at a height of about 3,000 meters. The highest peaks far exceed 4,000 meters, and the valleys and mountain cuts create unevenness with vertiginous walls in these high plains that were generated after centuries of erosion.
The special geological, landscape and nature that is this massive relief settled over the Ethiopian highlands made a declaration Heritage.
CL2834: Portrait of a boy in The National Park Simien mountains. The mountains of Ethiopia are old and rounded. Few beak-shaped peaks appear in the landscape, despite the height. The mountainous horizon is wavy and sometimes flat profiles, unlike usual in the alpine landscape.
CL2872: Portrait of a Boy with Simien Mountains. The beauties of the Simien mountains are genuine and universally admired, to them it only remains contemplation. One may wonder that supernatural forces and have created this park maravilla.El Simien Mountains National has many peaks above 4000 m, with Ras Dashen the highest peak in Ethiopia and the fourth in Africa with 4620 m. With at least three different botanical areas, the park is known for its diverse ecology, fauna and flora. Three of the seven major endemic mammals of Ethiopia - the goat Walia, the Gelada baboon and the Simien red fox, are here.The park is situated in a region of semi-arid climate, with less than 600 mm annual rainfall distributed from October to April. There are three types of vegetation as a function of altitude. On the lower level, between 3000 and 3300 meters, the original vegetation mañíos cedars and has been replaced by agricultural crops, except in the most inaccessible areas. The intermediate level, up to 4000 meters, is also very degraded and only in a few enclaves are preserved original clumps of heather and sage. The upper level is dominated by prairie semialpinas, dotted with rocky outcrops and groves of giant heather, reaching up to seven meters high. Known as the "roof of Africa" ??and situated 120 km from Gondar, the park Simien Mountains National was the first of the seven world heritage sites in the country to be designated as such by UNESCO. Park visitors should be prepared for the possibility of hot days and hot sun. The months of November and December are the coldest months.
CL2987: A child plays a musical instrument craftsman, similar to a violin, made by the same and that delights everyone who hears it on top of the Simien Mountains. Located about 100 kms north of Gondar, Simien Mountains are a major mountain ranges in Africa, with at least a dozen summits over 4,000 meters. Estre these Ras Dashen is the highest point in Ethiopia with 4553 meters high, the fourth highest peak in Africa. The western slopes of the Andes, except Ras Dashen, was declared Simien Mountains National Park in 1969 while the whole area was listed as World Heritage by UNESCO in 1979.
CL3017: Gelada Baboons are monkeys endemic Simien mountains, or whether they only occur in this region of northern Ethiopia. Monkeys are hairy and males are distinguished from females by a stain red heart-shaped having chest. They are nothing violent and you can get closer to them if you do a lot of noise, the truth is a real charmer, about all the little that are carried on the backs of the females.
CL3180: The gelada (Theropithecus gelada) is a species of primate Cercopithecidae family endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Like baboons, are terrestrial and spend time feeding in the meadows. Some authors include in the genus Papio gelada, but since 1979 it has been included in another separate genus, Theropithecus. Theropithecus gelada is the only living species, although there are at least two separate lineages in the fossil record. Although today the gelada are restricted to Ethiopia, fossils of the genus known from South Africa, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain and India. It can be distinguished from baboons by brightly colored skin on his chest. The stain is poorly defined and, in males, is dyed red and surrounded by white hair. In females, the stain is much less pronounced. However, during summer, the stain of females becomes shiny and dotted with blisters. This process is similar to the swelling of the buttocks during estrus, which is common in baboons.

Gelada female.
The gelada live in small groups consisting of one male, several females and their offspring. These small bands are joined with others to feed, forming groups of up to 350 individuals. Occasionally has been gathered over 650 geladas feeding, forming smaller subgroups including within that set. The gelada preferentially feed on grass, eating the entire plant, including seeds, roots and stems. They have more developed opposable thumbs of Old World monkeys, allowing them to separate deftly herbs to find the most nutritious parts. Are known to also eat fruit on occasion. Although not considered a threatened species, it is believed that there are only a geladas 50-60000. Hunting and habitat destruction have forced geladas to penetrate the areas inhabited by olive baboons and there have been cases of hybridization between the two groups. Furthermore, in the southern part of the plateau of Amhara, the gelada males are killed every two years to use their manes in the welcoming ceremonies at maturity. The loss of most of the adult male population regularly has upset the stability of the species population.

CL3253: In Simien not only inhabit Gelada baboons. It is also suitable for other territory two endemic species: the Simien jackal of Abyssinian and the ibex, a wild goat of powerful horns. Of these, more cautious, we saw none. Baboons, however, joined us for most of the journey. No wonder, considering that nearly 8,000 living here. Sometimes you saw, in solidarity with parsimony despiojándose brotherhood, others intuías and often listened only their guttural grunts. The dominant male led the orchestra (baboons are extremely gregarious and are used to follow the leader of the pack). Alzado on his hind legs, he climbed a rolling stone all his authority to his fellows and, incidentally, auscultated our movements and reminded us that we were in their territory.
CL3296: A local woman walks among the slopes of the Simien Mountains. Simien Mountains, located in northern Ethiopia 100 km from the city of Gondar, is a beautiful mountain range was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1978. It has several peaks over four thousand feet, deep valleys and a huge variety of endemic animals like Simien wolf, Walia Ibex and Gelada baboon animal well as the hyena and leopard.

CL3301: A horse grazing in a valley of the Simien Mountains. It may not go so far off. Simien Mountains (which in Amharic means "North"), a World Heritage Site by Unesco, with its 180 square kilometers of unique beauty, is territory of the endemic gelada baboons. For the hiker, check how herds of up to 400 individuals of these monkeys roam at an altitude of between 2000 and 4000 meters, is a thrilling experience. Known as monkey lion, which directly affects its lush mane, his presence is a classic in these latitudes. Coexist in space and time with other surprises: the Abyssinian ibex (Walia), the Ethiopian wolf (less numerous) or saltarrocas antelope. The richness of the area (as well as the proliferation of birds) is complete with a majestic flora where we can not forget the rhynchopetalum Lobelya endemic. With a wealth of attractions of such a high caliber, it is not surprising that the camera works without ceasing.
CL3391: Debark Market. Several children play football while their parents are selling or buying.
The town of Debark is the starting point to the Simien mountains one of the wonders of Etiopia.Aqui gather to buy and sell their products, the market is the heart of the town, the center of this small World.In this shirts are made with sewing machines that was your grandmother sold species, clothes, shoes, wool and a myriad of things but it is a world of scent and color.
CL3469: A girl filled to the brim with wood Debark market. Debark has a few shops and stalls where you can buy vegetables and some basic items. In Gondar several shops with reasonable stocks of foodstuffs. If you do not have all the necessary equipment can be rented mostly in Debark. Simien National Park rules require that all park visitors must be accompanied by an armed ranger, they charge about $ 3 per day. Hiking takes you through small villages and terraced fields in the lower valleys, before reaching a series of cliffs and escarpments. Beyond the cliffs leads to the beautiful alpine meadows and rugged wilderness areas of the high peaks. You have several choices of routes, depending on time and distance has to be covered, some tourists spend ten days trekking, but most tourists make a shorter trip. The route is also determined by the places where you can sleep at night. Most hikers stay near the National Park Sankaber, Geech and Chenek. Avoid traveling to the mountains in the rainy season.

