At the virage, I switched to a 4×4 vehicle with a driver who probably already overcharged me for the first ride, but then really took me for a ride by vastly overcharging me for the two-hour ride to the ancient city of Aoudaghost.
The city was beautiful, surrounded by eroded mountains of layered brown stone with caves and also by unusually orange sand dunes, probably due to the presence of lots of iron. The driver let air out of the tires to get more traction in the sand. (That’s a picture above of the guy who overcharged me so much.)
November 15, 2007, Bus station in Ayoun el Atrous, Mauritania
The journey by bus from Bamako to Nioro du Sahel was fairly uneventful. A pleasant elder gentleman sat next to me and we chatted in French much of the way. I also occupied my time by swatting mosquitoes with my map of Mali until the window was so much covered with their bloody carcasses that it became difficult to take pictures free of the evidence of their untimely end. As we left Bamako, the terrain changed gradually from larger trees and bushes to more of a savannah environment, punctuated by the occasional baobab tree and its sister tree, apparently called the mobili.
At this desert outpost called Nioro du Sahel, I and a Mauritanian business woman named Amie changed to a car, actually a Mercedes, into which they packed a total of seven people, three in front and four behind. I felt really squished compared to the bus, even though riding in a luxury car. We went through the border and many police checkpoints, also without incident.
Then, we arrived at Ayoun el Atrous and I stayed the night at the Hotel Aioun after some difficulty in changing money with the taxi driver. I wanted to wait until the next morning to change US dollars to Mauritanian Ougiya at the bank. Well, it turned out that the bank only changes Euros and doesn’t accept dollars or even CFA from neighboring Mali. A number of money changers offered me poor rates of exchange until I found one named Mohammed, an insurance guy, who was really the only one serious about changing dollars. He changed at the rate of 220 ougiya to the dollar, the best rate I could find, but I later found out the official rate if more like 260 ougiya to the dollar.
Then, off I went back to the bus station, or garage as they call it here, to find a car for the Tamchekett virage, i.e. the turnout for Tamchekett.
The interview with Samuel Sidibe, Director of the Musee Nationale du Mali, went very well. He was kind enough to provide me with references to the oral history of the griots, or traditional storytellers of West Africa, including back to the times of the great empires of Wagadu (Ghana), Mali, and Songhay.
After the interview at the museum, I wandered around town to accomplish chores like getting a SIM card for my phone to work in Mali.
I walked all the way to the fetish market by the Grand Mosque, where I purchased a white crystal thought to help with stomach and intestinal ailments to give to Travis back in San Francisco. I went to a Marche Artisanal where artists were selling musical instruments, statues, paintings, and clothing. I purchased a small shirt and pant set for my nephew Zachary… I hope it will fit! Finally, I visited the main post office to inquire about sending my printed materials back to San Francisco. This time the price was even crazier — more than US$200! So it looks like I will be lugging the stuff around with me for awhile.
After a shower at the hotel, I went for dinner at Appaloosa. There I met a very intelligent and admirable woman from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington, DC. She is conducting a study here in Mali on malaria in infants. I was amazed by her dedication to saving lives and she told me some sad stories about how many children are dying here. She also explained in more detail about malaria works… apparently, the parasite from mosquito bites invades the liver and stays there until it transforms into something that goes into the blood stream. At that point is where the medications like Malarone and others attack the disease, not in the liver itself. That’s why it’s necessary to continue taking the medication for some time after leaving a malaria zone, so that all the disease that passes out of the liver gets clobbered in a blood supply well stocked with the medication. It’s also why it’s so important to make sure to take every done of the medication. Even she, an infectious disease expert, forgot to take her pill for one or two days and ended up with a case of malaria, the symptoms being fatigue and nausea without vomiting, among others. After grossing me out a bit with the malaria discussion, she invited me over to the Restaurant du Fleuve for an ice cream sundae. I had been afraid to eat ice cream here, but she assured me it would be not only safe but really yummy and she was right! The chocolate sauce was especially good.
After checking in the evening before to the Hotel Yamey and eating dinner at the Apaloosa bar and restaurant next door, where the waiters were dressed like cowboys, I slept well. My main meeting wouldn’t happen until November 10.
