Touring Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country where one can find an amazing contrast of cultures, traditions and religions among a multi ethnic people.

The country, amidst its beauty, possesses colorful festivals and public events which are much loved by visitors. Many tourists prefer to book their Ethiopian holidays during the festive seasons when most celebrations take place.

Therefore I wanted to write a few things on the more colorful celebrations, on when, how, and why are they celebrated by Ethiopians.

The Ethiopian New Year - Sept 11th
Following the Julian calendar, Ethiopia is seven and half years behind the western calendar and its new year falls in the month of September.

Once the rainy season has ended, the sun comes out to shine all day long, creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh clean air. The highlands turn green and gold as the Meskel daisies burst out in their entire splendor.

On 11th September early morning, the new-year is announced by little girls singing the song Abeba-ye-hosh (meaning do you see the blooming flowers?) in their respective villages whilst the boys give paints to each household as their new year wishes. Adults are expected to respond by rewarding gifts to the children.

This is the most special and important day, in which Ethiopians start the year with a new spirit, freshness, excitement and good expectations.

Meskel - The Finding of the True Cross - Sept 28th
Meskel (the finding of the true cross) falls on 28th September each year and has been celebrated in Ethiopia for over 1,600 years. The word Meskel means “Cross” and the feast commemorates the discovery of the cross (upon which Jesus was crucified).

As the legend tells, it was found on 19 March, AD 326, by Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine The Great.

The festival coincides with the mass blooming of the golden yellow ‘Meskel daisies’, a flower called ‘Adey-Abeba’ in the Amharic language.

A large bonfire is lit in Meskel Square and this is repeated all over the country in churches and small neighborhood groups.

Bonfires are built topped by a cross to which flowers most commonly the Meskel daisy are tied. Priests don their full regalia and people of all ages are seen in the streets carrying fresh bunches of yellow flowers.

After the bonfires are blessed, they are lit and the dancing and singing begins around them. The feasting and the celebrations continue the night and well into the next day.

If you wish to be part of this great celebration the best places that I recommend are Addis Ababa, Gonder, and Axum.

The Great Run - Nov 18th
It is not a religious holiday but a big running event among the biggest and first of its kind in Africa, held in the month of November every year.

This event was pioneered by Haile G. Sillassie, the greatest long distance runner in the world and most famous for his numerous athletic records. People of all ages numbering 25,000 or more participate in this great international event, counting it as a great joy and privilege to run with world class athletes.

Besides the joy of running, people have a lot of fun in this event. One can see people with different skills showing their abilities, telling jokes, singing songs and all manner of funny things. The other nice thing about this event is that everyone receives a medal for his/her participation, but to do so, they have to finish the race.

Genna - Ethiopian Christmas - Jan 8th
The birth of Christ also known as Genna in amaharic, is a colorful festival celebrated by all Christian people in the country. Especially at Lalibela, there is a spectacular view of priests surrounding the church and donning their colorful priestly robes praising and celebrating the birth of Christ.

At Lalibela a vivid colorful ceremony accompanied by dances and the hymns of the priests take place and unfolds before your eyes.

Traditional hockey games, horse racing and feasts of tej, tella, and doro-wot (Ethiopian traditional beers and meats) make the day more colorful.

Timket - Ethiopian Epiphany- Christ’s Baptism - Jan 20th
Timket in remembrance of Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist is the greatest festival of the year falling on the month of January two weeks after the Ethiopians Christmas.

Hundreds of thousands of people gather at Janmeda (the largest square in Addis) for singing, dancing and to receive a blessing from the patriarch. The Church tabots (so called replicas of the Arc of the Covenant) are taken to a nearby body of water on the afternoon of the eve of the festival.

Dramatic and colorful processions happen during the night; ringing of bells and bowling of trumpets and swinging bronze censors all mixed together make the day most colorful. The tabots rest in their special tents in the meadow each hoisting a proud banner depicting the church’s saint.

The following morning, the crowds gather around the blessed water to have it splashed upon them. By this act the people are renewing their commitment to the faith. Then the tabots are paraded back to their churches accompanied by much singing and dancing.

Timket is held at Gonder in the bathing palace of emperor Fasiledas.

Eskinder Hailu
Turning Your Dream Vacation Into a Reality

On the first part of my trip we discovered the wonders of Bahirdar, the Blue Nile falls, Lake Tana, and the Island Monasteries. In this 2nd part we continue our journey north to Axum, Lalibela and Harar.

After spending a day and night in Gonder, we headed to the spectacular Simien Mountain massifs, most more than 4,000+ metres high.