CL3530: Atmosphere Arkai Adi Square, a tiny village in the mountains of Simien and Axum. The section between Debark and Adi Arkay descends nearly 2,000 feet in the mountains. The track is often hung over bottomless pits, with 180 curves without sides, and sometimes under waterfalls (some tens of meters) falling by the rock walls directly on the track. It's really awesome. In the small town of Adi Arkay, can be leveraged to look to the horizon and see a spectacular landscape formed by the jagged peaks of the Simien (remember greatly Valley Canyon of Arizona).
CL3652: A couple about to marry in the modern church of St Mary of Zion. The Church of St. Mary of Zion in Aksum (Ethiopia). It belongs to the Coptic Patriarch of Ethiopia one of the patriarchs of the Coptic Church. According to tradition, this Basilica is kept the Ark of the Covenant, which was allegedly deposited there by Menelik I, son of Solomon, although we can not fully secure because there is a whole discussion on the exact location, but the theory that is in the Church of St. Mary of Zion is the strongest. The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred object that held the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and the manna that fell from heaven. The importance of such an object is from its symbol as covenant between God and the Jewish people. Women can not go inside since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. Currently the Ark is the central point of worship and Christian worship in Ethiopia, not in vain, the 20,000 Ethiopian temples contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Unable to enter the temple and a monk only properly prepared is the only one who has the privilege to access the building.
CL3708: The drums play in the modern church of St Mary of Zion in the time in which a couple are about to marry. The dances and the guests vesturarios dazzle any visitor, especially to foreigners. The holiest shrine in Ethiopia is the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum town, there Ethiopians say that is the true Ark of the Covenant of the people of Israel, and is mentioned in the Old Testament. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that are the repository of the Ark at St. Mary of Zion, but there are several alternative hypotheses about the whereabouts of the Ark mysterious.
CL3732: The wedding guests, perfectly dressed for the occasion, in the modern church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. In the church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, is an artifact that confirmed its authenticity, add lots of crumbs to Ethiopian legends. Unfortunately, only a living person has seen this artifact. The Ark of the Covenant is, according to the Ethiopian Christians, locked up in this church and only official guardian can enter [non-Orthodox, Ethiopian priests we can not even bring five meters of the fence surrounding the temple] . There is no doubt of the importance of the Ark legend plays in Ethiopian Christianity and few people dare to question it. But, superficially at least, their presence in Axum seems rather unlikely. For those unfamiliar with the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant was built by the children of Israel to keep the tablets of the law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to the Bible, God gave Moses instructions concerning their design and ornamentation. He was endowed with mortal powers, especially useful during battles. After the Jews to settle in Jerusalem, the Ark was located in a temple built by [King] Solomon in the tenth century BC, where he remained until the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC At the time he was in Jerusalem, the Ark was the most precious object of the Jewish faith, the virtual personification of God, and in many biblical passages refer to it simply as Lord. After the destruction of Solomon's temple, disappeared. Despite many attempts to recover during the subsequent centuries, was never found.
CL3841: Some children sell souvenirs on the doors of the church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. The holiest shrine in Ethiopia is the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum town, there Ethiopians say that is the true Ark of the Covenant of the people of Israel, and is mentioned in the Old Testament ...
The Ark of the covenant in the Old Testament Yahweh himself gave instructions to Moses to build the ark. These instructions were followed to the letter by Bezaleel and other "working men who had expertise Yahweh" who not only built the Holy Ark, but also worked on the development of the Tabernacle, the menorah, the costumes of the priests, the sacred table, the objects for which it was intended, etc.. When it was finished, and the tablets of the law within them, according to Exodus (40, 20), and Aaron's rod part of the outfit that she was saved, according to numbers (17, 10), the Ark began to occupy a prominent place in the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle, the portable temple of the Israelites during their exodus in search of the Promised Land, thus becoming a real talisman representing God's covenant with his people, when no one's material embodiment of the LORD. The Ark of the Covenant, was considered a representation of God's Throne of Heaven on Earth. According to tradition, after the death of Salvador the skies darkened and the earth trembled, crumbling the foundation of the cross and opening a crack to the Ark chamber. When the Roman centurion Longinus thrust the spear into Jesus' side, the last drops of blood were falling on the Mercy.
CL3905: The wedding procession through the streets of Axum aboard a tuc-tuc celebrating who just married his associates.
Axum is the oldest city in Ethiopia and probably the world. Legend has it that in this city is created by the inhabitants of the port when it was destroyed Adulis, born Melenik I, son of King Solomon and Princess of Saba. In fact, still remain the ruins of the palace of the Queen of Saba near which there is a lake where the queen supposedly bathed and where city residents collect water as the considered magical. Also interesting are the granite monoliths known as stelae Arabs techniques are built to the highest height reaches 34 meters and they all have a memorial. It further distinguishes the Church of St. Mary of Zion in the interior can not pass women since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. The interior retains the Ark of the Covenant, which according to tradition was brought to this chamber by Menelik I from the holy city of Jerusalem. If you have time we recommend a visit to the City Museum.
CL3973: Some priests show the sacred books of the new church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. The Ethiopian churches have several inputs: the south entrance for women and for men the north, the east can be used interchangeably. Built following a scheme inspired by the Temple of Solomon, have three parts: a choir, a sacred space where the Eucharist is distributed and a closed sanctuary accessible only to the priests. There, in that part called "holy of holies", every church keeps a Tabot, a replica of the Ark and its Tables of the Law, in a small wooden box. In the important religious days out in procession Tabot sacral santorum covered with fabric draped. No one seems to ask how, if according to the legend who see the Ark goes blind or dies, it is possible that all churches have a copy of it. My questions about causing trouble: for Ethiopians do with Ark is an article of faith. The Kebre Negest tells how at age 22 Menelik returned to Jerusalem to visit his father, King Solomon, who offered him to inherit the throne, offering who declined. Among those who accompanied Menelik was the eldest son of a high priest, who stole the Ark after dreaming that he should take it. Menelik enraged to learn of the theft, but then turn dreamed that it was the will of God and kept going. When King Solomon realized the theft thought of sending an army to chase his son, but he also dreamed that it was the will of God and the disappearance of the Ark kept secret. The version about Makeda and Solomon, in the tradition of the Orthodox Jewish Falashas of Ethiopia, is virtually identical to the Negest Kebre. Despite being a story rejected by Western historians, Ethiopians accept without hesitation. They are convinced that the original Ark was brought to Axum in the first millennium BC, and remaining there ever since.
CL3979: The Ark of the Covenant in the church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. The Church of St. Mary of Zion in Aksum (Ethiopia). It belongs to the Coptic Patriarch of Ethiopia one of the patriarchs of the Coptic Church. According to tradition, this Basilica is kept the Ark of the Covenant, which was allegedly deposited there by Menelik I, son of Solomon, although we can not fully secure because there is a whole discussion on the exact location, but the theory that is in the Church of St. Mary of Zion is the strongest. The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred object that held the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and the manna that fell from heaven. The importance of such an object is from its symbol as covenant between God and the Jewish people. Women can not go inside since the old church was destroyed by a pagan queen. Currently the Ark is the central point of worship and Christian worship in Ethiopia, not in vain, the 20,000 Ethiopian temples contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant. Unable to enter the temple and a monk only properly prepared is the only one who has the privilege to access the building.
CL4003: A devotee prays at a Coptic Christian church doors of St Mary of Zion in Axum, the place where they believe saved the Ark of the Covenant. The disclosure of the millennium. The Ark of the Covenant, according to the Bible, is the box that contained the Tablets of the Law of Moses with the Ten Commandments, and is, without doubt, the most coveted sacred object of those who have been searched by man in different places of the earth, from Africa to the Middle East. Surrounded by mysteries, is still one of the most legendary treasures of the Old Testament. For centuries, the Ark has fired the imagination of fans, mystics, adventurers, archaeologists and writers. Your search for history has been relentless, the Masons or the Templars themselves were close to finding it, but few are chosen to have seen her. It seems that the Ark is in Ethiopia and that humanity is about to attend his revelation: Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, Abuna Paulos, just to react to the relic and has said in a press conference, at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, which "has been" the Ark of the Covenant and that his condition is "good". Paulos believes that now is the moment of truth, he says he can not say where the Ark, but ensure that it is seen and as described in the Bible. According to Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic tradition, the Ark of the Covenant is kept in the Cathedral of Tsion Maryam, in the kingdom of Axum in Ethiopia, after it was stolen from Jerusalem by King Solomon the son of Emperor Menelik-stem I-, and taken to Axum, regarded as the Jerusalem of Ethiopia. In Axum has been guarded for centuries and even today, Orthodox monks of the city ...
CL4078: Several separated children do catechesis within the precincts of the church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. the Ark of the Covenant is a relic venerated by the Ethiopians earnestly why churches keep in their most sacred enclosure a replica of the Ark of the Covenant containing the Tabot. The Tabot that is saved in the Ethiopian church is a replica (wood or stone) of the Tables of the Law would be retained in the original St. Mary of Zion in Axum. We are in Axum, before the facade of the Church of Our Lady of Sion, place where tradition says and as is currently the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the temple a single person, a priest, a chosen one, a direct descendant of the Levites, jealously guards the treasure and not allow anyone to touch or see. My efforts to enter the sacred precinct and see this marvel are unsuccessful, and they tell me, but aspire to the tent in which rests the Ark and lifted the cloth with which to protect the Ark of furtive glances, my lack of faith prevented me see the precious treasure. But what is the origin of this fierce and unwavering conviction that leads to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians as a way to assert categorically that the Ark of the Covenant rests in Axum? Recall that the Legend and history go hand in hand in this country, do not understand the one without the other and come to merge to create an unquestionable truth .... The epic of the Ethiopian people is contained in Kebre Negest (Glory of Kings), a book written in Gue'ez (ancient Ethiopian language) at the end of the thirteenth century by a priest of Axum. As stated in this great work, the origins of Ethiopian history, closely linked with the biblical world, would go back to the short but fruitful relationship that kept the Ethiopian Queen Makeda or Belkis (historical names to be known to the mythical queen Saba) and the wise King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba, would travel to Jerusalem full of valuable treasures (jewelry, precious stones, spices ...) looking for the wise advice of famed King Solomon, this honorable assured his guest that would require compensation only if they take some good of the people of Israel.

