Bahir Dar lies north of Addis along Lake Tana, the fourth largest lake in Africa.
Life along the shore of Lake Tana has a timeless feel. Papyrus boats like this one have been crafted in the same way for 500 years. Despite their flimsy appearance, they can carry oxen and large loads of charcoal and firewood.
Bahir Dar's collection of monasteries skirt Lake Tana and are accessible by speedboat. The priest must be summoned to unlock the doors.
Inside, the iconography is painted in vibrant colors. The priest demonstrates how traditional drums are used during services.
The Virgin Mary - with Ethiopian eyes!
Detail of Christ. Amazing use of pattern and color.
Unretouched iconography. These colors were made from natural dye.
Saint George, patron saint of Ethiopia. The rattles and staves on the right are still used in services.
I learned quickly that children are the best entree into life in Ethiopia. These kids from Bahir Dar led me through the streets. The boy in the brown jacket held my hand the entire way.
I met these beauties on a bike ride to Haile Selassie's palace. They ran alongside my bike calling out “Hello, Chinese!” They mistook me for one of the Chinese roadworkers that lives in Bahir Dar.
These children spend most of their day tending their family's herd of cows.
Bahir Dar boy in a tree.
View of Bahir Dar and Lake Tana from Haile Selassie's palace.
The rainy season in Bahir Dar transforms the countryside into a thick green carpet. Good news for the cattle.
This little boy is an azmari (traveling minstrel) in training. He played a song about how white I am on his masenko - a kind of single-stringed fiddle.
A vast array of bird - pelicans, parrots and flamingos, to name a few - live along the shore of Lake Tana. If you're lucky, you may spot a hippo or two.
Gonder is a three-hour bus ride from Bahir Dar. It serves as a base for Simien Mountain trekkers.
Gonder is often called “Ethiopia's Camelot” because of the 17th century castles that King Fasiladas and his family built.
The royal enclosure features architecture with Indian, Moorish, Portugese and Axumite influences.
The egg-shaped domes are distinctly Ethiopian in style.
This cross in Gonder is made of ostrich eggs.
There are makeshift markets everywhere in Gonder.
Mule carts, or garis, are a good way to get around.
In the main market, vendors sell tef, which is used to make injera, the centerpiece of Ethiopian cuisine.
This lovely girl struck a pose that would compete with any supermodel.
Ingredients for the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. They are placed over a charcoal burner to create a beautiful scent inside the house.
The market in Gonder sells everything from plastic shoes to scrap metal to chickens.
These kids wanted me to buy a live chicken. They laughed when I pretended to stuff one into my camera bag.
Mattresses for sale. And cabbages. One-stop shopping.
A weird Gonder street shot, but I like the man's profile against the sheep's profile.
A splash of color on an otherwise gray, rainy day.
Gonder children. They were enchanted by my camera.
I loved this charming girl and her shy little hand gesture.
AXUM. These 1800 year old obelisks - crafted from one piece of stone - look like Manhattan skyscrapers. Like Egypt's pyramids, they were advertisements for the power and greatness of the ruling family.
Axumite stela
Farmers found this Ethiopian Rosetta Stone in 1981. It has incriptions in Ge'ez, Sabaean and Greek that warn against moving the stone. It has stayed exactly where they found it.
I met this little girl on a hike outside of Axum, 56km from the border of Eritrea. She was tending her father's bull.
This priest in Axum was teaching a group of young boys Ge'ez, the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy.
Embroidered Saint George.
I took this mule cart on a 1.5 hour drive to see the Lionness of Gobedra and the ancient quarries of Axum.
The Archangel Mikael fought a tremendous battle against a lioness. Finally, he hurled her against this rock - the impact created this impression. The the legend is undoubtably more interesting than the truth.
I passed this farmer in my mule cart. He carries his plow 10km every day.
Back at the market, camels were on sale.
This woman has beautiful traditional tatoos. She reluctantly let me photograph her. It took a lot of compliments and reassuring smiles to get her to agree.
This scene at the mill in Axum seems almost biblical to me.
A client waiting patiently outside of the local lawyer's office in Axum.
Rainy street scene in Axum.