These ranges of mountains are believed to have been created as a result of massive seismic activity about 40 million years ago. The Simien Mountains are also recorded by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

It was late afternoon when we were driving to Debark (the park’s head quarter) and I remember we were so scared because of the thick fog which in places meant we were unable to see even three meters ahead.

The next day we organized our trip to the mountains and had our guide and scout at Debark. Early morning we drove to ‘Sankaber’ and a camping site at the mountains.

On our way to Sankaber we had a chance to view quite large numbers of Gelada baboons endemic to Ethiopia. We also saw a newly established and very beautiful high quality lodge at a place called Buit-ras situated at 3,260 metres. It is said to be the highest hotel and lodge in Africa.

Parking our car at Michibiny we trekked for hours. Most of the group members were exhausted due to a lack of experience, but it was so exciting.

We had mixed feelings about what to do, some wanted to go forward up to ‘Chenek’ an excellent place to view the endemic Red Fox. Others in the group wanted at least to see Jinbar Falls a spectacular water fall, while others got exhausted and wanted to get back to where we parked our car.

But those of us who wanted to trek forward won the others over for one good reason “a heavy rain.” However, it didn’t rain quite as much as we had expected. In addition to trekking and spectacular mountain scenery, we were also rewarded seeing the other endemic Menelik’s bushbuck, klipspringer and others.

Axum and Debre Damo
After staying two days in the Simien Mountains we crossed and drove through another great landscape and mountain escarpment ‘the Limalimu Mountains’ heading to the ancient Axum where much of Ethiopia’s history begins.

At Axum we started our tour with the 2000+ year old and still standing obelisks, royal tombs, Stele Park, queen of Sheba’s palace, her bathing pool and also the church of St. Mary of Zion ‘the so called site of the Ark of the Covenant.’

At Axum you could imagine what the BC times (2000+ years ago) might have been like. You could just sit and stare at the wonder of the art and the sophistication of the civilization that once existed here on earth let alone in Ethiopia.

Surprisingly what is excavated in Axum is estimated to be only about 5% of the remains. The other 95% is still hidden and waiting to be unearthed.

The next day we went to Debre-Damo Ethiopia’s first church and monastery built in the Axumite times. It is situated on top of a mountain 2,800m high and surrounded on all sides by a vertical cliff. We were so amazed and wondered why and how those early monks had built a monastery in this table-top land. It can only be reached by climbing up using rope and it is still how pilgrims and the monks climb up and down even today.

Rock Hewn Churches of Lalibela
Concluding our trip were the 12th -13th century Lalibela rock hewn churches. Lalibela is an extension of Ethiopia’s northern history and civilization succeeding Yeha (Ethiopia’s first capital 500 BC), Axum and the rock hewn churches of Tigray.

Most of the churches at Lalibela are carved in and out of a single rock. Others are semi-monolithic whilst others are cave churches. The churches perfect design, the 12th century still fresh paintings, those old crosses, the feel of the atmosphere and everything we saw there left us with unutterable feelings.

We were not able to see the churches outside the town due to lack of time however we did see all the churches within the town.

The Lalibela rock hewn churches are ranked among the greatest historical sites in the world and I can not honestly find the right words to describe or explain them.

We also had excellent food and stay in Lalibela. It is the other good thing you find there. There are various ranges of hotels and accommodation, all with a good quality service and at a reasonable price.

Harar
We were also lucky to see the other extreme of Ethiopia ‘Harar’ a city at the east of Addis. Harar is celebrating its millennium and 1000th year anniversary. It was recently awarded the status of a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Harar is so beautiful and exotic to Ethiopia, entirely different from the northern Christian influenced civilization. Here you find a Moslem civilization that has existed for centuries. Harar was an important center of trade and a religious center for Islamic scholarship and had a government ruled under Islamic leadership.

We visited the five gates of the city, the city inside and the famous French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s house (born in 1854 in the Ardennes, north-eastern France). The house possesses an important collection of his photographic works.

We concluded our entire trip to Ethiopia’s historic sites, mountain sceneries, and beautiful landscapes after 16 days. The whole trip and experience was beyond words. We felt great happiness and refreshment. I will always miss what I believe to be one of life’s great all time experiences.

Comments from some of the Group Members:

My whole trip was so exciting and memorable. I guess the feeling will remain within me as I always think about it. The Blue Nile falls, the ancient and unique church treasures found on the island monasteries of Lake Tana, the beautiful medieval castles of Gonder, the Simien Mountains, and all others have left me with an impression that I can hardly find enough words for - Genet.