CL4276: Some women screened in cereal grains ATBA village. The Teff, the grain arrived from Ethiopia. Teff is a cereal with great future as we will see in this article has some nutritional benefits off the charts that make it special. Source Ethiopia teff is the origin of this very small grain cereal, brown in color which has been cultivated for over 5000 years. One of their most important crops and used in your diet by this country of its grain flour is obtained, with which made the "ingera" a large tortilla type that accompanies the "wot" a typical dish of Ethiopia. Teff has begun to grow and market in other countries around the world due to its easy adaptation to arid and its rapid growth. Properties teff. High nutritional value, being far superior to other cereals such as wheat or barley, providing immediate and lasting life energy. Gluten-free cereal. What makes it ideal for diets with intolerance to wheat or gluten-free diets. Rich in carbohydrate degradation slow release or slow, making it very suitable for high-performance sportsmen have a quick and prolonged need for carbohydrates. Teff is also very convenient for people with type II diabetes by controlling blood glucose levels or for overweight people who want to control their weight, with a high satiating power and appetite regulator. High in fiber and highly digestible. Contains a high proportion of starch that can be ingested slowly, making it very suitable for stimulation of the natural flora of acting as if it were a probiotic. Rich in minerals free as Ca, Mg, Mn and K that help in quick recovery after physical exertion or mental exhaustion. Stresses its calcium content recommended descaling process, osteoporosis and child growth. Source of eight essential amino acids, lysine highlighting, absent or scarce in some cereals such as wheat or barley. Lysine is very important, involved in the metabolic process of Calcium Calcium helping to pass from the bloodstream into the bone structure. Teff nutritional information (per 100 g. Flour)
CL4370: Interior of an old mill in the village of ATBA, in which cereals into flour. This village is located near the monastery of Abba Garima. About 11 miles east of Adwa is Abba Garima Monastery, which says it was founded by one of the nine saints in the sixth century. The monastery is known for its collection of religious objects, including three of the tenth century gospels Using Adwa as a base, you can visit Yeha and Debra Damo. Yeha is famous for its huge and remarkable temple. According to the German scholar Heinrich Müller, in the nineteenth century, it is believed that the temple dates back about seven or eight centuries before the birth of Christ. This temple is considered the oldest standing building in the country. To the side of this remarkable temple is a church dedicated to Abba Aftse. Aftse Abba was one of the famous nine saints who arrived in Ethiopia in the sixth century, from the Roman Empire to teach the gospel. The church, which shares the same building with the temple, has a rectangular floor.
CL4414: Two workers inside an old mill in the village of ATBA, located about 11 kilometers from the monastery of Abba Garima. The Ethiopian Garima Gospels are the earliest illustrated manuscripts of Christianity. Experts placed the work in 1100 AD, but radiocarbon dating indicated that the documents were created on a date between 330 and 650 AD.
The monastic tradition says that the monk Abba Garima Gospels copied in a day, after founding the Garima Monastery in northern Ethiopia, I grew to Adwa. The two manuscripts are composed of 670 pages in total, 28 of which are illustrated. These include four portraits of evangelists and a drawing of the Temple of Solomon. The manuscripts are written in Ge'ez and have never left Ethiopia. Several experts have carefully considered the Gospels, because the goatskin cover is so fragile that it could break during the exam. A French expert on Ethiopian art was allowed to take two small samples for testing. The tests, combined with some stylistic analysis, suggest that the manuscripts are about 1,400 years old.
It is creating a museum in the hope of being able to protect the Gospels while allowing onlookers see them up close.
CL4631: Two clerics at the gates of the monastery of Abba Garima. The Ethiopian Garima Gospels are the earliest illustrated manuscripts of Christianity. Experts placed the work in 1100 AD, but radiocarbon dating indicated that the documents were created on a date between 330 and 650 AD. The monastic tradition says that the monk Abba Garima Gospels copied in a day, after founding the Garima monastery in northern Eiopía, near Adwa. The two manuscripts are composed of 670 pages in total, 28 of which are illustrated, these include four portraits of evangelists and a drawing of the Temple of Solomon.
CL4740: Near the ruins of Yeha many Christians live in simple stone houses. Coffee and religion are elements that must never miss. Yeha is the country's oldest temple, its construction is dated between the sixth and seventh centuries BC. It was built during the time sabaeana prior to the Axumite, although not much is known about the civilization that built the temple. Recent archaeological investigations have shown that Yeha was an extensive settlement and excavations, still unfinished, found different types of objects such as incense burners, iron weapons and pottery utensils. His condition is quite good and the wonders of its construction is being raised with huge rectangular stone blocks that are attached to each other without using any mortar. In the sixteenth century was built inside the church a Christian church in the early twentieth century was replaced by another, which now stands next to the temple. This church is dedicated to Abune Aftse monk, one of the Nine Saints (The Nine Saints arrived in Ethiopia on the year 480 from Rome, Constantinople and Syria, ended with paganism in Ethiopia, founded numerous monasteries and translated into Ge'ez Bible ). Legend says that Abune Aftse was moved by an angel to Yeha while fleeing from persecution in different parts of Ethiopia.
CL4865: Portrait of a village in Yeha. In Yeha, in addition to visits to the ruins, it is also possible to visit some of the potters. Yeha is situated in the northern mountainous section of the Tigray region. Although this small payment survives today as a people of the shack, was once a place of great pre-Axumite civilization. Believed to be Ethiopia's first capital, Yeha was first initially discovered in an archaeological excavation around a courtyard complex of 20 C. The early settlers of this area, the Sabeans, were the founders of the Axumite Kingdom. The temple of Yeha, with one side of its walls in ruin, is otherwise still intact and testifies to the advanced level of the people of those times. There is no trace of mortar used to build the temple of the inside of the walls had been believed were paved with gold.
CL4897: A girl Portea his sister in the village of Yeha, near the ruins of the famous temple. The temple of Yeha, with one side of its walls in ruin, is otherwise still intact and testifies to the advanced level of the people of those times. There is no trace of mortar used to build the temple of the inside of the walls had been believed were paved with gold. Archaeological excavations made in 1909, 1947 and 1973 respectively, reveals that this beautiful temple was destroyed by fire. Treasures such as gold rings, golden lions, stone-engraved inscriptions written in Sabean, stone-carved animals like Walya ibex (one of Ethiopia's endemic mammals), pottery works and others were uncovered. Some of these results are displayed in the museum of 4th-century church found in the same compound as the temple while others are displayed in the National Museum in Addis Ababa. The twelve underground formations and four other structures in the deep cave (which seems to lead to Yemen, Lalibela, Jerusalem and Axum), increase the importance of the area for what concerns architecture and history.

