Amen Ethiopia Pilgrimage – Cairo to Addis Ababa ...
The caravan departs for Upper (i.e. South) Egypt and we drive through the suburbs of Cairo. The Nile landscape appears to be timeless, yet signs of progress are clearly visible. At a certain moment we are stopped by the police and from that point on we are escorted by armed soldiers. Suddenly we leave the banks of the Nile and turn inland. After negotiating various country lanes we arrive at the monastery of Dair el Moharek known in Ethiopia as Debre Kuskwam, it is the holiest place in Coptic Egypt. Somewhat later we find ourselves in the old Church together with a monk Fr. Fim who gives us some explanation.
We learn that this was the place where the Holy Family stayed for six months. Everywhere else in Egypt the idols fell down as they approached and consequently the local inhabitants forced them to go further and they could not remain long in one place. However, in the area of the present monastery of Dair El Moharek there were no houses or idol images, consequently the Holy Family could remain in peace. Besides the beautifully preserved old church with its ancient icons, we also visited a nineteenth century Church with a Byzantine style marble iconostasis, and a citadel or fortified tower. Here the monks could take refuge in times of attack. It was provided with a chapel where the monks could pray for angelic assistance. A prominent feature was a striking parchment painting of the archangel Michael, parchment paintings are more characteristic of the Ethiopian tradition.
From Dair El Moharek we drove 60 kilometres with our police escort to Aswan, one of the cities with the highest percentage of Christians in Egypt. We were welcomed by the Catholic bishop of Aswan, a learned man who speaks many languages and is widely travelled. We decide to continue our journey at midnight, and in the meantime most of the pilgrims take the opportunity to get some rest.
The police are ready to accompany us at 12 o’ clock. After driving through villages and cities we finally arrive in Aswan at 12 noon, much later than we expected. We proceed directly past the high dam to the port, on the shores of the great lake which connects between Egypt and Sudan. We ask advice from the representative of the ‘Nile Water Transport Association’, a certain Mr. Salih who speaks excellent English. He explains to us that we cannot achieve anything that day, and must come to his office in the town centre in the morning. Somewhat disappointed we return to Aswan, and look for lodgings in the city centre near to the office where we should make enquiries the next day.
In the morning we try to arrange everything for our further journey especially the transportation of our vehicles. We learn that the vehicles and people must travel separately, and that the boats transporting our cars will be at least a day longer en route. We decide to load our cars the next day, and travel ourselves the day after that. But it turns out to be impossible to complete the whole procedure the same day. In the afternoon we decide to take an outing with a ‘falluka’ a traditional boat to visit some of the islands on the Nile. It is wonderful to be on the river and to see everything from a different perspective. We visit the Kitchener island with its splendid botanical gardens. Subsequently we have an extended guided tour of the archeological excavations on the Elefantine island, where Pharonic temples, roman ruins, and a temple built by Jewish mercenaries, jostle each other. According to the popular historian and bestseller author Graham Hancock, the Arc of the covenant was here for a while on its journey down the Nile to Aksum Tsion in Ethiopia. We also cast a glance at a Nubian village along the way.
It is the first Sunday in September but we have no time for going to Church. Our first job is to finish the remaining part of the paperwork procedure from the previous day. Subsequently we sort our baggage keeping only the most essential and valuable items with us. We depart in great haste for the port, there are comprehensive security measures, all the baggage has to pass through a screening machine and some items must be opened for inspection. The chief customs officer with whom we have dealings turns out to be an Orthodox Christian and is so impressed by our church connections that he does everything to help us. He ensures that we only have to pay a modest fine due to the fact that we are three days over the permitted transit period for our vehicles. Finally our cars are positioned precariously on the motorised barges, and we can return to the city.
In the morning we all drive to the port in a minibus. We have been warned that it is necessary to make an early appearance to ensure receiving places. We are too late to be able to obtain tickets for cabins and have to satisfy ourselves with places in the great passenger’s hall. In the meantime we speak with Johan from South Africa. He is a former Oil Company magnate. Since he is on his way back he has all kinds of useful information to share. In the evening the ferry finally embarks and somewhat later we take refuge in the first class cafeteria, until we are evicted. Finally we go up on deck and look for a place to sleep in between the great heaps of baggage, merchandise and the other passengers.
The ferry cruises past the temple of Abu Simbel and we have the opportunity to see at a distance one of the most impressive monuments of ancient Egypt. We sail further and further along a barren coastline consisting solely of sand and bare rock. Finally after midday we arrive in the port of Wadi Halfa. It is a sleepy town with less than 7,000 inhabitants, but one of the most important points of entry to Sudan. After the usual entry procedures we are shuttled to the town in a bus.