I work for construction companies and have had the chance to travel to most parts of Ethiopia. But this trip to the historic spots gave me an incredible experience that I never have before. Among many others, the Blue Nile falls, the Simien mountain massif and rock hewn 13th century churches of Lalibela are spectacular. It was a great vacation and hope I will get back to those beautiful places in the near future - Tsegaye.

It is my second time when I come from Holland to see my family and visit Ethiopia’s amazing sites. I had such a wonderful opportunity to visit the northern historic sites, the thousand year old walled city Harar, the Blue Nile falls, the spectacular world heritage Simien Mountain massif and many others. What I saw and experienced will always makes me want to go back for more. An amazing vacation! - Dawit

Eskinder Hailu
Turning Your Dream Vacation Into a Reality

I just returned from a trip through the historic route of Ethiopia with a tour group totaling ten members. Our trip was planned to last 16 days and to cover most of the northern historic routes and eastern Ethiopia ‘Harar’.

Although my work as a tour operator keeps me engaged in Ethiopia’s tourism attractions, I always find myself wondering at the many and diverse attractions of the country, just as visitors do.

Bahirdar, Blue Nile falls, Lake Tana, and Island Monasteries

We started our tour heading directly to a city named Bahirdar. The city itself is beautiful but probably better well known for being a base to explore the two nearby great attractions.

The first one is 32 kms away, the ‘Blue Nile falls’ the legendary and longest river in the world. We crossed most of the Blue Nile gorge walking and climbing up the mountain escarpments.

Some of the group enjoyed climbing up the mountain slopes and hills when ever they could, whilst others were busy taking photos.

We also had a picnic lunch as we crossed over the gorge and enjoyed the lunch sitting under the shadows of beautiful trees in a green field. We ate Shiro, vegatables and Injera an Ethiopian like pan cake.

The falls are truly spectacular. At the time it was the rainy season, so we were lucky to see the river at its full might and could feel and here the river from far away.

As we got closer, we felt the water shower us like heavy rain. The roar of the water was tremendous so much so that we could not hear ourselves speak.

It was like being in another world standing close to the power and might of the river and made it difficult to describe using mere words. Some of the group members were terrified, others felt as if they were in a dream and some wanted to come back again the next day to experience the excitement all over again.

And yet, we were told that what we were seeing was just 25% of the water, the rest being diverted to the hydroelectric power station. I thought what it might be like had we experienced all the water thundering over the falls.

However, even the part of the water that we had seen, left us with lasting memories of an exciting experience. When we returned back to our Hotel at Bahirdar, we were very wet but above all still excited by what we had seen.

Siding Bahirdar lays Ethiopia’s largest lake ‘Tana’ covering 3,500sq.km

On the lake there are beautiful islands and ancient monasteries, most of them built in the 17th century and which house many important medieval time treasures.

The next day we planned to have a boat trip to these islands that include the Zege Peninsula and where we would find the famous Ura-Kidanemihiret.

Unlike the falls and cities this is another world ‘quiet’, ‘jungle’, ‘ancient’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘atmospheric’.

Some of us felt deeply moved by the 17th century beautiful paintings of ‘Kibran Gabriel’ and the 16th -17th centuries beautiful church paintings and treasures of ‘Ura-Kidanemihiret.’

After finishing our trip to the islands, we took our boat to the place where the lake and the Blue Nile River meet. It’s an amazing site to see the two waters within the lake.

You see the river darker and faster running water against the contrast of the calmer still water of the lake. Here the river crosses the lake and if you turn off the engine of the boat, you still find yourself moving in the direction where the river is heading.

Gonder Royal Castles
Having completed our tour around Bahirdar, we headed to the 17th century Gonderian, a very impressive royal enclosure.

Here we visited the beautifully built ‘fairy tale’ like castles in which former kings once lived and where we found palaces, a chancery, library and even a play ground.

Athough some parts are just ruins most are still in a good shape and some were also quite functional even to this day.

I found myself wondering what it must have been like to live in those times. The castles have an indefinable atmosphere that seemed to take me back centuries into Ethiopia’s past.

After dining at a traditional restaurant our group spent the night at Gonder enjoying local traditional music at “Azmari Bets” where traditional amhara songs and dancing takes place and for which Gonder is well known.

In part 2 my journey continues through the Simien Mountains to the cradle of Ethiopia’s earliest civilization.

Eskinder Hailu
Turning Your Dream Vacation Into a Reality

Ethiopia is about to celebrate her huge occasion beginning 12th September 2007, the day her new year begins. This coming one will not be celebrated like any other, neither will it only be a new year.

