Dec 23 am - Bahir Dar and Lake Tana

After our whistle-stop tour of Addis Ababa (one day simply doesn't do it justice), we were on the one hour flight the next morning to Bahir Dar, 560km to the north west. Set at 1830m above sea-level, it's a relaxed city situated at the source of the Blue Nile. Hippos chill in the Nile outlet and countless birds dive for food around the margins of Africa's third-largest lake.  But Lake Tana's best secret lies an hour's boat ride from the city, nestled among the woods on a small peninsula.  And despite all the hype in guidebooks, nothing can prepare you for the sumptuous visual feast hidden away inside.....the monasteries.



On the way to the monasteries, we passed dozens of reed boats loaded with firewood. The paddlers repeat the 8 mile round trip across Lake Tana every week, selling the firewood at the local market. Hard work for a few Birr.



From the boat, a short walk leads up through the trees to the monasteries.  On route, this painter used the dyes from local plants to create tiny diptychs - ecclesiastical 'cartoons' in Ethiopian orthodox style.

All over Africa, woman are carrying jerrycans of water from lakes, rivers, wells - wherever they can find it - to their homes, a journey which can take hours every day.  We reckoned this can weighed around 32kg - that's 70 pounds.  Water is heavy.  The combined weight of our suitcases was 32kg and I couldn't imagine putting both of them on my back and heading off on a 5 mile walk! 

A young mum and her stall.

Finally, at the entrance to the monastery - Ura Kidane Mihret.

Apprentice monks preparing lunch in the monastery grounds.

The boys' accommodation.

And at last, the monastery church.  It looks nothing from the outside, but wait 'til you walk through the door!

Surprise! The church has three concentric walls. Once inside the outer circular wall, you are confronted with the astonishing square middle wall covered in what the Bradt guide describes as 'an incredible jumble of murals...positively Chaucerian in their physicality, ribaldry and gore...a genuinely revealing glimpse into medieval Ethiopia.'  Well put, Mr. Briggs.

While the church itself is 16th century, the paintings are 'only' 100-250 years old.  Like almost all antiquities in Ethiopia, there is nothing to stop you touching the walls.  Indeed, the devil in one of the paintings has had his face almost completely scratched away!