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Hghway 3 from Bahir Dar to Gondar (117 Km) passes through the countryside and country towns of Amhara, through Hamusit and Woreta, past Addis Zemen and through the mountains to Gondar. Gondar is the 17th-century capital of Ethiopia. Bordering Sudan and located on the northern shore of Lake Tana, it is one of the prominent historical areas in Ethiopia. Gondar is a town founded in 1636 by the great Emperor Fassiladas, serving as the royal capital of Ethiopia for over 230 years. The Gondarine period is considered to be the third major dynasty after the Axumite and Zagwe dynasties.

Traditional houses are round dwellings with cylindrical walls made of wattle and daub. The roofs are conical and made of thatch, and the center pole has a sacred significance in most ethnic groups, including the Oromo, Gurage, Amhara, and Tigreans. Variations on this design occur. In the town of Lalibella the walls of many houses are made of stone and are two-storied, while in parts of Tigre, houses are traditionally rectangular. Village near Bahir Dar

Local Ethiopian homes are called Tukals

For more than two thousand years, Ethiopia’s ox-plow agricultural system was the most efficient and innovative in Africa, but has been afflicted in the recent past by a series of crises: famine, declining productivity, and losses in biodiversity.

Endemic Birds of EthiopiaWhite-winged Cliffchat

Hailè Selassiè Church near Bahir Dar

Amhara woman

Plastic shoes—slip-ons or sandals– play a central role in the lives of herders who spend their days mucking through corrals, traipsing across pastures filled with sharp grasses and prickles, and wading into streams and ponds to water their cattle. The shoes are affordable, easy to wash, and airy as the temperature climbs under the burning sun. And when the old reliable break, herders melt them back together over a hot fire. These days, plastic jerry cans, baskets, and shoes are all made in Ethiopia, many of them manufactured in the capital. And when it comes to shoes, they provide never-ending service: People collect the cast-offs so they can be ground down and used to make whole new pairs.

Photograph by John Stanmeyer

Photograph by Paul Salopek

North of Addis Zemen, the road ascends into hillier territory, passing a striking isolated rock formation known as the Devil's Nose after about 4 km

Endemic Birds of EthiopiaGolden backed woodpecker

Dahir Bar elevation 1,800 m (5,900 ft), Gondar elevation 2,133 m (6,998 ft)

In rural Ethiopia, women and children walk up to six hours to collect water.

Endemic Birds of EthiopiaDark-headed Oriole

School

Endemic Birds of EthiopiaYellow-throated Seedeater

Africa - for us still the unknown continent possesses a several thousands of years old culture, expressed particularly in myths, legends, fables, in songs and proverbs Ethiopia's oldest brewery Saint George,

founded in 1922 is located in central Addis Ababa

The Bateleur (Terathopius

ecaudatus)

Creation MythWak was the creator god who lived in the clouds. He kept the vault of the heavens at a distance from the earth and covered it with stars. He was a benefactor and did not punish.

Double-toothed Barbet

When the earth was flat Wak asked man to make his own coffin, and when man did this Wak shut him up in it and pushed it into the ground. For seven years he made fire rain down and the mountains were formed.

Endemic Birds of Ethiopia

Banded Barbet

Black-winged Lovebird

Endemic Birds of Ethiopia

White-billed Starling

Then Wak unearthed the coffin and man sprang forth, alive. Man tired of living alone, so Wak took some of his blood, and after four days, the blood became a woman whom the man married.

Hotel room

Endemic Birds of Ethiopia

Abyssinian Catbird

They had 30 children, but the man was ashamed of having so many so he hid 15 of them. Wak then made those hidden children into animals and demons.

Hotel swimming pool

Endemic Birds of EthiopiaRuppell's Chat

Hotel swimming pool

Sound: Fantahun Shewankochew New Amharic Album; Tilahun Gessesse - Amharic Music - Yasalefnew Zemen

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Sanda Negruţiu Jean Moldovan Alin Samochis Daniel Scrãdeanu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda