Ethiopia Part 3 -Bahar Dar
Part 3 – Bahar Dar, Ethiopia
For the next 12 days I explore the northern area starting in Bahar Dar, sister city to Cleveland, Ohio, with a population about 167,261. I have three days to relax by Lake Tana, visit the Blue Nile Falls, to have laundry done and to celebrate the New Year. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the outdoor gardens and courtyard at the Ghion Hotel. The hotel sits on the southern shores of the majestic, mysterious, and massive Lake Tana. A brochure for Lake Tana describes it as such:
Set at more than 1,800 meters (5940 ft) above sea level, watershed for the Simien Mountains, Tana is the reservoir from which the Blue Nile draws its strength. The lake is 75 kilometers (47 miles) long and 60 kilometers (37 miles) wide, its 3600 square kilometer (1389 square miles) surface dotted with 30 islands – many which are the sites of monasteries and churches.
Arriving at 9:00am I am ready to relax by the lake to have a nice breakfast. The courtyard is dense with trees, flowers, plants, and birds. Not too far off shore is a flock of pelicans basking in the morning sun. The lake and I are calm and at peace. While I eat I watch a group of people wait for a boat to arrive to take them on a boat tour. I signed up for the afternoon tour allowing myself the remainder of the morning to explore the Saturday market. I also notice another tourist reading a guide book while he eats. Thinking he might also be newly arrived I ask if he is going on the afternoon boat ride too. He, Desta, said yes and we end up walking around Bahar Dar until the boat trip.
Turns out Desta is Ethiopian and is from the Gondar area. He has been living in the states for the past 18 years and is on a three month sabbatical from the rat race. We walk and talk for the next 3 hours stopping at the local market, the Tana Hotel, a government hotel also lake side, and the small harbor. The harbor has bigger boats for ferrying people to the many islands.
Desta, his cousin, and I wait an hour for our small boat to arrive. Secretly I am ready to call it quits as I watch the white caps on the water growing bigger and fiercer. Is this the same calm lake from this morning? The small motor boat with an awning on top finally arrives and the three of us board while the driver fills the tank with gas.
No life vests are in sight and this coupled with the waves makes me more nervous. At least I have a long sleeve shirt on to keep me warm as we head to our first stop about 45 minutes away. The first 30 minutes of the ride is fine and then we start hitting waves. Desta and his cousin get slapped on the back by waves and water pools in the bottom of the boat. We hit one wave after another and the poor boat sputters along. I look to see if there is concern on the driver’s face but no. I assure myself the driver does this day in and day out and surely he would have canceled the trip if he felt it unsafe or maybe not. Seeing other small boats struggling made me feel a little better too. At least we weren’t the only fools on the water.
Finally we make it to the “big” island and have a nice tour of Entonse Jesus Monastery. Again I am impressed with the paintings inside the monastery. Hermit monks and nuns live on this island with the help of donations. A pamphlet describes the history:
According to the tradition of our books, when the Holy Virgin Mary the beloved was exiled to the land of Egypt carrying her son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as stated in (Matthews Chapter 2 Verse 13,) that after staying in Egypt she came to the Land of Ethiopia and stayed for three months and ten days on the Island of Tana and in other monasteries.
Back at the small dock three one man papyrus canoes arrive with goods. These boats are a common sight used by the locals for transporting and fishing. We board and motor over to a smaller island with another nicely painted church. Here a priest awaits us and displays crosses and bibles belonging to the church. It makes for a very nice photo opportunity as the sun acts as a spot light beaming down on him through a window as he posses with the religious artifacts. Walking back through the fields I thought this small island to be an unspoiled place where kids are free to run around in the fresh air, where there are no roads or cars, and the inhabitants live in harmony with the land and water. The children do attend a school and cross a small straight by a papyrus ferry canoe to reach the school on the main land.
The boat ride back to the hotel is enjoyable as the waves are pushing us from behind. The sky begins to prepare for a spectacular sunset as it turns from blue to orange. Desta and I exchange mobile numbers to keep in touch. Later that night as I share a table with a Brit, he asks if I went to the “big” island. I say I think so because we did go to a big and a small island. As it turns out the “big” island is a 5 hour boat ride away and it is a common sight to see hippos in the water. Looks like I need to go back to the real “big” island on a real boat.
