Ethiopian Epiphany in Gonder

Orthodox Priest Ethiopia

Ethiopian Epiphany in Gonder

Title: Ethiopian Epiphany in Gonder
Tour Code: WETT - 028
Duration : 7 NIGHTS AND 8 DAYS
Start: January 16
End: January 23



Jan. 16
Arrival in Addis Ababa and transfer. Overnight Hotel.

Jan 17
Fly to Bahir Dar; get transferred to the hotel & visit Bahir Dar market - a bustling market in which cereals, clay made utensils, leather bound baskets, local cotton fabric, fruits and vegetables etc can be seen. You will have also a half-day boat trip over Lake Tana to Ura Kidane Mehret monastery where you visit the religious wall paintings, parchment books, crosses, crowns and robes of different kings and other religious artifacts. Overnight Hotel.

Jan 18
Fly to Gonder, get transferred to hotel. Then you will visit the Gonder castle compound (World Heritage Site).Starting around 3:30 P.M you will attend the colouful processions of the eve of Ethiopian Epiphany. In this procession, the replicas of the original Ark (Tabots) from different churches will be removed and are carried by priests under huge, colorful umbrellas. Deacons also carry processional crosses, religious paintings and bells. On the occasion, a lot of people will sing, dance and ululate accompanying the priests all the way to the place where the Tabots are supposed to make there over nights (Pool of King Fasildes). Overnight Hotel.

Jan 19
In the morning you will visit the remaining sites of Gonder like the beautiful Debere Brhan Selassie church. Today is the main day for the celebration of the Ethiopian Epiphany. So you will have a chance to see the sprinkling of the blessed holy water in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the river Jordan in the hands of John the Baptist. The Tabots are also carried back to their original places in the same way that they are brought. Overnight Hotel.

Jan 20
Fly to Lalibela and attend the celebration of St.Michael's day. In addition, you will visit the 1st group of King Lalibela's rock hewn churches. Overnight Hotel. Jan 21. Mule ride to Asheten Mariam Monastery which is situated at 3000meters above sea level. And in the afternoon you visit the 2nd group of King Lalibela's churches. Overnight Hotel.

Jan 22
Fly to Axum and visit the historical and archaeological sites in Axum. These include the archaeological museum, main stele field, the ruined palace of King Kaleb and King Geber Meskel, stone inscriptions, subterranean tombs, the ruined palace of the Queen of Sheba. Overnight Hotel.

Jan 23
Visit the remaining sites in Axum like Axum Tsion church where the original holy Ark of the Covenant is believed to be housed. Then fly back to Addis Ababa. Overnight Hotel.

People , Culture and Religions in Ethiopia

People , Culture  and Religions in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's population is highly diverse. Most of its people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language. The Oromo, Amhara, and Tigreans make up more than three-fourths of the population, but there are more than 83 different ethnic groups with their own distinct languages within Ethiopia. Some of these have as few as 10,000 members. In general, most of the Christians live in the highlands, while Muslims and adherents of traditional African religions tend to inhabit lowland regions. English is the most widely spoken foreign language and is taught in all secondary schools. Amharic is the official language and was the language of primary school instruction but has been replaced in many areas by local languages such as Oromifa and Tigrinya.

The main religions in Ethiopia are Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Paganism. Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian country and the majority of Christians are Orthodox Tewahedo Christians, who belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. There are a minority of Christians who are Roman Catholic or Protestant. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is headed by a patriarch and is related to the communion of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church and Malankara Orthodox Church of India.

Christianity in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Orthodox Union church, an autonomous Christian Church headed by a patriarch and closely related to the Coptic Church of Egypt, was the state church of Ethiopia until 1974.

Ethiopia has a rich history that predates the Old Testament. According to the Old Testament, The Queen of Sheba was born in Axum, but travelled to Israel to meet King Solomon. They had a son named Menelik, who later became the first emperor of Ethiopia and adopted Christianity in Ethiopia about the beginning of 4th Century long before Europe accepted Christianity. Menelik brought the original Ark of the Covenant back to Ethiopia from Israel. Today, the Arc, which once housed the Ten Commandments, remains well hidden in Axum. It is guarded by a select group of monks, whose sole commitment is to protect the sacred vessel. Ethiopia's religious tradition is reflected in the day-to-day lifestyle of the people, and nowhere does this spiritual energy echo more than in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Ethiopian Muslims history 
In Islamic history and tradition, Ethiopia (Abyssinia or Al-Habasha) is known as the "Haven of the First Migration or Hijra." For Muslims, Ethiopia is synonymous with freedom from persecution and emancipation from fear.

