Bahar Dar

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  Bahar Dar, Ethiopia
Sunday, December 4, 2005

Bahar Dar is a nice town on the Southern end of Lake Tana. The streets are lined with palms and in December the air is temperate. We opted for the pricey place in town because of its beautiful lake-side gardens and quiet rooms. The manager negotiated from 125 birr down to 75, about 9 US dollars; about twice as much as another pension in town. The day that we arrived I napped, sipped tea and wrote in the garden. My body ached from the night before and rest and refraining from food was just what I needed.
The next day we went on a boat ride around the lake. There are several islands and many house old monasteries with handfuls of Ethiopian Orthodox priests and nuns. Walking through the forested islands I sensed that not much had changed on any of them from the monasteries beginning days several hundred years ago. It is an orthodox faith that returns to the Old Testament and focuses on the many saints as well as Christ

Bahar Dar

. Isolated on these islands it seemed to have been unmolested by politics of the ages.
The first island that we stopped at had 16 nuns and 7 priests living on it. The nuns lived in a small cluster of thatched huts. Above them, on a hill, the monks lived in separate, mud walled, single rooms. Banana and cacao trees shaded the ground. The octagonal church stood at the peak of the hill, on top of the island. The outer walls are colored in fading, chipped paint. Erin and the other woman in our group entered from one side while the males entered from another with the priest. In the center of the building is a square room, the magdas, a sanctuary that houses the "holiest of holies." The walls of the magdas were covered with curtains, but when pushed aside, the revealed colorful murals. Most of the scenes either came from the Old Testament or from deeds of various saints. The paintings were beautiful in vivid color and detail.
The next island that we visited housed a church and monastery for men only. The females on the boat had to wait at the dock. A small priest with thick glassed showed us the monasteries treasures. There were leather bound goatskin parchments, crowns from former emperors and intricately carved silver crosses. The oldest of the treasures dated back to the 17th century, as did the church. The paintings on the magdas here were original and faded. All of the figures had dark skin and afro hair

Monastery

. It had been virtually untouched for almost 400 years.
We finished the boat tour at the mouth of the Blue Nile, after stopping at one more monasteries. It felt incredible to be at the headwaters of such a powerful force. That evening we sipped coffee on the veranda and watched flocks of pelicans soar, skimming just feet above the water.
We spent two more days in Bahar Dar. We took walks through the dusty streets and rented heavy bikes to take us into the surrounding countryside. Everywhere we were we drew stares, laughs, smiles, children and beggars. Kids would follow us around practicing English and be of any assistance they could for a birr. In the heat of the afternoon and the evenings we enjoyed the shade, smells, sounds of the birds and views of the lake from the garden.
Our second day there I was feeling better, by the third I ordered a full breakfast. I ordered the omelet. It seemed that there was one essential ingredient in all of the meals that I had eaten in Ethiopia; large amounts of oil, and berberi, a peppery spice made from many ingredients. The omelet came out looking like a pizza. For dinner that night I ordered tibs, small pieces of lamb cooked in a berberi sauce. I decanted the top layer of oil from the bowl that it was served in and took a few bites. My stomach started hurting again, and I had to quit before it was too late

paper boat

. I wondered if I was going to repeat the night that I had in Addis. I think that I was beginning to see why the Ethiopians fasted from meat every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
On the fourth day we woke early, donned our bags and walked for the bus station. 90% of the busses leave when they are full, so your best odds of getting a seat are to arrive early. The gates of the station open at 5AM, we arrived at 5:30 for the six o'clock to Gonder. Luckily there were about 4 seats left. Unluckily for us, we got the two that were opposite the rear door. The only problem with the seats opposite the rear door is that as all of the morning busses warm up while they with passengers. The exhaust of the neighboring bus pointed directly at our rear door. As the sun rose we could see that our bus was filled with black diesel exhaust. That explained our watering eyes and grey mucous.
Leaving the station we saw the extent of Ethiopian superstition. We had read that Ethiopians refuse to open windows in moving cars because it is believed that the air carries harmful vapors. Slowly the grey haze escaped through the open seals of the doors and windows, but not one person opened even one to let it out quickly. With my hat crumpled into a wad in front of my nose and mouth I made a mental note: always bring some sort of cloth that can be used as a breathing filter. Looking around the bus we saw that most people had either a blanket or a towel for that purpose. How foolish we must have looked, showing up at 5:30 with bare heads.

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