Ethiopia (Tana Lake) Part 6
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Lake Tana (Amharic: ጣና ሐይቅ?,sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometers long and 66 kilometers wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters, and an elevation of 1,788 meters. Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers; and its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 km,² depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abbai) and hydro-power station.
Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam and Mertola Maryam). On the island of Tana Qirqos is a rock shown to Paul B. Henze, on which he was told the Virgin Mary had rested on her journey back from Egypt; he was also told that Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia, is allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos. The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island. Emperors whose tombs are also on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun and Briguida.The monasteries are believed to have been built over earlier religious sites. They include the fourteenth-century Debre Maryam, and the eighteenth-century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mehret, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages. Lake Tana supports a large fishing industry, mainly based on the Labeobarbus barbs (formerly in genus Barbus), Nile tilapia and sharptooth catfish (a large catfish that is widespread in Africa). According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,454 tonnes of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates is 15% of its sustainable amount.Among other fauna, the lake supports relatively few invertebrates: There are fifteen species of molluscs, including one endemic, and also an endemic freshwater sponge. Numerous wetland birds, such as the great white pelican and African darter, reside at Lake Tana. It is an important resting and feeding ground for many Palearctic migrant waterbirds. There are no crocodiles, but the African softshell turtle has been recorded near the Blue Nile outflow from the lake.Wikipedia
Lake Tana & Dek Island UNCUT Gopro Version
Strapped a Gopro on the head of a friend to explore Lake Tana & Dek Island. Leaving Blue Nile Resort. Enjoy!
Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሀይቅ, Ṭana Ḥäyq, T’ana Hāyk’; an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez: ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometres (52 miles) long and 66 kilometres (41 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 feet),[1] and an elevation of 1,788 metres (5,866 feet).[2] Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 square kilometres (1,200 to 1,400 square miles), depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abbai) and hydro-power station.
In 2015, the Lake Tana region was nominated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve recognizing its national and international natural and cultural importance[3].
Lake Tana was formed by volcanic activity, blocking the course of inflowing rivers in the early Pleistocene epoch, about 5 million years ago.[4]
The lake was originally much larger than it is today. Seven large permanent rivers feed the lake as well as 40 small seasonal rivers. The main tributaries to the lake are Gilgel Abbay (Little Nile River), and the Megech, Gumara, and Rib rivers.[4]
A resort hotel on Lake Tana in Bahir Dar.
Lake Tana has a number of islands, whose number varies depending on the level of the lake. It has fallen about 6 feet (1.8 m) in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a Portuguese missionary in the early 17th century), there were 21 islands, seven to eight of which had monasteries on them formerly large, but now much diminished.[5] When James Bruce visited the area in the later 18th century, he noted that the locals counted 45 inhabited islands, but stated he believed that the number may be about eleven.[5] A 20th-century geographer named 37 islands, of which he believed 19 have or had monasteries or churches on them.[5]
Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam, and Mertola Maryam). On the island of Tana Qirqos is a rock shown to Paul B. Henze, on which he was told the Virgin Mary had rested on her journey back from Egypt; he was also told that Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia, is allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos.[6] The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island. Emperors whose tombs are also on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel, and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun and Briguida.
The monasteries are believed to have been built over earlier religious sites. They include the fourteenth-century Debre Maryam, and the eighteenth-century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mehret, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages.
There is also Zege Peninsula on the southwest portion of the lake. Zege is the site of the Azwa Maryam monastery.
Fauna
Great white pelicans on Lake Tana.
