Our flight from Addis arrives on time in Bahir Dar about 8:40 am.  We load our luggage in the van and head into Bahir Dar.  Immediately, we notice the large stream of people walking into town, carrying all sorts of goods.  Alem tells us that today is market day in Bahir Dar and it is home to one of the largest and busiest open air markets in Ethiopia. We decide this is something to witness, so after dropping our stuff at the Lake Tana Hotel, we head to the market.

 

Hundreds of booths and stalls offer everything imaginable, all grains, spices, green coffee beans, butter, eggs, all varieties of local vegetables, live chickens, goats, clothes, shoes, sewing repair, and so on…..you want it, you can probably find it here. The aisles are jam packed with thousands of people. We are impressed with the commerce taking place here.  Even Alem, our local guide notes how much of the local food is available and within reach of the average person living in Bahir Dar. A few in our group managed to help the local economy too!

 

After the market, we return to our hotel, ready for the afternoon adventure. One of Bahir Dar’s main attraction is the selection of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox monasteries which are found on some of Lake Tana’s 37 islands. The monasteries are reached by boat, which we board right at our hotel.

 

On our way to the monastery, we pass several merchants, paddling their boat with a heavy load of wood to be sold at the market in Bahir Dar.  But the amazing thing is that their boat is hand made from papyrus reeds.  This is still a preferred boat from the islands in Lake Tana.  We also learn from our guide that they only last about 2 months, and then must be replaced.

 

Our other unexpected treat is the spotting of a large hippo, languishing near the shore.  Our boat captain spotted the hippo just before we docked to go see the monastery.  We watched for about 10 minutes, as the hippo bobbed up and down, but never getting more than 6-8 inches out the water.

 

We dock at the Zege Peninsula, which is home to the Ura Kidane Mihret monastery and dates from the 16th century. It has changed little since its creation. The is the  largest and most-visited of the monasteries in the area. The round building consists of three concentric circles, the innermost of which is the Holy of Holies containing the monastery’s replica of the Ark. The walls of the inner circle are covered with bright murals and paintings, depicting many of the stories from both the Old and New Testament.

 

Our final stop of the day is at the Blue Nile Waterfall. The Blue Nile Falls are one of the greatest falls in Africa. It is located in Ethiopian plateau, passing the Blue Nile River. The Blue Nile river starts in Lake Tana and is one of the major headwater sources for the Nile River that flows through Sudan and Egypt. This waterfall is also known as Tis Issat meaning smoking water, as the continuous dropping of water creates a smoke-like bounce of water droplets. The Blue Nile Falls has an enormous height of 37 to 45 meters or around 150 feet and its width is estimated at about half a mile. Watching the river water drop down the waterfalls is truly breathtaking.

 

 

 Our flight from Addis arrives on time in Bahir Dar about 8:40 am.  We load our luggage in the van and head into Bahir Dar.  Immediately, we notice the large stream of people walking into town, carrying all sorts of goods.  Alem tells us that today is market day in Bahir Dar and it is home to one of the largest and busiest open air markets in Ethiopia. We decide this is something to witness, so after dropping our stuff at the Lake Tana Hotel, we head to the market.

 

Hundreds of booths and stalls offer everything imaginable, all grains, spices, green coffee beans, butter, eggs, all varieties of local vegetables, live chickens, goats, clothes, shoes, sewing repair, and so on…..you want it, you can probably find it here. The aisles are jam packed with thousands of people. We are impressed with the commerce taking place here.  Even Alem, our local guide notes how much of the local food is available and within reach of the average person living in Bahir Dar. A few in our group managed to help the local economy too!

 

After the market, we return to our hotel, ready for the afternoon adventure. One of Bahir Dar’s main attraction is the selection of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox monasteries which are found on some of Lake Tana’s 37 islands. The monasteries are reached by boat, which we board right at our hotel.

 

On our way to the monastery, we pass several merchants, paddling their boat with a heavy load of wood to be sold at the market in Bahir Dar.  But the amazing thing is that their boat is hand made from papyrus reeds.  This is still a preferred boat from the islands in Lake Tana.  We also learn from our guide that they only last about 2 months, and then must be replaced.

 

Our other unexpected treat is the spotting of a large hippo, languishing near the shore.  Our boat captain spotted the hippo just before we docked to go see the monastery.  We watched for about 10 minutes, as the hippo bobbed up and down, but never getting more than 6-8 inches out the water.

 

We dock at the Zege Peninsula, which is home to the Ura Kidane Mihret monastery and dates from the 16th century. It has changed little since its creation. The is the  largest and most-visited of the monasteries in the area. The round building consists of three concentric circles, the innermost of which is the Holy of Holies containing the monastery’s replica of the Ark. The walls of the inner circle are covered with bright murals and paintings, depicting many of the stories from both the Old and New Testament.

 

Our final stop of the day is at the Blue Nile Waterfall. The Blue Nile Falls are one of the greatest falls in Africa. It is located in Ethiopian plateau, passing the Blue Nile River. The Blue Nile river starts in Lake Tana and is one of the major headwater sources for the Nile River that flows through Sudan and Egypt. This waterfall is also known as Tis Issat meaning smoking water, as the continuous dropping of water creates a smoke-like bounce of water droplets. The Blue Nile Falls has an enormous height of 37 to 45 meters or around 150 feet and its width is estimated at about half a mile. Watching the river water drop down the waterfalls is truly breathtaking.