It will be a new millennium, the beginning of her 2000

Distinctly different from the rest of the world, Ethiopia follows its own calendar which is based on the Julian system which is roughly seven and half years behind the western Gregorian calendar.

This time occurrence will make Ethiopians look back to the ancient times of the country’s history, the beginning of the first millennium AD at which time much of its history began.

There we find Aksum, an ancient kingdom which was counted among one of the most powerful kingdoms of the world.

Aksum is thought to have owed its importance to its position. It was a rich and well organized society, technically and artistically advanced with its own government.

It was an era of an unparalleled coinage in bronze, silver and gold with extraordinary monuments being built.

Ethiopia, is one of the best-kept secrets of the world and wants to share this great and golden history of hers with the rest of the world on the occasion of her millennium, making it Africa’s first continental celebration.

There are huge preparations underway to celebrate this moment of history that Ethiopia brings forth its hospitality and rolls out its red carpet to her guests.

There will be many kinds of festivals that will add color to the year long celebrations, showcasing the peoples traditions, cultures, history, and hope for a better future.

Of course one may come to visit at anytime to see the famous ancient architectures, the wonderful history, the spectacular countryside, or the friendly people, but one will always leave with a hankering return. I have seen many people already surrender to it many times and I know they’ll be back for more.

But what makes this time special?

The country is expecting to have a series of year long festivities and celebrations featuring its diverse and amazing beauties. And it seems that the country is determined to invite its guests to be part of this “once in lifetime moment”.

Ethiopia has an indefinable atmosphere that begs deeper examination. The people, history, culture, scenery or where ever you turn in the country there is something you feel that runs deep. You will find yourself discovering something new and fascinating each time you visit Ethiopia.

Eskinder Hailu
Turning Your Dream Vacation Into a Reality

Imagine how boring life would be without fun…fun…those moments enjoyed with those closest to us, especially family. A vacation where lovers share romance, workaholics take a break and become rejuvenated and family members become closer to each other.

Family and fun are the most important parts in ones life

People need fun to be part of their life, to enjoy life.

We want work to be fun and enjoyment instead of a burden, we want to take a vacation and spend our leisure time relaxing or enjoying different activities. We want something different in a vacation that perhaps we don’t get in our everyday lives.

We need time to share our thoughts, dreams, desires, and feelings for a free, flowing and intimate relationship where nothing is hidden or restrained and where there is no fear or embarrassment.

A vacation often provides the relaxed setting where people feel a greater freedom to express themselves.

Some people lead lives thinking their jobs should take precedence over their families. That is sadly and all too frequently a mistake. Your family especially your spouse, should come first.

Getting your priorities in order

If you are too busy to spend time with your spouse and the rest of your family too, I think your priorities are out of order. You need to spend sometime rethinking your priorities and make a commitment to making some changes in your life.

Devoting time to family should be the major activity one should be engaged in. Some people sadly spend much of their life carrying their work home in a briefcase. This is definitely not a recipe for spending time with the family.

Family time may consist of time spent with parents or close friends, time spent in visits and vacations. It may mean time spent with small children, teenagers, or adults.

What better pleasure would there be for parents and children than taking timeout for a vacation. A time that leaves children with an unforgettable experience, young lovers filled with excitement and for some perhaps a rekindled relationship.

A family vacation is important because

• It is a basic human need. People need to relax, take a break from the hustle and bustle of life, to refresh and breathe a new air
• It fosters love and relationships, builds bonds, mends broken friendships and brings families closer together
• It rejuvenates oneself for better work, greater performance, relieves burdens and stress
• It gives one a chance to experience other places, people, culture, food etc

This is the exciting part, an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a vacation, the restaurants, exotic foods, nature, scenic views, beautiful beaches, etc

We make time for the things and people we love

A lack of time should not be the excuse for not enjoying the benefits of a family vacation.

You should plan your weekends, summer, or winter to visit nearby or remote places. Or, to experience something different a new interest, some exotic foods, different cultures, to visit and talk with people who are outside your normal social circle.

Money should also not be an excuse for not planning your family vacation. What you need is just a little research to find that special deal, the vacation that fits your pocket and of course your interest. You may want to plan for short-stay vacations 2 to 3 days, instead of 7 days or 10 days instead of 14 days.

Start planning your family vacation today

G|ive quality time to yourself and to your family. Decide on the best time to spend and check for some practical tips and advice, but whatever else you do, take a vacation.

I guarantee you and your family will be rewarded with the joy and blessings that only a family vacation can bring.

Eskinder Hailu
Turning Your Dream Vacation Into a Reality