Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(admission Birr100, video camera Birr100)
One of the lake's most sacred monasteries,
Dega Estefanos (men only) was rebuilt in the mid-19th century and though the church
isn't too interesting it holds a good selection of treasures (including a 16th-century paint-
ing of the Madonna) and the mummified remains in glass coffins of five former Ethiopian
emperors (13th to 17th centuries). One of the bodies is Zara Yaqob; one of the most im-
portant Ethiopian emperors. The founder of this monastery, locals believe, was a saint
who sailed to the island in 1268 on a stone boat. The 'boat' is still visible halfway along
the trail to the monastery. It's about 2½ hours from Bahir Dar and 45 minutes from Narga
Selassie, up a steep half-hour-long trail.
MARY & ZARA
The Virgin Mary is held in high esteem in Ethiopia. It often seems she's bigger than her son. No other saint has as
many saint days and no other brings forth such genuine devotion.
It wasn't always like this though. It was the 15th-century King Zara Yaqob, a fanatical Christian, who elevated
her to such heights. Zara Yaqob was a man of determination who rekindled the glory of Aksum, reunited the frac-
tured kingdom and commissioned numerous controversial works of religious literature. He was also a vicious tyr-
ant who executed monks who didn't accept his reforms, beat his own wife to death and had his son tortured and
thrown in the slammer. But it was religion and the worship of the Virgin in particular that really got him excited.
Paranoid that the world was full of fallen angels determined to bring evil to his court, he had a team of priests
pace the corridors of his palace day and night reciting prayers and splashing holy water about. He also ordered all
his subjects to affix a crucifix to their processions and have 'I renounce the accursed, I am the slave of Mary,
mother of the Creator of the universe' tattooed on their left arm, 'I deny the devil' on their right and a crucifix on
their foreheads (the latter is still common practice today).
Despite his more eccentric traits Zara Yaqob is regarded as one of the most important Ethiopian emperors both
for holding the nation together and for his elevation of Mary.
Tana Cherkos
Offline map
(admission Birr150, video camera Birr100)
It's said the Ark of the Covenant was hidden
at Tana Cherkos for 800 years, which would seem to indicate it's an interesting destina-
tion; but the present 19th-century church and its modern paintings are rather modest. Its
unique feature is its ancient Judaic sacrificial stones. Tana Cherkos is 2½ hours from
Bahir Dar by boat. From the landing it's a 30-minute walk uphill. Because most of the
MONASTERY
