Not been kidnapped yet.....

27 February 2007

A leisurely morning of tea and toast sat overlooking Lake Tana followed by a four hour drive to Gondar. It takes a little longer to get there than we might have expected as the hill climb involves some tight turns as we wend our way through a range of scenery including some impressive tors (not sure that is their correct Ethiopian title). Passing the Dashen brewery (Peter reckons they do free tours) we arrive in Gondar at our hotel, in a prime location in the centre of town. Unfortunately only the location is prime. The hotel certainly is not and an upgrade is out of the question as we are all convinced that the tents are a higher spec than the rooms. We head into town and book our flights to Lalibela and Aksum and once again get stung for a double the expected price. It seems that all Ethiopian airlines flights have gone up after a hike in the price of petrol. Still we are all keen to see what are expected to be highlights of Ethiopia and given the state of the roads going north and west driving is out of the question.

Once booked we head to a local where draft beer is only 2.5 Birr and that is pretty much that for the rest of the day other than some dodgy pasta and tomato sauce back at the hotel.

28 February 2007

After paying for flights confirmed the previous day we sort out a guide (Binny the rasta) for the Royal Enclosure and the Bath of Fasilidas. Gondar has been called Africa’s Camelot and was the capital of Ethiopia from its foundation by Emperor Fasilidas in 1632 until 1886. Lying within 70,000 m.sq. the Royal Compound encompasses six lofty castles and a range of other buildings serving a many purposes such as the royal archive, house of the musicians, the lion cage, the horse zoo, sauna bath, house of the spinners (no not the ones of Michael row the boat ashore fame!) etc. The earliest and grandest of the edifices is that of Emperor Fasilidas, which is 32 metres high with a battlemented square tower. After lunch we take in the Baths of Emperor Fasilidas which lie a kilometre away to the west of the city. Restoration work is underway courtesy of some generous Norwegians and it’s it’s easy to imagine how impressive it will all look when full of water again. The afternoon is spent blogging and getting ready for the following morning’s flight west to Lalibela.

1 March 2007

Up early and off to the airport. A 50 minute flight over some stunning scenery to Lalibela the second capital of the ancient Ethiopian empire in the North and graced with the most beautiful setting on the mountains of Lasta. After knocking one hotel on the head we settle in to the Helen Hotel our baser for two nights. Su and I decide to get organised and head to the Tourist info to plan the following day’s tour of the rock-hewn churches. All very straightforward and follow this with a wander round the town. A winding cobbled road which snakes round the hillside. Followed by children all the way who just want to practice their English which makes a nice change from the frequent shouts of you you give me money that we have heard elsewhere in Ethiopia. The evening is spent trying to find anywhere that serves meat during lent. A tricky one and even though we ordered past with a meat sauce I am still not wholly convinced that we were successful.

2 March 2007

The lonely planet sums Lalibela up by saying if the Middle East has Petra then Ethiopia has Lalibela. Perched at an altitude of 2630 metres Lalibela also remains an isolated place and a centre of pilgrimage. We are lucky enough to be visiting on the monthly St George’s day celebration so the place is awash with robed priests and monks floating among the dimly lit passageways and tunnels of the medieval churches; from hidden crypts and grottoes comes the sound of Amharic chanting. It feels like we have stepped back centuries and is an utterly amazing place. Our guide for the day is like some strange Monty Python character (Spanish Inquisition sketch), hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic but with a wide eyed look and a voice that fluctuates between various octaves. What makes Lalibela’s rock hewn churches is that most are cut straight from the bedrock, so their roofs are at ground level. Originally called Roha (means clean) the town takes its present name from the 12^th century King Lalibela. Legend has it that the king established the capital here according to divine instructions revealed in a dream. All 11 churches were built within one century; some says another legend, with the help of angels. A fantastic day with a lot of walking in the baking sun although we did escape undercover in the various churches, alleyways and tunnels (one of which was over 30 metres long and absolutely pitch black – boys own stuff!). Did feel a little embarrassed leaving my rather smelly sandals outside each church but then the girls were castigated for not covering their shoulders and had to potter off and purchase shawls.

Back to the hotel for another night sharing a room with Tom (aka Mr Methane) and a sampling of Tej a cross between cider and wine and made (if my memory serves me correctly) from Honey amongst other things.

