Sightseeing in Bahir Dar

After saying goodbye to our students, we had a day and a half to sightsee in Bahir Dar. On Sunday afternoon, we wandered around to see the local sights. Bahir Dar is right on Lake Tana and there is a lovely path around the lake. It was especially nice on Sunday as the locals were out in and around the lake, washing clothes, washing bodies (many male nudes but no female nudes), and kids floating with large blue water bottles attached.

The Bahir Dar math instructors treated us to dinner that night at a restaurant with a lawn sloping toward the lake. Afterwards, we went to a traditional music bar. Traditional Ethiopian dancing is quite a sight -shoulders move up and down in frenetic jerks with feet largely staying in place, although some of the dancers did some leaping as well. At first the performers were on the stage but they soon moved down and got audience members to dance. Soon, most of the audience was dancing and having a great time. Interestingly, mostly men dance with men and women with women. The way people greet each other in Ethiopia is also different. Men greeting men or women bump the front part of their right shoulder with the front right part of the other’s shoulder. Sometimes many bumps are given. Women greet each other by touching cheeks and kissing the air on one side, then the other and back to the first side again,

On Monday, we arranged to take a boat ride on Lake Tana to see the monasteries which date back to the 1400s and before. On the lake, we saw many “boats” made of papyrus. I don’t think they last very long but they seem to float and glide well and are able to bear the weight of the fishermen and their gear. We stopped first on the Zege Peninsula where we visited two monasteries. One was Ura Kidane Mihret, which is thought to be the most beautiful one. The building itself was an unimpressive round structure but the inside walls are covered with a remarkable colorful jumble of murals depicting Biblical scenes of a particularly gruesome nature. The paintings were done between 100-150 years ago but have been recently restored.

We also visited several monasteries on islands, all a bit disappointing. About $5 is charged to enter each monastery and at some point Mel and I started alternating. He went in one which had a menorah in its museum but he wasn’t able to get an explanation. I went in one that was only built three years ago but was worth seeing for a glimpse of the interactions between the colorful monks who were also visiting. On this trip, we were also able to see the source of the Nile.

Scenes on the banks of Lake Tana

Zuzka and Mel by the enormous trees.

The tour of the monasteries on Lake Tana:

A papyrus boat

A flotilla of papyrus boats

There were many coffee plants.

The monasteries:

Monks shoulder bumping.

A strange looking mushroom

The source of the Nile

A menorah in one of the monasteries

Dinner at the Lake Shore Restaurant with colleagues

Having coffee is a often a special event here. This was a farewell dinner for a visiting professor from India.

View from the restaurant.

Scenes from the traditional music bar

Zuzka dancing at the bar. In addition to being a mathematician, she is also a dancer and learned the Ethiopian style of dancing quickly.