It has been a hectic time, so I have allowed the story to get a bit behind. I'll try to catch up in the next few days.
When I left you the trip had recovered from a rocky period to have a great day & night in Axum. The next morning we set off for a long drive through Tigray. The first stop was the ruins of an ancient temple at Yeha, just outside Axum. I often find that it is the surprises that you remember most on holiday. The ancient ruins in Axum (stelae apart) were all low piles of stones or underground chambers. I assumed Yeha would be similar. As the site is shared by a monastery the temple wasn't immediately visible. In fact, when I rounded the monastery & saw the well built two story building covered in scaffolding I simply assumed it was another recent building. I was stunned to discover that this was a 2800 year old temple. It is in remarkable shape. While it lacks the size of more famous ruins, its mere existence in this condition is just remarkable. Apparently the oldest such structure in sub-saharan Africa.
From there we began our drive through the dry, mountainous Tigrayan landscape. Tigray has been the traditional path for invading forces to take into the Ethiopian heartland. We passed Adwa – site of Emperor Menelik's defeat of an Italian army in 1897 and the battle that kept Ethiopia from colonization. Later we passed through the imposing mountains where the italians planned their last stand against Commonwealth forces in 1941. Yet later we would pass the sites of Ethiopian defeats in the 1930s (to italy) and the and the 1540s, when a combined Ethiopian-Portugese force lost to a Muslim Somali army. We also passed through a small town where Muslims first settled in Ethiopia – the wife of the Prophet Muhammed among them!
The highlight of this journey was a visit to a Tigrayan rock-hewn monastry. These churches vary in size, decoration & accessibility, but they are remarkable. After a bumpy drive we had to scramble up a steep hill & walk for a while before reaching the unimpressive entrance. I assumed there would be a cave behind, but instead I found a huge church carved out of the rock, complete with columns! It was worth the climb and a great intro to Lalibela.
There seems to be a pattern in Ethiopia – the best laid out, most modern & cleanest cities are the ones tourists rarely see. Mekelle is a centre for education & industry, but you will barely see a tourist. Personally I liked it. Sadly I missed the highlight of mekelle – on Monday Afar tribesmen from rthe Danikil Depression (the hottest place on earth) come into town bearing salt mined from dried lakes in the depression. I was disappointed, but Meles made up for it a few hours later in a small town south of mekelle when he not only found a market with a lot of camel trains, he took me to a camel market!! Apparently they cost about 15,000 birr (under $800).
The other memorable moment of the day was driving through Korem. In November 1984 Michael Buerk reported from the plains north of Korem on the Ethiopian famine. Anyone who has seen the report will never forget the images. It spurred Bob Geldof into action & the rest is history. To see Korem today is to be reminded just how far from the reality of modern Ethiopia those images are. It is green & fertile. Ethiopians are heartily sick of being defined by events that took place almost 30 years ago. Their nation has moved on, they want the world to do the same.
The next day was lalibela, the highlight of any Ethiopian visit. My hotel was a winner – its balcony overlooking the beautiful valley where lalibela sits. Breakfast was served on a terrace with the same view. I was in a good mood before I even began.
Lalibela was conceived & built by a king of the same name as a 'new Jerusalem' so that pilgrims would not need to make the dangerous journey – probably shortly after the re-capture of Jerusalem from the crusaders in the 1100s . He re-named the river there 'Jordan' and set about carving out a series of churches fcrom the bare rock. There are 11 churches in 2 groups. They defy words. They are not huge like Angkor or the Pyramids, but their mere existence is stunning. Most are completely free standing and up to 2 stories high. Words are pretty useless here. I could just babble on, but it is better to wait for photos. Suffice to say that everybody should see this. It is like Petra in Jordan, but can be reached by plane in 1 hour from Addis. One observation is that these churches are not monuments to a dead or distant culture. They are alive. Monks & worshippers are there at every turn. During religious festivals they are full of people. It adds something to the experience.
My day finished well. I got to visit a monastery just outside town that is built under an overhanging cliff. There I was splashed with the 'holy water' than drips from the ceiling – melese & our local guide took home bottles full! The day finished with sunset drinks & a meal with a Kiwi/Canadian traveller I had met over lunch. Even the rain storm that hit as I worked home seemed to fit – virtually the first rain I had felt since leaving home. Just wonderful.
