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Home , Ark of the Covenant, Debre Berhan

.READER REPORT READER REPORT.ethiopia e e e e e e e e readerreainder in in in in in in in az az az az az az az az ag ag ag ag ag ag ag ag l mreportreporl mt. l m l m l m l m l m l m ve ve ve ve ve ve ve ve ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra l T l T l T l T l T l T l T l T ea ea ea ea ea ea ea ea R R R R R R R R © Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine©

Worshippers circling St Mary of

some plain, they look remarkably and both men ended up in a like Egyptian obelisks. The largest wary stance, genitals protected. of the stelae was taken out of the The panic on their faces was a country by the Italians under cover wonder to behold. lush lands of night in WWII. Finally returned From it was on to Lalibela, to Ethiopia in 2007, it was still the small town which contains the ARRIVING IN ETHIOPIA WITH HER HUSBAND AND TWO DAUGHTERS, waiting to be raised later in the greatest number of archaeological ERI. year as part of Ethiopia’s millennium and religious treasures in the CATHERINE COULTER SPENDS TWO WEEKS GETTING TO KNOW A Bet Giyorgis (St George’s) SUDAN church in Lalibela celebrations. Millennium you country. Lalibela sits on volcanic SURPRISINGLY BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE AND PEOPLE ask? Yes, 2008 is the year 2000 in rock and that’s what has made DJ.DJ. Ethiopia, which follows the Julian it famous. The town is filled with AddisAddis AAbabababa n the words of are beginning to spring up in along with the Mercato (Africa’s think nothing of being a little of the is reputed to be rather than the Gregorian calendar. churches that were carved out of e Thomas Friedman, e remote places. A place where largeste market) and most of the adversariale when necessary. In the held. We’re talkinge Raiders of the The Ethiopian clock is different,e too: the rock many hundreds of years e e ETHIOPIAETHIOPiIAn I “the world is flat”.in tough people still plough the land shopsin and restaurants across the inmidst of my belligerence about our LostLost ArkArki stuffsntuff here.here. WhetherWhether oror notnot a 12 hour clock whichin begins at ago. Rather than being sculptedin in z This becomesz by hand, some homes have satellite zentire city. We finally found one z missing bags, I ended up meeting it’s thez real thing is a matter that sunrise. When zmaking bookings into the rock like a cave, theyz are z a particularly apparenta when dishes and electricity. The land ofa attraction that was open – the a the son of the President of Ethiopia, ahas kept several authors in business, in Ethiopia,a it’s always a good idea carved down into thea hills and a SOMALIA I find that I can book internal famine from 20 years ago is filled National Museum. Although it is Woldegiorgis. Solomon as the Ark is under lock and key to make sure you know what time then hollowed out, so all you can UG.UG. g g g g g g g g a KENYA flights within aEthiopia by using with fields and trees, all brillianta the home of the bones of ‘Lucy’, a overheard my discontent and a and protected round the clock by theya are on. see is the roofsa of the churches a m Expedia,m from the comfort of green during the summerm rainy one of the oldest hominid’s everm stepped in to try to resolvem matters. a guardian monk whose sole mAnother peculiarity to us was the when youm stand at ground level. m l my homel in Ottawa, Canada. season. Perhapsl most surprising discovered, the museum’sl exhibits It turns out that althoughl Ethiopian- in life is to safeguard it. The Ark wasl typical Ethiopian greeting. Shared Wel spent two full days exploring l e Thee world has changed… of all, it is a lande of poverty where looked like they had beene put born, he is Canadiane and has lived supposedly brought to Ethiopiae by between men, it looks a bit like a ethe churches. Some of them are e v v Our kids, now aged 13 and 