Day 59: Sunday 30th March - Bahir Dar, Kurifto Resort.

The resort lives up to expectations and we have a great dinner and a couple of glasses of wine. They serve Drostdy Hof wine here and it's the best we've seen around here although at R50 per glass it is not cheap.

In the morning we book a boat trip to the monasteries on Lake Tana, which leaves from the hotel "jetty". There are 21 monasteries on 7 islands and the peninsula and the first one we see is Debra Maryam - built in the 12th century (spelling varies greatly). The history of the church is explained along with the beliefs in the Old and New Testaments and the deacon explains the wall paintings. There are 3 "areas" - an outer area, middle area and inner sanctum. Only priests and monks are allowed in the inner sanctum and we are not even allowed to see it. The paintings line the outside of the inner sanctum walls and the inscriptions are in Ge'ez language which only the priests and monks understand. We are shown a special "Don't touch me" bush which folds its leaves when touched - quite weird. In the flatter areas of the island the hippos still come on land at night and eat the grass, sadly no crocodiles left.

After paying the entry fees and guide, the boat then takes us to the end of the Zeghe Peninsula to Zeghe Monastery. This is a 14th century monastery and apparently the original source of coffee. Coffee, lemons and hops are (and always have been) grown here. The guide is very informative and explains that the three "areas" (sanctums perhaps) of the monastery represent The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost and also explains all the painting "stories" of the Old and New Testaments including those painting based on an Ethiopian Book of Ge'ez. As this monastery purports to be the original source of coffee (and we get the shepherd, goat, monk story) we decide to take our coffee ceremony here and sit on the little stools while a local girl roasts the beans and makes coffee, It's not bitter (in fact quite mild) and I (Simon) manage 2 cups per custom (one cup only can be considered rude we heard somewhere).

Day 60: Monday 31st March: Bahir Dar to Lalibela. Odo 14696 (leaving Bahir Dar).

Well, this is what we've been waiting for and only 25km or so of the 320km between Bahir Dar and Lalibela is dirt, the rest fairly good tar.

We arrive in Lalibela at 2:30pm after the usual "on the road" lunch, viewed with amusement at close quarters with the locals. It really doesn't matter where you stop, even if it looks desolate and uninhabited, there will be 3 to 10 people gathered closely around you just watching - very strange but we are (also strangely) used to it by now.

My initial impressions of Lalibela are disappointing as it seems quite unkempt and there is a lot of building activity and road upgrades. We park opposite the tourist information bureau (one guy in a dirty dusty office) and ask about the church visits. There are special services for St. George tomorrow so we may be in luck to see a few specialties. There seem to be a lot of touts in the village and everyone wants to look after our cars so Lyn sticks around as I go into the Tourist Office and get the information.

We opt for Sora Lodge on the edge of town and will take a guide and Tuk tuk tomorrow morning into the town to "do" the churches - US$50 pp entry (for 5 day validity, but of course we will only use the one day unfortunately).

NOTES:

Still doing nearly 10km/litre and the diesel fuel in Ethiopia is about US$ 95c per litre.

The women are still treated like donkeys, some with huge loads on their backs walking goodness knows how far.

Cycling: The dream of riding the last 10 or 20km into towns has not materialized, but I am doing some when possible. The real problem is the heat and also beer drinking getting in the way (i.e. start drinking in the afternoon then when it's cool enough to cycle too many beers have flowed. Alternatively, it only gets light at about 6:30 and by then we are getting ready for breakfast - alternatively too many beers have flowed).

Day 61: Tuesday 1st April: Lalibela

We have organized a guide from the lodge who turns up at 8am and we opt for 2 Bajaj (tuk-tuks) to take us to the churches. The guide turns out to be excellent and his name is Gashawa Melese.

In the morning we visit Groups 1 (symbolizing earthly Jerusalem) and 3 (3 being only the church of St Georges) and in the afternoon we visit Group 2 (symbolizing heavenly Jerusalem).

Group 1 consists of 6 rock hewn churches. Lalibela was initially known as Roha until the arrival 4 kings between the 9th and 12th centuries, Lalibela being the first king and initiated the construction of the churches. The Zagwe dynasty collapsed eventually as there was no direct descendent from the Solomonic line i.e. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

There are no plans existing and nothing is known of the architects, but Lalibela himself visited Jerusalem and it was his vision to create the New African Jerusalem by the construction of these churches. There are legends and some recent archaeological evidence that are somewhat contradictory (for instance legend has it that the 12 rock hewn churches took 24 years to construct but archaeological evidence suggests closer to 200 years).

Lalibela's people were of the Zagwe descended from the Axumites who destroyed themselves through civil war.

There are 4 different types of church: Troglodyte, Monolithic, Hyppogee and a combination of Monolithic and set into the rock itself.

