-- Log 14 --

Gondar – Castles and Legends – the Camelot of Ethiopia

Terara Hotel – Gonder – N12.36.637 E37.28.240 – 7 272 ft amsl - 60 Birr pn – 25/07/02 –26/07/02

We arrived at Gonder in the late evening after a hard day’s driving, it is very easy to misjudge how long it will take to do a certain distance. We are learning that you can never take a distance off the map and make a judgement call on the time it would take – some time what we think will be a few hours turns into a few days!

At Gonder the usual touts, beggars and street children rushed us. We had a look at all the hotels that we were interested in and finally decided on the Terara Hotel, primarily because it overlooks the Royal Enclosure. Our visit to the castles was very rewarding and interesting. We did not take a guide because it appears they all learnt the history etc from a tape made by an American, so they have this fast, boring, false American accent – and they cannot answer questions outside of what they had memorized!



We met a young boy who was a delight to meet and chat to. He was well informed about the history of the area and was a wealth of information. He had a pleasant and caring attitude and did not ask for anything right up until we left, when he asked for money for school fees and books.

It is such a pity that the children have to struggle to get an education. Most are uneducated and stay at home, helping with the family herds. Those who are fortunate to attend school, usually pay for it themselves, by working weekends and after school. We in South Africa are very fortunate; it is a pity that we do not appreciate all that we have.


The buildings include the library of Fasilidas’s son, Emperor YohannesI (1667-1682), the castle of Yohannes’s son Emperor Iyasu I (1683 – 1706), the house of song of Emperior Dawit II (1716 – 1721), the banqueting hall of Emperor Bakaffa (1722-1730) and the palace of Empress Metewab. Bombs dropped during WW II damaged some of the buildings. Currently they are working on the restoration of the castles, and many were not open to the public, which was disappointing but understandable.




Palace of Emperor Fasilidas


North of Gonder lies the small village of Wolleka which was formerly inhabited by Falashas – Judaic Ethiopians. The Falashas call themselves Bete Isra’el and practise Judaism. It is believed that it was the Falashas who physically built the Gondar castles and provided many of theartefacts that support the Gondarine culture. After the mass evacuation to Israel in 1991, only a few remained in Ethiopia, today none remain.

Having enjoyed the cool mountain air and the hospitality of the people of Gonder we set of for Lalibela. We had to backtrack 100 kms along the shores of Lake Tana and then set off on a murrum road for the remote town of Lalibela.

Once again the evening caught up with us and we managed to find a place to camp in the CPAR Gayint Project compound – many thanks to them for their hospitality.
N11.44.904 – E038.28.337 - 10 125 ft amsl – Birr 30 – for the guards. It rained overnight and in the morning the ground was covered with ice. Fortunately by the time we hit the road, the trucks had melted all the ice.

In our enthusiasm we managed to miss the turn off – unmarked, in a village with no indication of its name and not found on our map! We only found out that we were off the mark when we were 100 kms away. No problem we found another way! There is another road from Kobo to Lalibela so we took that one. It wondered through the mountains that did not have any other vehicles on it – I hear you say – I’ve heard this before!!!!!

Night came by, and we bush camped on the crest of a mountain – it was absolutely beautiful. A local and his children came and visited us. He offered to guard us, but we declined as we felt quite safe, after all there was nobody else about. Next morning bright and early he was back again. We were not 100m up the road before we had to negotiate a difficult patch. The gent came to our assistance and called the family to dig and clear the way! It is amazing, we do not speak his language and he does not speak English, yet we were able to make each other understood.



Mountain camped – 28/07/02 – N12.07.077 E039.24.111 – 10 104 ft amsl – almost FOC – 1 bread roll!