Ethiopia Stop #2: Gondar

My next destination was Gondar, a 17^th century city littered with ruins of Italian castles. I hopped aboard another Ethiopian Airlines turbo prop for the 300 km flight and was seated beside a white robed shaman who swatted at me with what looked like a short broom covered with long animal hair for the duration of the flight. Luckily it was a short hop and the view from the window of Lake Tana and the mud brown Blue Nile provided distraction. From the air it almost looked like a greener Grand Canyon lay below.

Gondar itself is a pretty, peaceful little city built around the ruins of a huge royal enclosure. It almost looks European, except for the tuktuks and donkey carts that dominate city traffic. In the mornings kids walk along the roads wearing brightly coloured school uniforms alongside elderly priests who generally stared at me with great suspicion. Even in the middle of the city herders cruise along with their flocks of sheep or cows in tow. Apart from the historic castles, I certainly wouldn’t come for the other Italian architecture that is so praised on travel sites – unless you like mid 20^th century concrete blocks. Gondar is located in a very lush region that for some reason reminded me of Taipa in Macau, with the same twittering rainbow songbirds and rolling golden hills. The people dress very colourfully – it’s a blend between traditional peasant garb, priestly attire and tattered western wear. The women are quite beautiful, slim with light skin and stunning bone structure. In fact everyone is slim because as it turns out, running marathons up mountain sides is a national pastime that starts in childhood. That would explain all the Olympic gold medals in distance running.

I again hired a guide – luckily this time apart from staring he was quite polite. He drove me to a famous church called Debre Birhan Selassie, in such a gorgeous location that I had to spend hours exploring the surroundings. Inside the ceiling was painted with the heads of people burning in hell’s fires and this time the priest was interesting and chatty. I also explored the various Italian palace ruins including Fasilides Castle and baths, Mentaub’s Palace and Iyasu Palace.

I also spent a lot of time people watching as my hotel was located in a lively old part of town and I was able to talk to many locals and even make some friends. This hotel didn’t have fleas (a miracle!), but the bathroom managed to outdo even rural Chinese standards of nastiness. Suffice to say, I didn’t bathe much on this trip. I figured it was cleaner to avoid what passes for a shower. Besides, like an obediant household pet, at no point did I want to accidentally rinse off my thick layer of flea repellent.

One general thing that fascinated me in Ethiopia was that although people’s homes were in shambles they all featured giant plasma screen televisions. I found this particularly interesting because I have been pleading with Johannes to buy one for ages. If Ethiopian mountain peasants can have one I don’t see why we can’t.

After three days it was time for the final stop, Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa. En route to the airport I saw a sign for the road to the Sudan border. Turns out we were right by it. There are actually some pyramids I want to see in Sudan at some point but my driver assured me that the second you cross the border you are beset by hustlers and criminals. So…not a good idea just yet, then.