10, the peoplev don’t seem to begrudge together by Hannah’sv fourth grade in London, Ontario,v where George its king, , the reputedv son hug, with men almost resting their vcurrently having protective v a a have seen so much of the world foreignersa their wealth. By the class, with descriptionsa written on and I had attendeda university. a a suspended roofs installed by a Tr Tr that they have become rather blasé Tendr of our trip, we came to the pieces ofT paperr that were stuck to The nextTr thing we knew, we had “THE ARKT rIS UNDER LOCK AND KEYT r UNESCO, but even with all this Tr l l about it all. From tea with lamas l conclusion that the people of the itemsl with scotch tape. But that anl invitation for a personal tour l l construction around, none of us l a a in Ladakh to touring the Killinga Ethiopia are among the friendliest wasa okay, because the real reason aof the Presidential Palace on our ANDa PROTECTED ROUND THE CLOCKa will ever forget the feeling of a e e Fields of Cambodia, not muche on the face of the earth. efor our trip was to see the much- e return to Addis. I’ve always known BYe A GUARDIAN MONK WHOSEe SOLE awe as we entered our firste church, R R fazes Emma or Hannah.R However, The capital of is R vaunted historical circuit in the R that this particular personality trait R R Bet Medhane Alem. WalkingR down WRITERWRITE R none of us had yet explored any a funny place on a Sunday. The northern part of the country. of mine would pay off someday… JOB IN LIFE IS TO SAFEGUARD IT” through the depths into the cool PROFILEPROFILE. of sub-Saharan Africa, so in March perpetual traffic jams disappear We flew into the small town darkness of that first and largest of © Real Travel magazine© Real Travellast year mymagazine husband© GeorgeReal and Traveland one is left with themagazine dichotomy© Real of Axum Travelnot far from the Eritrean magazine © RealARK Travel OF THE COVENANT magazine© Realof the Queen ofTravel and King magazinenecks© on eachReal other’s shoulders. Travel churches magazine was© like stepping Real into a Travel magazine NAME CATHERINE COULTER I stuck the proverbial pin in a map of a shiny modern African city border. Although our flight was Axum is primarily known for its Solomon. The reality, however, is George first encountered it in site from the Middle Ages. Carpets AGE 45 and were off to explore the Horn juxtaposed with tin-roofed huts, uneventful, we found out that our collection of stelae and the St Mary that nobody but the keeper is ever Axum. Having no idea what was are laid end over end covering most INFO Lawyer Catherine lives in Ottawa, of Africa with our kids. donkey carts and camels in the bags were still sitting somewhere of Zion church. St Mary actually has permitted inside to see the Ark, so going on, he instinctively reached of the hand-hewn rock floor, and Canada, with her husband and daughters. We arrived in a country that is streets. You don’t visit Addis for in Addis. The unhappiness that two Ethiopian Orthodox churches we were left to speculate from afar. for the money pouch hidden down paintings going back hundreds of As well as Ethiopia, the family’s favourite filled with contradictions. A largely its tourist attractions, particularly this generated led to one of the and a chapel within its compound. As for the stelae, they sit in a field the front of his trousers. Our guide, years are applied directly onto the recent trips included Bhutan, Ladakh, Laos, rural and agricultural country, on a Sunday. The recommended highlights of our entire trip. I come The most important, the one we on the northern edge of town. Tall who had initiated the greeting, church walls. in their white Cambodia and trekking in Nepal. internet cafés and cell phones Ethnological Museum was closed, from a long line of women who had come to see, is where the Ark granite structures, some carved and misunderstood George’s gesture, robes with white turbans on their »

