Lake Tana monasteries, Tracing the elusive Tracy, Pesky kids, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post - 57

The next big event was the visit to the Island Monasteries. We were eager to visit, but the price quoted was quite exorbitant. Tourism in Ethiopia was in a very nascent stage and there were huge disparities between what was charged for the locals and the foreigners. In many cases the difference could be shocking. For a museum entry, the locals were charged 2 Birr but the foreigners would be charged 30 or even 50 birr!

Similarly the local Ethiopians paid birr 250 (Rs 1250) for an air ticket from Addis Ababa to Bahirdar but the foreigners paid birr 650 (Rs 3750) for the same ticket. If the same ticket is bought outside Ethiopia it would cost something like 1200 birr (Rs 6000). Foreigners were fair game for over charging in most countries!

The boats that are used for Monastery visits were speed boats which could seat around 10-12 people. They had quite rudimentary seating facility and had a tarpaulin to protect the passengers from the fierce African sun. Life jackets were provided but water and refreshments have to be brought by the passengers’ themselves. The charge for a day’s visit was 900 birr (Rs 4500/-).There was an Australian volunteer worker by name Tracy who was also interested to come along.

Our family (4 of us; me, Padma, Pranav and Sahithi), Tasneem and her daughter Namira, Dr. Neelima Ramakuru, Dr. T. N. Murthy and Dr. Srinivas Inguva were the members of the touring party. The cost came to 100 birr per person and it was a reasonable deal. But I suspect that the enterprising boatman had taken half the fare from the shrewd and battle hardened Indians but charged much more from the unsuspecting Australian.

We would be shown four island monasteries that are closest to Bahirdar town and also be shown the starting point of the Nile River. Ground rules were laid out. No playing of loud music, no wearing of foot wear in the churches, covering the entire body with clothes, no arguments about entry (some island monasteries restricted entry only for men and in others the entry was only for women), No touching of any antiques and religious artifacts unless the priest allowed it, etc.

The journey was quite smooth and after some time it looked as if we were travelling in the sea! The water was muddy, brown and turbulent too! Gliding silently alongside us were the very fragile looking Papyrus, weed boats. I told the other members “The boats are made with a wiry weed called papyrus. It is very light but can carry lot of weight”.

Almost on cue we came across a boat that had as many as 10 to 12 Ethiopians standing nonchalantly, as if they were standing on rock solid hard ground.  And the papyrus boat looked old and dilapidated and wonder of wonders was bound together with the flimsiest of the tree twines.

Also boating on the Lake, were wiry Ethiopians on their grand floating machines– humble thermocol contraceptions that defied all rules of gravity. But the bright eyed fishermen were all smiles and proudly displayed their wares – freshly caught fish!

Eyeing all this with a very expectant look were scores of Pelicans, opportunistic cunning rascals who would scoop in,  take a fish or two in their enormous bills and fly away, caring a hoot to the indignant shouts of the fisherman.

The Jim Carrey in our group, Dr. T. N. Murthy was in his elements. Dr. T. N. Murthy resembled Jim Carrey and had the same amusing way of talking just like him! He would start off in his own peculiar nasal style “Good morning to the Indian, Ethiopian and Australian tourists. We are right now approaching, Nega Island. I request you all to care of your belongings. And, HERE IS the welcome party, waiting for the arrival of the service no 527 approaching the waterway (run way for the island)”. Meanwhile the rag-tag welcome party was full of excitement.

The welcome party had kids of all ages from 2 to 18. They would all be waiting for the tamasha of monumental epic proportion that would unfold the minute the boat approached the landing area. The kids would be jumping and some adventurous ones would even try to jump onto the boat itself.

Some kids would offer to hold hands. The smiling kids had an agenda of their own. They would help the unsuspecting visitors set their feet on solid ground and disarmingly demand “Und Birr (one birr)”.

We were swamped by kids. They wanted to touch Sahithi and Pranav. Piercing shouts of “Mito, Mito (Baby, baby)” would ring out. They wanted to touch, pinch and give a playful slap too. The attention that foreigners get in Ethiopia would get overwhelming and the attention is never ending and would come in wave after wave. Unrelenting and unabating!  

