Photos : Ethiopia Axum Ethiopia Timkat Festival
Ax city
Axum was born in ithe ancient world and was the capital of the powerful Kingdom of Axum. Historically prominent due to it being located at the centre of the trading routes between the Mediterranean world and India, today it’s prominent for religious and tourism. Axum lays claim to being the origin of Christianity in Ethiopia and widely (well in Ethiopia only) believed to be the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.
Again we were told our hotel had a great location but no mention of the cuisine. From our vantage point we overlook the pond that once per year turns the brown murk to holy water. The food is average, the rooms less than average but as is the theme of this tour, the location is great. By now we weren’t expecting much and the hotel met these expectations. 🙂
We arrived the day before the festival therefore had a day to check out the city and its sites including the Steles of the Axumites. The stelae field is a brown field opposite the church and is home to a few stellars with etched artwork. The artwork is nowhere near as impressive as Egypt but they are worth a look. The rhetoric from the guides, for me anyway, dragged on far too long. Reading from notes to the group was not my idea of a tour and I retreated to shade or other parts of the area to investigate the Tomb of Brick Arches and other underground areas.
On a mountain top a few kilometres to the northeast is the Tombs of kings Kaleb and Gebre Meskel. The tombs here are literally holes dug into the ground and unlike Egypt don’t have any artwork so you have to bathe in the aura of the tomb rather than getting much visual stimulus.
Today was Timkat eve, or as we called it, Timkitten. We left our hotel and headed to the church from which the procession starts. After checking out the church and hearing the priests chant, we went outside and waited for the procession to start. The Ethiopian’s claim they have the actual Arc of the Covenant. The priests carry the Arc in a parade from the church grounds to the murk pool, sorry Holy Pond/Water. The chanting starts and celebrations begin as slowly the collection of priests and religious hierarchy carry umbrellas, musical horns, the Arc, swords and sceptres/staffs. There is no hurry as the procession slowly moves along the road towards its overnight destination immediately outside the holy pool.
Our hotel location is perfect immediately above the camp and pool so we had great views of the overall camp but you can’t really see much detail. People flock to the camp, or more accurately sleep under the stars in their clothes, simply to be close to the holy place and priests. Once the procession reaches the camp, chanting, singing, drum playing, vigils all take place. They will continue well into the night however we only spent about 20 minutes here trying to take photos in extremely limited light whilst trying to respect their right to celebrate. This was my first time using the new camera and first time trying to work out the settings and ways in which to photograph such an event at night….I failed but it was a great night and learning experience.
Give me a Tim, Give me a Kat…whattayagot..TIMKAT
Today is Timkat and it starts early. Once at the church you immediately see the colourful displays of different church groups lining the street and chanting or singing. Large drums are played as the people dance to the clapping, chanting and reciting. The atmosphere, for them, is euphoric. From the outside it’s a relaxed and happy environment full of interest and for me, full of photographic opportunities 🙂
The faces of the people cry out for a photo to be taken but what looks good at the time or on the camera screen don’t always translate to the larger screen. All of us went a little crazy with the cameras trying to capture the colour, atmosphere and people.
We made our way over the bus that was parked right outside the holy pool and climbed its roof to witness the baptism ceremony. Around the pool people are sitting, waiting for the priests to bless the cross and baptise a couple of kids then pandemonium breaks out. The men dotted around the pool strip their clothes and run down the rock walls or concrete walls that surround the pool and jump in. The same pool yesterday had people with donkeys and carts collecting water for washing 
and possibly drinking however today it’s holy and the magical powers are wantingly transferred to the guys jumping in. They collect water for their families and other people who remain perched on the tops of the walls.
Soon the crowd moves again to the main road which is to again be taken by the arc and the priests back to the church. At the same pace as the procession made its way to the camp the procession makes its way back to the church. Too many photos again taken as we all try to find the elusive ‘wow’ shot.
We opted to not follow the procession back to the church but retreated to the hotel and made the most of the its high vantage point overlooking the pool and church.
Queen Sheba
We visited the palace of Queen Sheba, pronounced “Sheb A” not sheeba, located a few kilometres from town. Oh what a wondrous waste of time and effort this proved. It’s nothing more than a set of reconstructed ½ walls in a rocky setting. If you visit the area and want to see something that requires more imagination than the notion people can turn water into wine, then this is your place. You’d probably be better off walking into a quarry and imagining what could be built with the rocks you see. If you have been here and thought it was great then that’s OK too….you crazy messed up hippy 🙂