It is very hot and there is no air conditioning, except for an occasional breeze. We drink litres of water and hang around waiting for news of the vehicles. We have opportunity to read and discover that there are some Ethiopians and Amharic speakers among those working in the area around our hotel. The local population is friendly and invites us to take very spicy tea and ice cold Karkade (Hibiscus Flower drink) with them. The pilgrims are exhausted by the heat and the gnawing uncertainty about how long we would have to wait there. We begin to fear that we might end up spending celebrating the Millenium in Wadi Halfa or somewhere else in Sudan.
The following morning we take our habitual spicy coffee and mini donuts at the roadside. In the afternoon we hear rumours that our vehicles have arrived and we must make all kinds of special arrangements with the customs personnel since normally they do not work on Fridays and Saturdays.
The next day a group of us goes to the port in order to finish the custom’s process. Finally somewhat after midday the vehicles appear, and we prepare for departure. At approximately three o’clock our trek through the desert begins. There is no asphalt or for that matter any kind of visible road. We simply follow the railway line and the electricity poles. We follow at some distance more like a timid flock of sheep. He makes an effort not to distance himself from us.
At some points the sand is fine and soft, we become bogged down in it. We are obliged to get out of the vehicles, shovel the sand away from the wheels and undercarriage, and place large stones on which the wheels can take a grip. Sometimes towing ropes are used. It is exhausting work; the worst thing is the uncertainty about how often it will need to be repeated. The assistance of Johan is indispensable during this part of the journey. Finally we pass through the most difficult area and can proceed more quickly. We drive past the famous pyramids of Meroe, an ancient and important (partly Christian) civilization which traded with Aksum in the dark.
When we reach the asphalt road near Atbarra we bid a heartfelt farewell to Johan and his wife, and precede non-stop to Khartoum. There we are welcomed by an Ethiopian Comboni Missionary Father Asfaha Yohannes, who is responsible for the Comboni postulants house. We are also re-united with Amaha an Ethiopian Orthodox deacon who accompanied us from Italy, but was obliged to fly from Jordan to Sudan due to visa problems. We have lunch together in an Ethiopian restaurant and meet some members of the Ethiopian community in Khartoum. Subsequently we continue our journey towards the Ethiopian border. Gradually the landscape changes, it becomes greener and there is rain. Finally we stop in Gedaref the last city before the border, the urban landscape is miserable and muddy, it is after midnight and there is nobody around on the streets. Eventually with the assistance of a friendly local soldier we are able to locate a modest ‘tourist hotel’. We decide to spend the night there.
We arise early in the morning. Nearby I find a wayside youth with an enormous polished bronze kettle, who sells steaming cupfuls of wonderfully spicy tea and little donuts for a few cents. By the time I return nearly all the pilgrims have taken their places in the vehicles and we can depart. We drive thirty kilometres to the border post at Gallabat. The border is marked by a river which can be crossed by a bridge. We blissfully drive across the bridge and rejoice at being in Ethiopia again, only to be told that we have not completed the required procedures on the Sudanese side. We are obliged to return and do everything according to the book regulations, then finally we are allowed to cross the border again. What a relief to have made the last border crossing!
We proceed to Mettama the next city, where we go through certain customs procedures, in connection with the importation of the vehicles. A customs official who was particularly helpful accompanies us to (near) Gondar, where he will spend the Millennium festivities with his family. The Mahbere Sellasie monastery is located nearby. Previously access had been very difficult due to the absence of a good road. An excellent asphalt road had been built. It was encouraging to see clear improvements in the Ethiopian infrastructure! After Metamma the whole atmosphere changed considerably, we ascended higher and higher and found ourselves in the familiar landscape of highland Ethiopia.
The long journey through the Egyptian and Sudanese deserts caused us to appreciate the Ethiopian landscape in a new way. It is so dramatic, variable and green! This is really God’s special land on the roof of the world, as the Ethiopians describe it. Even those who were seasoned travellers in Ethiopia looked around themselves as if with new eyes. We arrive in Bahar Dar late at night. We occupy rooms in a Hotel and in the course of a meal in a nearby restaurant make the acquaintance of the brother of one of the Pilgrims called Haymanot. It is our first night back in Ethiopia!
The father another brother and younger sisters of Haymanot come to the Hotel early in the morning to meet us. The caravan begins to move as soon as possible headed for Addis Ababa. Passing through the region of the historic Agau ethnic group we encounter a procession of wild horseman with colourful attire including lion manes. They are taking part in a Millenium celebration.