Ethiopia was a land where its king, Negus or Al-Najashi, was a person renowned for justice and in whose land human rights were cherished.

The first migration [Hijra] of the Companions and relatives of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to Ethiopia celebrates the birth of freedom of expression and beliefs, whereas, the Second Migration of the Prophet Muhammad to the Madinah celebrates the end of oppression.
The meaning and the significance of "Hijra" is embodied in the Islamic calendar. Since its inception, the Islamic calendar represents a history of perpetual struggle between truth and falsehood, faith and blasphemy, freedom and oppression, light and darkness, and between peace and war.

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Tours to Ethiopia: Historic Ethiopia Attractions

Tours to Ethiopia: Historic Ethiopia Attractions: That Ethiopia has a heritage from the beginnings of mankind was underlined when the remains of ‘Lucy’, dated from 3.5 million years ago, a...

Tours to Ethiopia: Historic Ethiopia Attractions

Tours to Ethiopia: Historic Ethiopia Attractions: That Ethiopia has a heritage from the beginnings of mankind was underlined when the remains of ‘Lucy’, dated from 3.5 million years ago, a...

Travel Guide To Ethiopia

Grand Escapades’ Travel Guide To Ethiopia

by Gilles Barbier on 6. June 2016 in Ethiopia, Travel Guides

The Most Diverse African Experience?

Itinerary And Time Of The Visit

I visited Ethiopia 3 times over the last 5 years and spent approx. 2 months there. Nonetheless, I still have the impression that I haven’t seen it all:

• In December 2010, I spent 2 weeks in the Lower Omo Valley & the Danakil Depression
• Over Easter 2011, I took 12 days and focused on the Northern Historical Route
• In November 2015, I took a whole month to re-discover the Northern Historical Route (includingHarar and the Rock-Hewn Churches of Tigray) & the Danakil Depression.

In 2010 – 2011, I discovered a country where tourism was still in a very early phase, but already showing signs of a quick take off. What a surprise when I came back in 2015 and discovered a country that had undergone a tremendous development in many aspects, over a period of only five years!

Why Travel To Ethiopia?

Though more and more on the radar of travelers (mostly Europeans), Ethiopia is still a country widely unknown to the vast majority, still suffering from the images of the terrible famine that struck a country at war with its neighbor Eritrea in the mid of the 1980s.

Nonetheless, Ethiopia is a stunning country. Did you know that it is the only African country that defeated a European army (the Italians) and that has never been durably colonized? Ethiopia also offers the largest Cultural Heritage of Sub-Saharan Africa, built over centuries by some of the oldest Jewish, Christian (Orthodox) and Muslim communities on earth, and by Empires which influence spread much further than African boundaries…

That said, Ethiopia also offers a huge diversity of experiences, and the experience you will have in this country mainly depends on the area you focuses on… And you will have to focus on specific aspects and areas, as you will not be able to discover all parts of this country, except if you have at least 8 weeks at hand:

• The Northern Historical Route (Bahir Dar, Gonder, Lalibela, Aksum, Tigray), in the highlands of Ethiopia, takes the visitors through the grandeurs of Ethiopian Christian Orthodox culture, with stunning Rock-Hewn Churches and Monasteries, but also through the vestiges of the various Ethiopian Empires, starting with the legendary Queen of Sheba and ending in the 20th

For more reading of this report , please check this below link

http://grandescapades.net/grand-escapades-travel-guide-to-ethiopia/

Historic Ethiopia Attractions

That Ethiopia has a heritage from the beginnings of mankind was underlined when the remains of ‘Lucy’, dated from 3.5 million years ago, and the 4.4 million year old Homo ramidus afarensis, man’s oldest anthropoid ancestor, were uncovered. Traders from Greece, Rome, Persia and Egypt knew of the riches of what is now Ethiopia, and by the first century AD, Axum was the capital of a great empire.
This realm became one of the first Christian lands of Africa. Late in the 10th century Axum declined and a new Zagwe dynasty, centered in what is now Lalibela, ruled the land. Axum, Lalibella and Gondar now provide our greatest historical legacy. It was in the 16th century that the son of the great explorer Vasco da Gama came to Ethiopia, but then found a land of many kingdoms and provinces beset feuds and wars. In the l9th century the great Emperor Menelik led us towards the modern state of Ethiopia, and the Country’s passage to modernization began.
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St George Rock church of Lalibela, Ethiopia.