Early the next morning a tour is scheduled to leave at 7am to visit the Blue Nile Falls, locally known as Tissiat Falls. Keeping to Ghion hotel time, the tour leaves after 8:00am. Traveling solo I am shone to the front seat of the transport van. Ten of us and the driver set out to Tissisat village along bumpy and dusty roads. When a large truck comes barreling through kicking up dust, visibility is reduced to zero. One has to be very careful when driving at these times because huge hay carts will appear out of nowhere. The landscape in this area is barren with a few random huge trees scattered around with scraggy mountains in the background. After a 45 minute ride we arrive at Tissisat village, the last village before the falls.
The brochure on Bahar Dar does a good job describing the Falls.
The Falls are approached on foot from Tissisat village. After crossing over a castellated 17th century Portuguese bridge that spans a deep basaltic rift, a grassy rise is climbed and then the Falls suddenly appear – breaking the smooth unfaltering flow of the Nile into a boiling cataract and sending it foaming down the gorge below. The true name of the falls is called Tissisat Falls meaning smoke of fire. A constant spray mist cloaks the surrounding cliffs, creating iridescent rainbows. High about raptors circle on the thermals. In the gorge below metallic blue kingfishers, carmine bee eaters, song birds, and swifts dart through the fine droplets of spray before returning to their cliff-ledge perch.
The 1 birr note, their currency, depicts the falls as they were before a new $63 million, 450 megawatt power generating station called Tis Abay II dam came into action about 4 years ago diverting water on weekdays, but not yet on Sundays and holidays when there is less demand for the power. I was fortunate enough to go on a Sunday when the Falls were impressive but the local guide reminisced about the way they were before. It most of been amazing before.
Here is an excellent article on the Falls before and after. Richard Bangs was doing an IMAX project on the Mystery of the Nile and this took him back to the falls after a 30 years absent and he noticed something was seriously wrong. There are good photos too. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3727491/
In true Ethiopian fashion at the falls we had to decide what to do next as people were told different things about the tour and paid different prices. Option 1 was to walk back to the van and option 2 was to walk and make a big loop to get back to the van. Getting a consensus took time but in the end most of us opted to walk the loop while a few stayed behind to take photos. It was a gorgeous walk heading down to the an area closer to the falls where it constantly rains from the mist, crossing a river, climbing back up the other side and standing right by the falls daring to look over or not – I dared not.
The tour lasted the morning and having the rest of the day free and the rest of the 2006 to do as I pleased. I read, had half of my laundry done, sat by the lake, knitted, and took a walk in town with little ones in tow. I said good-bye to 2006 as I stood lake side looking at a full moon saying thanks for a great year.
My new year starts on a good note as I exchange the rest of my sweaty and dirty laundry for the clean batch. While at the desk filling out the necessary paper work for the laundry, Liyew, the desk clerk, reminds me he invited me on a walk to tour his university campus. With nothing pressing to do I accept the invitation and off we walk under a hot morning sun. He stops to buy me small pictures of St George on horse back slaying a dragon and the Virgin Mary. Liyew says I must have these to remember him by. We make a detour to the post office and he helps me adhere stamps to the post cards – a new experience for him as I show him where and how to adhere the stamps.
We walk in a new area of town and several times he asks me if I would like to walk or take a taxi. He never indicates how far away the school is and me thinking it is the one I passed on my first day we walk. After some time as it is getting hotter and hotter, I ask how far away is the school? He replies it is quite far and we should take a taxi. Now we play the waiting game to hail anything motorized; looks like we are standing in the wrong area, everything is full by the time it passes us. Eventually we share a small motor scooter thing with 3 people in the back and 2 up front by the driver. We take the Chinese road, a very new and freshly paved road built by, you guessed it, the Chinese, leading to the university. It stops 500 feet short of the entrance which is also at the edge of a stream. The bridge is out making people walk a long detour behind shacks selling juice, coffee, snacks, school supplies, and clothes.
The current Bahar Dar University, inaugurated in 2001, is a merger of the technical school and teachers school both in existence since the early 60’s. The old part of the university is set among trees while several newer parts are being built along side the Chinese road. It will be an impressive campus when it is done. We walk through the old part and he points out his class room, the dorms, the cafeteria, all looking a bit shabby, and continue along a path to the river. The hot sun has made my clean clothes sweaty already. As we walk back through the campus we see students playing fuss ball and table tennis at the student rec area. It is hard for me to walk by people playing table tennis without asking if I could join in. I play a game as Liyew watches on. He says his past times include running and soccer.
