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Melkam Mikael – today is a special St. Michaels Day – Hedar Mikael, and today in Addis, looking out to the invisible mountains – shrouded in a smoke from thousands of bonfires you might have thought you were in Lahore or Delhi. Today is the day when householders burn their compound rubbish and with the […]
Yesterday evening (Wed 2 Nov), after two years of conflict and 10 days of peace talks, the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF agreed on a “permanent cessation of hostilities”, and a raft of measures which include an agreement to demobilise Tigrayan forces and bring food and essential services to the people of Tigray. […]
ለአዲሱ ዓመት እንኳን በሰላም አደረሳችሁ። Yesterday (Sunday 11 Sep) Ethiopia entered into 2015. The Kremt – rainy season is still drenching the capital and much of the north of the country with its monsoon rains. Much of the highlands is is now green, rivers are running in torrents, with waterfalls impressive everywhere, and the ubiquitous […]
I am very excited by this year’s diary/agenda. It will fit in your bag, so you can carry it around with you and write notes or appointments on the day pages. At the same time you can see more about that week- which saints days, when the fasting starts or ends, what holidays are coming […]
Its a labour of love: producing these calendars that are a synthesis of the Ethiopian Calendar with its 13 months starting on 11th September, and the western calendar with its 12 months. Woven into this are a multitude of Saints Days and cultural holidays, other special days in the Orthodox church including fasting periods, as […]
The UK government have changed the travel advise for Ethiopia’s key tourist sites – Lalibela and Gondar – home to stunning rock hewn churches, and romantic castles. The UK had been advising against travel to these places and to the roads that connect them but this negative advise has now been lifted. Along with Bahir […]
When is the Kremt? The Ethiopian highlands get drenched each year from late June through September. In Addis the rains are heavy and start early and end late finally finishing at the start of October. But by mid to late September the rain becomes noticeably lighter and less frequent. Further north they might not kick […]
Is Lalibela safe and ready for tourists? Many people are asking me about Lalibela, and the predominant question is: “is it safe?” The answer for me it’s very easy: “yes!“. I have been in Lalibela three times this year: in late January to witness the beautiful Giyorgis (St George) festival and again at the end […]
Mysterious hidden Monastery The mysterious Bethlehem monastery is gearing up to welcome the first tourists. This monastery was reportedly built in the fourth century following the construction of Mariam Sion church in Axum. It is built in the ancient way with blocks of stone for the floor and walls and then a wooden roof, but […]
As Ethiopia begins to open up after two years of restrictions on travel at first due to COVID 19 and then due to a spreading conflict, it maybe time to ponder what makes Ethiopia a unique travel destination and magical place to visit, and to start looking at the you can visit. Ethiopia – a […]
We wish all who are celebrating a Happy Easter – (or as we say in Amharic “Melkam Fasika”). Some of you may be surprised that Ethiopian Easter, (which is in fact Orthodox Easter across many countries) is celebrated so long after Western Easter. As we all know Easter in all Christian faiths is a movable […]
Over a year ago I went back up to Tigray after the peace accords had been signed and flight services resumed. I met with my good friend Berhe and visited his family. We trekked to all the guesthouses and met with communities. (More details of this can be found here:- Blog- A new-dawn-for-tigrays-tourism.) Berhe has […]