11. Ethiopia

The Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa

Stained glass window in Holy Trinity

Inside Holy Trinity

Lucy came from Ethiopia, apparently and was given the name Lucy after Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds…

A glass of St George beer. St George – patron saint of Ethiopia & brewer of a fine beer – killing dragons is thirsty work

A new mosque being built in Addis Ababa – photo taken on Eid al Adha – but not quite sure how the Muslims here reconcile their calendar with the Ethiopian one…

Museum in Addis Ababa – the museums were closed for Eid but the coffee shop was open – any excuse for a good cup of buna, eh?

Apparently we have a goat & a goatherd to thank for coffee (buna)…

Bajaj – the local version of the Tuk-Tuk

Ancient temple in Yeha – dedicated to Ilmuqeh, the Moon God – built by people from what is now Yemen – they used no form of mortar to bind the blocks of stone

The Queen of Sheba’s palace just outside Aksum

The ancient city of Aksum is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The ruins, dating from between the 1st and the 13th century A.D., include monolithic obelisks, giant stelae, royal tombs and the ruins of ancient castles…

Our Lady Mary of Zion – built by the Emperor Haile Selassie for Queen Elizabeth – who was not allowed into the old cathedral here on her visit (women weren’t allowed in then)

The chandelier was donated by the Queen. The grounds contain several other chapels including one that allegedly contains the Ark of the Covenant

There is a church in Aksum that can only be reached by climbing up a rope to the mountain-top. But this is a religion that worships Saint Tekla Haimanot – whose claim to beatitude is that he stood on one leg for 7 years praying until the other leg withered & fell off…

We went up there on mule & on foot – to visit the Ashetun Mariam church that wasn’t, quite frankly, worth the effort – lovely views, though

We spent 2 hours climbing; mule-riding & walking up to this little church (Ashetun Mariam) – the journey back down was equally treacherous but marginally easier…

One of the 11 churches in Lalibela that are now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site – the ungainly steel supports & roof help to protect these fragile churches from the elements

Lalibela took his inspiration from Jerusalem for this church – the aim was to create a place of pilgrimage for his people – much safer than making the dangerous trip to Jerusalem itself

St George’s Church – the last of the 11 churches built in Lalibela by King (later Saint) Gebre Mesqel Lalibela – they were built during 12th & 13th centuries

Standing by St George’s church – a 20-foot drop behind me hence the: “no – I’m not going to step back a bit” look

Just a view of some of the churches showing the protective covering now in place

The Fig Tree café at Lalibela – near St George’s church – excellent buna!

Lalibela from the Seven Olives hotel & restaurant – set in lovely grounds it is a haven for the array of little birds you see everywhere – for lunch had a very nice regional dish – a bit like a thali – with local bread (not injera)…

View over the valley from the terrace at the Mountain View hotel Lalibela

If you look carefully you can see 5 black kites sitting on the fence posts – a view from the terrace at the Mountain View hotel Lalibela

On the road back from Debark to Gondar we picked up a mad Frenchman who thought it would be a neat idea to walk the 113km between the two cities – he’s been to Ethiopia 10 times apparently

Overlooking Gondar from the Goha Hotel terrace – nice view of the city and a great place to see kites, vultures & buzzards circling & riding the thermals…

The castle in Gondar

The castle in Gondar

The entrance is designed to look like a lion’s head – an allusion rather than a true representation (it took me ages to see it much to the bafflement of my guide)…

Outside of the church – set in a lovely, wildly overgrown garden

Unfortunately a rather blurry picture

The Four Sisters restaurant in Gondar – highly recommended

The beer garden at the Dashen brewery in Gondar – here they serve it fresh, unfiltered & unpasteurised – really very nice indeed and at 4.6%abv very drinkable

A giant fig tree

The centre of Gondar – I took this from the terrace of a restaurant – my guide’s girlfriend Hayat had Vimto cordial (undiluted) in her avocado juice.
Hayat means “age” apparently; our driver was called Fantay – which means “replacement” as he “replaced” a son that had died…

The Italian designed & built post office

Driving over the Blue Nile in Bahir Dar – while in Bahir Dar i changed some money in the Dashen Bank – a procedure involving 7 people – very sweet – then went round the market (much nicer than the positively scary Merkato in Addis) – tried some chat (qat)…

Allegedly the start of the Blue Nile – the source being Lake Tana

Huge Fig tree on the banks of Lake Tana – the largest lake in Ethiopia

Bedele – not a bad beer – but couldn’t mask the taste of the injera

The outside of the sweet little church Ura Kidane Mehret

The violent scenes are quite graphic – clearly there was much smiting in Old Testament times

Ethiopian legend also has it that Menelik 1st – the son of King Solomon & the Queen of Sheba – started a dynasty unbroken until the death of Haile Selassie…

Legend has it that Melchior came from Ethiopia…

Images adorning the inner walls of the monastery Ura Kidane Mehret – set on a peninsula in Lake Tana – we had to wade through mud to get up here – it was like the set of a Monty Python film – still, we stopped & had a very nice buna on the way back down – made by a beautiful but unsmiling girl (buna being traditional black coffee)

Coming back across Lake Tana from the monastery

On the road from Gondar to Debark & then on to the Simien Mountains national park

At the Simien Mountains National Park Lodge – some 3,200 metres above sea level

A bright, sunny morning in the Simien Mountains – the previous evening there had been the most amazing electrical storm way off in the distance – an incredible light show that went for about 15 minutes – I stood watching it with an American lady – both of us transfixed…

Gelada Baboons

The baboons live in caves in the cliffs

On the road: guide; driver & me all wearing our replica Ethiopian national football team shirts – “come on you Walia’s!” – the team is called Walia after the endemic (& rare) Walia Ibex. The team lost 2-1 to Nigeria in the first leg of the play-offs for a place in the 2014 World Cup – next game 16th November in Lagos…