Axum, Ethiopia

Thursday 16th August 2007. Kabel Hotel, Axum.
Another snakey road with a 1000m drop. We traveled 34Km and advanced only 10Km. The Italians originally carved the road through these impossible mountains, and the road is now being rehabilitated by the Chinese who are skimping on cement, (like they are in China we hear).
Axum is the centre of the Christian Orthodox Church in Ethiopia, and dates from long before Christ. There is lots of intricate history from BC to Axumite empire to the present.
We started a tour with a guide to be completed tomorrow. We started at a stellae field. These huge granite monoliths were dragged by elephants (they say) from a quarry 4Km away, shaped and engraved on site before being erected next to tombs. The largest still standing is 23m high, weighs 150tonns and is engraved with false windows and a door. There are two explanations, one traditional (sometimes obviously not true) and the other archeological (sometimes too conservative for us). Of course it has left us intrigued with more questions than answers. 95% of Axum has still to be excavated and explored by archeologists. This has been another one of our highlights, and we thought we would only reach the history in Sudan and Egypt.

Wednesday 15th August 2007 Central Agame Hotel, Adigrat.
We went to the museum in Mekele, taken around by a knowledgeable and amusing caretaker. He showed us lots of triptyques. Three pieces of wood hinged with thong from the 16 th century which were carried about by the devout. They have biblical paintings and lots of martyrs and saints. Some were very well done. Then a long discourse on Emporer Johannis iv with his original carved wooden throne, saddles, clothes etc.
We then proceeded north to Adigrat and called in at the three rock-hewn churches at Teka Tesfai. The first was up a very high sandstone cliff and I was too chicken to climb up, the second was very small and plain but was interesting for the chanting of the priest and worshippers, and the vivid colourful paintings. The third wanted to charge us Birr50 each, which was exorbitant, so only I went in, and wasn't impressed after those at Lalibele. We had to climb a steep smooth rock to get there.
We then proceeded north through villages of square houses made of sandstone blocks hewn from the surrounding area and quite camouflaged. The roofs are made of stone slabs suspended on wooden poles and covered with sand. There is grass growing on the roof, and we saw sheep grazing on the roofs.
Adigrat is 15Km from the border with Eritrea (which is still closed due to the war from 2000), just south of Asmara where Dad Karg was during WW1.
At Adigrat we bought 1Kg of the famous smooth pure white honey which comes from a place near here called Alitena.
The local farmers have devised a method of retaining water and soil. The hills are terraced with stone walls. On the upper side of the walls are dug trenches which catch the run off, settle the silt and the water gradually drains through. The silt captured is then dug out and used on the lands again.
Since Tanzania we have had guards protecting us every night. In Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda they were armed, here and in Rwanda they are not armed, interesting that at home the security is not as stringent.

Tuesday 14th August 2007 Milanos Hotel – Mekele.
They call them "Rock-hewn churches". There are 11 in the town, totally hidden except from the air. They are massive structures supposedly hewn in the 12 th century in 23years. They are chiseled and carved directly into the massive volcanic rock mounds capping the 2500m peak, called "tuff". Some churches are now cracking and subjected to erosion so, being a World Heritage Site, UNESCO, is funding rehabilitation and protection. Words cannot describe the amazing structures, they have to be experienced. They are in daily use and are an integral part of the everyday life of the orthodox Christians in the area.
After we left Lalibele we passed through 110Km of vertigo-inducing switchbacks, continually ascending and descending 500m at a time on a good road to 2000m. Then we turned East towards Kaorem, looking forward to the tar.
Teff and 'bokela', a type of lupin or bean is planted extensively here in centuries-old terraced lands which have now filled with soil, and the water is finding new routes, and of course eroding again.
I feel really sorry for these people, they are struggling just to survive. The terrain is Drakensberg peaks X 100, with cathedral peak after Cathedral peak, with the road winding right over the peak! Whew!
At Korem we turned North again on a very new tarred road, expecting to make good headway, and found ourselves going up and down "Sani Passes" again at least four times before the land leveled out in Tigrai region at 2000m. It was such a pleasure and relief to see a straight road! We reached Mekele after dark after nearly hitting two hyenas on the road and checked into the Milanos Hotel. Birr130, great room hot shower, good restaurant, safe parking.
Menus are written phonetically, as is the Amaharic language so we see words like Hootelee, for Hotel, and the best on the menu "Jump and Better" for jam and butter.

Monday 13th August 2007 Lalibele Hotel, Lalibele
Woke up early, Nev went to the bathroom and closed the door. Couldn't open it as the mechanism didn't work, he was getting claustrophobic and had to kick the door until it opened. Not a good start to the day, although the hotel was ok but a bit expensive. If you are a foreigner (firenji) they charge you anything up to double the going rate. It is a pleasure and surprise when you are charged the going rate for anything.
The bus accident from yesterday had been partially cleared so we were able to continue our journey towards Lalibele.
There were "Wow, look at that" moments all the time. The terrain is wild and mountainous with deep valleys. The Chinese really have an enormous task to build roads here in Northern Ethiopia. Again teff, maize and a bit of wheat in valleys and any arable places they can find. Some lands are just stone and we wonder how anything manages to grow. We passed USAID bags of grain being handed out, and know from Harar that most of it is sold to passing Gigwils to be resold elsewhere.
The mountains are as rugged as the Drakesberg, but here the road winds right through them, up and down these precipitous slopes. At times I find myself leaning right over to the side, or closing my eyes as I cannot look out of my window. There is no Armco or anything between the Landy and the edge of the precipice to the river bed 1Km below.
We arrived at the town of Lalibele which has grown on the side of a mountain with a view like from the top of Giants Castle. There is nowhere to camp in Ethiopia so we have to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants. I really love the tray-sized injera with all kinds of veges/purees/salads spooned around the edge of it called Bayeyineti.. Ethiopian food is spicy and delicious. Our rand is almost equivalent to the Birr, and judging from we have seen, I wouldn't invest in Ethiopia, I wouldn't get a return like I could in SA. The economy is based on subsistence farming and they rely heavily on aid to feed the people. All development is donated from the first world or UN. It is an insult to SA economy for the Rand to be almost the same as the Birr.