Florence, Jerusalem and Ethiopia

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 Axum We learned this morning of a terrible disaster.   The temporary stands we had seen built for Timkat in Gondar at the King Fasilides Bath collapsed with at least ten people dead.   See: https://www.tesfanews.net/gondar-seating-collapse-ethiopian-epiphany-festival/   The stands we had in Lalibela were concrete.   Wow. We did sleep fairly well on the strange platform beds last night; we were exhausted.   I can’t imagine how tired all the Timkat revelers were!   We went to the local airport this morning and caught the puddle-jumper Dash 8 to Axum (alternatively, spelled in some places Aksum).   Axum is in a different ethnic grouping—we have left the Amharic people and are now in the home of the Tigre, who populate the very north of Ethiopia as well as much of Eritrea and some of Sudan.   The Tigre language is also a Semitic language. Our first stop was at the famous Stelae Field at the cemetery o...

Monday, January 20, 2020 Timkat in Lalibela Our hotel in Lalibela is perfectly located across the street from the entrance to the large park-like area where the Timkat festivities are.   Just inside that entrance are the large cross-shaped pool and adjacent concrete stands, and the hotel has a flat roof with a great view of the processions and the activities inside the event.   However, the hotel is of mediocre quality, and the beds have no mattresses.   At least, none like we’re used to.   The sheets cover a multi-layered leather-like substance, hard as a rock.   With the all-night chanting and the platform beds, we didn’t get much sleep.   The service started at 4:30 AM and would go on for six hours.   At 7:00 AM I went to the entrance where special candles which can be burned at both ends were being sold: I braved the crowd:   I was able to get a glimpse of the ceremony: Here’s what it sounded like: ...

Sunday, January 19, 2020 Gondar to Lalibela Timkat Timkat, the celebration of the baptism of Jesus, is almost here, and there was chanting all night outside our Gondar hotel.   I took this recording at dawn from our hotel window; you can hear chanting from two directions: The preparations for Timkat in Gondar included an enormous temporary wooden grandstand made from eucalyptus poles, but we left for Lalibela this morning and we will celebrate the holiday there.   It was a short flight over the Lasta mountains.   According to our information, “Lalibela is one of the most important religious and historic sites in all of Africa and the Christian world. Ethiopia was the first country to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion, and Lalibela (then known as Roha), was the capital.”   We had lunch, and I ordered the traditional platter: Lalibela is famous for its monolithic churches, carved into the ground from the top down, from a ...

Saturday, January 18, 2020 Simien Mountains National Park Today was an excursion an hike in the mountains of northern Ethiopia.   It was spectacular. We left Gondar and began our drive up into the mountains along a newly paved (Chinese) road.   The scenery was beautiful: It was market day in the town of Debark, and people were on their way.   Here you can see one mode of transportation, as well as a nice example of an umbrella acacia tree: Most people walked: The town was busy; we stopped to get our permits as the headquarters of the Simien Mountain National Park (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) is here: We drove up to the Simien Lodge, which bills itself as the highest lodge in Africa (10,700 feet) and began our hike from there.   Joyce and Carol chose to opt out of the hike.   Here’s what it looked like as we walked the edge of a giant escarpment.   There’s a village below: At the end of the hike, ...

Friday, January 17, 2020 This morning we left Bahir Dar to travel by road to Gondar through the rural Ethiopian mountainous countryside.   Everywhere we go now will be above 6000 feet.   The Chinese-built road is in good condition, but the travel is complicated by goat herds, cows, people in clusters and ox-drawn carts on the road.   Speed is not possible. One of our goals was to find a local school.   We had brought school supplies with us for the purpose of bringing gifts.   Our guide told us that although education is compulsory, the availability of schools and of teachers is quite limited and classrooms are 60-70 children per teacher with very limited supplies.   About an hour and a half into our drive we found a school close to the road and stopped.   We were a sensation, to say the least.   The classrooms emptied, the children were quite orderly, our guide presented the gifts, and there was a great level of excitement. Th...