3 March 2007

Another flight. This time from Lalibela over the Simien Mountains to Aksum which lies near the border with Eritrea. Pleasant flight but told off at the airport for not confirming as there are only 11 people on the plane and we make up 7 of them. It’s suggested that without us the flight might not have taken place. At the time we do not give much thought to why the flight is so empty but find out a little later that day. The 3^rd of March is my Nephew Sam’s 7^th birthday so regardless of cost a call has to be made home. Unfortunately there is no one in at my sisters so I leave a message saying happy birthday to Sam adding that I am in Northern Ethiopia right on the Eritrean border and head off to the Internet only to spot on the BBC website that 21 people have been kidnapped in the Afar desert (less than 35km away). Not sure how we did not know this before but explains the empty plane. A quick phone call home again to confirm that I am ok. A wander into the centre of Aksum for a tea and a pastry (just for you Mrs Greenfield) its always a surprise when you have to move your chair outside the café to let a camel past. A tour of the market….lots of spices, camels, donkeys and goats and then off to watch the Man Utd v Liverpool game. As you might expect so far from Manchester there are loads of Man Utd fans all with the basic qualification for supporting their team – never been near Manchester, can’s play the game and don’t know much about it. I pin my flag to the Liverpool mast and am a tad upset when the spawny Mancs clinch it in the last minute. This is made all worse by a crowd of excited youths who take to the streets waving Man Utd posters. Is there no escape? Suddenly the Afar desert and the risk of kidnap does not seem quite so unpleasant (I am joking of course!).

4 March 2007

It is difficult to imagine that Aksum was ever the capital of a great civilisation yet the little town is littered with the ruins of palaces, underground tombs, stelae (monoliths to you and I) and inscriptions. We start our tour for the day with the huge granite monoliths, or steles of the Stele field. These are basically the biggest gravestones you will ever see with huge underground chambers housing the long since robbed graves of Kings. One monolith, sadly broken, measure 30 metres and is the biggest in the world. Weighing 517 tonnes you can imagine the finger pointing that went on 2000 years ago when it collapsed as soon as it was erected. Mind you with a foundation of 2 metres what did they expect. Not sure how the rest stayed up to be quite honest. All very impressive and it is with good reason that it all feels a bit like scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Every Ethiopian Orthodox Christian believes the Ark of the Covenant resides over the road in the St. Mary of Zion church. According to local tradition it was smuggled from Jerusalem by Menelik I although no-one is allowed to set eyes upon it. Queen Sheba’s pool is still used by the locals who wash themselves and clothes in the ‘holy’ waters. Elsewhere we are shown King Kaleb’s palace and the underground Tomb of King Basen (one of several we see). Lots of boulder pushing fails to trigger and poison darts, hidden doorways or rolling boulders but it’s good fun trying even if our guide, David, seems a bit bemused by it all.

It’s difficult to get your head round the number of monuments and relics that still lie around the town. I am fairly sure that you could keep a thousand archaeologists busy here for years to come there is so much left unexcavated. In the early eighties a couple of tenant farmers found the Aksumite equivalent to the Rosetta stone. A six foot table with three different ancient languages all detailing the same passage. It remains where it was found but now sits in a tin shed with a geriatric guard keeping watch. In the afternoon we head for the Queen of Sheba’s Palace (do you think she was ever asked….who do you think you are….the Queen of Sheba?) and the museum which is soon to be moved to a much grander building behind the stele field. Watch the sun setting over the stele field with a cool lager from the hotel on the ridge above before walking home after dinner while trying to get Michelle to say Ethiopian rather than Ethionopian….it doesn’t work.

5 March 2007

Woken earlier than expected as we have had a phone call from the airport asking us to check in early. Suspect the recent kidnappings have made them more than a little twitchy. Eventually leave at 11 for a bumpy flight south over the Simien mountains back to Gondar. Great views of Africa’s 4^th highest peak Mount Ras Dashen (4620m) on the way. Now does anyone know what the 3 highest are? Will leave that one with you! Arrive back in Gondar and decide not to bother with the planned tour of the Dashen brewery after partaking in too much local gin the night before. Instead we head back to camp for a leisurely afternoon before a burger and chips (major find in fasting season) and bed.

6 March 2007

I did mention at the end of the last blog update that it was the 6^th month of 1999. Well according to the Julian calendar it is. Anyway, plans to celebrate my 32^nd birthday again are scuppered by our continued misunderstanding of the Ethiopian calendar. It would appear that as there are 13 months in the year none of them have 29 days in them. We are still checking this one but fairly sure this is the case. The strange thing is that no-one can tell you for certain….

Hire a mini bus for the morning and head for the hills. Not quite the Simien national park but impressive all the same. A good one hour walk/climb and much hilarity as the small boys with us spot Tom’s complete lack of balance and offer him a staff so he doesn’t fall over as often. Various harsh comparisons to Heather Mills McCartney are made. Not sure how he got to the top of Mount Cameroon…have not seen any photographic proof yet!!!

Head back south to Bahar Dar for a couple of nights and then it’s back through the Blue Nile gorge to Addis. Not the Brunel gorge as previously reported due to Peter’s rather strong Kenyan accent. To all those worried about our welfare while up in the border region with Eritrea please be reassured that we are all safe and well, clear of the troubled area and heading south. More to follow and apologies for the lack of photos. SOme good ones but the internet connection is tripe.