Lily pads floating near the shore on Lake Tana
Since there are no inflows that link the lake to other large waterways and the main outflow, the Blue Nile, is obstructed by the Blue Nile Falls, the lake supports a highly distinctive fish fauna, which generally is related to species from the Nile Basin.[7]
About 70% of the fish species in the lake are endemic.[7] This includes one of only two known cyprinid species flocks (the other, from Lake Lanao in the Philippines, has been decimated by introduced species), which consists of fifteen relatively large, up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long, Labeobarbus barbs.[7][8] Eight of these are piscivorous and an important prey is the small Barbus tanapelagius, another endemic of the lake. (B. humilis and B. pleurogramma also occur in Lake Tana, but neither is endemic.)[8][9] Other noteworthy endemic species are Afronemacheilus abyssinicus, which is one of only two African stone loaches, and the tana subspecies of the Nile tilapia.[7]
Lake Tana supports a large fishing industry, mainly based on the Labeobarbus barbs (formerly in genus Barbus), Nile tilapia and sharptooth catfish (a large catfish that is widespread in Africa). According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,454 tons of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates are 15% of its sustainable amount.[10]
Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሀይቅ, Ṭana Ḥäyq, T’ana Hāyk’; an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez: ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometres (52 miles) long and 66 kilometres (41 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 feet),[1] and an elevation of 1,788 metres (5,866 feet).[2] Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 square kilometres (1,200 to 1,400 square miles), depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abbai) and hydro-power station.
In 2015, the Lake Tana region was nominated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve recognizing its national and international natural and cultural importance[3].
Lake Tana was formed by volcanic activity, blocking the course of inflowing rivers in the early Pleistocene epoch, about 5 million years ago.[4]
The lake was originally much larger than it is today. Seven large permanent rivers feed the lake as well as 40 small seasonal rivers. The main tributaries to the lake are Gilgel Abbay (Little Nile River), and the Megech, Gumara, and Rib rivers.[4]
A resort hotel on Lake Tana in Bahir Dar.
Lake Tana has a number of islands, whose number varies depending on the level of the lake. It has fallen about 6 feet (1.8 m) in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a Portuguese missionary in the early 17th century), there were 21 islands, seven to eight of which had monasteries on them formerly large, but now much diminished.[5] When James Bruce visited the area in the later 18th century, he noted that the locals counted 45 inhabited islands, but stated he believed that the number may be about eleven.[5] A 20th-century geographer named 37 islands, of which he believed 19 have or had monasteries or churches on them.[5]
Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam, and Mertola Maryam). On the island of Tana Qirqos is a rock shown to Paul B. Henze, on which he was told the Virgin Mary had rested on her journey back from Egypt; he was also told that Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia, is allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos.[6] The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island. Emperors whose tombs are also on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel, and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun and Briguida.
The monasteries are believed to have been built over earlier religious sites. They include the fourteenth-century Debre Maryam, and the eighteenth-century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mehret, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages.
There is also Zege Peninsula on the southwest portion of the lake. Zege is the site of the Azwa Maryam monastery.
Fauna
Great white pelicans on Lake Tana.
Lily pads floating near the shore on Lake Tana
Since there are no inflows that link the lake to other large waterways and the main outflow, the Blue Nile, is obstructed by the Blue Nile Falls, the lake supports a highly distinctive fish fauna, which generally is related to species from the Nile Basin.[7]
About 70% of the fish species in the lake are endemic.[7] This includes one of only two known cyprinid species flocks (the other, from Lake Lanao in the Philippines, has been decimated by introduced species), which consists of fifteen relatively large, up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long, Labeobarbus barbs.[7][8] Eight of these are piscivorous and an important prey is the small Barbus tanapelagius, another endemic of the lake. (B. humilis and B. pleurogramma also occur in Lake Tana, but neither is endemic.)[8][9] Other noteworthy endemic species are Afronemacheilus abyssinicus, which is one of only two African stone loaches, and the tana subspecies of the Nile tilapia.[7]
Lake Tana supports a large fishing industry, mainly based on the Labeobarbus barbs (formerly in genus Barbus), Nile tilapia and sharptooth catfish (a large catfish that is widespread in Africa). According to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,454 tons of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates are 15% of its sustainable amount.[10]
The Tana lake monasteries (Ethiopia)
Lake Tana sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian highlands, according to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the lake is approximately 84 kilometers long and 66 kilometers wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters, and an elevation of 1,840 meters. Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara Rivers and its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 km² depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile, which regulates the flow to the Tis Abbai falls and hydro-power station.