Some, more bolder ones would slide upto us and present their visiting cards. Nothing spectacular; they were small cards made out crudely from cartons or even packing material. They would even use the reverse side of cigarette packs. Their names and Island names would be written on the visiting cards. They expect us to pay them at least one dollar for each visiting card presented. They would shout “give money, one dollar (smart kids, they understood that 1 US $ = 8.50 birr!) give me pen, student, give food”. It was a slug fest with unimaginable light and sound effects.

Meanwhile there would be others who would volunteer to act as tour guides. Woe beside anyone who asked them the fee. They would quote 100 US Dollars without batting an eyelid. Once anyone asks, he or she is done. They would be pestered for the entire duration and I have seen kids arguing even after the boat picked up speed and left the island.

Right now it sounds funny but at that time it was frightening and irritating. Tourists were fair game for any scheme and it was almost taken for granted that they were the major show and their presence was for pure entertainment for the children and the local population 

Blessed base, Bahirdar! Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post No – 56.

Ethiopians just like any other country’s people are curious  about foreigners.  When we were in Addis Ababa “where are you going to work?” was  the  most  frequent query. When I  said “Bahirdar”, there would be glances of respect and of envy. They would say “You are lucky, enjoy yourselves”. 

I was puzzled, at that time.  But within fifteen days of reaching Bahirdar, I realized that they were bang on, correct. Bahirdar has many things going in its favour as an excellent place to visit and to stay.  Bahirdar is the capital of the Amhara region and Amharas are the traditional rulers of Ethiopia. The official language Amharic comes from the language spoken by the Amharas. 

Bahirdar or “by the side of the sea” is the place where Lake Tana is situated. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile river and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara region in the north-western Ethiopian highlands, lake Tana is approximately 84 kilometres long and 66 kilometres wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters, and is at an elevation of 1,788 meters. Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 km², depending on season and rainfall. There are around 37-40 islands in Lake Tana an around 20 of them have island monasteries. 

Bahirdar sits right close to Axum (528 kilometres), Gondar (174 kilometres) the Lalibela, (314 Kilometres), the rock hewn churches of Lalibela are considered to be the 8th wonder of the world) and is very close to the Simien mountains. Bahirdar is right on the holy trail. 

Axum or Aksum is a city in the northern part of Ethiopia. Axum is The original capital of the Kingdom of Aksum and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa. In 1980, UNESCO added Axum's archaeological sites to its list of world Heritage sites due to their historic value. The obelisks of Axum are world famous. 

Axum is also supposed to be the place where the ark of the covenant is presently located. The ark of the covenant is the ark where the original ten commandments have supposed to be housed. The ark of covenant is supposed to be at St. Mary of Zion Church.  The Ark is guarded by a select group of celibate Monks. Axum is located 528 kilometres from Bahirdar. 

Gondar or Gonder is a city Located in the Semien of the Amhara region. Gondar is on the north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb river and southwest of the Simien Mountains. It is at an elevation of 2133 meters above sea level. Gondar served as a strong Christian kingdom for many years.

Gondar had previously served as the capital of the Ethiopian Empire. The city holds the remains of several royal castles, including those in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), for which Gondar has been called the "Camelot of Africa". Fasil Ghebbi is also a UNESCO world heritage.  

The Simien Mountains in northern part of Ethiopia north east of Gondar in Amhara region, are part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are a UNESCO world heritage site. The mountains consist of plateaus separated by valleys and rising to pinnacles. The tallest peak is Ras Dejen is at 4,550 metres. Other notable mountains include Mount Biuat at 4,437 metres and Kidis Yared at 4,453 metres.

Because of their geological origins, the mountains are unique. They are admiringly called God’s own chess pieces on earth. The mountains uncannily look like giant chess pieces and as the mountains are always clothed in mysterious mists and clouds, it looks as if the chess pieces are floating and it looks as if the gods are actually indulging in a serious game of chess amongst themselves.  Notable animals in the mountains include the Walia Ibex, Gelada or the weeping baboon and the Caracal, and the Simien fox. 

Lalibela is a town in Amhara region in the northern Ethiopia and is famous for monolithic rock hewn (cut) churches. Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities and a centre of Pilgrimage. Lalibela is at 2,500 meters above sea level. The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.

This is one of the reason why local Ethiopians considered my posting as lucky. Lalibela is the most holy place for the Ethiopian Christians just as Mecca is for the Muslims and Tirupati is for the Hindus. 

Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of the fourth century. The churches themselves date from the seventh to thirteenth centuries, and are traditionally dated to the reign of the Zagwe dynasty’s king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela.

So 4 out of 9 world heritage sites in Ethiopia are very close to Bahirdar. I made up my mind to visit them all. I wold not get another chance to see so many world heritage centres at one go! 

Right from our childhood we always have heard the word Nile, in great awe. Nile is the longest river in the world. Egypt which boasts of having one of the most ancient civilizations in the world is called the Gift of the Nile. If there is not Nile River there is no Egypt. And we are staying at the starting point of the Nile River! 

The island monasteries are very old and seeped in history. World over antiques and artefacts are kept at centrally guarded museums which are very convenient to visit. But Uniquely in Ethiopia the island monasteries are maintained in the same way as they have been maintained for hundreds of years. 

The monasteries are humble but house remarkable bibles, crosses and many leather parchments and other religious items of immense religious and cultural value. A monk was once asked “You have so many valuable articles in these monasteries, are you not scared of thieves, who is/are the guard/s?” The priest gave a withering look, softened his furrow, smiled gently and said “why should we worry, GOD is our GUARD”.

Mango Park- The pelican man - Ethiopian journey - Blog Post no - 26

Bahirdar by the Evening

Evenings in Bahirdar were pleasant. The promenade from Ethiostar to the mango park was full of huge palm trees and had very moderate traffic. The air was definitely cold and bracing but evening walks were not very strenuous and sweating was one unheard of. We could walk many kilometres without breaking out in sweat.

Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Lake Tana is approximately 84 kilometres long and 66 kilometres wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters, and is at an elevation of 1,788 meters. Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 km². 

Mango Park, Lake Tana, Bahirdar 

Mango park was a park that was created on the Lake Tana’s front. It was a park of decent size with a nice gallery facing the lake. Visitors could sit, relax, read a book, talk with friends or just nod off to sleep.  There was also a paved path that meandered around the lake for visitors’ who wanted to walk and admire the lake. There was a small cafeteria that served cool drinks, tea, coffee and some snacks.

Pelican in Full Flow 

Lake Tana Video 

A special attraction at the mango park was the pelican man. This Bahirdar resident popularly called the pelican man had been feeding the pelicans for many years and they had become incredibly tame and friendly. They would languidly swim close to the shore, their eyes always watchful to the arrival of their feeder – the pelican man. Woe betide a ignorant tourist who approach the pelicans at their feeding time to take their pictures. 

The pelicans would hungrily descent on the poor man and would rapidly put their very long and sharp beaks enquiringly in the pockets and then thrust their beaks wildly into the air.  They would all the time keep squeaking loudly and complaining about the indignity and injustice meted out to them. This would amuse the locals to a great extent. The pelican man was a very gentle soul and he would accept 5 or 10 birr as feeding donations with a disarming smile.

Lake Tana Islands 

Lake Tana has many mysterious islands that host old and unique monasteries. These lake monasteries have ancient churches and museums that have a treasure of ancient holy books, crosses and other religious artifacts. Interestingly entry to some islands is only for men and for some other entry is only for women. The lake Tana Island  monasteries could be visited by a boat and it would take a full day to cover all the islands.

Boating on Lake Tana 

We could see noisy speedboats, slow moving launches carrying many Ethiopians to Dek, the largest island on lake Tana. The one thing always caught the eye was the small and the precariously fragile looking papyrus boat. 

Papyrus Boat, lake Tana 

Papyrus boats are made of tankwa weed. They looked very fragile but it was common to see as many as five people on a single papyrus boat. A lone wiry boatman fishing in lake Tana in the background of soft lyrical traditional Ethiopian music in the receding sunlight makes for an unforgettable experience. 

15 - Reaching the destination - Searching for roots - Blog post no - 15

Ethiopian Music, soft, haunting and unforgettable 

On the fourth day morning the good news that we have been anxiously waiting for, arrived in the form of the representative from The Ministry of Education. He told that our flight was on the next day. We were elated At the same time, we were sad as we would be missing the other sixty eight fellow Indians who travelled with us from Mumbai.

The next day morning, the ten of us who had to fly to Bahirdar were taken to the airport. We boarded a smaller fifty  seater plane. There was no beautiful air hostess on the plane. Instead we had a hefty, strong and a silent air steward. The air steward gave us a customary nod, served us some cake and coke and went off, never to be seen for the entire flight duration of one hour!

