Travel information on Security & Safety for visitors in Ethiopia

Category Archives: Giyorgis

‘Je m’appelle Demissie!’

Revisiting Lalibela and the North

Sebtretsemu Giyorgis festival Lalibela

Giyorgis church for festival in Lalibela

As I head back to Addis after four days travelling in Amhara region, I’m struck by how normal things are, yet Ethiopia is far from normal as we get caught up in processions to celebrate the Ascension of St Mary. It is the wonderful abnormalities that make Ethiopia so fascinating and beautiful.

In four days I’ve visited remote monasteries to be told that in actual fact the Ark of Covenant lies beneath its ancient stone floor, and carries a fearsome power that killed the only person who attempted to uncover it; I’ve seen the sacred

Giyorgis Tabot camps out near Yadukulay Guesthouse

tabots, the holy heart of the church, camping out in fields surrounded by brocaded umbrellas and chanting; we’ve been generously hosted in people’s houses with plates of enjara, spicy sauces, curds, local beer etc, I’ve visited people who have endured the horrors of war and yet emerged smiling and happy to have foreign guests.

As we drove in and out from Lalibela numerous times this week, we became well known at the checkpoints and were always ushered through with a broad smile, but I will remember one soldier most: each time we passed he called out: “Bonjour. Ça va?” And today he greeted us with: “Je m’appelle Demisie”.

Community guesthouse at Boya, some damage

Community guesthouse at Boya, some damage


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Wherever you go Ethiopia is full of surprises which give you many reasons to smile, and remind me why I love this country so much.

The big news from this recce trip is that the communities in Meket and the neighbouring areas are eager to host tourists again. Yes they have faced hardships, and many guesthouses have had materials looted by TPLF or damaged, but they were so happy to see me after this time. I was greeted with

Villagers from Wajela guesthouse want tourists back

hugs and smiles.

The community trekking guides in Lalibela are also desperate for work and want to start as soon as they can.

We have repairs to do and purchases to make to get the guesthouses up to standard and to help those communities that suffered the most. If you would like to contribute please get in touch with me.

But please also help to get the business started again. I can promise you or your friends an amazing adventure in Ethiopia.

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Giyorgis festival in Meket

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  The festival is called Sebar-atsemu Giyorgis – and commemorates the day that St George’s bones were ground into dust. I decided to visit one of the Tesfa communities in Meket whose parish is St.George and where it is the big annual festival. So we went to Aina Amba Giyorgis on 26th January, the eve of the festival.

IMG_3906.JPGAina Amba is in a stunning location, and the community cooked us a lovely dinner on  the night before.

IMG_3953.JPG Next morning the crowds began to gather, and soon after 9am the Tabot was paraded out of the church carried by priests in colourful robes under brocade umbrellas. The crowd emerged from the wooded compound before emerging out onto the dry dusty grazing land below the church and with the tabot and priests in their midst accompanied it to its camp in a colourful tent nearby.
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This was the signal for groups to start dancing and singing to the beat of the marvellous kabero drums. The dancing is an aggressive dance, with shoulders seemingly dislocated from the body jerking up and down to the drum’s beat.

IMG_3958.JPGAfter some hours the Tabot emerged from its tent and was again paraded as it slowly made its way up to the church, but this time with horses galloping around the procession. Now everyone was there, old men carrying older muskets, younger people from the nearby town, important people with colourful umbrellas, bit most in the traditional white cotton shawls.

IMG_4056.JPG At a given point the procession stopped and a series of wild horse races took place to honour the tabot. This is referred to as gooks, although there is no spear throwing as further south. The  horses are wonderfully decorated with bright pompoms and colourful saddle cloths and the riders, three or four at a time, gallop up the fields, often without holding on.

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