70 71 ethiopia.READER REPORT “THERE ARE MORE THAN TEN ROCK- ne ne HEWN CHURCHES IN LALIBELA,ne THE ne zi zi MOST FAMOUS BEINGzi BET GIYORGIS, zi a a IN THE SHAPE OFa A PERFECT CROSS” a ag ag ag ag l m l m l m TThehe SSimienimien lMMountainso unmtains ve ve ve ve ra ra ra ra l T l T l T l T ea ea ea ea R R R R © Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine

The ceiling of Debre Berhan Selassie

» heads stood singing together in which is cut down into the rock in The architecture is a strange From Saint George and the dragon a corner, all leaning on their staffs. the shape of a perfect cross. Most cross between English/Scottish to people falling into the flames In another part of the church, of the churches are connected by architecture with Islamic/Moorish of , there was enough here to incense burned while the chief a rabbit warren of tunnels through influences. Each castle is more give us all nightmares for a week. blessed the locals with a the rock – one of them 72m long. grand than the one before, and From we detoured 12th century seven kilogram cross Candles flicker throughout the it’s clear to see that there was a into the Simien Mountains for a made of pure . Stolen several darkness and priests willingly pose royal game of ‘top this’ that went short trek with the gelada baboons years ago and sold to a traveller for photographs with sunglasses on for generations. Gondar is through Grand Canyon-like scenery, for $25,000, it was subsequently on to protect their eyes from also the home of Debre Berhan before heading south around found and returned, and is now camera flashes. A feeling of ancient Selassie, one of the oldest and most Lake Tana to the town of Bahir kept locked up for most of the year. Judeo-Christianity abounds. important Orthodox churches in Dar. Among the delights here There are more than ten rock- Our time in Lalibela also the entire country. Every inch of are the flower gardens of the hewn churches in Lalibela, the most included a trip to Yemrehanna the walls and ceiling are covered lakeside Hotel Tana and the town’s famous of them being Bet Giyorgis, Kristos, the most well-known and in vibrant paintings of scenes from large pelican population. Another oldest of the cave churches that both the Old and . is the nearby Falls and the e litter the surrounding countryside. e e e ethiopiaethiopiafaqfaq. A 90 minute drive and 30 minute in in Gondar Castle in in SECURITYSECURITY IISSUESSSUEzS uphill walk from Lalibela, thisz 1,000 z z BorderBorder rregionsegionas ooff EEthiopiathiopia sshouldhould bbee year old timber, marblea and plaster a a avoided,avoided,g bbutut tthehe bbalancealance ooff tthehe ccountryountry church is located ing an enormous g g isis ggenerallyaenerally qquiteuite ssafe.afe. AAlthoughlthough ttherehere cave. The skeletonsa of monks from a a havehave bbeeneen bbombingsombings iinn AAddisddis ffromrom ttimeime ttoo days gone by are stacked up in the mtime,time, fforeignersoreigners ddoo nnotot sseemeem ttoo bbee ttargeted.argeted. back of them cave and if you don’t m m l PettyPetty ccrimerime eexistsxists bbutut iisn’tsn’t a ssignificantignificant iissue.ssue. watchl your step, it’s possible to trip l l e ForeignersForeigners sshouldhould ccheckheck tthehe FForeignoreign aandnd overe skulls and bones peeking out e e v CommonwealthCommonwealth OOfficeffice wwebsiteebsite bbeforeefore v v v a visitingvisiting aanyny ccountry,ountry, iincludingncluding EEthiopia.thiopia. a of the dirt and straw which covers a a r r the rock floor. r r T www.fco.gov.uk T T T l WHENWHEN TTOO GGOO l THE CITY OF CASTLES l l a Ethiopia’sEthiopia’s mmottootto iiss ’’1313 mmonthsoanths ooff ssunshine’.unshine’. Our next stop took us to the citya a e OtherOther tthanhan aavoidingvoidinge tthehe rrainyainy sseasoneason iinn of Gondar, which lies just northe e R thethe ssummerumm er mmonths,Ronths, yyou’llou’ll ddoo wwellell ttravellingravelling of Lake Tana in the northwest R of R therethere aatt aalmostlmost aanyny ttimeime ooff tthehe yyear.ear. TThehe the country. Gondar sounds like © Real Travel magazinecountrysidecou©ntrysid e iissReal a pparticularlyarticularly llushush ggreenreTravelen iinn magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine thethe aautumnutumn mmonths.onths. something from Lord of the Rings and, luckily for us, it’s known for WHAT TO PACK a number of castles which also Lots of cash! Most hotels, restaurants, shops could have come from Tolkien’s and even banks in Ethiopia are not set up for imagination. There are nine castles credit cards or travellers’ cheques. Pack lots in the city, all contained within of cash and change it into Ethiopian birr one royal complex, although each whenever you get the chance. was built by a different emperor. »