Small  planes for Internal Travel

As we were waiting for the flight to take off, our ears were filled with the traditional Ethiopian music. Ethiopian music is very lyrical and has that soft soothing touch that would mentally relax frayed nerves. Ethiopian Music when played in its rawest form in the rustically beautiful Ethiopian country side back drop is an experience that has no parallels anywhere in the world.  

Later we were told that whom we thought was a steward was not an air steward! He was an air marshal or a security Officer! There was an attempt to kidnap an Ethiopian plane on 9^th June 2002 just six months before and the Ethiopian airlines hit upon an innovative idea. They hit two birds with one stone. They appointed air marshals and at the same time took off the air hostesses. This would not only mean less pay out as salaries but also meant that the weight of the air craft would be optimal. 

One caution with air travel in Ethiopia. It is always better to be in an airport much ahead in time. Ethiopian airlines is known to take off ahead of scheduled time if all the passengers arrive and board the plane. That would ensure time saved for each flight and that could mean that they schedule an extra flight and get extra revenue. Smart thinking Ethiopian airlines!

Usually the air-hostesses are the ones who are friendly and chat with the passengers. The pilots are silent and talk only if it is absolutely necessary. They would talk in a dry terse clipped tone. They bark into the microphones that have a strong static “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to ……… airlines. Right now we are at 30,000 feet from the mean sea level. We should be landing at our destination in 55 minutes”. Regretting their eloquence, they would lapse into silence, never to be heard again. Some of them would honour us by mumbling “we have reached the destination and we at ………….. airlines thank you for your patronage and hope that you will give us a chance to serve you again” He would end his speech grudgingly. Clearly communicating with the travellers is not their cup of coffee!

Scene from Air!

But in our flight to Bahirdar the air stewards were totally silent. But the pilot (I suppose this guy was just out of training school) was chirpy. He kept talking to us. He would suddenly say “ladies and gentleman look at the beautiful carpet of greenery from your windows’. He would cheekily add “of Course we will not be landing but enjoy the view”.

Nile Gorge 

He told us to watch out and observe the crossing the spectacular Nile  gorge and also asked us to look left to see the best waterfalls in Ethiopia – The Tiss Abay (Great smoke) waterfalls. He ended the narrative with a speech that I can never forget. It is still etched in my memory. The pilot said “ladies and gentleman and kids. We are coming in, to land at the historic Bahirdar city. As we go down for the landing observe the lake that will appear. This is the Lake Tana, the biggest lake in Ethiopia. It is also the place from where the great Nile river starts. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed your journey and hope that your stay in Bahirdar would be great and eventful”. Yes, Sir, It was a great trip and thanks for making it so memorable.

Tiss Abay Water Falls

With that we landed in one of the smallest airports that I have seen. ‘Ginbot Haya’ or May 20^th Airport. It was maybe quarter the size of Begumpet airport (Begumpet airport itself is a very small airport).

The scene was typical of the movie ‘Gods must be crazy’. There was skeletal staff and ours was the only flight, may be for the day!

Suresh Makkena

We were received by Suresh Makkena, Bala’s friend. Suresh would be our life line as he had come a year before and knew Bahirdar like the back of his hand. All ten of us were bundled into a Bahirdar university bus and we headed out to the city.

Bahirdar Country Side 

The scenery outside was out of a national geographic African documentary. There were metal roads and we could see vast lands, small huts, villagers, many children and small and quite dilapidated houses and many small shops. The city it seemed, had very few vehicles. People were either walking, riding donkeys, or simply herding their cows. We could not even see one buffalo. As we started approaching the main city there was a proliferation of bicycles. Seeing our bewildered faces, the driver burst out “Ethiopian helicopters”. The locals refer to their bicycles as helicopters!

Bahirdar

We were dropped off at Ethio Star, a three star hotel in Bahirdar. My heart sank at the sight of the hotel. It was a very pretty hotel but it had no lift. My worst fears were realized when the receptionist announced “Dr.Aneel and family (This doctor term seems to be haunting me, It has made its ghostly appearance in Bahirdar too) room no 401, fourth floor”.

