Debre Damo

Debre Damo is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th century monastery in northern Ethiopia. The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape.

Debre Damo was built, in the sixth century AD, with curved wood panels, painted ceilings and walls dedicated to the legend of Saint (Abune) Aregawi. The history of Debre Damo is centred on the "Nine Saints" who came to Ethiopia from Syria to spread Christianity in the Tigray region. One of them was Saint Aregawi who settled on the mountain of 

Debre Damo. The other eight saints settled around Tigray countryside and all have their own church named after them.

Debre Damo is magnificent in terms of its location and extensive collection of priceless manuscripts that have remained intact until today. It has become a prominent monastic and educational centre for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Many books have been written there and distributed to churches throughout Ethiopia.

Debre Damo is only accessible by climbing up by a rope, which is made of "plaited leather", lowered from the cliffs, which visitors tie around their waist and are then pulled up by a monk at the top of the cliffs. It is only accessible to men and male animals. Women and even female animals are forbidden to set a foot into the monastery, and must remain under the cliffs and pray from there.

 

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Simien Mountains National Park

No matter how you look at them, the Simien Mountains will leave you speechless. For trekkers, silence is the result of their lungs screaming after slogging up a scree slope for 4200m. For animal-lovers, it’s the trepidation of sitting among 100 gelada baboons that zaps their vocabulary. For everyone with a heartbeat, it’s simply standing atop a panoramic precipice and overlooking the Abyssinian abyss that takes the breath away.

The Park was one of the first four sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978. Massive erosion of the Ethiopian plateau has created one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world: jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and precipices sheer for 1,500 metres. The Park is the refuge of the extremely rare Ethiopian wolf, gelada baboon and Walia ibex,a goat unique to Ethiopia. After the site’s management was transferred from Addis Abeba to the Amhara region in 1997, a committee for the Park’s rehabilitation was set up, the budget and staff increased, there was local participation in decisions, resettlement of farmers, excision of villages and extension of the Park. 

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Fasilides Castle | የፋሲል ግንብ

 Fasilides Castle | የፋሲል ግንብ 

Fasilides Castle is a stunning tourist destination in Ethiopia. It is an old castle built in 17th century for the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides Alam Sagad. The castle can be found in Gondar, Amhara Region. The castle’s structure is purely made of stone. Definitely, Fasilides Castle is a representation of Ethiopia’s great history.

 

Travel To Gondar Ethiopia – The Camelot Of Africa

Gondar Ethiopia, Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979, the palace, surrounded by an impressive 900-m (2,953-ft) wall, stands in a compound filled with juniper and wild olive trees, amid Enqulal Gemb, or Egg Castle, named after its domed roof, the royal archive, many impressive churches and monastaries and a stable. These exemplify architecture that is marked by both Hindu and Arab influences, subsequently transformed by the Baroque style that the Jesuit missionaries brought to Gondar Ethiopia, and have earned The city is nicknamed “The Camelot of Africa” due to the presence of a group of royal castles.

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Gondar is a Royal and ancient historical city of Ethiopia. It is the home of many Emperors and Princess who lead the country from the 12th century to the last decade of the 20th century. To mention just a few, Emperor Suseneos,Emperor Fasiledes, Empress Mentwab,Iyasu I,Tewodros II, Empress Taitu. It is the home of the highest mountain in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen, and the Simien Mountains National Park.

By air

There is a mid-sized airport in Gondar. Ethiopian airlines has daily flights to the city - usually leaving Addis around 0700. Flights are also available to/from Axum, Lalibela, and Bahir Dar. Ethiopian Airlines flights are frequently cancelled or rescheduled at short notice, so allow plenty of time if travelling for an international connection.

By bus

• There is a bus sevice to/from Addis Ababa, a trip that takes two days. Minibuses are available that make the trip in one day. These are more expensive and are usually booked through your hotel.

• Several buses a day run to/from Bahir Dar. Minibuses also run on this route.

• To get to Axum, take the dawn bus to Shire and change there. You can usually get through in a day. To get from Axum, you must take an afternoon bus to Shire, spend the night there, and take the dawn bus to Gondar. The road between Gondar and Shire is one of the most spectacular in Ethiopia.