The lake has a number of islands, whose numbers vary depending on the level of the lake; it has fallen about 6 feet (1.8 m) in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (who was a Portuguese missionary in the early 17th century), there were 21 islands, seven to eight of which had monasteries on them formerly large, but now much diminished. When James Bruce visited the area in the later 18th century, he noted that the locals counted 45 inhabited islands, but stated he believed that the number may be about eleven. A more modern geographer named 37 islands, of which he believed 19 have or had monasteries or churches on them.
Remains of ancient Ethiopian emperors and treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam and Mertola Maryam). On the island of Tana Qirqos is a rock shown to Paul B. Henze, on which he was told the Virgin Mary had rested on her journey back from Egypt; he was also told that Frumentius, who introduced Christianity to Ethiopia, is allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos.The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island; other Emperors whose tombs are on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun, and Briguida.
The monasteries are believed to rest on earlier religious sites and include the fourteenth century Debre Maryam, the eighteenth century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mecet, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lake shore villages.
Lake Tana supports a notable fishing industry; according to the Ethiopian Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1,454 tonnes of fish are landed each year at Bahir Dar, which the department estimates is 15% of its sustainable amount.[3]
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VALPARD FILMS
Nature gives life at Ethiopia s majestic Lake Tana
(2 Dec 2019) LEAD IN:
It first appears that nothing but water meets the eye at Ethiopia's Lake Tana.
But by the shores of the wide lake, many have carved out a life for themselves, where they are strongly connected to the area's magnificent nature.
STORY-LINE:
The islands that sit in the vast and calm waters of Ethiopia's Lake Tana have more than picturesque views to offer.
They are also home to multiple ancient monasteries and churches, some date dating back to the 13th century.
Spread over an area of 3,300-square-kilometres, the lake that holds half of Ethiopia's freshwater supply, has 37 islands.
Upon reaching the largest of these islands, Dek, visitors and residents can immediately catch sight of the stone gate of the Narga Selassie Monastery.
The monastery which sits majestically at the edge of the island was built by an empress in the 18th century.
She was guided by a vision interpreted by a monk, says Talema Gebre, the head priest of the Narga Selassie Monastery.
They transported all the construction materials on papyrus boats to this island, which is 44 kilometres from either end, and managed to build this monastery, he says.
But the head priest believes that some divine intervention had a role to play in the monastery's construction.
The construction could not have been done by humans but with the support and guidance of angels, he says.
Past the arched door of its stone gate, lies the round building of the monastery, whose inner walls are masterfully decorated with intricate religious paintings.
But without much-needed maintenance, the monastery's walls are showing signs of decaying, visible from both inside and outside the monastery.
The church is in danger because termites are damaging the structure as time passes without proper care, Gebre says.
He adds that he has asked the government to intervene but has not received any help so far.
If the maintenance and renovation work is not immediately done, this monastery will be standing no more, as if it never existed, Gebre adds.
But the monastery holds great value to some 8,000 residents on Dek island, who have chosen to settle there to gain access to the what they believe is blessed water.
The monastery almost exclusively collects water from Lake Tana, the priests pray on the water.
Some people drink the water, others wash in it.
Not too far from the island, the waters of Lake Tana support another activity, fishing.
Fishermen in papyrus boats work the water, hoping for a big catch of ray-finned barbus.
On a lucky day, a fisherman would catch the Nile perch.
For Shambel Fikadu who has been fishing from his tiny boat since the break of dawn, today's catch will determine whether his family of four will have something substantial to cook for dinner.
Fishing is Fikadu's only job and it simply provides enough for him to make ends meet.
The fisherman has had to stop construction on a hut he was building for him family because he did not have enough money.
He believes he could make a good living out of it, if only he had better fishing tools.
The fishing business is good. But I don't have the capital to invest in it. If I could get my hands on a bigger boat for fishing, I can change my life, he says.
Like Shambel, most of the fishermen on the papyrus boats use poorly made fishing nets spread across the lake.
Unsurprisingly, the catch is not always rewarding.
The Blue Nile is one of the main tributaries that pour water into the Nile, which ends its flow in Egypt.
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NARGA SELASSE CHURCH, 3d video
3d graphic design of the church Narga Selassie
is a church on the western shores of Dek Island, the largest island of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. The name signifies Trinity of the Rest. Rest refers to the place and the shade thereabouts.