Ethiostar, Bahirdar

We had four suitcases weighing 40 kgs each and 4 hand baggage weighing 20 Kgs each. How do we get them to the 4^th floor? My heart sank! Suresh our saviour had a great idea. He went outside and brought in 5 grinning Ethiopian boys! Any guess as to who they were? Who else but the omnipresent Ethiopian Shoe shine boys.

Omnipresent Shoe shine boys

These wiry boys effortlessly carried all our luggage smilingly to our room. They would have been happy with 10 birr but I gave them 50 Birr. 10 birr I was sure was their daily income but I liked their attitude. They wore their heart and smile on their sleeves. That 50 birr was a great investment. It made me quite famous in that locality and I would get huge smiles and extra “Firanj and babuji” ribbing by the very sporting Ethiopian kids. I was branded fair and easy game! 

7 - Ethiopia - 13 months of sunshine - where yesterday, today and tomorrow merge seamlessly - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post - 7

Ethiopian Highlands 

The next day morning, the Vice President’s words “the entire country is air conditioned” was ringing in my mind. “What did he mean?” I wondered.  I went to the easiest and most convenient person to ask questions – Google Matha (Mother). Google embraced me warmly and I deep dived. I was astonished at what Google was throwing at me.

I was interviewed for Bahirdar University and Bahirdar is a part of the Ethiopian highlands. They are a rugged mass of mountains , situated in the Horn region of Northeast Africa. They form the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 metres (4,921 feet), while the highest mountain peak, Ras Dashen reaches a height of up to 4550 metres (14,928 feet).

The Ethiopian High lands are often called the Roof of Africa due to their height and large area.  Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion reaches into Eritrea, a neighboring country.

Smiling Ethiopian holding Coffee beans 

In the southern parts of the Ethiopian Highlands once was located the Kingdom of Kaffa, a medieval early modern state, where from  the first coffee plant was exported to the Arabian peninsula . The land of the former kingdom is mountainous with stretches of forest. The land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year. The term "coffee" is derived from the Arabic ‘qahwah’ and is traceable to Kaffa. The Latin name of coffee is Coffee Arabica as coffee was made popular by the Arabian merchants.

In the highlands, the air is cool and bracing in summer, and winters are very bleak. The mean range of temperature is between 15 to 25 °C (59 to 77 °F). The year may be divided into three seasons. Winter, or the cold season lasts from October to February. It is followed by a dry hot summer, which in the middle of June gives place to the rainy season. 

Bahirdar city promenade lined with palm trees and autos which are called Bajajs

Bahirdar University, Bahirdar is considered one of the holiest places in Ethiopia. Bahirdar or Bahardar is home to the starting point of the Nile River. And Nile as we all know is the longest river in the world. The Nile River starts in Lake Tana the largest lake in Ethiopia. The lake is so big that the town adjoining came to be called Bahardar (by the side of the sea). Lake Tana is so big that the Ethiopians thought it was a sea! Lake Tana has many small islands which have very old and holy monasteries. These are popularly called Lake Tana island monasteries.

Lake Tana the biggest lake in Ethiopia

Bahirdar is located approximately 578 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa, at an elevation of about 1,800 metres (5,906 feet) above sea level.  Bahirdar has a borderline tropical climate.  Afternoon temperatures are warm year round, and morning temperatures cool.  Temperatures vary a lot during the day and in the night. The highest average temperature is 28.8 Degrees centigrade and the lowest average temperature is 5 degrees centigrade. So that is what the Vice President meant when he said that the entire country is air conditioned!

Bahirdar is the third largest city in Ethiopia, after Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. It is the capital of the Amhara region, inhabited by the Amhara people. Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia.

That was more than enough for me to get excited. Many get opportunity to go to USA but how many have the chance to visit one of the oldest countries in the world?  The oldest surviving skeleton of human man mankind, ‘The Lucy’ was found in Ethiopia.  Ethiopia has a long history and is fiercely independent. It was only colonized for a very short time by the Italians but the proud Ethiopians threw them out in a jiffy.

Addis Ababa,the new flower, capital of Ethiopia and the 3rd highest capital in the world

Ethiopia is considered as one of the most influential country in the Entire African continent and the Capital, Addis Ababa (meaning New Flower, I should say very romantically named!) is often called the capital of Africa and is the headquarters of the African Union. It is said that all the African countries have atleast one of three colours of the Ethiopian Flag, green, yellow and red.  This is to show respect and acknowledge the contributions made by Ethiopia to the African cause and development.