72 ethiopia.READER REPORT

Inside the well preserved e Presidential Palace e infoinfeoboxbox. e n n BritishBnritish MMidlands,idlands, KKLMLM aandnd EEthiopianthiopian AAirlinesirlines n i i iallall fflyly ttoo AAddisddis ffromrom EEuropeurope aandnd mmanyany ootherther i z z z partsparts ooff tthehe wworld.orld. MMostost fflightslights aarere rroutedouted z a a a throughthrough eelsewherelsewhere iinn AAfricafrica oorr tthehe MMiddleiddle a g g g East.East. EEthiopianthiopian AAirlinesirlines hhasas a ggoodood ssafetyafety g a a a recordrecord aandnd ooperatesperates ddailyaily fflightslights ttoo mmanyany a m m m destinationsdestinations wwithinithin tthehe ccountry.ountry. m www.ethiopianairlines.comwww.ethiopianairlines.com el el el el v v v GETTINGGETTING AAROUNDROUND v a a a TourTour ccompaniesompanies hhaveaave rregularegular gguideduided ttripsrips r r r toto EEthiopiathiopia bbututr iitt iiss aalsolso rrelativelyelatively eeasyasy ttoo T T T traveltravel iindependently. ndeTpendently. l l l VISITINGVISIlTING LLOCALOCAL SSCHOOLSCHOOLS a a a aTheThe ffamilyamily aarrangedrranged ttoo vvisitisit a llocalocal EEthiopianthiopian e e e eschool through Link Ethiopia. R R R R www.linkethiopia.org © Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© RealACCOMMODATION Travel magazine Addis Ababa has a Sheraton and a Hilton, » corresponding Blue Nile River, During our visit we discovered and make something better both but the prices are high and they are often which becomes the Nile in that the school educates over 2,000 for themselves and for their country. full. There are lots of cheap hotels in most Khartoum, where it merges with students, half in the morning and centres but these are not recommended. The government-run Ghion chain has hotels the White Nile. Despite the fact the other half in the afternoon, TREASURE OF AGES in each centre on the historical route and, that the country draws some of with about 60 kids crammed into This high note continued on our these are probably the best mid-range the water flow away from the falls each classroom. AIDS and HIV have final day in Addis, when we decided option. Although overpriced at about £25 to generate hydro-electric power, claimed about half of the country’s to take Solomon Woldegiorgis per night, the rooms are generally clean it’s still awe-inspiring. adults, so a large number of up on his offer of a tour of the and have running water (although subject The other big draw in children in all Ethiopian schools Presidential Palace. While the to some rationing due to water shortages) is the lake itself, home to dozens of are orphans, and many students, President’s family currently uses and restaurants with both Ethiopian and which circle the shore. unable to leave family farms when a small portion of the palace, continental food. Ranging in age from hundreds of they’re younger, are in their late the rest is effectively a museum www.ghionhotel.com.et years old to brand new, many of teens. Along with maths, science although not open to the public. VISA them can only be visited by men, and history, virtually all of Ethiopia’s Solomon took us into the heavily UK passport holders require a tourist visa so with three females in the family students study English on a daily secured basement, which looked purchased before travel (30 day, single-entry our options were limited. We opted basis, so we enjoyed a delightful for all the world like that scene at is £12; three month, multi-entry is £18) for a lovely day out on the lake time speaking with seventh and the end of National Treasure where or on arrival at Addis Ababa and Dire viewing those monasteries closest eighth grade students who were everyone stands open-mouthed at Dawa airports (US$20 for one month). to town and open to women. eager to practise their English. the spectacle of the treasure of ages HEALTH laid out before them. Vaccinations against cholera, diphtheria, The warehouse-sized basement hepatitis A+B, meningococcal meningitis, “THE PALACE HAS BEEN LEFT EXACTLY contains virtually all of former polio, rabies, tetanus, TB and typhoid are AS IT WAS WHEN LOST emperor Haile Selassie’s personal recommended.recommended. YYellowellow ffeverever iiss ppresentresent iinn tthehe items, from solid gold crowns and country,country, aandnd ttherehere iiss a hhighigh rriskisk ooff mmalariaalaria HIS POWER: A PERFECTLY PRESERVED jewelled robes, to gifts from world inin aareasreas bbelowelow 22,000m,,000m, eexceptxcept AAddisddis AAbaba.baba. TIME CAPSULEe FROM THE MID-70S” e leaders and stuffed lions and tigers. e e in in From there we were escorted in in Although wez much enjoyed the Particularly charming wasz an upstairs to see the rest of the zand pasta always cooked the z sites of Bahira Dar, the real highlight older student who askeda us about palace. Haile Selassie was forciblya exact same way) wasn’t really our a was a visitg to the town’s Atse Serte the small size of ourg family and removed from power in 1974g and cup of tea. There is also very little g Dingela Elementary School. We then commendeda us, in front of it has long been rumoureda that he tourist infrastructure in the country a mhad arranged the visit in advance our embarrassedm daughters, on was killed by his politicalm enemies which lends itself to a numberm of l through Link Ethiopia, a British- our familyl planning achievements. while under housel arrest. Whatever hassles, including finding ldecent e run organisation which supports Despitee the continuous presence the story, thee palace has been left hotels and exchanginge money. v education in Ethiopia and looks vof AIDS and poverty in Ethiopia, exactly asv it was when he lost his We struggled mightilyv on our a to increase cultural awareness a our uplifting visit made it clear power:a a perfectly preserved time Simien Mountaina trek, due to r between young people in the r that the youngest generation is capsuler from the mid-seventies, extreme heatr and cold, the high T UK and the east African country. T working hard to become educated Tcomplete with original furnishings, altitude andT late night journeys l l l linens and even toiletries left just to outdoorl squat toilets, and a a a as they were when Selassie still wea all battled our own personal e EEmmamma aandnd HHannahannahe aatt tthehe e e BBluelue NNileile FFalls,alls, BBahirahir DDarar resided there. when comparing our R R R The best mark of a trip is the R comfortable lives in Canada with impression that remains with the poverty and general stress of © Real Travel magazine© Real Travel magazine© Real Travelyou once you return magazine home.© The Reallife in Ethiopia. Travel magazine girls and I don’t appreciate injera But when we are asked what (the Ethiopian national dish which our trip was like, one need look features a sour spongy pancake no further than Emma and Hannah made with teff flour and topped – both of whom want to know with various stews) and we’ve whether we can visit Ethiopia all concluded that the international over again next year. It will remain food on the trip (usually chicken ingrained in all of us forever. ■

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