CL4928: A girl carries water that has gone to pick up a nearby well in the mountains of Gheralta. Gheralta is a region of extreme beauty, with spectacular red mountains and breathtaking scenery. From Abraha Atsbeha can visit the church of Yohannes Maequddi with precious frescoes in very good condition. But you have to climb forty minutes to get there. Later, I read about this church, which featured David Buxton: This church of St. John, is the Most Interesting I have seen and is memorable, too, for its means of access is narrow Which clef Between bulging walls of bare, glaring sandstone (This church of San Juan is the most interesting I've seen and it is worthy of mention because of its path, a narrow crack between bare walls and dazzling bulky sandstone). From Atsbeha Abraha, you can also visit the church of Debre Zion. The paintings are in very poor condition and have to climb a steep road fifty minutes.

CL4972: A farmer walks his cattle on the plains to the mountains of Gheralta. At the core of Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, known for its magnificent mountain range, home to magnificent rock churches, some famous for its architecture, paintings and manuscripts and others known for their magnificent view, is the Gheralta Lodge . This territory is known as the open air museum as there are many churches carved into the rock. The scenery is spectacular and increasingly deserted as you go up, besides the visit to the spectacular church Chircos Wukro protruding from a cliff. In Gueralta there are 35 churches nestled in places almost impossible.

CL5025: Trekking in Gheralta. To access the churches nestled in the rocks found at the top of the mountains of Gheralta need a walk with climbing sections. Some locals, like this child presented to help visitors with a tip that often reach 100 birr. At the top are hiding at least one quarter of the large stone monuments in the region. Between the eighth and fifteenth century, an army of artists, sculptors, architects and excavators created a network of churches settled in inaccessible mountains that are carved into the rock of Gheralta Amba, Amba White and the regions and Agame Tembien.

CL5238: View from one of the peaks of the mountain environment of Gheralta. In this region of mountains and canyons have been more than thirty churches attractive and unique carved on rock faces or in caves, the largest concentration of the country. It is a little visited area but extremely interesting and beautiful, best exploration base is the town of Hausein. At 50 miles is the village Hausein Wukro where the church is Atsbeha Abreha, recognized as the rock-carved church most impressive provincial Tigray. The church is dedicated to the famous twin kings of Axum, and Atsbeha Abreha, who introduced Christianity in Ethiopia in the fourth century.

CL5279: Nun Gheralta mountains. This nun brings atop mountains Gheralta since childhood, living in what brings people to the steepness of the area and can not get down like the priest in the area. To visit any of the nearly 30 churches built between the fourteenth and sixteenth in the rocky walls of the area it is best to spend at least one whole day I rented a car approaching the different temples with a guide. If you have more days, you can also stay overnight at the hotel Gheralta Lodge, located in the area, where you can enjoy a privileged setting. Sometimes access to churches is quite affordable, as are the cases we Wukro Chirkos or Abreha Atsbeha, although there are other examples that call for increased effort to visitors, such as Abuna Yemata Guh or Korkor Mryam Debre, in which can admire frescoes dating from the centuries they were built.
CL5460: An elderly couple engaged in it all gleaming in the celebration of a birth in the village of Hausein, lack of Gheralta mountains.
CL5536: The injera is the typical food of Ethiopia and not lacking in any of the celebrations, such as in this celebration of a birth in the village of Hausein, lack of Gheralta mountains. Or Injara Injera is not only a kind of bread that is also an eating utensil. This bread is in its original form without using yeast its texture is spongy, and has a slightly acidic taste the injara is used to collect meat stews, or chicken and vegetables.