The church was constructed by Empress Mentewab in the late 18th century, apparently using as construction material for doors and roof a gigantic sycamore fig tree that stood at the centre of a slight elevation, now the centre of the church. Narga Selassie is fully decorated in the local style. A relief on the main entry portrays the Scottish explorer James Bruce, who visited the capital, Gondar, in the late 19th century.
Narga Selassie was constructed in the classic round architecture of the churches of Lake Tana, with the notable contamination of the use of stone both in the perinaeum around the church and in the compound walls.
It is accessed from the lake through a port constructed in 1987, which is connected to Bahar Dar and Gorgora by a state-owned ferry service. The access is in itself a beauty spot with a huge sycamore with long aerial roots descending to the lake and a door tower which forms part of the original construction.
Ethiopia - Lalibela-Rock churches,Lake Tana,Tis Abay,Gonder-Fasil castle Full HD Documentary Movie
Traveling to what i like to call it The land of Mysterious with my friends from Addis Ababa University
***The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches were built or rather carved from the rock by king Lalibela in the 13th century to create a 'New Jerusalem'. In the video: walk around the 11 Lalibela churches, beginning with a morning mass at Bet Giyorgis, and following with Bet Medhane Alem, Bet Maryam, Bet Danaghel, Bet Gabriel-Rafael, Bet Emanuel, Bet Abba Libanos. The Lalibela Rock Hewn churches are UNESCO World Heritage site.
***Lake Tana (also spelled T'ana, Amharic: ጣና ሀይቅ, Ṭana Ḥäyq, T’ana Hāyk’; an older variant is Tsana, Ge'ez: ጻና Ṣānā; sometimes called Dembiya after the region to the north of the lake) is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian Highlands, the lake is approximately 84 kilometres (52 miles) long and 66 kilometres (41 miles) wide, with a maximum depth of 15 metres (49 feet),[1] and an elevation of 1,788 metres (5,866 feet).[2] Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 square kilometres (1,200 to 1,400 square miles), depending on season and rainfall. The lake level has been regulated since the construction of the control weir where the lake discharges into the Blue Nile. This controls the flow to the Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abbai) and hydro-power station.
The monasteries are believed to have been built over earlier religious sites. They include the fourteenth-century Debre Maryam, and the eighteenth-century Narga Selassie, Tana Qirqos (said to have housed the Ark of the Covenant before it was moved to Axum), and Ura Kidane Mehret, known for its regalia. A ferry service links Bahir Dar with Gorgora via Dek Island and various lakeshore villages.
***Emperor Fasilidas established Gondar as a capital of Ethiopia in 1636. The castles, palaces and churches from the period are now UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the video, the main Gondar historic sites: Fasil Ghebbi, Fasiladas Bath, Debre Berhan Selassie Church, Kuskuam (Empress Mentewab's Royal compound).
The Amazing Monasteries in Ethiopia
This is a walk through the Ethiopian Monastery on Lake Tana near the Nile river. one must explore some of the ancient monasteries that have been built around Lake Tana, or on the many Islands. The colourful local market at Bahirdar is renowned for its weavers and wood workers.
Lake Tana, the largest lake, in Ethiopia is the source and from where the famed Blue Nile starts its long journey to Khartoum, and on to the Mediterranean. The 37 islands that are scattered about the surface of the Lake shelter fascinating churches and monasteries, some of which have histories dating back to the 13th Century. However, it should be noted that most of the religious houses are not open to women. The most interesting islands are: Birgida Mariam, Dega Estefanous, Dek, Narga, Tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasiledes, Kebran and Debre Mariam.
Kebran Gabriel is the principal monastery visited by male tourists from Bahirdar, with its impressive Cathedral-like building first built at the end of the 17th Century. Dega Estephanos, which is also closed to women, is on an island in the lake, and the monastery is reached by a very steep and winding path. Although the church is relatively new ( only hundred years old) , it houses a Madonna painted in the 15th century. However, the treasury of the monastery is a prime attraction, with the remains of several Emperors, as well as their robes and jewels.
