Bahir Dar Things to Do

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The Museum is in a small run down building behind the monastery. After a tour of the Monastery the Priest will ask if you want to see the Museum. Definitely say YES. There is a small entrance fee, but it is worth every penny. The priest will illuminate the books and bibles with a long burning candle so you can take pictures without a flash. A few times this looked to be a dangerous option, but he’s in charge.

Ethiopia has a good and cheap postal service. Here in Bahir Dar there is a Post Office on the road in front of the lake, near the Summerland Hotel. There are also some post boxes like this across the town. This one is located at the Papyrus Hotel.

Do NOT expect any gift shop to have stamps for postcards.

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Of all the Lake Monasteries, this one definitely had a Carpenter (same trade as Jesus). There is an entrance door where a door is carved into a door carved into a door (pictured). The smallest door is rounded and has a cross on the top. It’s very remarkable. They also carved some chairs and baptismal urn (both are pictured).

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During your day on the lake you should be able to see quite a few of the monasteries. Most are round and rather simple with netting on the outsides to keep the birds out but over all well worth the time.

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Many of the small islands have local holy men that take care of the monasteries. Some of them speak English and can give quite interesting tours. If you have the time some of them even have some great life stories to tell.

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Debra Meriam is not that impressive. It is just a typical Orthodox Church. In fact a local told me not to wake the Priest as he had been drinking and might charge us more to see it. What is great about this church and worth the visit is that it where the Blue Nile starts and you can see some fantastic views. You will also see the local reed boats up close. I bought my model reed boat here.

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Kebran Gabriel is easily the most impressive of the Lake Monasteries. Inside the main church are fantastic frescoes that are easily 1000 years old. The priest will show you these ancient paintings, furniture that is centuries old, and the fantastic museum next door. The Church itself has intricate wooden doors, Holy Water for all visitors and great views of the lake. You can also ring the stone bell if you ask first!

There are only 2 things you should be aware of. 1) It’s forbidden for women, so ladies give the guys your camera. 2) There are some awful new paintings side by side with priceless frescos that are mostly damaged. It’s a real shame.

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We didn't plan of going there at all but we met this amazing Mongolian girl who already traveled most of this world and she told us that she saw so many waterfalls in her life and she thought Blue Nile Falls rank pretty high in her list. So we changed our minds and decided to go there. We went with a minibus arranged by Ghion Hotel, we paid 70 Birr each. It took about an hour from Ghion Hotel to Tis Isat. We started walking from near the Portuguese bridge, it took almost an hour to reach the Falls...well we walked quite slow and stopped for pictures all the times. We took a boat back to where our minibus was waiting around 6.30pm. The Falls were nice indeed.