The Injera is in turn used as individual tray serving different stews, thereby also the bread will absorb the juices from the food as it is consumed. When this edible tablecloth finish eating, means that the food has officially ended. Injera is made from teff, a tiny, round grain that flourishes in the highlands of Ethiopia. The teff is very nutritious, and has virtually no gluten. Teff is unsuitable for high bread making, however in the injera still takes advantage of the special properties of yeast. It gives you an airy texture, bubbly, and a slightly acidic taste our traditional recipe can be made with teff, and if we do not find this cereal another version with whole wheat flour and common white flour, thereby obtain a similar solution.
CL5567: Some of the guests at a birth in the village of Hausein, lack of Gheralta mountains. The parties in these cases are usually numerous and often includes the whole people. The injera and home brew usually present. Basically you eat a dish called injera. It serves in a large plate of about 40-50 cm, usually aluminum, and where a base placed across the surface of 3mm or 5mm in thickness approximately bread-like and very, very fluffy. This base is made of fermented teff flour, put up spicy meats and vegetables, some with sauce. This "food" is eaten with the right hand, taking a little foundation and some meat. As most of the Orthodox population, Muslims or Jews do not use pork in any way.
The tella is a yellowish home brew served in bars. It tastes quite strong.
CL5575: Billiards is something common in almost all Ethiopian peoples so small they may be. In that case it's one of the billiards Hausein village, in the absence of Gheralta mountains.
CL5731: A priest at the door of the church of Abreha Atsbeha, semi carved into the rock. The magnificent church of Abreha wa Atsebha is located 15 km. owest of Wuqro. The church is one of the best and biggest churches in addition to one of the oldest in the Tigray region, dedicated to the famous kings of Axum and brothers and Atsebha Abreha. The church is located in a red rock with a view of the valley and its facade painted white with two blue doors at the height under the arches. The church is decorated with paintings depicting biblical scenes century. It also has several valuable treasures, the most important is the cross of prayer, church officials said, belonged to the first bishop of Ethiopia, whose name was Abba Salama Church (Father of Peace).
CL5781: A farmer sells eggs roadside Hausein market. The image that one can have a dry and barren Ethiopia consumed in the arid, starkly real in many places, falls apart when one moves across the land surrounding rehabilitated channels, which receive water from a canal or who are fortunate enough to have a well.
CL5875: On the road between Mekele Wukro and several people collect water and a chance to bathe in a small creek next to the road. Mekele is a leading business and academic centers of the country. It is also the largest producer of cement in Ethiopia. In its margins recently was enabled Alula Aba International Airport, which has a runway length of 3604 meters. There are two major urban landmarks that characterize the city, on the one hand, the monument to the TPLF (People's Liberation Front Tigray) in commemoration of the struggle against the Ethiopian communist regime, visible from most of the city. On the other hand, is the palace of Yohannes IV at the northern edge of the city. It was built for the emperor, by the Italian architect Giacomo Naretti in 1884.3 The complex still stands and now houses a museum displaying the royal throne of the emperor, his bedroom, ceremonial dresses, weapons and a number of other historical collections.
CL5895: A farmer transports the straw that has reaped the road from Wukro to Mekele. Wukro and Wukro Cherkos. Wukro is a mid-size city located between Adigrat and Mekele and convenient as a center from which to explore this rich and fascinating part of Tigray. His church carved into the rock Wukro Cherkos is definitely the most accessible of Tigray and one of the most impressive, although not as monolithic. The capital of Mekele Tigray, Mekele has been described by a recent guide on Ethiopia (1995), as the city "smarter and faster development" across the country. The main attractions are the market, where traders may be bringing camel salt bars from the Danakil Desert, the museum of Yohannes IV, and rarely Chekelot village green (17 Km south of Mekele) with his church Selassie.
CL5902: A farmer sells mangoes just collect on the road to Mekele Wukro. For most of the population of Wukro and surrounding areas, rainfed agriculture is their main subsistence livelihood. However, Wukro and surroundings often suffer droughts that have serious consequences for the living conditions of the rural population. The migration from rural to urban areas during these periods is high. Recently, Wukro is rapidly expanding into the southwest part of the city which is evident in the various residential construction being carried out inside and outside the city. The increase in residential construction and modern commercial buildings such as hotels, cafes and shops, offers revenue opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers in this sector.
CL5928: A cleric is approaching our vehicle on the road leading from Wukro to Mekele. In Wukro the only sign of progress is a road, usual pace truck freight, military vehicles and buses crammed with passengers, which crosses the city and divides his way to Adigrat Mekele (the two main cities of Tigray). Life goes on either side of this road, where businesses of all kinds are mixed with the few government offices, with the occasional hotel and leisure property and small businesses of all types. The movement of people, at all hours, day and night, is also constant. The surrounding streets, unpaved, almost without light and full of large potholes (converted into huge puddles in the rainy season), home to the humble dwellings. Built around a common courtyard, houses, usually one room in which to sleep, cooking and life is, share toilet and faucet with neighbors. And this is not the only thing that is shared. Solidarity is, among these people who have nothing and give everything, amazing.
CL5965: Several farmers cut sugar canes located on the road leading from Wukro to Mekele. In Wukro, located in the region of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, where more than 35,000 people, who come to 100,000 if you add up the small towns and rural villages. The city offers few attractions for visitors, except for some of the most impressive churches carved into the rock that can be located in the vicinity. Little more, because Wukro the only sign of progress is a road, passing trucks usual goods, military vehicles and buses crammed with passengers, which crosses the city and divides his way to Adigrat Mekele (the two main cities of Tigray). Life goes on either side of this road, where businesses of all kinds are mixed with the few government offices, with the occasional hotel and leisure property and small businesses of all types. The movement of people, at all hours, day and night, is also constant.
CL6049: rice fields located on the road from Mekele to Lalibela. Mekele or Mek'ele is a city and woreda in northern Ethiopia, is the capital of the Tigray Region and is the most populous country in May. It is located in the woreda Enderta in Debubawi Area, 650 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, the capital. Mekele is a leading business and academic centers of the country. It is also the largest producer of cement in Ethiopia. In its margins recently was enabled Alula Aba International Airport, which has a runway length of 3604 meters. The city is also, by the presence of numerous Orthodox churches etíopes.De according to 2005 population estimates from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia had 169,207 inhabitants city.
CL6170: Portrait of a family of Ethiopians on the stretch of road between Gashena Dilb and leading from Mekele to Lalibela. Lalibela is a town in the heart of Ethiopia which is one of the most important religious centers of Ethiopian Christianity for centuries and is a busy place of pilgrimage. Lalibela lies in her womb an architectural treasure that has been classified by UNESCO as World Heritage: an exceptional set of monolithic cave churches and buildings, carved, not built-in bedrock during the Middle Ages, with the purpose of create a new Jerusalem in Africa. These churches are not archaeological fossils but vibrant institutions that keep alive the cult until today. About the visit may attend religious ceremonies in the ambience of the past, and meet some of the strange peculiarities of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, the largest number of followers in the eastern independent churches.
CL6194: In Gashena village, near Lalibela can stop along the way to refuel and eat something. People often make life on the street, Chalar and relate in the same way that was done in our country a century ago. Lalibela is a miracle. A village in the highlands of northern Ethiopia has one of the most captivating architectural ensembles in the world: a dozen rock-hewn churches in single blocks under ground level. But the amazing thing is that, although it is hard to imagine the artists of the ancient empire of Aksum, back in the seventh century, tons of volcanic stone chiseling until they sprout monolithic cathedrals in deep trenches. The real miracle is that Lalibela has remained incommunicado until a decade ago. The fascinating thing is that their temples are still active as the first day, welcoming immutable rites, prayers and chanting as developed at the time of Lalibela, let's clarify, not a lepidopteran or an aromatic herb but the name of a king that unfairly took the glory, as the resort was almost over when came to power in the twelfth century.
CL6211: One of the bars located in the village of Gashena, near Lalibela a good place to stop along the way, refuel and eat something. We follow the route on a road with so much dust that when we passed another vehicle can not see anything, up to Debri Zebit where we started a steep descent along the crest of a mountain with spectacular scenery, but also with some no less spectacular cliffs, we finally Gashena and take the left turn to take us to Lalibela. This last stretch of road in continual decline is also nice, with terraces cultivated fields and a blue sky, what makes brighter. We stopped in a field to pick beans and soon approached by children who give away a water bottle empty and were the happiest kids in the world with his bottle under his arm.
CL6229: Gashena In the village, not far from Lalibela is an atmosphere of absolute daily life, so much so that even playing bingo on the street. Gashena is a very small village where you take the opportunity to see the market, the last truly authentic see by Ethiopia. It is located very close to the road on a large esplanade.
This market is very, very local, the products are sold there to satisfy nearby villages but few tourists stop here for a visit and it shows nothing foothold in the market.
