Is that Bob?
Bahir Dar is a dirt-ridden city on the shores of Lake Tana in north Ethiopia. Legend says that the original ‘Arc of the Covenant’ was taken from the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem to Axum, Ethiopia and was hidden on an island in Bahir Dar for over 800 years. The Arc is in Axum (see my Axum photos) and Bahir Dar is now home to a plethora of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox churches.
I took a boat with my friend Adena to one of the islands to see one of the churches. We got lucky!! We were pleasantly surprised to arrive at the “Church of Mary” on the day of the holy celebration of the ‘resurrection of Mary’.
Inside the church.
And, while we were inside the church, we nicely interrupted by drums and chanting outside. As we went to observe, we were instantly enveloped by a loud and festive parade filled with young Ethiopians dancing, marching, drumming and singing. We were literally taken downstream like a current in a river. It was a beautiful experience. I will try to post video to share. These tribes were covered in white. And, the priests wore enormous bronze crowns on their heads.
When the parade ended we were invited by a local into his family’s home to eat and drink. We accepted and spent an hour inside a villager’s home. We age Tef (sponge bread with meat) and fresh home-brewed beer (fermented water). If there is ONE thing you don’t do in remote areas of 3rd world countries, it is drink “fermented water”. But, this beer was made with holy water and blessed by their god. So, we didn’t get sick!!! Amazing.
