 | Things to Do in Ethiopia 
 
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 | Addis Abeba, University's main campus |   |  |
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 |  on June 25, 2004 |
Addis Abeba has a lot of green in town, like the valleys and wide avenues edged by trees. I liked the park of the campus of the University. After visiting the ethnological Museum, it's nice to look around. There are many different trees and beautiful flowering plants. At sunday afternoon a lot of students walked around or sat on benches in the shade. There was a small open air bar with a lot of shade. Here we took a softdrink, sitting between the students. |
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| Addis, exhibition in the open-air at the campus | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
After visiting the Ethnological museum of Addis Abeba, we saw this beautiful burial stone in the open air. There was no explanation, but we thought, it must be, after seeing the same kind of stones in the exhibition in the museum. Walking around in the park of the University's Campus we saw more artefacts, but also nice statues and fountains. |
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| Bahir Dar and Lake Tana | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
Bahir Dar has a very scenic location at the southern end of Lake Tana. Bahir Dar has wide avenues, lined by flowering trees and palmtrees. The town is a pleasant town to stay for a few days. Bahir Dar is a good base for boattrips to the monasteries at the islands and peninsula of Lake Tana. Also you can easily reach the Blue Nile Falls from Bahir Dar. In the southern part of the towncentre is a lively market, especially at saturdays. 2 KM west of Bahir Dar is the village Weyto. Here the villagers make tankwa boats, made of papyrus at the traditional way. For more information have a look at my Bahir Dar page. |
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| Debre Libanos, view at the Jema Valley | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
Ethiopia has much variety in landscapes. The first hours, after we left Addis Abeba, heading north, we were very surprised to see very green fields, hills and mountains. Sometimes the fields and mountains looked European like the Alps, sometimes Asian like the Mongolian fields. We saw a lot of herds and agricultural fields. At the mountainslopes we saw laurels. They told us, that these trees stimulate the erosion, so it was not a good choice to plant so much laurels. From the side-road to Debre Libanos we had the first breathtaking views at the Jema Valley. The Jema is one of the upper branches of the Blue Nile. |
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| The monasteries of Lake Tana | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
The Lake Tana is famous because of the monasteries of the 16th and 17th century at 20 of the islands in the lake. We visited the Ura Kidane Meret monastery at the Zege peninsula, after a boattrip of about one hour from Bahir Dar. The maqdas (inner sanctuary) of the monastery is beautifully painted. Walking around in the gallery of this monastery you can find almost all Ethiopian saints. St George with the dragonis the one, you will see in almost every church in Ethiopia, because he is the patron saint. At the north wall of the maqdas you can find the Equestrian Saints (see picture). For more information have a look at my Bahir Dar page. |
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| Debre Libanos, monastery | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
The monastery of Debre Damos is founded in the 13th century and one of Ethiopia's most holy sites. No trace of the ancient monastery remains, but the present church, built in 1961, has an impressive location beneath a cliff at the edge of e gorge. I really enjoyed the route to the church. At the moment of our visit, there was a long row of people, sitting in front of the church, waiting for a bread. Not the church, but private persons dsitributed this food. To enter the church you have to pay 20 Birr entrance fee and 50 Birr for the use of your camera. It's forbidden to enter the church within 48 hours after having sexual intercourse or during the menstruation period. |
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| Addis Abeba, Ethnological Museum | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