We are greeted with curious glances and knowing smiles that made us feel relaxed from the start. I constantly asked them did good photos and put their scarves and hats out there. The more daring tried to practice a little English.
CL6369: Lalibela. A woman prays inside Bet Medhane Alem church. To admire the churches of Lalibela must not look up, but towards the feet. The largest church is Bet Medhane Alem, the largest of all, with 33 meters long by 25 meters wide and a lavish decor reminiscent of Greek temples. The Emmanuel Beth, a few hundred meters east of the previous one, is one of the most beautiful and carved all that surely served as a royal chapel. Over 700 years ago, an Ethiopian king decided to make their city the "Jerusalem" of the Orthodox Christian world. But instead of lifting large temples in the classical manner, came excavate the rock to enemies who harassed his kingdom not easily locate. The result was one of the wonders of the ancient world, a set of eleven churches divided into two groups, plus a separate twelfth of these, which were deconstructing a chisel blow, emptying the rock until an internal volume equal to that which would achieved in a classical temple, with a Greek cross, columns, capitals, arbours and altars, everything is just one piece.
The place is called Lalibela, is in an inaccessible corner of northern Ethiopia, near the border with Eritrea, in the middle of arid mountains, poor and naked verdean just during the rainy season. And is one of the places I have impacted my life traveler, one of those places that I would recommend to anyone visiting before getting old.
CL6406: A woman prays inside Bet Medhane Alem church in Lalibela. Bet Medhane Alem or "house ... Bet Medhane Alem or" House of the Redeemer of the World "is the highest and most extensive of all the churches of Lalibela. Fully excavated in the rock, with its 34 meters long by 24 meters wide, is attributed on merit the honor of being the largest monolithic church in the world. Built like a Greek temple is completely surrounded by pillars of square columns. On the stone block is perfectly guess all elements of the temple: The portico, ships, vaults and windows and the lavish decoration with reliefs form a unique set. church is completely surrounded by pillars (the canons of traditional Aksumite period), 18 inside and 18 abroad, which for some specialists implies a clear relationship with Hebrew numerology in which 18 would correspond to the numerical value of the word "jai" ("life"). church but no pictorial decoration interior decoration based on geometric reliefs of the lower windows, combined with alternating square windows and semicircular area is responsible for providing superior beauty inside the temple. In one corner, you can see three empty graves that according to tradition were excavated couple symbolically hold the bodies of the three biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To some historians, this temple would be a replica of the Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion, Aksum originally located and it was destroyed by the Muslims ...
CL6506: Inside the churches of Lalibela is easy to find people sitting on the floor praying. Everything here breathes faith. A faith hard as stone. Most characteristic of this place are the rock churches carved into the rock of Triassic red sandstone, fine-grained, and are part of the World Heritage since 1978. This is an incredible story of churches and chapels interconnected through a complex series of passages and galleries. Each church is excavated at different levels and with pipes, in order that in the rainy season the water flow and cause flooding. They have tanks and defensive elements. They are called houses (bet or bieta vernacular) these oratorios that match two types of structures: some are rectangular with three ships, one central and two lateral, and others are Greek cross plan. The doors and windows, and carved anogostas the same stone, have tasteful arabesques. The interior was polychromed with Byzantine-style paintings, some of which can still be seen faintly.
CL6751: A carpet weaver develop typical Ethiopian town of Lalibela. It is difficult to find an Ethiopian pilgrimage to Lalibela has not, or at least, that does not reflect on his face mixed feelings of joy, pride and devotion when someone mentions the name of the most sacred place in Ethiopia. It is also difficult to find somewhere else to the depth of faith is so evident as in this ancient capital, where are some of the most extraordinary churches that the world has known. I refer to the numerous temples carved into the rock, which, taken together, are now part of the great World Heritage Site. One of the things that most impresses the traveler arriving first modern Ethiopia is the religious devotion that permeates-like water, almost unnoticed-whole social fabric. Do not forget that this country was the world's first Christian state after Armenia, and unswervingly follows the Orthodox rite since the fourth century. Although it was not until the twelfth century, when the emperor of ancient Roha, Lalibela, a fervent Christian who, according to legend, God himself appeared on several occasions, to undertake this massive project, to be completed in only twelve .
CL6852: A child prays in one of the churches of Lalibela. In the twelfth century, Prince Lalibela was built north of the current Ethiopian territory a dozen churches carved in stone. All connected by underground passages that pierce the volcanic rocks of the parched and aisladísima population that bears the name of the monarch, stands as an unexpected and wonderful miracle of Christianity in this unknown corner of the African continent. Indeed, the misty mountains of central Ethiopia hiding a big secret. Its villages, nearly 3000 feet high, are inaccessible during the rainy season and dry the rest of the year. This, of course, contributed to their isolation for centuries. So hard to believe our eyes when the ground suddenly collapses, carved by skilled hands, and appear the lines of a cross-shaped temple.
CL6906: Lalibela. Church of St. George. The Church of St. George is the best preserved of all Orthodox temples carved in stone of Lalibela, Ethiopia. This reservoir rock, which has its origins in medieval times, was built as a representation of the Holy Land by Zague Dynasty. Currently, the Temples of Lalibela continue their religious activity and are visited by pilgrims who are confused with curious tourists discover the network of passages between rocks that bind to each other.
CL6987: A beggar asks for money at the door of one of the churches of Lalibela. The churches of Lalibela were carved into the rock on the 1200s depicting the Holy Land as a response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims. Four of the churches are exempt, the others are attached to the bedrock, either a wall or the ceiling. The latter are also amazing, in all, the show is wonderful architecture, a work of ants, namely the 40,000 workers who were responsible for emptying the thousands of cubic meters to expose the churches. Although there are those who believe that such work, by its size and beauty, could only have been created by angels. The churches of Lalibela are divided into two main groups, separated by the channel Yordanos, representing the Jordan River, but linked by tunnels, passages and trenches. The site was designed to correspond to its topography a symbolic representation of the Holy Land. Just cross the threshold of any of the temples, tour the rock-cut passages that connect each other, admire the beauty of their Bibles, liturgical chants hear the rhythmic back in time to be the day that is the year. The floors are still covered with straw mats and rough. Furniture is sparse. The light, dim. And the priests emerge from the shadows to give his blessing to the newcomer with a large cross in his hand bearing. We are in the most unknown and ignored Africa. We are in Lalibela, the "black Jerusalem." Of all the Churches, the masterpiece, the icon of Ethiopia, is the wonderful Bet Giyorgis (Church of St. George), who is said to have been built after the visit to the Holy Lalibela made riding his white steed. Bet Giyorgis stands apart from other churches, carved into a rocky slope from which you can see perfectly his stony origin. It comes down to it by a passage carved into the rock, which crosses two portals to eventually lead to the patio that surrounds the church. As throughout Ethiopia, the monks greet visitors with "salam" (Arabic: peace) and immediately open the doors of the church so that they can admire its treasures: gold crosses beautiful solid forms, old paintings of saints Orthodox and some rock-cut sculptures, part of the columns or walls.
CL7223: General view of the town of Lalibela. Lalibela is a monastic city of northern Ethiopia, the country's second holy city, after Aksum, is an important pilgrimage center. Its population belongs almost entirely to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It is located in the federal state of Amhara, at 2,500 m. According to the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia, its population was 14,668 in 2005, 7049 men and 7619 women. Lalibela, formerly called Roha, was the capital of the dynasty Zague. It received its current name of King Lalibela Gebra Maskal (1172-1212), canonized by the Ethiopian Church, which wanted to build a new city in Jerusalem in response to the conquest of the Holy Land by Muslims. Many of its historic buildings take their name from buildings in that city. The city is home to the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in, built during the reign of Lalibela Maskal Gebra and declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1978. The flagship is the Beta Girorgios (The house of St. George) with a Greek cross and fifty feet high, carved entirely in the roca.Cerca of churches are Ashetan Maryam monastery and church of Yemrehana Krestos, XI century, built Axumite style, housed in a cave.
CL7282: A man photograph from a mound of a hill crowned by an old tree hangs a large bell town of Lalibela. Lalibela and its churches carved into the stone are the heart of Ethiopia, one of the great centers pelegrinación and the biggest attraction of the historic route through the country. The city of Lalibela has the most extensive complex of rock-hewn churches of Ethiopia, built during the reign of Lalibela Maskal Gebra and declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1978. King Lalibela, in the twelfth century, wanted to build a new city in the image of Jerusalem, in response to the conquest of the Holy Land by Muslims. Many of its historic buildings take their name from that city buildings. Most of these churches are entirely excavated in the rock forming a monolith (single stone around it) which makes these churches unique works typically Ethiopians. The set consists of 13 churches. The most representative of the churches of Lalibela is the Beta Girorgios (San Jorge) Greek cross plan and fifteen meters high, carved entirely out of rock and forming a monolithic cube.

