After a nice breakfast at the Goha Hotel, the group set out for our trip to the Simien Mountains. But first we stopped to visit King Fasiledas’ Bathhouse.
This place, located in Gondar, not far from King Fasiledas’ Castle, has special significance for Christians in Ethiopia. In 1632, during Epiphany (January 9,10,11), King Fasiledas celebrated the restoration of the Christian Orthodox Church as a major religion in Ethiopia by allowing Christians in the surrounding community of Gondar to celebrate their baptism into the faith by jumping into the King’s bath with the blessing of the local priests. This celebration is called the Kimket. King Fasiledas continued this celebration all 40 years of his reign and it has continued annually ever since. The king’s bath is larger than several Olympic swimming pools and 3 meters deep. It is flooded each year from a nearby river to fill the bath and is then drain until the next year. It is estimated that over 60,000 Christians each year participate in Kimket and it is observed as one of the four major religious celebration in Ethiopia each year. The King’s Bathhouse is currently undergoing a major restoration project (you can see the scaffolding in the picture) that was started over 8 years ago. It is being financed by the Norwegian government. It is due to be finished in the next couple of months, just prior to the next Kimket celebration in January.
Because of the powerful connection to water and baptism at this place, our group took the opportunity to share a devotion. The devotion was written by Jim’s daughter, Pastor Lynnae Sorensen. It was based on the passage in Acts that describes the conversion of Phillip with the Ethiopian eunuch. A powerful and appropriate passage that binds together our work in Ethiopia, the people of Ethiopia and our Christian faith. It was a special moment shared by all.
We said our goodbyes and expressed our gratitude for the help and support we had received from our hosts at ORDA over the last several days. They are a great partner for our water projects and every staff member cares deeply about serving the people in the Amhara region. The journey from Gondar to Debark, the town closest to the entrance to the Simien Mountain National Park, is about 2 ½ hours. It was an uneventful journey……except for the beautiful vistas seen from the highway, a great precursor to the trip into the Park.
We also managed to have our first flat tire (large nail) of the trip. It was repaired satisfactorily in Debark while we had lunch at a local hotel.
Also over lunch, our drivers picked up our entrance passes for the park and the required scout that must accompany every group that enters the park. The scout is to ensure that visitors only travel in the allowed areas, as well as provides the needed local knowledge about park conditions. As we drove through the town, we passed through a very active Debark open air market. All matter of food, animals, grain, hardware, home items, etc. can be found every day at the market.
The Lodge is a short 22 Kilometers (13 miles) from Debark, but it still takes almost an hour to get there. We arrive at the Lodge about 3:30 just as the wind was pushing the clouds and fog up the valley to blanket the area in wind and mist.
After getting settled, we all came to lodge to relax, read and gather some warmth from the fire. By dinner time, the temperature had dropped to around 40F, still windy and misty, so the fire felt great.
After dinner, as we headed to our room, we received another pleasant surprise…..each of us got a hot water bottle to warm our bed!
We all went to bed hoping that tomorrow brings a warmer day and clear skies to enjoy the beauty of the Park.
Dick Moeller
Dick Moeller
No comments:
Post a Comment