So, on November 9, I visited the Musee Nationale du Mali in preparation for the meeting with its director on November 10.
The museum is excellent. I first wandered past an outdoor sculpture of a typical Malian bus into an art exhibition where hundreds of children scrambled around the museum hall interacting with some amazing art.
The other main hall of the museum contains its permanent exhibits about Ancient Mali, Ritual Art, and Textiles. I took lots of notes because pictures weren’t permitted, and I bought a few postcards documenting the key artifacts in the museum, such as the Dogon “Thinker” statue with snakes all over his body, the almost East-Indian-style statue of a reclining man, and the ancient textiles with interesting patterns from the people inhabiting the Dogon region before the Dogon themselves arrived.
In the garden on the way out of the museum, I saw a variety of models of famous buildings in Mali, particularly of the mosque at Jenne-Jeno, and the waterfall at the entrance once again.
Notes on National Museuem in Bamako:
A great museum! (in three parts)
ANCIENT MALI–
Tellem — in rock escarpments of Bandiagara, people who lived from 11th to 16th century, Dogon people found them there, textiles are among oldest found in Africa, also leather, wood, and metal artifacts found in sepulchral grottos
Before the Tellem came the “Toloy phase”, 3rd to 2nd century BCE, grotto A with round elevated constructions, architectural elements also appear in Ireli and Bongo villages
Neck rests found in grotto of Sanga, 11th to 14th century CE, made from wood or iron, some with geometrical patterns
Leather boot with geometrical designs, Tellem, Songa
Cache sexe, leather hem with twisted strands, presumably to cover genitals
Belt of leather strands, approximately ten
Bracelets, metal, some thin, some thick, some with twisted pattern
Pottery, “vannerie”, and “Fécipient (Récipient) en calabasse”, Tellem, Sanga, 11th – 15th centuries CE
Grotto P
Round and oval constructions from 11th – 12th centuries CE
Rectangular constructions from 13th – 14th centuries CE for living quarters
Grenier? = granaries(?)
Bankoni, Bamako, statuette, clay, long face, head tilted back, tongue sticking out a little, Szumowski found in 1954 in a pseudo-tumulus
Sirakorola, Koulikoro region, ceramic bottles with spherical containers and cylindrical necks, found in vast necropolis, the necks sometimes chopped off before the ceramics baked, heads on the necks include: cow, ram, cock, bird, lamb, and human
==> Oueyanko, west of Bamako, phalliform object, Szumowski found in 1954 in a pseudo-tumulus (see drawing in journal)
Fakola, Bougouni region, tortoise in clay, and a quadruped in clay
Probably southern Mali: two clay statuettes, region with relatively more rainfall, dense vegetation and forests sites such as Magnambougou, Kouroukorokalé, Fanfannyégéné rock opening
Tongo Maaré Diabel (the dune “au jujubier”) is one of the oldest cities studied in Mali, three kilometers north of Douentza between Bandiagara and “les falaises” (escarpments) of Dyoudé, 5th – 13th century CE, agricultural society, “le mil” = millet(?), rarised cows, sheep, and goats, also had blacksmiths, commercial relations with Berbers to the north — found semiprecious stones “coralines” and “amazonites”, transaharan commerce starting in 10th century when glass appears, many pottery vases discovered there, a horse rider statue in clay from 9th – 11th century
Natamatao site: iron tools, including disk, “poinçon”, “enclumes”, axe, “marteau” associated with “scories”, clay statues of quadrupeds, probably ram and lamb
Waganzana site near Thial, same period as Natamatao, statue fragments
Natamatao is six kilometers from village of Thial (Tenenkou (or Tenemkou?) circle), human figure with horse head, also found skeletons painted in red ocher, so probably funerary site, clay head statue probably from top of a vase, very different style
==> Djenné, probably 13th – 15th century CE, statuette of a man seated with head rested on arms crossed on knees, covered with serpents
Natamatao, Thial:
Vase decorated with serpents (similar to Dejenné but different due to large opening)
Stops to put in tops of vases
Vase with geometric pattern
Djenné Djéno, 13th century, three kilometers from Djenné
==> Stylized clay statue of male figure wearing necklaces, serpent ring on right bicep, two bracelets above right elbow, one on right wrist, two bracelets on left wrist, possibly dagger in sheath on left bicep, headless, wearing “cache sexe”
Bust
Djenné Djéno founded in 3rd century BCE, surrounded by a wall two kilometers in length, population 10,000 – 26,000, long-distance commerce, objects of Roman origin found, copper and flass beads, socles de fer, fusables -> tissage, abandoned by 14th century, probably due to domination of Islam in the region
Statuettes with “boutons” from 13th century
Mopti
Clay mask
Globular vases decorated with serpents, clay
“Pied de lit”, clay, origin Kami
Djenné Djéno
LARGE vase “caréné”, 600-900 CE, clay
LARGE funerary jar, clay, tradition of either putting bones of entire body in jar, pierced the
bottom on purpose to signify funerary function
Gao, Sané necropolis, funerary stela from 12th – 13th century, written in Andalusian/Maghrebian style characters
Tomboutou (Timbuktu)
Vases, clay
Bottles, clay
Hematite “polissoir” to test quality of gold
(Imported?) glass fragments
Alabaster window
Small vase (inkwell?)
