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Ethiopian Xmas III

I decided to spend my last days in Ethiopia visiting few of its churches hidden in the mountains in Tigray region. Getting there wasn't easy, but certainly worth it!


The plan is to first fly to Axum and then slowly get back south from there visiting some less obvious sites.


This map was made with Wanderlog, a road trip planner app on iOS and Android

Axum

Short flight to Axum, an ancient capital of a powerful empire, already revealed very promising views

Axum obelisks, the main sight in the city, were rather disappointing. But a chance to see traditional Ethiopian funeral there definitely wasn't!

Believe it or not, but the place here is told to be where Ark of Covenant is hidden. According to the legend it was stolen from Jerusalem by Menelik I, son of King Salomon and Queen of Sheba.

Christmas feels different without snow.

Debre Damo 

Debre Damo, one of the oldest monasteries in Ethiopia is known for its inaccessibility. Most people visit on an organized tour, but that would be too easy 😁 Going there myself sounds like an adventure

A visit involves bussing to some random place that doesn't even have a name on the map, 6km walk and pretty steep 4km hike. And a bonus...

Doing an organized trip means missing encounters with locals. I would hate to miss these.

Almost there. Some monks living on the mountain don't leave it for years.

And there is a pretty good reason for this, because getting there involves climbing last 15m on a goat-skin rope.

It's not an easy climb! Big thanks to Magda and Michał for all the climbing we did last year, I'm not sure if I'd manage without this preparation!

Getting there is more exciting than the destination itself.

Legend has it that first monk has been brought to the mountain by a flying serpent. If you don't happen to have one you have to climb though.

Somewhere south of Adigrat

Successful visit to Debre Damo made me want to go to more unnamed places. After coming to a small town of Hawzien I realized that I arrived there on Wednesday, weekly market day.

Hundreds of people from nearby villages came to the town to do weekly shopping, sell their own products, cattle, etc. Afterwards they walked back to their villages

I'm sure this tree on a hill in the middle of nowhere has some legend attached to it. It looks ancient!

Views make you want to just sit under the tree and relax.

Another random place - a monastery somewhere north of Negash which is a first muslim settlement in Ethiopia. These stairs didn't look very solid.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to locate a person having a key to these remote monasteries. This time it worked.

Up there small pond of holy water and final resting place of local monks

The church is well hidden.

Unique opportunity to see a service in one of these places.

It's impossible to visit any rural area in Ethiopia and not being followed by local kids

A small cemetery somewhere in Tigray

Going back

After two weeks of intensive travel a place like Bishoftu 50km south of Addis is a perfect spot to just relax and do nothing.

There are seven small lakes in the area and the place is a weekend destination for people living in Addis.

Green lake owes its name (and color) to volcanic activities which created it.

Well deserved rest, nice views, time to go home.


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Location: Ethiopia

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