The caravan departs for Upper (i.e. South) Egypt and we drive through the suburbs of Cairo. The Nile landscape appears to be timeless, yet signs of progress are clearly visible. At a certain moment we are stopped by the police and from that point on we are escorted by armed soldiers. Suddenly we leave the banks of the Nile and turn inland. After negotiating various country lanes we arrive at the monastery of Dair el Moharek known in Ethiopia as Debre Kuskwam, it is the holiest place in Coptic Egypt. Somewhat later we find ourselves in the old Church together with a monk Fr. Fim who gives us some explanation.
We learn that this was the place where the Holy Family stayed for six months. Everywhere else in Egypt the idols fell down as they approached and consequently the local inhabitants forced them to go further and they could not remain long in one place. However, in the area of the present monastery of Dair El Moharek there were no houses or idol images, consequently the Holy Family could remain in peace. Besides the beautifully preserved old church with its ancient icons, we also visited a nineteenth century Church with a Byzantine style marble iconostasis, and a citadel or fortified tower. Here the monks could take refuge in times of attack. It was provided with a chapel where the monks could pray for angelic assistance. A prominent feature was a striking parchment painting of the archangel Michael, parchment paintings are more characteristic of the Ethiopian tradition.
From Dair El Moharek we drove 60 kilometres with our police escort to Aswan, one of the cities with the highest percentage of Christians in Egypt. We were welcomed by the Catholic bishop of Aswan, a learned man who speaks many languages and is widely travelled. We decide to continue our journey at midnight, and in the meantime most of the pilgrims take the opportunity to get some rest.
The police are ready to accompany us at 12 o’ clock. After driving through villages and cities we finally arrive in Aswan at 12 noon, much later than we expected. We proceed directly past the high dam to the port, on the shores of the great lake which connects between Egypt and Sudan. We ask advice from the representative of the ‘Nile Water Transport Association’, a certain Mr. Salih who speaks excellent English. He explains to us that we cannot achieve anything that day, and must come to his office in the town centre in the morning. Somewhat disappointed we return to Aswan, and look for lodgings in the city centre near to the office where we should make enquiries the next day.
In the morning we try to arrange everything for our further journey especially the transportation of our vehicles. We learn that the vehicles and people must travel separately, and that the boats transporting our cars will be at least a day longer en route. We decide to load our cars the next day, and travel ourselves the day after that. But it turns out to be impossible to complete the whole procedure the same day. In the afternoon we decide to take an outing with a ‘falluka’ a traditional boat to visit some of the islands on the Nile. It is wonderful to be on the river and to see everything from a different perspective. We visit the Kitchener island with its splendid botanical gardens. Subsequently we have an extended guided tour of the archeological excavations on the Elefantine island, where Pharonic temples, roman ruins, and a temple built by Jewish mercenaries, jostle each other. According to the popular historian and bestseller author Graham Hancock, the Arc of the covenant was here for a while on its journey down the Nile to Aksum Tsion in Ethiopia. We also cast a glance at a Nubian village along the way.
It is the first Sunday in September but we have no time for going to Church. Our first job is to finish the remaining part of the paperwork procedure from the previous day. Subsequently we sort our baggage keeping only the most essential and valuable items with us. We depart in great haste for the port, there are comprehensive security measures, all the baggage has to pass through a screening machine and some items must be opened for inspection. The chief customs officer with whom we have dealings turns out to be an Orthodox Christian and is so impressed by our church connections that he does everything to help us. He ensures that we only have to pay a modest fine due to the fact that we are three days over the permitted transit period for our vehicles. Finally our cars are positioned precariously on the motorised barges, and we can return to the city.
In the morning we all drive to the port in a minibus. We have been warned that it is necessary to make an early appearance to ensure receiving places. We are too late to be able to obtain tickets for cabins and have to satisfy ourselves with places in the great passenger’s hall. In the meantime we speak with Johan from South Africa. He is a former Oil Company magnate. Since he is on his way back he has all kinds of useful information to share. In the evening the ferry finally embarks and somewhat later we take refuge in the first class cafeteria, until we are evicted. Finally we go up on deck and look for a place to sleep in between the great heaps of baggage, merchandise and the other passengers.
The ferry cruises past the temple of Abu Simbel and we have the opportunity to see at a distance one of the most impressive monuments of ancient Egypt. We sail further and further along a barren coastline consisting solely of sand and bare rock. Finally after midday we arrive in the port of Wadi Halfa. It is a sleepy town with less than 7,000 inhabitants, but one of the most important points of entry to Sudan. After the usual entry procedures we are shuttled to the town in a bus.
