Bahir Dar

After Lalibela we went to Bahir Dar by Lake Tana. To be honest I had never heard of Bahir Dar until my friend recommended it and I didn't know about Lake Tana before I saw the movie Teza a while ago. However, Bahir Dar is regarded as the "Riviera of Ethiopa" and hence a rather popular tourist destination. Therefore the atmosphere is very different, almost mondane.



Ok, I have never been to the riviera and don't really think it is very similar, but there is a board walk along the lakeside and there are cafés and bars along the waterfront and jettys where boats leave for tours on the lake.



Of course the climate is very differnt too, much more humid and for the first time in Ethiopia we were under 2000 meters above sea level. Unfortunately some of the back side of tourism are also there, for examlpe more people wanting to make money on tourists.

Bahir Dar is also the starting point for the Blue Nile. We went for a tour to see the Nile Falls about one hour outside Bahir Dar. It was a nice trip for getting to see some more of a different countryside and some nice nature and beautiful birds, but I must say the falls were a bit of a disappointment.



There is a hydro electric power plant just up-streams of the falls, diverting a lot of the water and as it was low-water levels as we were there, there was hardly any water in the falls at all. Not very impressing compared to the Victoria Falls.

Lake Tana and Bahir Dar are also known for the monastries along the shore and on islands on the lake. We went on a boatride to visit a couple of the monastries.



The boat trip on the lake was very nice, but the monastries were a little of a disappointment. Or maybe it is just me who don't know how to appreciate them... But after a while it got very annoying to constantly be expected to pay money for eveything and you might get fed up of seeing one more ancient goatskin bible and a proccessional cross.



I liked the colourful paintings though. Especially the crash-diving angels..

Ethiopia: Lalibela

After a couple of days we took a flight to Lalibela, UNESCO World heritage site, known for its eleven rock hewn churches.

Although it is only about an hour's flight from Addis it was easy to tell the difference from Addis already on arrival. Of course it is much smaller and hence quiter and the air is cleaner, but it is also much more arid. It was also much less developed and much poorer than I expected as Lalibela is one of the most well known tourist sites and reasons tourists come to Ethiopia. The area and organisation around the churches is fairly well developed but the infrastructure of the town is practically non-existant.




The hotel where we stayed was however very new, modern and nice. The most striking thing was of course the view. Absolutely fantastic!!














The curches was of course very interesting and unique. Even if I am not at all religious I can imagine and appreciate the spirituality of the place. At least I might have if it wasn't because my friend had explained to us how all the carpets on the floors of the churces were full of fleas; and hadn't it been for all the big groups of Israeli, French and American tourists; and if the priests hadn't looked so bored.... But ignoring these facts and focusing on the believers coming to pray or just to sit in the shadow and read you could sense the spirituality.