Ethiopian Adventures II: Bahir-Dar

So. Where was I?

Right, we were boating across Lake Tana, Ethiopia's largest lake. Our destination was the Zaghie Peninsula opposite Bahir-Dar, where we hiked up a hill to visit a remote Ethiopian Orthodox monastery church called Kidane Mehret Church. It (and many other EO churches we visited) was round:



The church was built in the fourteenth century. Inside, it is split into three concentric circles. We could only go as far as the second one; the furthest inside is the sanctuary where the secrets and treasures of the church are kept, and only the top guy is allowed inside. This three-parts-with-a-top-secret-interior is common to all EO churches, we learned.

The second circle was lavishly painted all the way around with frescoes dating from the 17th century, and some "updated" frescoes from a couple of hundred years later.

Here's one shot, which is rather tall and skinny because flash photography wasn't allowed, so I had to take it through a doorway:



Most of them told stories from the bible, or of saints, or of miracles that took place in Ethiopia.

You can tell which are the old frescoes because they have the big-eyed guys, and the people in them are black. All the characters are painted as white in the later frescoes. Also, all the "evil" or "unsaved" people in the older frescoes are shown in profile so only one eye is visible. Only folks going to heaven are shown with their entire face, with both eyes. Most interesting!

The church also had a museum, which was essentially a collection of centuries-old crosses, crowns and robes hung in a little wooden shack. Here's a fancy processional cross; the sign on it informs that it's from the reign of a particular emperor in the 1300s!



Everywhere we went in Ethiopia we saw priceless, ancient treasures like this one kept in wooden shacks or under a blanket or whatnot. Amazing that they've lasted so long. Apparently the protection provided by the church sanctuaries helps them survive the ages.

After boating back across the lake, we headed visited Bahir-Dar's amazing chaotic market, where the section for spice-sellers and fabrics was amazingly colourful.

(I regret to this day that I did not take a photo! I was nervous to do so after living so long in Ghana, where a photographer risks being stoned if they photograph someone without explicit permission and payment. Our guide Seyoum later told me it would have been no problem. D'oh!)

We did a bit more sightseeing in the area, and then went to a local hotel to catch the sunset over the lake:



Lovely!