Bahir
Dar, Lake Tana, Blue Nile Falls
by
Jerry W. Bird
A
pleasant surprise occurred on day 3 of our
Historic Route journey through Ethiopia.
Following a short flight on Ethiopian
Airlines from Gondar to Bahir Dar Airport,
the gut-wrenching condition of the road
leading west led me to believe our group
of 11 journalists would be staying at some
dusty lakeside village. However, like
several of my colleagues, I was completely
bowled over when tall palms and jacarandas
suddenly appeared out of the blue. Like
part of a royal procession, we entered a
modern, well laid out community with
broad, tree-lined boulevards. Bahir Dar
would rival many seaside retreats on the
Mediterranean or Florida.
En route
to Lake Tana, I spotted a huge resort
hotel complex nearing completion &emdash;
a sign of positive things to come. After
checking into our hotel, we boarded a
motor launch for a spin around Lake Tana,
which is Ethiopia's largest lake. We're
told there are 37 small islands on the
lake, and most of them shelter monasteries
and churches, some dating back to the 13th
century. On most inland bodies of water of
this size, one might encounter powerboats
and sleek sailing craft, but on Lake Tana
in Northern Ethiopia, leisure gives way to
practicality. Here, the waters are alive
with a fleet of 'tankwas' , papyrus
canoes, carrying charcoal and firewood to
market in Bahir Dar.
Nature's
Brush, Fields of Gold and Smoke of
Fire
In February, the Jacaranda trees are in
full blossom, painting city boulevards and
village streets in a soft violet hue. It's
a signs that will live in my memory
forever. On a peaceful hill near Emperor
Haile Selassie's Bahir Dar palace,
overlooking the Blue Nile, we stopped to
mark the moment on film. How fortunate
that the royal gardeners had the foresight
to plant a mile long stretch of Jacarandas
to frame the entrance to this regal spot.
The
Ahramic name for the Blue Nile Falls is
'Tissisat' or 'smoke of fire' &emdash;
which describes what many claim to be the
most spectacular waterfalls in Northern
Africa. Here a wide body of water drops
over a sheer cliff more than 45 meters
deep. In many photos I have seen, that
curtain of spray kissed by a brilliant
rainbow. Speaking of rainbows and pots of
gold &emdash; in September I'm told it's a
sure sign of spring, when the 'Meskel"
flower turns entire hills and fields to
gold.
Our Grand
Tour Edition will feature Ethiopia's
Southern regions, and we will follow the
tracks of Ethiopia's railway, from Addis
Ababa to Djibouti on the Gulf of
Aden.
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