The first church we visit is bet Medhane Alem. It is ornate and represents a later era as the carving is accurate and detailed with galleries etc.

There is lots of symbolism such as graves of martyrs, the paintings depicting Old and New Testament legends, the river Jordan has been carved-out to separate the different areas. Shields and crowns of King Lalibela. Today being 1st April is the Ethiopian Day of St George.

There are underground tunnels connecting most of the churches and we pass through a couple of these black holes, the first being to get to the second church in this group, St Mary's. This is also a very ornate church, Lalibela's "stamps" are present in the one portico and the domes and arches are quite neat and modern looking. There is a picture of the 4 kings of the Zagwe dynasty in this church. King Lalibela's tomb is also here.

All the churches are active and busy and we mill around the locals hearing lots of chanting - it's amazing that this is place is not over-run by tourists as it is a fascinating development and certainly leaves you believing that these people are very strongly and staunchly religious and their ancient history seems present today in the way they are practicing their religion.

There are 500 year old skeletons in the wall carve-outs believed to have been washed by holy water and therefore preserved. They were pilgrims who died here and were buried in these 'caves'.

St Georges Church is of course very special, from the "modern" guttering on the roof to its beauty, enhanced by the yellow lichen on the walls. It was modelled on Noah's Ark and has various levels (for the various animals) and has closed windows at the bottom and ventilated at the top. The rock unexcavated at one corner is said to represent Mount Aararat (where the Ark was constructed). St George was the last church built by Lalibela and has a perfect dome in the holy of holies where the copy of the Ark of the Covenant is stored.

The Group 2 churches are older, Gabriel and Raphael are the first 2 we visit, built into the hill and defensive palaces that were later turned into churches. The tunnels between the churches are longer and deeper and we do one without torchlight - quite scary!

The church of Bethlehem was never inhabited and was probably used as stables but of course symbolic of the birth place of Jesus. A tunnel connects it to Emmanuel church, which again has the eyes of the angels on the top of the columns symbolizing the help of the angels in constructing the church.

All in all the scale of this operation is unbelievably phenomenal and complex and pictures of course cannot do the undertaking justice. I am gob-smacked and my initial disappointment on arrival has dissipated. This was a highlight and I am delighted with the results.

Day 62: Wednesday 2nd April: Lalibela to Mekelle:

Our previous days guide told us he was 36 and we reckoned he looked at least 46 but that reminds us that the Ethiopian calendar is different to the rest of the world and is currently 7 years behind us. Move here and you could be 7 years younger (but it's a tough life so you won't look 7 years younger).

We leave the hotel early intending to get to Mekelle where the Doddle needs yet another service (her 50 000km this time). Our guide is still stuck in Addis trying to get our visas for Sudan and Egypt sorted out. Our fellow travelers are debating which route to follow as they still have a few specific churches that they want to visit. The road through the mountains is spectacular but incredibly steep uphills and downhills so the going is slow. Fortunately there is not too much traffic, but there are people everywhere. Just when you think no one could possibly be living there, then you suddenly see someone. The farming is intense with fields plowed on the steepest of hillsides.

Our fellow traveler has another nasty scare when his brakes fail completely on a steep downhill. This is the second time it has happened and fortunately he is very calm and capable and is able to gear down and control the vehicle. We stop with them for a little while and then continue our journey and they follow more slowly. The views are really difficult to describe and difficult to photograph as they are so vast - you can see forever from some of the high roads. We decide to stop for a quick lunch at the side of the road and spend some time looking for a 'deserted' spot. Of course once we have stopped, it takes about five minutes before the first child arrives to stand and stare. We are getting used to this, but soon there are about ten children around the age of 12/13 I would guess. They are a bit pushy - asking (more demanding) for pens and books etc. - and I get irritated so I go sit in the car and finish my lunch. They get more and more pushy so we pack up and start the vehicle to leave - just as Simon drives onto the road we hear a bang at the back of the car and one of the stones they have thrown has connected with the car. Si slams on the brakes and dives out of the car and chases them and I dive out the front seat with my belt in my hand and also give chase. The car is left standing half into the road and the engine is still running. It must have been a really funny sight, but we sure scared the hell out of them! Naturally they run like rock rabbits so there is no way we could have caught them, but hopefully they will think twice about throwing stones again (but I doubt it). Since we got into Ethiopia I have kept my belt handy in the front seat as I have realized that the kids have few boundaries and only understand one thing.