He suggests we go back into town for juice before he has to return to start his studying. We are dropped off on a corner and walk a few blocks to the juice stand. Passing by a photo store he asks me if it would be ok to get our picture taken together so he can member this special day. I am feeling like a drowned rat in my less than fashionable black and dusty pants, my tan, long sleeve, sweaty shirt, and a tan sunhat flopping over my eyes and ears. He insists and I agree. We go in and stand by a painted scene to have our picture taken. Liyew is very happy we did this.
At the juice shack I ask him to make sure no water is added to the juice. This narrows my juice choices down to one – papaya. I slurp on that while he spoons out his avocado juice. I hear from many people how good avocado juice is but not brave enough yet to try it. The other two patrons have also ordered avocado juice. I make a mental note to try it before I leave the country. I can tell Liyew is enjoying our outing because he is making sure I have whatever I need. He orders another juice for me despite the protest saying I am full. Our last stop is by the bus park to pick out music. I like these little music shacks because the clerks also act as good DJs. Liyew and the clerk pick out several tapes for me to listen to and I make my final decision. Liyew is happy for me to take home a piece of Ethiopian culture. The music is lively and fun. We part ways saying he will call me later that evening at the hotel. I wondered if he would now spring it on me I should pay him some money for his time and services but he didn’t. I think he wanted to be on a “date” with a girl and have a nice time and we did. Thank you Liyew for making my first day of 2007 a special one.
After a rest I head back on to the streets to take photos doing my best to discourage tag-alongs. Unhindered I snap my pictures and walk back to the hotel. I hear my name being called from across the street and I see Desta waving me over. I join him and his friends in their vehicle and we drive to an outdoor park for drinks. The park has nice gardens, trees, a play area for children, tables, sculptures, and a restaurant to order food and drinks. We have the local wine and talk the afternoon away. Desta and I plan to meet in the north as we are both traveling in that direction. That evening I pack, say good-bye to Liyew, and linger by the lake side realizing Bahar Dar is a special place. Early the next morning I have a flight to Gondar. What will be in store for me there?
For the next 12 days I explore the northern area starting in Bahar Dar, sister city to Cleveland, Ohio, with a population about 167,261. I have three days to relax by Lake Tana, visit the Blue Nile Falls, to have laundry done and to celebrate the New Year. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the outdoor gardens and courtyard at the Ghion Hotel. The hotel sits on the southern shores of the majestic, mysterious, and massive Lake Tana. A brochure for Lake Tana describes it as such:
Set at more than 1,800 meters (5940 ft) above sea level, watershed for the Simien Mountains, Tana is the reservoir from which the Blue Nile draws its strength. The lake is 75 kilometers (47 miles) long and 60 kilometers (37 miles) wide, its 3600 square kilometer (1389 square miles) surface dotted with 30 islands – many which are the sites of monasteries and churches.
Arriving at 9:00am I am ready to relax by the lake to have a nice breakfast. The courtyard is dense with trees, flowers, plants, and birds. Not too far off shore is a flock of pelicans basking in the morning sun. The lake and I are calm and at peace. While I eat I watch a group of people wait for a boat to arrive to take them on a boat tour. I signed up for the afternoon tour allowing myself the remainder of the morning to explore the Saturday market. I also notice another tourist reading a guide book while he eats. Thinking he might also be newly arrived I ask if he is going on the afternoon boat ride too. He, Desta, said yes and we end up walking around Bahar Dar until the boat trip.
Turns out Desta is Ethiopian and is from the Gondar area. He has been living in the states for the past 18 years and is on a three month sabbatical from the rat race. We walk and talk for the next 3 hours stopping at the local market, the Tana Hotel, a government hotel also lake side, and the small harbor. The harbor has bigger boats for ferrying people to the many islands.
Desta, his cousin, and I wait an hour for our small boat to arrive. Secretly I am ready to call it quits as I watch the white caps on the water growing bigger and fiercer. Is this the same calm lake from this morning? The small motor boat with an awning on top finally arrives and the three of us board while the driver fills the tank with gas.
