Ethiopia: Bahir Dar

Ure Kideth monastery

The town of Bahir Dar lies on shores of lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia. So it was across this we took a boat to visit Ure Kidith monastery. It's connected by a peninsula to the mainland, but an hour in a boat is far quicker than driving around. The monastery involves a walk through an avenue lined with souvenir sellers, it's difficult to see how they make a living given we only saw about 4 other tourists in the 2+ hours we were there. The interior murals were some of the most elaborate and fresh that we've seen on the whole trip.

Ure Kideth monastery

source of the blue nile

We then took a boat back via the source of the blue nile, as the photo shows there really is very little to see or to distinguish this particular place of interest. One of two main tributaries to the nile it meets the white nile in Khartoum, Sudan - but that's for another trip. Another fairly common sight are the papyrus canoes.

papyrus canoe

african sacred ibis

The local guide from the morning boat trip had said the fish market was a 15 minute walk, but following lunch it turned into something closer to a 50min walk. However, perseverance paid off and we found the spot where there were a variety of birds circling for scraps. The pelicans in particular were there in large numbers.

pied kingfisher

pelicans

fish market

Our second day in Bahir Dar we drove out of town for an hour or two before taking a walk to the blue nile falls. A combination of the local hydro electric plant and it not being rainy season means the falls are not at their most impressive, but it was a nice walk all the same.