We soldier on and eventually get to Mekelle. The poor Garmin loses its mind completely and we are driving on a non-existent road for most of the time. Garmin (Tracks4Africa) will enjoy getting our updates from this trip as clearly not many South Africans have travelled here. Then of course the challenge is to find a hotel. I had done my homework so had a few names from Tripadviser, but none of the hotels were on Garmin and of course there are no addresses or signs so we just blunder around trying to find them. Mekelle is a big city with at least two universities that we saw, so it takes some time to finally track down Toyota and book the service for the next day. We check out a few hotels and finally decide on the Milano Hotel as the room they show us is not too bad and it is a rather classic-looking, old Italian hotel. Unfortunately the room we get is not up to scratch and after looking at another 10 rooms I give up and we settle for the first one we saw which has a totally broken toilet seat. As the shower is at least working and the bed is fair, I figure I don't need the toilet seat that badly. I give the guy at reception a mouthful and he just shrugs - I bet he just thinks "bloody Farangee!!" (Our guide in Addis explained that the first white people that Ethiopians interacted with were the French working in the Djibouti to Addis railway and the word 'Farangee' has evolved from 'Frenchie'. Wherever we go we hear children and adults say 'Farangee' as we pass. We are also amazed to hear that the guy at reception asked whether our fellow travelers are married as they cannot share a room if they are not! That is a first for all of us and no doubt a sign of things to come.

We wisely decide not to eat at this hotel and walk to a nearby hotel for dinner.

Day 63: Thursday 3rd April: Mekelle to Axum.

I (Simon of course) cycle around for an hour whilst the Doddle is being serviced. The locals seem quite aggressive, shouting "Hey, you!" at me all the time, but I think it's just their manner - brusque to say the least. I don't get any other reactions, but the tuk-tuks, buses, taxis and cars all give me quite a leeway (as they do to each other all the time) so I feel quite safe cycling in and around the town. Still, it's blerry hot even at 8:30 so I only last an hour (also we are at about 2600m here).

After the Doddle is ready to go we head out on the most stunning piece of tar in Ethiopia. The roads are breathtaking passes and the road builders must have been the best around. The pictures cannot do the scenery and roads justice but we've posted the best pictures we took.

As we get towards Axum the sky disappears and the dust takes over - this is hard, rocky arid country and the people reflect this, it must be a desperately hard life for those who cannot farm. Agriculture makes up 80% of the Ethiopian economy, with tourism making up the majority of the balance.

Day 64: Friday 4th April: Axum Sightseeing.

This morning we find a guide in town and negotiate a fee for the day.

Morning:

Axum was the first centre of Ethiopian civilization and Orthodox Christianity, where the 9 saints from Yemen originally came in the 4th century and started Christianity and precipitated the end of paganism here. It was the time of Kings Kaleb, Debra Mescal and Ezana (amongst others) and we visit these tombs and castles in the morning. Of note is the tomb of Balthazar who is the African third of the three wise men who travelled by the stars to Bethlehem. Some of the kings of course believed in an after- life and hence servants and slaves, riches and artifacts were buried with them for use in the after-life.

Over each tomb is a stellar - a rock monolith. We visit the 3 stellar fields of Axum, the "Main" stellar field being the most spectacular with Axumite engraving on three of the stellar. The Italians took one of the stellar after the war of 1898 and it was returned in the 1970's in 3 pieces and re-erected in its original position.

The Queen of Sheba's palace (and bathroom) is opposite the old stellar field south of the town - see picture of Lyn on the throne! Unfortunately the actual throne has either disintegrated or been stolen. Interestingly this palace was underneath cultivated land and was discovered when farmers started unearthing artifacts while plowing, I think in the 1960's - in fact quite a few of the tombs and palaces are still being excavated by archaeologists, so a lot of this history has only been relatively recently discovered.

The Queen of Sheba's swimming pool was converted into the local reservoir which also acts as a mass "baptism" area for people when they celebrate the end of lent (which is a 55 day fast that is currently in swing).

Afternoon:

We start at the New Church of St Mary of Zion where there is a service for lent ongoing and the priests and congregation finish by walking in procession around the outside of the church 3 times.

Inside the church is a beautiful chandelier and many "legendary" paintings such as The Crucifixion and another depicting the moving of the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem accompanied by 12000 Jews (1000 from 12 tribes). The move was conducted by the son of the Queen of Sheba abd King Solomon, King Menelik I. The church has no columns at all.

The Ark of the Covenant the tablets of the Ten Commandments) is stored in a chapel about 50m from St Mary's and a sole monk lives inside nearly all his life, never coming outside until he is replaced due to frailty (usually by another monk from the Debra Damo monastery nearby). Food and water is brought to him daily. Try the link below for a video describing the Ark of the Covenant's whereabouts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tX2KbeD2_PE&list=PLA97952C16E6F6F94

Interestingly there is a painting inside St Mary's that exactly depicts Sauron from Lord of the Rings - and - we go the Gondar tomorrow - anyone familiar with this book will instantly recognize there is some familiarity here!