No life vests are in sight and this coupled with the waves makes me more nervous. At least I have a long sleeve shirt on to keep me warm as we head to our first stop about 45 minutes away. The first 30 minutes of the ride is fine and then we start hitting waves. Desta and his cousin get slapped on the back by waves and water pools in the bottom of the boat. We hit one wave after another and the poor boat sputters along. I look to see if there is concern on the driver’s face but no. I assure myself the driver does this day in and day out and surely he would have canceled the trip if he felt it unsafe or maybe not. Seeing other small boats struggling made me feel a little better too. At least we weren’t the only fools on the water.
Finally we make it to the “big” island and have a nice tour of Entonse Jesus Monastery. Again I am impressed with the paintings inside the monastery. Hermit monks and nuns live on this island with the help of donations. A pamphlet describes the history:
According to the tradition of our books, when the Holy Virgin Mary the beloved was exiled to the land of Egypt carrying her son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as stated in (Matthews Chapter 2 Verse 13,) that after staying in Egypt she came to the Land of Ethiopia and stayed for three months and ten days on the Island of Tana and in other monasteries.
Back at the small dock three one man papyrus canoes arrive with goods. These boats are a common sight used by the locals for transporting and fishing. We board and motor over to a smaller island with another nicely painted church. Here a priest awaits us and displays crosses and bibles belonging to the church. It makes for a very nice photo opportunity as the sun acts as a spot light beaming down on him through a window as he posses with the religious artifacts. Walking back through the fields I thought this small island to be an unspoiled place where kids are free to run around in the fresh air, where there are no roads or cars, and the inhabitants live in harmony with the land and water. The children do attend a school and cross a small straight by a papyrus ferry canoe to reach the school on the main land.
The boat ride back to the hotel is enjoyable as the waves are pushing us from behind. The sky begins to prepare for a spectacular sunset as it turns from blue to orange. Desta and I exchange mobile numbers to keep in touch. Later that night as I share a table with a Brit, he asks if I went to the “big” island. I say I think so because we did go to a big and a small island. As it turns out the “big” island is a 5 hour boat ride away and it is a common sight to see hippos in the water. Looks like I need to go back to the real “big” island on a real boat.
Early the next morning a tour is scheduled to leave at 7am to visit the Blue Nile Falls, locally known as Tissiat Falls. Keeping to Ghion hotel time, the tour leaves after 8:00am. Traveling solo I am shone to the front seat of the transport van. Ten of us and the driver set out to Tissisat village along bumpy and dusty roads. When a large truck comes barreling through kicking up dust, visibility is reduced to zero. One has to be very careful when driving at these times because huge hay carts will appear out of nowhere. The landscape in this area is barren with a few random huge trees scattered around with scraggy mountains in the background. After a 45 minute ride we arrive at Tissisat village, the last village before the falls.
The brochure on Bahar Dar does a good job describing the Falls.
The Falls are approached on foot from Tissisat village. After crossing over a castellated 17th century Portuguese bridge that spans a deep basaltic rift, a grassy rise is climbed and then the Falls suddenly appear – breaking the smooth unfaltering flow of the Nile into a boiling cataract and sending it foaming down the gorge below. The true name of the falls is called Tissisat Falls meaning smoke of fire. A constant spray mist cloaks the surrounding cliffs, creating iridescent rainbows. High about raptors circle on the thermals. In the gorge below metallic blue kingfishers, carmine bee eaters, song birds, and swifts dart through the fine droplets of spray before returning to their cliff-ledge perch.
The 1 birr note, their currency, depicts the falls as they were before a new $63 million, 450 megawatt power generating station called Tis Abay II dam came into action about 4 years ago diverting water on weekdays, but not yet on Sundays and holidays when there is less demand for the power. I was fortunate enough to go on a Sunday when the Falls were impressive but the local guide reminisced about the way they were before. It most of been amazing before.
Here is an excellent article on the Falls before and after. Richard Bangs was doing an IMAX project on the Mystery of the Nile and this took him back to the falls after a 30 years absent and he noticed something was seriously wrong. There are good photos too. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3727491/
In true Ethiopian fashion at the falls we had to decide what to do next as people were told different things about the tour and paid different prices. Option 1 was to walk back to the van and option 2 was to walk and make a big loop to get back to the van. Getting a consensus took time but in the end most of us opted to walk the loop while a few stayed behind to take photos. It was a gorgeous walk heading down to the an area closer to the falls where it constantly rains from the mist, crossing a river, climbing back up the other side and standing right by the falls daring to look over or not – I dared not.