When I left you the trip had recovered from a rocky period to have a great day & night in Axum. The next morning we set off for a long drive through Tigray. The first stop was the ruins of an ancient temple at Yeha, just outside Axum. I often find that it is the surprises that you remember most on holiday. The ancient ruins in Axum (stelae apart) were all low piles of stones or underground chambers. I assumed Yeha would be similar. As the site is shared by a monastery the temple wasn't immediately visible. In fact, when I rounded the monastery & saw the well built two story building covered in scaffolding I simply assumed it was another recent building. I was stunned to discover that this was a 2800 year old temple. It is in remarkable shape. While it lacks the size of more famous ruins, its mere existence in this condition is just remarkable. Apparently the oldest such structure in sub-saharan Africa.
From there we began our drive through the dry, mountainous Tigrayan landscape. Tigray has been the traditional path for invading forces to take into the Ethiopian heartland. We passed Adwa – site of Emperor Menelik's defeat of an Italian army in 1897 and the battle that kept Ethiopia from colonization. Later we passed through the imposing mountains where the italians planned their last stand against Commonwealth forces in 1941. Yet later we would pass the sites of Ethiopian defeats in the 1930s (to italy) and the and the 1540s, when a combined Ethiopian-Portugese force lost to a Muslim Somali army. We also passed through a small town where Muslims first settled in Ethiopia – the wife of the Prophet Muhammed among them!
The highlight of this journey was a visit to a Tigrayan rock-hewn monastry. These churches vary in size, decoration & accessibility, but they are remarkable. After a bumpy drive we had to scramble up a steep hill & walk for a while before reaching the unimpressive entrance. I assumed there would be a cave behind, but instead I found a huge church carved out of the rock, complete with columns! It was worth the climb and a great intro to Lalibela.
There seems to be a pattern in Ethiopia – the best laid out, most modern & cleanest cities are the ones tourists rarely see. Mekelle is a centre for education & industry, but you will barely see a tourist. Personally I liked it. Sadly I missed the highlight of mekelle – on Monday Afar tribesmen from rthe Danikil Depression (the hottest place on earth) come into town bearing salt mined from dried lakes in the depression. I was disappointed, but Meles made up for it a few hours later in a small town south of mekelle when he not only found a market with a lot of camel trains, he took me to a camel market!! Apparently they cost about 15,000 birr (under $800).
The other memorable moment of the day was driving through Korem. In November 1984 Michael Buerk reported from the plains north of Korem on the Ethiopian famine. Anyone who has seen the report will never forget the images. It spurred Bob Geldof into action & the rest is history. To see Korem today is to be reminded just how far from the reality of modern Ethiopia those images are. It is green & fertile. Ethiopians are heartily sick of being defined by events that took place almost 30 years ago. Their nation has moved on, they want the world to do the same.
The next day was lalibela, the highlight of any Ethiopian visit. My hotel was a winner – its balcony overlooking the beautiful valley where lalibela sits. Breakfast was served on a terrace with the same view. I was in a good mood before I even began.
Lalibela was conceived & built by a king of the same name as a 'new Jerusalem' so that pilgrims would not need to make the dangerous journey – probably shortly after the re-capture of Jerusalem from the crusaders in the 1100s . He re-named the river there 'Jordan' and set about carving out a series of churches fcrom the bare rock. There are 11 churches in 2 groups. They defy words. They are not huge like Angkor or the Pyramids, but their mere existence is stunning. Most are completely free standing and up to 2 stories high. Words are pretty useless here. I could just babble on, but it is better to wait for photos. Suffice to say that everybody should see this. It is like Petra in Jordan, but can be reached by plane in 1 hour from Addis. One observation is that these churches are not monuments to a dead or distant culture. They are alive. Monks & worshippers are there at every turn. During religious festivals they are full of people. It adds something to the experience.
My day finished well. I got to visit a monastery just outside town that is built under an overhanging cliff. There I was splashed with the 'holy water' than drips from the ceiling – melese & our local guide took home bottles full! The day finished with sunset drinks & a meal with a Kiwi/Canadian traveller I had met over lunch. Even the rain storm that hit as I worked home seemed to fit – virtually the first rain I had felt since leaving home. Just wonderful.
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