Leaving Gondar

Njera cart

I never sleep particularly well the night before I travel and last night was not exception. But I was rewarded. I first woke at 3 a.m., and already the orthodox priests had begun their Sunday sacred singing and chanting. I woke again at 4:30 and lay there for more than an hour, listening to the low, melodious droning of the priests mix with the chirping crickets, the barking dogs, then the crowing of roosters and finally with the bleating of sheep. The road to the airport at 6:45 a.m. was full of white-robed parishioners either heading to one of the many churches in Gondar or home from church. The depth of devotion to the traditions of the orthodox church is both sobering and inspiring.

Haystacks

My two and a half weeks in Gondar were full of adventure, successful work, contacts made, lots of laughs, awesome food and good company. So many thanks to Kefyalew for his excellent second-to-the-last day tour of Empress Mentawab’s residence—he got the resident monk to unlock the room where the treasures of the church on the compound were stored. The electricity happened to be out in Gondar that afternoon, so we viewed the ancient texts—AND the 3 skeletons (Empress Mentawab and her 2 sons, King Iyasu II and his brother) spooky!!—by the light of homemade torches.

Kefyalew with the torches

The skeletons

And thanks to Getahun for an early morning shuttle to the airport on my way to Lalibela!

Dinner with the guys at Fasil's Lodge

The photos in this post are a few last impressions of Gondar, including a few from King Fasilidas’s Castle compound (construction dating back to the early 1600’s and continuously occupied by kings of the Solomonic dynasty until the mid-1800’s. Unfortunately, the site sustained damage during WWII when the Brits bombarded the Italian headquarters housed on the castle compound. The UN is helping fund some restoration.)

Fasilidas's castle from above town

Castle entry

Monk at Empress Mentawab's residence

I’ll miss Gondar but am looking forward to my time in Lalibela. I’ve found there is no wifi where I’m staying so I hope these next couple blog posts make it.

Gate to Empress Mentawab's compound