It is very hot and there is no air conditioning, except for an occasional breeze. We drink litres of water and hang around waiting for news of the vehicles. We have opportunity to read and discover that there are some Ethiopians and Amharic speakers among those working in the area around our hotel. The local population is friendly and invites us to take very spicy tea and ice cold Karkade (Hibiscus Flower drink) with them. The pilgrims are exhausted by the heat and the gnawing uncertainty about how long we would have to wait there. We begin to fear that we might end up spending celebrating the Millenium in Wadi Halfa or somewhere else in Sudan.
The following morning we take our habitual spicy coffee and mini donuts at the roadside. In the afternoon we hear rumours that our vehicles have arrived and we must make all kinds of special arrangements with the customs personnel since normally they do not work on Fridays and Saturdays.
The next day a group of us goes to the port in order to finish the custom’s process. Finally somewhat after midday the vehicles appear, and we prepare for departure. At approximately three o’clock our trek through the desert begins. There is no asphalt or for that matter any kind of visible road. We simply follow the railway line and the electricity poles. We follow at some distance more like a timid flock of sheep. He makes an effort not to distance himself from us.
At some points the sand is fine and soft, we become bogged down in it. We are obliged to get out of the vehicles, shovel the sand away from the wheels and undercarriage, and place large stones on which the wheels can take a grip. Sometimes towing ropes are used. It is exhausting work; the worst thing is the uncertainty about how often it will need to be repeated. The assistance of Johan is indispensable during this part of the journey. Finally we pass through the most difficult area and can proceed more quickly. We drive past the famous pyramids of Meroe, an ancient and important (partly Christian) civilization which traded with Aksum in the dark.
When we reach the asphalt road near Atbarra we bid a heartfelt farewell to Johan and his wife, and precede non-stop to Khartoum. There we are welcomed by an Ethiopian Comboni Missionary Father Asfaha Yohannes, who is responsible for the Comboni postulants house. We are also re-united with Amaha an Ethiopian Orthodox deacon who accompanied us from Italy, but was obliged to fly from Jordan to Sudan due to visa problems. We have lunch together in an Ethiopian restaurant and meet some members of the Ethiopian community in Khartoum. Subsequently we continue our journey towards the Ethiopian border. Gradually the landscape changes, it becomes greener and there is rain. Finally we stop in Gedaref the last city before the border, the urban landscape is miserable and muddy, it is after midnight and there is nobody around on the streets. Eventually with the assistance of a friendly local soldier we are able to locate a modest ‘tourist hotel’. We decide to spend the night there.
We arise early in the morning. Nearby I find a wayside youth with an enormous polished bronze kettle, who sells steaming cupfuls of wonderfully spicy tea and little donuts for a few cents. By the time I return nearly all the pilgrims have taken their places in the vehicles and we can depart. We drive thirty kilometres to the border post at Gallabat. The border is marked by a river which can be crossed by a bridge. We blissfully drive across the bridge and rejoice at being in Ethiopia again, only to be told that we have not completed the required procedures on the Sudanese side. We are obliged to return and do everything according to the book regulations, then finally we are allowed to cross the border again. What a relief to have made the last border crossing!
We proceed to Mettama the next city, where we go through certain customs procedures, in connection with the importation of the vehicles. A customs official who was particularly helpful accompanies us to (near) Gondar, where he will spend the Millennium festivities with his family. The Mahbere Sellasie monastery is located nearby. Previously access had been very difficult due to the absence of a good road. An excellent asphalt road had been built. It was encouraging to see clear improvements in the Ethiopian infrastructure! After Metamma the whole atmosphere changed considerably, we ascended higher and higher and found ourselves in the familiar landscape of highland Ethiopia.
The long journey through the Egyptian and Sudanese deserts caused us to appreciate the Ethiopian landscape in a new way. It is so dramatic, variable and green! This is really God’s special land on the roof of the world, as the Ethiopians describe it. Even those who were seasoned travellers in Ethiopia looked around themselves as if with new eyes. We arrive in Bahar Dar late at night. We occupy rooms in a Hotel and in the course of a meal in a nearby restaurant make the acquaintance of the brother of one of the Pilgrims called Haymanot. It is our first night back in Ethiopia!
The father another brother and younger sisters of Haymanot come to the Hotel early in the morning to meet us. The caravan begins to move as soon as possible headed for Addis Ababa. Passing through the region of the historic Agau ethnic group we encounter a procession of wild horseman with colourful attire including lion manes. They are taking part in a Millenium celebration.
