The Ethiopian Christian Church is unlike any other in the world. A form of Christianity that largely developed without contact with the rest of the Christian world, the stories, art and churches are unlike anything else in the world. We went to Bahir Dar to explore the monasteries that cluster around the islands of the lake. Many of these churches have brightly colored religious murals, must as you see below. We were delighted to be shown 1,000 year old texts, but less thrilled when the caretaker offered to allow us to touch them for a price (the oil on our hands could dramatically increase the rate of deterioration).
What I found most interesting was the figures themselves. Take a close look at the figures, physically they don’t exactly appear African do they? Obviously there is some outside artistic influence in Ethiopian religious art, despite it’s respective separation. For me, traveling overland was fascinating in that it allowed us to see aspects of culture, art and religion as they slowly changed and pick up on significant differences that we likely would not have noticed had we just dropped in.
To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.
IF YOU GO: Bahir Dar, in Western Ethiopia, is relatively easy to get to from Addis Ababa. It’s well trod on the tourist circuit, so expect to find tourist services and ensuing prices. We took a boat ride to the lake, and frankly although the monasteries were interesting, we didn’t need a full day. Do a little research before you go and decide which monasteries are important to you, as the boat rides are priced on which monasteries you want to go to.
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