Friday, 18 April 2003
This morning we got up early to see the ceremonies that take place every morning in all of the churches. Our guide led us the way and we enjoyed the chilly weather when walking through the city. Hens chuckled and roosters crowed while people walked along with their oxen, walked to work and kids walked to school carrying their notes.
By the mud huts we saw women grind grain, spices or coffee. The disliked to be photographed, but were not unfriendly in any way either. Here, an eye contact and a smile is fully returned and if you make a bit fun of yourself, you quickly be met with a nice, warmth laughter. It’s not hard to find friends here.
Today the same eleven churches were accompanied with intoning of the lesson and a bit unstructured choral singing from young men and elder priests. The intoning is done in the language “Gez”, that only very few people understand. It was quite fascinating to hear this singing, which represent the churches as the way intended to and not just as a museum.
Later that morning we said goodbye to our guide that had been a bit disappointing to us compared to some other guides we met and of course the fee. We had some hours until the pickup for the airport and got a well-deserved breakfast composed of scrambled eggs, toast, butter, tea and coffee.
The nice weather invited for taking photos, write my diary and to take a nap. We drove to the airport and checked-in. Here they had no x-ray or other supporting electronics so we had to unzip our baggage and go through an easy body search. Jørgen was not to check as he traveled as Danish diplomat and could pass through without being searched.
The flight to Bahir Dar was nice and took half an hour. In Bahir Dar airport we said goodbye to Malin who had to return to Addis Ababa as she and Martina was heading for a great safari trip in Tanzania and the sunny beaches of Zanzibar. We were envy as Ethiopian Airlines previously canceled our planned flight to Zanzibar.
Bahir Dar was somewhat different from Lalibela beside it was 3-4 times its size. Located by the “Lake Tana” the city was very green and seemed wealthier. In the suburbs we saw modern office- and industry constructions side by side with mud huts. We saw less cripples and people were better dressed and eloquent than in Lalibela. Even little girls at the age of seven spoke some English and our self-appointed city guide who was in the eight grade, spoke remarkably good English.
We assumed the city was wealthy because of its locating by the lake, thus its an tourist attraction for the Ethiopians as well. In any case here is lots of shops selling typical tourist articles as shoes, bags, silver and gold. It was also the first place we saw Internet cafes in large scale, even though they were expensive: 0,75-1,00 Birr each minute.
While walking with our “guide” we passed a large new mosque that was under construction and a new community center including a cinema. That left us speechless. This city really surprised us and maybe we could find the time see a movie tomorrows evening.
The fact that the city is located at the “Lake Tana” makes it somewhat a green oasis in the usually dry area. Large palms decorative along the boulevards and in the median strip everything was vigorous and green. Lovely red- and green leaved trees was to see along the shore which all in all was such a contrast to dry and poor Lalibela. Unfortunately this city is also a paradise for mosquitoes and according to the guidebook approx. 6 people each day dies of malaria in this area.
Another surprise to us was the vast number of bicycles in the city. People told us that more than 10,000 bikes was registered with plates, most of them new-looking with 5-10 gear, but cheap made china quality. Biking is so popular because the city is very flat. This employed quite lot bike-menders who had small stalks on almost every corner. We were offered to rent nice bikes, which made us feel like being home in Denmark or Holland.
Our hotel was the new “Hotel Dar Embassa” that was nice and with good beds. Unfortunately we were without electrical power until 9 pm so we decided to go for the hotel restaurant when having dinner. It was cozy in the candlelight but the lack of power reduced the courses on the menu a good deal. We had the spaghetti and looked forward to have fresh fish from “Lake Tana” the next day.