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motodraconisKing Fasilides bath.
At Epiphany, (or Timkat, as it is called in Ethiopia) this "bath" is filled with water, blessed, and then everyone* jumps in.
Also the well known, stunning castles of Gondar, we all knew that Africa has castles...of course we did!
Well, we are in Gondar... gotta need some battlements to keep the pesky orcish hordes of Sauron at bay...
Emperor Fasilides castle...
And the elegant residence of Empress Mentewab.
Accounts differ on Empress Mentewab, though all agree that she was a formidable woman. Our local guide told how the Emperor had fallen in love with her when she won a beauty contest, and thus, being a commoner, was despised at first by the other nobles. However, being beautiful, intelligent, and a healer who kept a garden of healing herbs outside her palace, she won over the nobles in time, and was accepted and supported as a wise co-ruler of the kingdom with her son. He quite failed to mention the Lonely Planet description of Mentewab, who "built her palace as a private residence to indulge in a taste for young men." There's always at least 3 different versions of events in Ethiopia, I suspect I'll be quoting the stories I find the most fun rather than the most historically accurate.
Ah! Gondar, it's a pretty amazing place to start a trip in Africa...
Here's the main square... that's probably Fasilides in the middle...
Our first important church, Debre Berhan Selassie. Many of the churches round Gondar having been burnt down by rampaging orcs from Mordor, this church was spared, by a swarm of bees who emerged at the opportune moment and stung the invaders. (Though the sturdy walls around the church may have contributed.)
Ostrich eggs... symbolizing...um...something...symbolic.
Our first St George (not including Ethiopian beer, which we experienced within an hour of arriving in said country.) St George is the Patron Saint of Ethiopia (as well as England, and er... Georgia**) and it's pretty much compulsory to have him in every church, where he is usually depicted with Ethiopian complexion, sporting a neat 'fro and riding a white horse. The only thing that one can say with any certainty about St George was that he was not English.
* Not everyone obviously, but everyone brave or mad enough.
** And, as it turns out, Patron Saint of Egypt, Bulgaria, Aragon, Catalonia, Romania, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia and Syria; the cities of Genoa, Amersfoort, Beirut, Botoşani, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Timişoara, Fakiha, Bteghrine, Cáceres, Ferrara, Freiburg im Breisgau, Kragujevac, Kumanovo, Ljubljana, Pérouges, Pomorie, Preston, Qormi, Rio de Janeiro, Lod, Lviv, Barcelona, Moscow and Victoria and the Scout Movement. He gets around.
Since this was a trip featuring several important architectural sites, I shall have to split my posts according to the areas visited. Next up, the Simien Mountains.
At Epiphany, (or Timkat, as it is called in Ethiopia) this "bath" is filled with water, blessed, and then everyone* jumps in.
Also the well known, stunning castles of Gondar, we all knew that Africa has castles...of course we did!
Well, we are in Gondar... gotta need some battlements to keep the pesky orcish hordes of Sauron at bay...
Emperor Fasilides castle...
And the elegant residence of Empress Mentewab.
Accounts differ on Empress Mentewab, though all agree that she was a formidable woman. Our local guide told how the Emperor had fallen in love with her when she won a beauty contest, and thus, being a commoner, was despised at first by the other nobles. However, being beautiful, intelligent, and a healer who kept a garden of healing herbs outside her palace, she won over the nobles in time, and was accepted and supported as a wise co-ruler of the kingdom with her son. He quite failed to mention the Lonely Planet description of Mentewab, who "built her palace as a private residence to indulge in a taste for young men." There's always at least 3 different versions of events in Ethiopia, I suspect I'll be quoting the stories I find the most fun rather than the most historically accurate.
Ah! Gondar, it's a pretty amazing place to start a trip in Africa...
Here's the main square... that's probably Fasilides in the middle...
Our first important church, Debre Berhan Selassie. Many of the churches round Gondar having been burnt down by rampaging orcs from Mordor, this church was spared, by a swarm of bees who emerged at the opportune moment and stung the invaders. (Though the sturdy walls around the church may have contributed.)
Ostrich eggs... symbolizing...um...something...symbolic.
Our first St George (not including Ethiopian beer, which we experienced within an hour of arriving in said country.) St George is the Patron Saint of Ethiopia (as well as England, and er... Georgia**) and it's pretty much compulsory to have him in every church, where he is usually depicted with Ethiopian complexion, sporting a neat 'fro and riding a white horse. The only thing that one can say with any certainty about St George was that he was not English.
* Not everyone obviously, but everyone brave or mad enough.
** And, as it turns out, Patron Saint of Egypt, Bulgaria, Aragon, Catalonia, Romania, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia and Syria; the cities of Genoa, Amersfoort, Beirut, Botoşani, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Timişoara, Fakiha, Bteghrine, Cáceres, Ferrara, Freiburg im Breisgau, Kragujevac, Kumanovo, Ljubljana, Pérouges, Pomorie, Preston, Qormi, Rio de Janeiro, Lod, Lviv, Barcelona, Moscow and Victoria and the Scout Movement. He gets around.
Since this was a trip featuring several important architectural sites, I shall have to split my posts according to the areas visited. Next up, the Simien Mountains.
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Date: 2014-01-14 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 05:43 pm (UTC)BTW, it doesn't look like H will be waling well enough to get to town for PETER GRIMES on the 27th. :( Fancy joining me in box F? :)
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Date: 2014-01-14 06:04 pm (UTC)Yes please on the box! I'll donate my balcony ticket to opera novice
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Dunno what a novice will make of PG. It's quite melodic, though, and if morbid stuff appeals to him, it will be fine.(Personally, I love it.)
There's always the possibility of an empty seat in the box, too.
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Date: 2014-01-15 09:27 am (UTC)I like your two birds (Pigeons?). Male to female "Fancy a shag?" Female to male "I shall be empress Mentawab and you can pretend to be the burly gardener".
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Date: 2014-01-15 11:10 am (UTC)According to Wikipedia, the Empress had an extended fling with her late husband's (much younger) nephew. Gardeners may have also featured though. Sounds like proper Empress behaviour to me.
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Date: 2014-01-15 01:01 pm (UTC)Fantastic!
Date: 2014-01-15 09:44 am (UTC)Re: Fantastic!
Date: 2014-01-15 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-15 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-15 08:11 pm (UTC)