Lake Tana: Ancient Monasteries and the Source of the Nile




Amhara farmer...note the cross tattooed on his forehead

 

I must admit that I wasn’t aware of the origins of the River Nile until a few years ago. This was a time when I was still in my first job in the US and aspired to visit Ethiopia someday. It was a casual research on the country that led me to find out that the Nile actually had two sources, the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Blue Nile which provides the bulk of the volume, originates in the highlands of Ethiopia in the catchment area of Lake Tana. The While Nile meanwhile originates in Virunga Mountains of Uganda, DRC and Rwanda.

During my recent research on Ethiopia, trekking in the Simien mountains and visiting Danakil were designated as must do activities. I had just finished Simien and Danakil was not until the end of my time in Ethiopia so I had a few days that I could fill in with some other places and activities. Lake Tana, originally a place I definitely wanted to visit, somehow did not seem as romantic at the time of my recent research so it fell into the maybe category. Roland and Rebecca were going there right after dropping off Tomas in Gonder so by going with them I would save a day which would be precious and that’s why Lake Tana was back on the agenda.

Walking for long distances is pretty much a daily chore for most Ethiopians...no wonder they have the best marathon runners

A typical house in the highlands

Rock formations on the way to Bahir Dar

To get to Lake Tana we had to drive south from Gonder for about 3 hours to reach the city of Bahir Dar which is located on the southern shores of the lake. Roland was kind enough to allow me to sit at the front and it allowed me to experience (fleetingly) the rural life of the Amhara people of the highlands and their cattle.

Talking about cattle, I don’t think I have every encountered as many homicidal cattle as in Ethiopia. It does not matter if they are donkeys, cows, lambs or sheep, if they hear or see a vehicle passing; they have to cross the road right before the vehicle when they were perfectly ok walking at the side of the road. It can be a nightmare for drivers and perhaps is one of the reasons for night travel on the road being prohibited in Ethiopia

Lake Tana from the shore

A fisherman on a papyrus boat

Door to the inner section. Only the priests can enter

We got in to Bahir Dar and checked into the guesthouse and had dinner by the lakeside but not before a hot shower which felt like heaven after a multi-day trek in the cold mountains.

Murals...best ones i had seen so far in Ethiopia

Cherubs

The next morning I signed up at the reception to join a group going to the monasteries on and around Lake Tana. As we started to speed away in our boat it initially seemed like any other large body of water until we started to spot fishermen in their unique papyrus boats. It’s no surprise to understand why papyrus was first used for writing by the ancient Egyptians who lived along the Nile’s delta. It’s also quite fascinating to see that these papyrus boats are still been used here as a mode of transport as they have been for centuries. The lake also seemed like a great place for avid birders since a casual observer like me spotted several different species.

Pilgrims entering the monastery

The lake has several monasteries that were set up centuries ago and due to their seclusion providing perfect ambience for monks. Even today, some monks go about their hermit life at some of these monasteries. First we visited a couple monasteries (Beta Maryam and Ura Kidane Meret) on the Zege peninsula both of which required a 10-15 minute hike through coffee and fig trees. Both had circular architectural structure with a thatched roof and beautiful paintings on the inside walls. The paintings were somewhat similar to the ones I had seen at the Debre Berhan Selassie in Gonder but were bigger and better. It was good to have a guide who explained several of the stories depicted in the murals some of which were stories from the Bible and some were local legends. Not having read the bible, it was a little more difficult for me to understand some of the depictions and the underlying subtext especially the various saints and their deeds but it was quite fascinating nonetheless.

Cross

Murals

In days gone by the murals had a more important role to play than aesthetics alone. In the 16th-17th century, majority of the population were illiterate and could not read or understand the ancient Geez language prevalent at the time so these paintings provided a medium to communicate the religious teachings.

Priest...(this guy was featured on Bradt's cover page)

Later we visited the outlet of the Blue Nile where the river departs Lake Tana and begins it’s 5,000 km odd journey to the Mediterranean and it looked anything but vast. I had imagined a huge outlet but it was a pretty small sluggish body of water making its way out of the lake. Papyrus grew all around this outlet and we were lucky to spot a huge hippo. I gently felt the water and wished it well on its journey through Khartoum, then Cairo and finally the Mediterranean sea.

Not too far away from the outlet, the monastery of Debre Maryam was located amidst plantations of coffee, mango, guava and cabbage. Rather than enter this monastery I took in the rustic setting around it and enjoyed a cup of traditional Ethiopian coffee in a small shack by the lake.

Freshly brewed coffee

Coffee fruits

Performers at the club



Got back to the guest house late in the afternoon and by that point it was too late to visit the lue Nile falls. Disheartened at first I quickly cheered up after hearing that it’s not quite the wonderful site it used to be before a hydro dam was built. After spending the rest of the evening wandering around Bahir Dar and its market I got back to the guest house to meet up with Roland and Rebecca and we headed to a local Ethiopian restaurant for Christmas Eve dinner. We were joined by a few more travelers some of whom visited the monastery with me that day.

After dinner, one of the guys suggested that we check out a traditional Ethiopian club and well…it was Christmas Eve and a Saturday so a club would be good way to end my stay in Bahir Dar. Soon, we were a bunch of Faranjis (foreigners) walking the streets at night to find a decent place. When we finally arrived at one, it seemed packed but the staff swiftly made enough space to cram eight of us in there. I ordered Tej, a honey wine served in a flask (which I would wake up the next morning regretting) and we were treated to some interesting traditional dance and music wherein the performers came in all decked in traditional dress including swords. I even tried my hand at the “iskista”, a dance where only the shoulders are moved up and down and back and forth. One local even commented I was decent…but suggested I could do better if I could keep my legs still.
Getting back late at night from the club, I wished Roland and Rebecca well for their journey to Cape Town. A few hours of sleep and I would be heading to the airport in the hope I could get a flight to Addis. I was almost a week into my travel through this fascinating country and it was time to see a little bit of Eastern Ethiopia.