• It also takes two days to get to/from Lalibela by bus. Coming from Lalibela, you take one of the dawn buses to Gashena and change there to the Bahir Dar bus going west. You can either get off the bus at Nefas Mewcha and take the dawn bus to Gondar the next day, or you can ride it all the way to Bahir Dar and head north to Gondar the next morning. To travel to Lalibela, the bus to Gashena from Gondar usually stops for the night in Nefas Mewcha. There are two afternoon buses from Gashena to Lalibela.

• There are two buses a day to/from Debark for people heading to the Simien Mountains. These leave somewhere around 6am and 9am in both directions. 

Gondar Castle

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Obelisk of Axum | የአክሱም ሐዉልት

Obelisk of Axum | የአክሱም ሐዉልት 

The Obelisk of Axum (Amharic: የአክሱም ሐውልት) is a 1,700-year-old, 24-metres (78-foot) tall granite stele/obelisk, weighing 160 tonnes, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. The stelae were probably carved and erected during the 4th century A.D. by subjects of the Kingdom of Aksum, an ancient Ethiopian civilization.

                                                       

Aksum (also spelled Axum) is a city in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The ancient capital, located on the northern border of Ethiopia, is famous for its stelae, churches, monasteries, tombs and the ruins of palaces. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980. It has a population of 56,000.

Get in

By plane

Given the often trying conditions of Ethiopian roads, flying into Aksum is a much more reasonable option. There are daily flights from Addis Ababa to the small and rural, but well-functioning, Aksum airport. Some flights are direct, others make stops along the way. At the airport, there will be taxis eager to drive you into town. Many hotels also offer van service to and from the airport.

By bus

Buses from Addis Ababa take a minimum of three days to travel via Dessie and Mekele. It is a very taxing ride over rough roads.

From Gondar, take the dawn bus to Shire and change there for Aksum – you can usually get through in a day. To travel to Gondar, you must take an afternoon bus to Shire, spend the night there, and catch the dawn bus to Gondar. The road between Shire and Gondar is one of the most spectacular in Ethiopia.

From Debark and the Simien Mountains, there is only one bus heading north to Shire. That is the Gondar bus, and it is often full when it passes through Debark. You can either take your chances (it isn't always full), or hire someone from Debark for about 150 birr to go into Gondar the day before and ride the Shire bus to Debark for you, guaranteeing you a seat. (Note that you must make arrangements the morning prior to the day you want to leave. If you are going trekking, you can make arrangements before you leave for your trek.) There are many buses travelling between Shire and Aksum. To travel to Debark, go to Shire in the afternoon, spend the night there, catch the Gondar bus the next morning, and get off at Debark. You will probably have to pay the full fare to Gondar (about 50 birr).

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Lalibela | ላሊበላ

Lalibela | ላሊበላ 

Lalibela is a town in northern Ethiopia, known for its monolithic churches. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities, second only to Aksum, and is a center of pilgrimage for much of the country.

Get in

By plane

Ethiopian Airlines has scheduled flights at least once a day to Lalibela Airport (ICAO code HALL, IATA: LLI). Flights are often overbooked: make sure you reconfirm your seat at least 1 day in advance and show up at the airport on time! Flights can also be rescheduled or cancelled at short notice because of weather or for operational reasons. The airport is mid-sized. For a tiny town like Lalibela, the airport seems over-sized. It is at least 30 minutes by shared taxi (40 birrs per person as of 2008) away from the town.

By bus

There is a daily bus from Addis Ababa. It is a two-day journey with an overnight stop at Dessie. The bus passes through Woldia mid-morning and will pick up passengers from the bus station if it has room. Another bus runs daily from Woldia, leaving at dawn. Both the Woldia and Addis Ababa buses depart Lalibela at 6am.

It is usually possible to get to/from Bahir Bar by bus in one day by changing buses at the village of Gashena, approximately 2 hours from Lalibela. If you are travelling to or from Gondar by bus, you will usually have to spend the night somewhere.

By car

The drive from Gondar takes around 13 hours on a very rough and dusty road. The road is being upgraded by the Chinese, but there is currently (April 2008) NO tarmac road into Lalibela from anywhere. The only piece of tarmac is from the airport into town.

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