CL7316: Church of St. George in Lalibela. The church of St. George is the main eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, a holy city for Christians Ethiopians in northern Ethiopia. These churches are a World Heritage Site according to UNESCO and represent the city of Jerusalem (with its stable of Bethlehem, the door to Paradise ...). Pose the greater pilgrimage center of Ethiopia and legend has it that the construction helped the Angels, who worked at night. If the visit to this set of cave churches, let the end of St. George, you will not regret because the final effect can not be more striking. I saw her for the first time at sunset with few tourists around, sublime would be an adjective bombastic, but successful. Bete Georgis is located away from other churches of Lalibela and as you approach, it goes unnoticed, not rise above the level of the land. When you close and suddenly appears before your eyes in the middle of the hill. It is as if a child had made a figure of a cross with a mold in the sand, with the difference that it is not soft beach sand, but reddish basalt rock. The show is impressive up close, without going into the entrance of the temple, as you can see much of the church, with some sloping walls and vivid contrast of red rock with bright green moss growing on the walls. Beautiful and incredible effort that had to involve the construction of a building and in the time of King Lalibela (XIII).
CL7416: A girl selling crafts at the entrance of the monastery of Nakuto Lab In Lalibela, visit the second group and also dug a small church in the mountains, the monastery Nakuto Lab, which is about 6 miles from town and I believe is the most beautiful and peaceful place I've ever been. If you have money please go-coaches charge about $ 40 to take them by car and the entrance to the church is 100 birr. Can walk if you want, but the route is uphill and remember that back then still have the people ... One of the reasons why you left, is that a German tourist traveling alone also invited me to go with her, but maybe never been discovered. There is also another church further from Lalibela to which many people will not but that probably deserves a visit, Yemrehanna Krestos.
CL7445: Several women come to pray to the monastery of Nakuto Lab nephew of King Lalibela, Na'akueto La'ab (also writes Nakuto Lab) reigned in Ethiopia at the beginning of the century and was XIIIe one of the last rulers of the dynasty Zagoué . Legend has it that read about spades elongated. As King Lalibela, troglodyte built a church, the church of Nakuto Lab, located 4 km from the town of Lalibela in a spectacular setting, nestled on a cliff. The finances of the church still preserves the enluminés remarquablement manuscripts, icons and beautiful crosses in money of the day.
CL7453: Some women pray in the Lab Nakuto monastery, outside Lalibela. The mysterious underground churches, a monolithic monuments of stone extracted in Lalibela, have been used continuously by the Orthodox priests from the XII and XII, when this remote mountain town was still the capital of the dynasty Zagwe important. The purpose of every church has eluded the work of modern historians: each building is unique in its size, shape and execution, are carved on the stone accurately (some say thousands of workers) and some of them lavishly decorated. Legend has it that at least one of the churches was built by angels in one day, another legend says that the churches born of a dream of King Zagwe. Eleven churches were dug beneath the surface of the earth, and in some cases to reach 10 meters high. They are surrounded by courtyards and trenches that connect to each other, forming a maze of tunnels and passageways between a building and the next. Churches are treasures in Ethiopia as the great pyramids are in Egypt. The city of Lalibela, located between steep cliffs over 2,500 meters, is a true delight.
CL7532: A woman kisses cuz of a priest in the Church of Nakuto Lab, outside Lalibela. At 2400 meters altitude in the Ethiopian highlands, north of Addis Ababa, this small town is monastic (Ethiopia's second city considered holy), known in ancient times as Roha and changed his name after being conquered in the XIII century by King Lalibela Maskal Gebra, who "baptized" as Lalibela. It was, by order of the king, when he began the construction of these unique churches, unique because they are dug in the earth, a fact that makes them unique and they deserved in 1979, recognition as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The city of Lalibela in southern Ethiopia is known for his twelve Christian churches carved into the rock 800 years ago. The most amazing is Bieta Giyorgis, in the picture, a monumental monolith 12 meters high, intricately carved in stone and cross.
CL7722: The priest of the church of Nakuto Lab, outside Lalibela shows his cross. It is unknown why were excavated soil or built, high construction of the building difficulty and increased costs. Shuffle several theories, one of the most accepted is that were raised during the height of Christian pilgrimage, with Jerusalem as the center axis or principal thereof, along the way, pilgrims faced many dangers and churches were exposed to vandalism and looting, perhaps this is the reason why the king decided to bury Lalibela churches, protecting them from possible looting. Little is also known of the construction process, plans have not been found, do not know the name of the architects, the duration of the work, the methodology employed, the use of scaffolding or ramps ..., what is known is the hard work it took to build the churches, where the "workers" performed work like excavation of a mine is involved. The architecture of the Lalibela has eleven churches carved into the stone floor of reddish volcanic. First he built a moat around the stony mass or space that would occupy the future church, this pit would work from the outside to the builders and today provides access to temples by stairs or ramps. Its symbolism is the separation of the sacred from the profane space.
CL7922: Some girls dance near the Lab Nakuto monastery, outside Lalibela to earn some tip with tourists. In Lalibela there are eleven churches carved in stone, to 2,700 m. above sea level and about 700 km. of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. They have been dated between the XII - XIII and referred to as "the Black Jerusalem." It is attributed to King Lalibela (XIII century) who was later canonized by the Ethiopian church and has been regarded by Europeans as the famous Prester John. The impact caused the first churches that look is so great that the first European that saw the Portuguese priest Francisco Alvarez, eliminated him why your chronic thought no one would believe. The buildings are monolithic, carved on a sloping mass of red volcanic earth, seated on a layer of dark gray basalt, on both sides of the Jordan River and connected by tunnels and corridors with openings to hermit caves and catacombs. Some are of a basilica, with archaic features that mimic architectural elements from earlier periods, but also differ from each other in design and style. Two of them are decorated with interesting wall paintings and carved figures. It is said that King Lalibela took 24 years to build. They have been classified into three different groups: churches built in caves, simple structures built inside a natural cave (Makina Medhane Alem, Yemrehanna Kristos); churches carved into the rock, are all those carved into a rock wall and, sometimes, using an existing cave to widen (Aba Libanos, Bete Meskel, Bete Denagil) monolithic churches, oradadas in the rock in one piece and separated from it by trenches on all sides except for base (Bete Medhane Alem, Bete Mariam , Bete Emanuel, Bete Giorgis). Erosion caused mainly by weather is deteriorating the stone surface of all the churches so they need urgent restoration. The main ones are the church of Medhane Alem, Maryam, of Ammanue, that of Giyorgis and Golgota-Mikail. In Lalibela are still practiced the same religions and rites that 800 years ago and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians is a second Holy Land, with its bed renamed Jordan and Mount Drum. Lalibela is the best example of archaic Christianity, because in live no less than 350 priests, 250 deacons, 400 novices and several hundred monks, all in a highly hierarchical structure.
CL8077: A woman Portea your child in Lalibela market. Lalibela not have many other attractions besides the churches. Although you should make a visit to the local market for shopping and good memories of the place before leaving. You can also visit the park of donkeys, which has beautiful views of the city. If you want to explore the area more deeply, you can trek around Lalibela, in the beautiful mountainous region surrounded by Ethiopian interesting fauna.
CL8150: A man sells prickly pears Lalibela market. North of Ethiopia we find the former and current Roha Lalibela. This holy city is notable for its rock-hewn churches that were built in the eleventh century low Zegüe domain Dynasty. It was King Lalibela Gebra Maskal who came to this barren place but full of reddish basalt rock in the excavation. The Libela churches are divided into two completely separate groups thanks to the Jordan River which separates them, but these churches are linked by walkways and tunnels that pilgrims used during your visit. Biet Giyorgis Church is the best preserved and is the only one that is separated from the others.
CL8298: In Lalibela market can get anything, animals, clothing, food, etc.. In a place apart, an outdoor market, chaotic, full of bustle and large, concentrated activity of people. Cattle, cloth, pots, ornaments, tailors, vegetables, fruits, plastic containers ... mixing between the coming and going of those who buy, chat or watch. The city revolves largely around religious activity and also lives of strangers attracted to it. Numerous little shops of souvenirs and handicrafts tempt visitors with a similar offer in all crosses, imitations of old books, copies of icons, necklaces and bracelets, woodcarvings small ... . The colorful decoration of these and other stores, often with naive paintings, a touch encouraged Street.
CL8425: Lalibela. Coffee ceremony. One of the greatest pleasures of Ethiopia's coffee. The ceremony is a rite as the Japanese tea. The ceremony is complicated and I can tell you is that you start roasting coffee beans, then ground in a wooden mortar and then put in the hot water and it's done the cafe. On the table is placed incense, sugar, and coffee cups and you can not even imagine how rich he is, nothing to do with what we in the cafes of Europe for much espresso whatever.
CL8456: A woman washes in the courtyard of his house in the outskirts of Lalibela. After the fall of the kingdom of Axum in the twelfth century, the kings of the dynasty Zagwe moved to Lalibela, Axum on Southeast. Here built a thriving and populous capital of medieval dynasties. Lalibela, was formerly known as Roha until the late twelfth century, then changed the name in honor of King Lalibela. The city was founded as the New Jerusalem were hard times for Christians and pilgrimages to Jerusalem real, very dangerous, so the idea of ??building a city of worship and pilgrimage in African territory. The churches of Lalibela Any person fall in love. These temples were carved entirely out of volcanic rock Tufu red.

