Cyber Ethiopia

The easiest way to get to the magnificent Axum with the famous obelisks and numerous other sites is to fly there. The hardest way is to drive up the difficult road from Gondar, across the deep Tekkeze Valley. An intermediate alternative is to fly or drive to the capital of Tigray, Mekelle, then drive to Axum from there. The drive is exceptional, and it should be taken at least once. There are two routes you can take from Mekelle, more or less straight across through Tembien, or north to Adigrat, then west to Adua and Axum. The former route is very nice, taking you through the Tigray highlands on a windy but pretty good gravel road. However, the route through Adigrat is much more spectacular and

offers many more interesting points of interest. Apart from the rock hewn churches at Wukro, 45 km north of Mekelle, there are clusters of other churches at Hawzen and Geralta. Each of these places requires some time commitment to visit, and exploring it from the base of Mekelle makes most sense. Adigrat About 125 km north of Mekelle is the major centre of Adigrat, which played a frontline role in the recent war with Eritrea. Adigrat is a sizeable market centre, nestled attractively below a high ridge to the west. The strategic transport and trade location next to the Eritrean border has nourished Adigrat, but since the conflict with Eritrea this future is now uncertain. I have enjoyed the hospitality of Adigrat, in the form of a mother of a friend of mine. He asked me to take her a little package, so we located the little shop that she and her other son were running. Of course we were invited in, and it was a fascinating visit. Getting behind the little shop front, through the curtains which inevitably separate the shop from the living quarters below. The shop was not badly stocked, with lots of pasta and matches and soap and other small items. The little curtained door was very small, a tight squeeze for a big lad like me. We were treated to a specially prepared lunch (they knew we were coming), which made the squeeze going out even more of a challenge. Apart from injera and the other special foods, there is a special Agame dish, tihlo, which we were treated to. This is a round ball of doughy barley, which is dipped in a red sauce with the use of a local fork stick. My friend’s mother, Woyzero Birnesh Gieregzier, a kindly middle aged Tigrayan, insisted on feeding me the tihlo herself. Her hands were deep red, almost purple, from the accumulation of henna on them. She also sported a blue necklace tattoo, about 4 inches wide, a typical style for northern women. Her hair was intricately braided, oiled and pulled back. From Adigrat you proceed either directly north - to Zalanbessa which was one of the main battlegrounds in the Ethiopian-Eritrean war, or take the road west to Adua. Zalanbessa, like many other places, was so destroyed by the war that it would make an unusual sight-seeing destination. The road from Adigrat to Adua, however is one of the most scenic and spectacular in Ethiopia, a country filled with beautiful views. Climbing quickly up from Adigrat, soon you are gazing 1000 feet down on to the city below. The truly spectacular drops greet you on the other side of the climb, where the cliff hugging road looks down on the valley of the Mereb River, falling away perhaps 2000 feet, often in steep cliffs. This drive is not easy for those who fear heights, but it is safe and even someone with my vertigo gets used to it after a while. The best part of the view is the odd shaped mountains which hove into view in the west. I have no idea what geologic process form these odd shapes, but it must be unusual for the scenery is unique. Mountains tilt and jut at odd angles on the horizon. Strange peaks compete with deep clefts for the eye of the beholder. I feel cheated that no one had told me about the spectacular view on this road before I first travelled on it. I’d taken the much less interesting Tembien route my first drive to Axum, and I genuinely regretted not having taken the Adigrat route. Debre Damo Along the way there are many fabulous historic sites. The first is the Monastery of Debre Damo, with the turnoff 37 km from Adigrat. This is one of the earliest Christian monasteries in Ethiopia (or anywhere else for that matter) which is still very much alive. The reason that it has survived for so long is no doubt the security offered by being located at the top of a flat topped mountain, an amba, with forty foot cliffs to protect you. Abuna Aregawi, who was said to have founded the monastery, had the advantage of being divinely provided a large and highly cooperative snake to make the initial climb up to the top. Once there he was able to organize the construction of the cliffside rooms of the monastery, hewn from the rock near the top of the amba. Aregawi’s disciple, Tekle Haymanot, actually sprouted divinely supported wings after the devil, Shaitan, cut the rope on which he was climbing up. These wings not only made it very easy for Tekle Haymanot to ascend the amba, he also used them to make quick trips to Jerusalem and back on a regular basis. For those of us unlucky enough not to have wings or a cooperative snake, the way up to the amba is a bit less mystical. If you are male, and you pass the cross examination on your Christian beliefs, then the monks will haul you up on a rope to visit the monastery. The forty foot ascent looks ominous, but the monks ascend with the speed and grace of monkeys. For those of us less gifted, the ropes not only provide you with something to climb up on, the strong arms of the monks reel you in on the rope like a great fish. A similar system was developed at the Christian monastery of St. Catherines at the base of Mt. Sinai in Egypt. All the gateways of the monastery were stoned up to prevent invaders from entering, so that the only way to get in was to be hauled to the top of the walls by the monks. As Debre Damo was contemporary with the early days of St. Catherines, perhaps the monasteries learned the technique from each other. The prominent African historian Thomas Pakenham visited Debre Damo in 1956 as part of his exploration of the Amba ‘prisons of the princes’ of Ethiopia, described in his book ‘The Mountains of Rasselas’ (there is a 1998 coffee table version). Debre Damo was one of three Ambas reputed to have served the Emperors of Ethiopia as a comfortable prison for all the potential heirs to the Empire, so that one could be chosen when needed and the others could be kept from indulging in messy succession battles. The rebel Empress Yodit, or Judith, overthrew the Christian Empire of Axum, and is reputed to have massacred the princes at Debre Damo. There are numerous versions of this story, one with 400 princes massacred. The monastery has a variety of attractions. An unusual feature is the carvings, mostly in wood, of strange animals and gargoyles. There are church walls made in the same way as some of the churches near Lalibela, with wooden beams supporting stone walls in an attractive layered pattern. You have to be a bit careful as you wander around the sites, you can’t wear shoes and there are places with thorns!!