The most interesting Museum in Addis Abeba for me is the Ethnological Museum in the former palace of Haile Selassie. At the first floor you can find an outstanding exhibition of all the traditions of the country from birth to death, like childhood, games, rites, nomadism, body culture, traditional medicine, burial customs. I was surprised about its beauty, quality and especially its originality. So, I enjoyed this part of the museum very much. At the second floor you can find a thematic exhibition of all kinds of traditional music instruments and listen to the music too. There are also icons, Ethiopian crosses and other religious art exhibited at this floor. In the museum you can also visit the bedroom and the bathroom of Haile Selassi. Opening Hours: 8am till 5 pm at Tues Wed Thur Fri (closed at lunchtime from 11.30am till 1.30 pm) 10am till 6pm at Sat Sun. Entrance fee: 20 birr |
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| Lalibela, rock-hewn churches | | |
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| on June 27, 2004 |
Lalibela is one of the most known places in Ethiopia because of its rock-hewn churches. In the town there are two groups of churches, the northern group and the eastern group, lying at both sides of "River Jordan'' , a canalised watercourse. The Bet Giyorgis lies a bit separated from the both groups at a distance of about 200 Ms. The ticket office is at the north entrance of the northern group. The tickets give acces to all churches in town and are valid for 3 days. Opening hours: 8am - noon and 2pm - 5pm. It's useful to have a guide. He can show you the way to the churches, the passageways and the tunnels, connecting the medieval churches. His services cost about 100 Birr for a group. And it will keep other people, trying to ''guide'' you at a distance. Lalibela was the only place in Ethiopia, I had problems with inofficial ''guides'', disturbing me. For 35 Birr a group, you can also hire somebody to look after your shoes during the day. In one day I saw more than 10 churches and it wasn't boring at all, because there was so much variety. In fact it was really fascinating !! For more information and pictureshave a look at my Lalibela page. |
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| Simien Mountains National Park | | |
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| on June 26, 2004 |
The dramatic landscape of the Simien Mountains is made up of several plateaus, separated by wide valleys. It's one of the principal mountain massifs of Africa. Some peaks rise above the 4.000 M. The steep escarpments and the views at the pinnacles in the park are breathtaking. You will have also good views at the mountainrange, heading north from Debark to Aksum. The National Park of 179 sq KM lies at an altitude between 1900 and 4500 M. You can reach the park from Debark. Here you have also to buy you tickets at the park headquarters. Admission for 48 hours is 50 Birr, camping 20 birr and vehicle (depending on the size) around 15 Birr. In the park you can make nice treks for half a day or more days. We visited the park only one day and made a nice walk to a waterfall and along the escarpment. The park is also famous because of the gelada (bleeding heart) baboons. We saw many large groups crossing the track and sitting near the edge of the escarpement on our way back to Debark. For more information see my Debark page. |
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| Addis Abeba, National Museum | | |
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| on June 25, 2004 |
If you like to see Lucy, our famous ancestor, you have to go to the National Museum of Addis Abeba. This fossilised homonid, named Lucy, is discovered in 1974. In reality you will see the replica, because the real bones are preserved in the archives of the museum. In the basement of the museum around Lucy you can see a lot of other fossiles. At the ground and first floor you will see a lot of archaeological and ethnological artefacts, like earthenware, pots, bowls and statues, focusing at the (pre)Aksumite, Solomonic and Gonder periods. At the first floor you can find Ethiopian art. During our visit there was also the temporary World Press Exhibition. This was the second time during my Africa trip I saw this exhibition. (The first time was in Nigeria.) The National Museum is one of the most important Sub-Saharan museums in Africa. Opening hours: 8.30am - 5.30pm, Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri 9am -5.30pm, Sat Sun Entrance fee: 10 Birr |
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More Ethiopia Tips
| Overview | General Tips Tips: 58 - Photos: 50 |
| Restaurants Tips: 31 - Photos: 19 | Hotels and Accommodations Tips: 35 - Photos: 16 |
| Things To Do Tips: 122 - Photos: 111 | Nightlife Tips: 6 - Photos: 2 |
| Off the Beaten Path Tips: 25 - Photos: 18 | Tourist Traps Tips: 8 - Photos: 6 |
| Warnings or Dangers Tips: 27 - Photos: 15 | Transportation Tips: 51 - Photos: 36 |
| Local Customs Tips: 71 - Photos: 68 | Packing Lists Tips: 15 - Photos: 10 |
| Shopping Tips: 6 - Photos: 3 | Sports Travel Tips: 2 - Photos: 2 |
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