To Mekele

The beautiful rugged scenery.

The little old museum.

Another of the ancient texts.

Locals at the church.

The coffee ceremony.

Street kids having fun.

One of the roads.

More candelabra euphorbia.

Climbing up the hill to the rock church. 

At the top.

The rock hewn cave church.

Watched by vervets.

The view before the descent.

Saturday, January 27^th.

We began our drive to the city of Mekele early in the morning. We drove south east through a mountainous rugged area with beautiful views. We took two detours off the main road today and along bumpy gravel back roads. First we took about a ten kilometre drive to Yeha. There, there was a small old church with the usual structure and decorations. There was also a really small and old museum that housed many ancient illustrated texts dating back hundreds of years. Also on the site was the ancient Sun and Moon temple. This is a remarkable structure that is under reconstruction because of its age. It is a square building whose roof as disappeared with time, but the walls are incredibly well constructed and the blocks look to have been cut as they are so straight. The building was originally four stories tall but parts of the wall have collapsed. Our local guide gave us some information about the construction and the elements of the church. There was an elderly couple selling souvenirs, and I picked up another bracelet. We stopped at the bottom for a coffee ceremony, where they burn frankincense and serve very strong coffee in little cups.

After returning to the main road, we drove for hours through the dry, dusty, mountainous area. We stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch and I had a lamb dish that was served in a small clay heating pot. Then we continued on again.

The second detour was to see a rock hewn church. We picked up a local guide en route. As we drove in we were supposed to meet the priest and the key holder, but they were not where they were supposed to be. So rather than climbing twenty minutes up a steep hill and not being able to get in, we decided to go another church close by. So, we turned around and headed off. Then part way there we came across the missing men, they climbed in our van, and we turned around again and headed back for plan A. When we got there, we were met by a number of teenage boys who wanted to help us up the hill (for money of course). Most of us shrugged them off and headed up the hill. It was a bit arduous, but doable, and even 78 year old Gary was able to struggle up with a pair of walking sticks.

When we arrived, the local guide gave us the history of the place, which dates back to about the 4^th century. The church has been carved into a soft rock face and has two small entrance doorways that require you to stoop to enter. Then the key holder showed us the trick to opening door, which involves putting a round piece of wood through a hole and catching something on the other side to release the lock. Inside was a chanting room and then a larger open area where they would hold masses and ceremonies. The roof was carved with various types of Christian crosses. On the grounds we saw a couple of vervet monkeys. After our tour we scrambled down the hill to the van. 

We drove back out to the main road and continued south. The rest of the ride was very scenic and on a good road. We arrived in Mekele at our hotel about six, showered and got ready for dinner in the hotel. This was the newest and most modern hotel we stayed at. We sat around talking about trips and finally retired about ten, as we had to be up at five.