Lalibela is perhaps the most famous of Ethiopia's historical spots. It's rock-hewn churchs attract tourists and pilgrims from all over the world. The landscape is lush and verdant.
Round dwellings called tukuls are made from straw, mud and eucalyptus.
The trek to Yemrehanna Kristos, a church and pilgrimate site.
Yemrehanna Kristos is carved into rock.
The facade of the church carved into a cave.
Thousands of pilgrims came here to die. Their bodies are mummified and scattered about. I literally tripped over a skull.
Mummified pilgrim toes.
It's difficult to capture how teeming the Saturday market was in Lalibela - it was absolutely heaving with people. This shot was taken from a tree.
Lalibela market scene
More market scenes in Lalibela.
Lalibela
Boys of Lalibela
Lonesome monk in Lalibela
The eleven churches commissioned by King Lalibela in the 12th and 13th centuries were carved out of rock and are completely free standing.
It's amazing to think that these massive churches are carved from one piece of stone.
Church of St. George - an incredible sight to behold.
St. George church looking down.
Lalibela church
This baboon frequently made mischief at my hotel in Lalibela. When I shooed him out of the dining room, he retaliated later that night by jumping out of a tree and grabbing my ankles. It was not cute.
On the road to eastern Ethiopian, I stopped in Dire Dawa to visit the market. The gates show Moorish influence.
Dire Dawa's Kafira Market - a panoply of color.
This little boy showed me around Dire Dawa's market. He gave me a bite of his mango.
Women in colorful headscarves.
I was drawn to the woman in red but she was too shy for a portrait. The kids jumped in, which allowed me to take a quick snap.
This man looked so elegant atop a stack of onions.
This woman fed me from her plate. She is the only person in the world who thinks I'm too skinny.
As soon as I took one portrait, others asked to be photographed. This woman wanted a picture of her baby.
Dire Dawa father and son.
After ten days in the Christian north, I made it to Harar, a predominantly Muslim city in the east. The city is surrounded by five gates, which originally kept out the Christians.
Rewda, my hostess, rented me a room in her traditional Harari house.
Houses are typically set back behind a courtyard and feature elaborately carved doors.
Traditional Harari baskets adorn the walls inside.
A typical Harari house.
Exterior of a Harari house.
Exterior detail. Beautiful color and pattern carved into plaster.
These two boys adopted me while I was in Harar. They took me everywhere, including places I wasn't supposed to go.
Markets abound in Harar. These are Oromo women, who live in villages outside of Harar. They wear necklaces of tiny colorful beads to signal that they are unmarried.
The street outside my guesthouse in Harar.
I think the gold tooth is rather fetching.
Oromo women were very shy about being photographed. This girl's mother wouldn't let me take a picture of her. We sat together for an hour giggling about nothing and she gave me her amber necklace instead of a photograph.
Street life in Harar.
Arab influences and African elements merge. Somalia and Djibouti are only miles away.
Market scenes.
The ubiquitous Coke sign.
This street, called Machine Street, was lined with tailors and their sewing machines.
A tailor at work in Harar.
The narrow streets of Harar are painted in vibrant colors, perhaps inspired by their inhabitants.
Harar streetscapes
This combination of vivid blues was stunning on a hot, clear day.
There is something wonderful about a door slightly left slightly ajar. Who knows what mysteries lie behind it?
My hostess, Rewda, chatting with a neighbor.
A muslim tomb.
Restoration of a crumbling house.
Detail of the door.
Harar street.
More wild color.
Traditional Harari costume.
An Afar man in Harar. The Afar are nomadic pastoralists. This man hennaed his beard, giving it a striking red glow. I couldn't take my eyes off him.
Afar man.
I thought this woman and her daughter were stunning in their colorful clothes.
Harari woman
Harari girl
A tomb perched up in the hills of Harar. Harar reminded me of Marrakesh and Santorini.
Jamia mosque in Harar
Children learning the Qu'ran at the local madrassa. The teacher kept unruly students in line with a quick swat of his whip.
The Rimbaud Museum in Harar, dedicated to the French poet who made this city his home.
This man feeds hyenas every night. It's not a tourist show - there have been hyena-related rituals in Harar for over 500 years.
