Gondar Archives - Wandering North

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Final Day in Gondar

My final day in Gondar was a relaxing one. After breakfast i went back to the market to wander around and sat and drank coffees while watching the street scene. Two things i haven’t mentioned: the macchiatos here are incredible, like tiny, perfect lattes. Also there are pool halls her everywhere. Typically just a one room place with a pool table and nothing else, but they seem to be very popular.

After that i visited Debre Birhan Selassie, a beautifully decorated church dating back to the late 1600s, found at the end of a lovely walk on a countryish road just off the piazza. It was wonderful, but my relaxation was interrupted by a fellow who wanted to talk to me about my life in Canada and was very intent on getting to the bottom of whether i was truly happy. By the end of the conversation, I just didn’t know any more. But i did enjoy the church.

After that i enjoyed a lazy lunch and cigar and lengthy bit of reading at a restaurant near my hotel before catching a tuk tuk to Kuskuam, which is the ruins of the palace of the Empress Mentewab, from the early 1730s. It was in a peaceful, albeit somewhat eerie setting on top of a small mountain and was great for a visit, although the solitude was somewhat broken by a group of school children who were entertained by following me around and jumping out to say hello and then run away.

The evening brought thunder showers and another power outage, so i spent the evening at the hotel reading by candlelight and reflecting on the day. Gondar was wonderful – much better than i had expected based on the accounts of other travelers, who said the sights were swell but that the constant hassle for money was exhausting. This was not my experience. I found it to be an interesting and restful place and could have easily spent more time there, but i had a flight the next morning to Lalibela, where more exploration would await.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Trekking and Tracking Troops of Baboons

Yesterday morning i awoke at 4am (still in Gondar, Ethiopia) to the sound of rain. That was followed by the slow awakening of a ring of mosques around me, which all began the call to prayer shortly after 4am and which continued their haunting music for about 3 hours.

Yesterday was my day to go trekking in the Semian (aka Simian) Mountains. I and two other girls (French) from the hotel left in a van with a driver and guide. Along the way we picked up two men with old Russian machine guns who would be our muscle – for protection from what i am unsure. We drove for a couple of hours through the countryside. It really is amazing seeing what people carry around in their daily lives, on foot, from village to village. People are walking miles carrying huge jugs of water or oil, massive bundles of firewood, multiple sacks of potatoes and onions, and logs – i saw one women who was well past middle age carrying three logs, each about 15 feet, on her back. Sometimes i feel lazy when i have to carry groceries 4 blocks home. Also seen: people frequently carrying big sticks or crooked walking canes. I presume these are for tending flocks, but when walking most people have them slung over their shoulders; and when they are all dressed in white it reminded me of the droogs from Clockwork Orange.

We drove through several small, rural towns where i saw signs in English and Amharaic advertising that children should go to school and not work. I also saw many kids playing in the street like it was 1940s America: marbles, hopscotch drawn in the dirt, and the very vintage hoop and stick combo (with the hoop generally being an old tire).

Finally we reached the mountains and began hiking. We had ascended rather quickly to a high altitude, which was noticeable, but the hike was not too difficult. The views were beautiful and the paths we walked took us close to the edge and often through patches of eerie moss-covered trees with ravens and vultures circling.

Our machine gun toting companions stayed with us the whole time.

The best part of the hike was seeing hundreds of gelada baboons. They were everywhere in troops ranging from 6 to dozens. They were busy picking and eating grasses, sometimes with babies in tow. We could get within about 10 feet of them before they would move away. They really were quite fascinating and i was delighted to be able to see so many and for such long periods of time. I also saw a small grey monkey with a white, furry face but it was too swift for me to get a photo.

My hiking companions were camping out but i was heading back to Gondar so after some coffee and fresh popcorn made on a fire on a summit, we parted ways.

On the way back to Gondor i stopped at Wolleka, aka Falasha Village, which had once been home to a population of Ethiopian Jews, but since they were moved to Israel in the 1980s, it is a regular Ethiopian village with some remaining, but disused, synagogues and art on the houses.

That was a full day for me. I finished it off with a fabulous platter of Ethiopian fasting food (vegetarian food) at the charming Four Sisters restaurant in Gondar which was probably the best meal I’ve had on this trip and was well worth the walk in the dark on the unlit, unpaved road there and back. Fortunately, i had my flashlight, though i doused it periodically to look at the sky, which was filled with stars – the kind you only see when away electricity.
I slept very soundly.

Africa Ethiopia Ethiopia Trip 2015

Gondar

My trip from Harar to Gondar was a long one. First i had to get from Harar to the airport in Dire Dawa, then i had to fly to Addis Ababa and catch a connecting flight to Gondar. I had this all planned, but then the first of my two flights was delayed, causing my to miss the connecting flight to Gondar, which was the only flight to Gondar that day. I was temporarily annoyed, but i didn’t have anything planned and i really had more than enough time in Gondar, so i headed back into Addis for the night and stayed at an unremarkable hotel that was well appointed but entirely without charm (and without running water as it turned out).

I stayed the night there and didn’t do much but wander around the neighbourhood, which added to my initial impression of Addis that the entire city is either falling apart or under construction, which makes it very interesting to explore but not picturesque.

The next morning i headed to Gondar, successfully this time. I am staying at the Lodge du Chateau, about which i cannot say enough good things. It is so cute and cozy, with little thatched roof rooms set around a small garden courtyard and with a roof top, outdoor area for breakfast and taking in the mountain views. The service is great and there is hot, running water. An oasis.

Gondar is located in north east Ethiopia, towards the border with the Sudan and is in or in the foothills of the Semian Mountains. Gondar is actually a proper big city, but staying in the centre, near the historical sites, it feels like a small town and is walkable and easy to navigate.

There are really two main reasons that one comes to Gondar: hiking and castles. I started with castles. There are several small castles and related buildings and ruins here dating to the 1600s. Not the sort of thing one expects to see in Ethiopia. They would look right at home in the UK. It was a beautiful, sunny day and lovely for walking around the structures and was especially peaceful due to the very few tourists.

I also went out to Fasalada’s Bath (it’s more like a pool really) which is only filled with water for religious ceremonies, but is nevertheless a peaceful place to visit and had amazing trees, reminiscent of the temples at Siem Reap, in that their vines are slowly choking the ruins.

After that i wandered through the market. The markets i have seen so far in Ethiopia have been great places to visit, but they really are pretty limited in their produce. The fruit has been limited to bananas, papaya, mango and lime. And the vegetables: potato, tomato, onion, garlic, carrots, and cabbage. Mostly the markets have everything else: spices, shoes, sundry items, clothes, grains, flour, firewood, and livestock. It is all chaotic and very dirty (which is how i like my markets). Seriously, i have never seen so many sheep and goats in my life. Sometimes i’ve seen a man buy a sheep at market and then carry the sheep on his shoulders. The sheep looks so relaxed, like, “This is the best deal ever. I get carried now?” And i just think, poor guy. You have no idea what is in store for you. Actually, the most distressing thing i saw at the market by far was a man with no hands or feet lying in the street in a pile of garbage, partially covered by a blanket. You see that sort of thing a lot here, but i found that instance disturbing.

Later in the day i just wandered around, stopping for coffee periodically. It’s a really pleasant place with lots of birdsong, trees, and mountains in the distance.

After dinner of injera and lentils, i went back to the hotel and found that the whole neighborhood had been blackened with a power outrage – this seems to be a common occurrence in the country. Thankfully, the hotel and provided a little candle lantern, so i read by candlelight until it was time for sleep. It was a thoroughly enjoyable first day on Gondar and worth the wait to arrive here.

Tag: Gondar