Monasteries on Lake Tana

Occidente nailed in the country and with more than three thousand square kilometers of quinientos extensions, Lake Tana is the bigger of Ethiopia and a place from Sacred tiempos immemorial. Islas is dense in yerguen LEJANO, upholstered in green hasta las CIMAS, sus forests esconden algunos de los más importantes e churches of monasteries Ethiopian rite, muchos de ellos with more years of setecientos antiques. In this lake, a dice tantas Legends READ UP NOW the Ark of the Alliance, cuando a Small Jewish Community Huia that the persecution in Egypt transported from Aswan, river reaches, through the Blue Nile, until you reach the large Lake. On the island of Tana Kirkos, striking the legend, the Ark permanecio escondida fear Eight hundred years until it fue trasladada the city of Axum, where you will think we Aun rests in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, guarded by a Priest viejo and Ciego.
Tomamos a small bote para ir a las islas y mientras los adentro motor Avanzano River, hipopótamos desmesurados salute us with Las Cabezas sumergidas in the water, pelicans and extending las alas drag afraid to leave a las olas, indolent. Once on the dock, it needs a few minutes walk tierra adentro, barbed las iglesias en las partes Sueli be more elevadas of the islands. There, the vegetation is hearty and colorful: Bird vuelan them emitiendo extraños sounds, whilst lizards e insectos salted to pry. The children vecinas venden las cruces y otros islands souvenir of a lo largo camino. Al poco tiempo See you in a field and cease Despejado, paja the ceiling of the church and it is your first sorprendernos circular structure. Preguntamos in the entire world, but nadie carry with Certainty determine the origin of this practice: unos explican that its shape retiene Parts of the old animistic symbolism, it asocian Others with a driving range of Judaism and primitivo endemic to Ethiopia. In fin, nada concluyente.
The church has been divided into three concentric enclosures. In primero de ellos, the more outside las Cubiertas walls are murals of con imágenes de Cristo, San Jorge Matanda since its riding the Dragon, or the Virgin Mary, Ethiopian siento por quien them a special devotion. Las paintings and takes amarillos Green and Blue vivos, los ojos de los santos in percibe be a fuerte influence of Coptic and Byzantine art.
The Priest recites misa enclosure in El Segundo, always walk in the espalda Dando and the Sancta Sanctorum: A Dark and habitáculo preñada of incense, where you will save the most importante Item of the temples a replica of the Ark of the Alliance. How incredible is this state Objeto cumple, Today, the Ethiopian Christian church, a función similar to that tuvo, miles of years ago in the Jewish tradition, was worshiped cuando por todas las cosas on in the Sancta Sanctorum of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.
The Father is the Priest Tadesse encargado of this church. It is a man cease and Slim, and removed the skull shaved Wears a white coat that almost baja them up heels. Walk barefoot fear them bamboo flooring, whilst we account the history of St. Tekle Haymanot, we lost a quien Skillful fuerza to spend seven years in Oranda subdued about it. We explain the complex symbolism that esconden Las Cruces grabadas scepter in hand to remove the account and then us apart from the unique history of its religions similar to Egyptian Coptic Christianity, but with fuertes influencias judías and animist. Sleep We give them a last look at murals, the PIDE Priest us the favor of a par le enviemos zapatos size forty and two.
Salimos the church attracted by the Sound of a drum. In a kiosk Cercano the children of the village acceptable religious education. Sentados Circle on a floor of sand, palms beat the rhythm of the music and respite viejas con su maestra songs, some songs that aprendieron vez parent and parent to parent.

 

 

Ethiopia, a country awakened to dream soccer dictatorship

In the land where the most famous athletes are Haile Gebrselassie , Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba , all athletics world figures , are also given opportunity to dream in football and qualify for their first World Cup in Brazil 2014.

The selection of Ethiopia reemerged after dictatorships , corruption and famine that prevented the development of the country and the sport after 31 years back to the African Cup of Nations and be two parties qualified for his first World Cup. To do this you must beat Nigeria, area champion and rival in the playoffs that will determine one of five tickets to the championship in South America next year.

The evolution has allowed the Ethiopian football get its first commercial sponsor in history: the Heineken beer company will pay $ 1.3 million for a two-year contract with the soccer federation .

Before , the resources for the development of football came from FIFA, which in the last four years erogó $ 3.5 million for development activities.

In 2009 , the African country was punished by the football governing maximum due to diversion of resources. Ashebir Woldegiorgis , president of the Ethiopian federation , was to blame for the team is unable to participate in qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Francisco Jauregui, Sporting Blog creator Africa , told The Economist that the success of the national team due to a serious process and a team armed with the most powerful bases as Dedebit , Saint George and Ethiopian Coffee , in addition, " the players know their clubs and allow the coach to work having almost daily contact with the majority, " he said.

The expert says European clubs still do not consider Ethiopian footballer because players prefer countries with longer tradition in football . In 2011 , the Egyptian club Wadi Degla joined Saladin Said 200,000 euros , so far is the highest signing.