On the banks of the lake are many more religious houses, such as Ura Kidane Mehret and Narga Selassie, many of which are also open to be visited by women.
Blue Nile Falls Beauty of Ethiopia
Rivalling the attraction of the Blue Nile Falls are the thirty-seven islands scattered about on the 3,000-square-kilometre (1,860-square-mile) surface of Ethiopia's largest body of water: Lake Tana, which gives birth to the Blue Nile. Some twenty of these shelter churches and monasteries of immense historical and cultural interest; decorated with beautiful paintings and housing innumerable treasures.
Lake Tana, largest lake of Ethiopia, located in a depression of the northwest plateau, 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) above sea level. It forms the main reservoir for the Blue Nile (Abbay) River, which drains its southern extremity near Bahir Dar. The lake's surface covers 1,418 square miles (3,673 square km), with a surrounding drainage of 4,500 square miles (11,650 square km); its maximum depth is 45 feet (14 metres).
Lake Tana
The islands and peninsulas of Lake Tana are most conveniently approached by boat from Bahir Dar on the southern side of the lake, though boats can often also be obtained at Gorgora on the northern shore.
The many interesting and historic locations on or around the lake include the islands of Birgida Maryam, Dega Estefanos, Dek, Narga, Tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasilidas, Kebran, and Debre Maryam, as well as the Gorgora, Mandaba, and Zeghe peninsulas. All have fine churches. Though founded much earlier, most of the actual buildings date from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries. Many have beautiful mural paintings and church crosses, and house crowns and clothes of former kings.
Lake Tana
Access to the churches is, for the most part, closed to women; they are allowed to land on the banks of the islands but not permitted to proceed any further. The clergy sometimes agree to bring some of their treasures to the water's edge for women visitors to inspect. Women are, however, permitted to visit churches on the Zeghe peninsula, the nearby church of Ura Kidane Mehret, and Narga Selassie.
Kebran Gabriel, the nearest monastery to Bahir Dar, is a principal tourist attraction. Established in the fourteenth century and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor lyasu I (1682-1 706), it is an unassuming but nevertheless impressive building with a distinct cathedral atmosphere.
Lira Kidane Mehret is another popular attraction, with the added advantage that women are allowed inside. Located on the Zeghe peninsula, the monastery is an integral part of the local community. The church design dates from the same time as that of the Kebran Gabriel church, but it is a more decorative building, with colourful frescoes depicting biblical scenes from biblical lore and the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The third principal attraction is Dega Estefanos, which is also closed to women. Although farther away from Bahir Dar, it is well worth visiting. A steep trek up a winding path leads towards the monastery on the summit. Some ninety metres (300 feet) above the lake's surface are low, round, thatched-roof buildings that house the monks, and nearby an arch set into a high stone wall leads to a grassy clearing, at the centre of which stands the church of St Stephanos, a relatively new building erected about a century ago after the original structure had burned down in a grass fire.
The real historic interest in Dega Estefanos, however, lies in its treasury. Here, together with numerous piles of brightly coloured ceremonial robes, are coffins containing the mummified remains of several former emperors: Yekuno Amlak, who restored the Solomonic dynasty in 1270; Dawit, late fourteenth century; Zara Yaqob, fifteenth century; Za Dengel, early seventeenth century; and Fasilidas, also seventeenth century. The modern, glass-sided coffins allow visitors to view the mummified bodies.
Dega Estefanos is also said to have served as a temporary hiding place for Ethiopia's most jealously guarded religious relic - the Ark of the Covenant. Tradition has it that the Ark was brought to the island for safekeeping in the sixteenth century, when the Muslim forces of warlord Ahmed Gragn attacked and occupied Axum, where the Ark normally rested.
History aside, bird lovers should make a point to visit Fasilidas Island, near the eastern side of the lake. And, of course, when moving around on the lake, be sure to notice the interesting tankwa boats, which may be seen making their way between the islands and the mainland. These little papyrus boats, open at the back end, appear dangerously unwaterworthy as they slide over the surface, but they continue to carry passengers and goods to and from the islands as they have done for centuries.