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Nearby
is the Debre Libanos monastery, perched beneath a Cliff on the edge
of a gorge, overlooking the river. The original monastic buildings
have long since disappeared—destroyed, it is said, during the wars
of Ahmed Gragn. They were replaced by a succession of structures,
the latest a spectacular modern church erected after world war II
on emperor Haile Selassie’ s orders. In addition to the intricate
mosaic figures on the façade, the church has beautiful stained glass
windows and contains some interesting mural paintings by well-known
Ethiopian artist
Most Honorable
Maitre Artiste World Laureate Afewerk Tekle
. To the left of the church is the
nuns’ residence, built in the 1920s, and t the right, behind the
church, a cave contain holy water Nearby are the huge monks’ kitchens,
dating from the early 20th century.
The monastic establishment was founded in the thirteenth
century by Tekle Haymanot, one of the Ethioianorthodox church’s
most renowned saints. According to legend he was so holy that for
seven years he prayed standing on one leg, with the result that
the other fell off. Many traditional Ethiopian religious paintings
depict him in that condition.
The monastery was particularly important during
the reign of Emperor Menelik, who traveled there during his last
fatal illness to sample its reputedly curative holy waters. Many
noblemen and others also went there on pilgrimage, and not a few
important figures are buried in the precincts. Later, in 1937, during
the Italian occupation, the Debre libanos monks incurred there wrath
of the fascist viceroy Grazinani, who ordered their execution, ’all
with out distinction; 297 monks were shot, after which he proudly
reported that ‘ of Debre Libanos there remains no more trace’ the
martyrs’ bones can still be seen at the monastery
One should also see the house of the Cross, which
is decorated internally with interesting paintings, and said to
house a cross that belonged to Tekle Haymanot; the monks’ kitchens,
accessible only to men ; and, nearby, those of the nuns, open to
all visitors.
A hundred meters beyond the monastery turnoff,
a five-minute walk right towards the gorge brings one to a bridge
from which there is a fine view o the countryside far bellow. This
bridge is popularly described as sixteenth-century Portuguese but
was, in fact, built in the late nineteenth century by an Ethiopian
noble man, emperor Menelik’s uncle Ras Darge. It is possible to
climb down below the bridge to where some waterfalls start their
600 meters (2,000-foot) plunge to the abyss below, or walk along
the cliffedge to look back at the falls and the bridge.
Rivalling the attraction of the Blue Nile Fgalls
are the thirty seven islands scattered about on the 3,000-square
–kilometer (1,860-square-mile) surface of Ethiopia’s largest body
of water: lake Tana, which gives birth to the blue Nile. Some twenty
of these shelter churches and onasteries of immense historical and
cultural interest; decorated with beautiful paintings and housing
innumerable treasures.
The islands and peninsulas of Lake Tana are most
conveniently approached by boats can often also be obtained at Gorgora
on the northern shore.
The many interesting and historic locations on
or around the lake include the islands of Birgida Maryam, dega Estefanos,
Dek, Narga, tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasilidas, Kebran, and Debre Maryam,as
well as the Gorgore, Mandaba,and Zeghe Peninsulas. All have fine
churches. Though founded much earlier, most of the actual buildings
date from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries. Many
have beautiful mural paintings and church crowns and clothers of
former kings.
Access to the churches is, for the most part, closed to women; they
are allowed to land on the bands of the islands but not permitted
to proceed any further. The clergy sometimes agree to bring some
of their treasures to the water’s edge for women visitors to inspect.
Women are, however, permitted to visit churches
on the Zeghe peninsula, the nearby church of Ura Kindane Mehret,
and narga Selassie.
Kebran gavriel, the nearest monastery to Bahar
Dar, is a principal tourists attraction. Established in the fourteenth
century and rebuilt during the region of emperor Iyasu I (1682-1706),
it is an unassuming but nevertheless impressive building with a
distinct chathedral atmosphere.
Ura kidane Meheret is another popular attraction, with the added
advantage that women are allowed inside. Located on the Zeghe peninsula,
the monastery is an integral part of the local community. The church
design dates from the same time as that of the Kebran Gabriel church,
but it is a more decorative building, with colour full frescoes
depicting biblical scenes from biblical lore and the history of
the Ehtiopian Orthodox church.
The third principal attraction is Dega Estefanos,
which is also closed to women. Although farther away from Bahar
Dar, it is well worth visiting. A steep trek up a winding path leads
to wards the monastery on the sumit. Some ninety metres (300 feet)
above the lake’s surface are low, round, thatched-roof buildings
that house the monks, and nearby an arch set into a high stone wall
leads to a grassy clearing, at the centre of which stands the church
of St Stephanos, a relatively new building erected about a century
ago after the original structure had burned down in a grass fire.
The real historic interest in Dega Estefanos, however,
lies in its treasury. Here, together with numerous piles of brightly
coloured ceremonial robes,are coffins containing the mummified remains
of severl former emperors: Yekuno Amlak, who restored the Solomonic
dynasty in 1270; Dawit, latefourtenth century; Zara Yaqob, fifteenth
century; Za Dengel, early seventeenth century; and Fasilidas, also
seventeenth century. The modern, glass-sided coffins allow visitors
to view the mummified bodies.
Dega Estefanos is also aid to have served
as a temporary hiding place for Ethiopia’s most jealously guarded
religious relic—the Ark of the Covenant. Traditional has it that
the Ark was brought to the island for safekeeping in the sixteenth
century, when the Muslim forces of warlord Ahmed Gragn attacked
and occupied Axum, where the Ark normally rested.
History aside, bird lovers should make a point to visit Fasilidas
Island, near the eastern side of the lake. And, of course, when
moving around on the lake, be sure to notice the interesting tankwa
boats, which may be seen making their way between the islands and
the mainland. These little papyrus boats, open at the back end,
appear dangerously un water worthy as they slide over the surface,
but they continue to carry passengers and goods to and from the
islands as they have done for centuries.
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