The tour lasted the morning and having the rest of the day free and the rest of the 2006 to do as I pleased. I read, had half of my laundry done, sat by the lake, knitted, and took a walk in town with little ones in tow. I said good-bye to 2006 as I stood lake side looking at a full moon saying thanks for a great year.
My new year starts on a good note as I exchange the rest of my sweaty and dirty laundry for the clean batch. While at the desk filling out the necessary paper work for the laundry, Liyew, the desk clerk, reminds me he invited me on a walk to tour his university campus. With nothing pressing to do I accept the invitation and off we walk under a hot morning sun. He stops to buy me small pictures of St George on horse back slaying a dragon and the Virgin Mary. Liyew says I must have these to remember him by. We make a detour to the post office and he helps me adhere stamps to the post cards – a new experience for him as I show him where and how to adhere the stamps.
We walk in a new area of town and several times he asks me if I would like to walk or take a taxi. He never indicates how far away the school is and me thinking it is the one I passed on my first day we walk. After some time as it is getting hotter and hotter, I ask how far away is the school? He replies it is quite far and we should take a taxi. Now we play the waiting game to hail anything motorized; looks like we are standing in the wrong area, everything is full by the time it passes us. Eventually we share a small motor scooter thing with 3 people in the back and 2 up front by the driver. We take the Chinese road, a very new and freshly paved road built by, you guessed it, the Chinese, leading to the university. It stops 500 feet short of the entrance which is also at the edge of a stream. The bridge is out making people walk a long detour behind shacks selling juice, coffee, snacks, school supplies, and clothes.
The current Bahar Dar University, inaugurated in 2001, is a merger of the technical school and teachers school both in existence since the early 60’s. The old part of the university is set among trees while several newer parts are being built along side the Chinese road. It will be an impressive campus when it is done. We walk through the old part and he points out his class room, the dorms, the cafeteria, all looking a bit shabby, and continue along a path to the river. The hot sun has made my clean clothes sweaty already. As we walk back through the campus we see students playing fuss ball and table tennis at the student rec area. It is hard for me to walk by people playing table tennis without asking if I could join in. I play a game as Liyew watches on. He says his past times include running and soccer.
He suggests we go back into town for juice before he has to return to start his studying. We are dropped off on a corner and walk a few blocks to the juice stand. Passing by a photo store he asks me if it would be ok to get our picture taken together so he can member this special day. I am feeling like a drowned rat in my less than fashionable black and dusty pants, my tan, long sleeve, sweaty shirt, and a tan sunhat flopping over my eyes and ears. He insists and I agree. We go in and stand by a painted scene to have our picture taken. Liyew is very happy we did this.
At the juice shack I ask him to make sure no water is added to the juice. This narrows my juice choices down to one – papaya. I slurp on that while he spoons out his avocado juice. I hear from many people how good avocado juice is but not brave enough yet to try it. The other two patrons have also ordered avocado juice. I make a mental note to try it before I leave the country. I can tell Liyew is enjoying our outing because he is making sure I have whatever I need. He orders another juice for me despite the protest saying I am full. Our last stop is by the bus park to pick out music. I like these little music shacks because the clerks also act as good DJs. Liyew and the clerk pick out several tapes for me to listen to and I make my final decision. Liyew is happy for me to take home a piece of Ethiopian culture. The music is lively and fun. We part ways saying he will call me later that evening at the hotel. I wondered if he would now spring it on me I should pay him some money for his time and services but he didn’t. I think he wanted to be on a “date” with a girl and have a nice time and we did. Thank you Liyew for making my first day of 2007 a special one.
After a rest I head back on to the streets to take photos doing my best to discourage tag-alongs. Unhindered I snap my pictures and walk back to the hotel. I hear my name being called from across the street and I see Desta waving me over. I join him and his friends in their vehicle and we drive to an outdoor park for drinks. The park has nice gardens, trees, a play area for children, tables, sculptures, and a restaurant to order food and drinks. We have the local wine and talk the afternoon away. Desta and I plan to meet in the north as we are both traveling in that direction. That evening I pack, say good-bye to Liyew, and linger by the lake side realizing Bahar Dar is a special place. Early the next morning I have a flight to Gondar. What will be in store for me there?
posted by Becky of Arabia at 9:22 PM
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