Copper (coins?)
Iron knife blade
Variety of beads, including wooden ones
Bed supports
Sites at Kawinza, Mouyassan, and Toubal (near Sumpi)
Rice and millet cultures
Fishery
RITUAL ART–
Dogon statue of primordial couple — origin myth of eight lineages, wood
Dogon statue of Nommo, master of water, life, speech, and fecundity, arms attached to something over head, wood, first being created by Amma
Dogon statue of four first ancestors, wood
Gwandusu, Bamanan, Baninko circle of Dioila, statue of maternity or paternity, wood
Ntomo (Notomokun) masks, Banaman, Ségou region, Ntomo society for children aka Cèbilenkè (Beledugu) and Bilakorojo (Birgo and Baninko), number of horns indicates sex of mask: male (3 or 6), female (4 or 8 ), androgynous (2, 5, 7, or 9), often covered with cowries and red seeds or berries, “la discretion” of the mouth -> control over speech, important in those societies
Bamanan, Diolila region, hyena masks, wood
Do mask, Boo, wood
Cimiero — for dancing (Ciwarakun), Bamanan
Senoufo statue slave, “Tabitière des captifs”, hunched over, carrying bowl with cover that has monkey on top, wood
Sogow or marionette, Ségou villages, Kamelan ton associations organize Sogo Bwo animal dances also theater for educational purposes, festival of masks and marionettes (FESMAMA)
Dogon — toguna pillar, wood, feminine figure accentuating breasts and vagina without facial detail
Peul — gold pendant (dola)
Cimier for dance, Ngosonkun, Bamanam, Koulikoro region, wood
Boo, feminine statue Hanbé, for protection of village, wood, long tall, looks like mohawk on head
Senoufo, feminine figure (debele) associated with male figure, ritual scarification, primordial couple
Dogon, Satimé mask, wood and paint
Dogon, multistory house mask, very tall, painted wood
Dogon, Kanaga mask, arms above head, two hands pointed up above two hands pointed down, painted wood and fiber
Dama mourning ritual
Kono (konokun) mask, Bamanan, wood, horns, blood sacrifice of animals
Senoufo, Janus mask (Kponiougo), wood
TEXTILES–
carbon dating from 10th – 13th centuries CE
Peul migrations introduced textile fabrication around 9th century CE
Tilbi — cotton or silk garment signifying high status, Djenné or Tombouctou (Timbuktu)
Bogolan technique for dying cloth
Hunter shirts, example with mirrors, beads, fabric strands, amulets to protect from nyama, always brown and yellow, never indigo (representing nature, not village)
Protective garment “sigi (or sugi?) doki” with text and geometrical designs and amulets wrapped and sewn on
The Peul griots are also wool fabric artisans, they are called Maabo, plural Maabuube, their wives are traditionally potters. The Maabuube are similar in importance to the blacksmiths of the Manding called Numu, whose wives are also potters, located in “boucle du Niger”, Niger River flood plain, wool provides protection against cold and mosquitoes
Peul arkille fabric, often very long, used for nuptial bed, symbol of marriage
Kaasa — another garment formerly worth more than a sheep
Tellem textiles, Sangha, Bandiagara, ancient people who arrived in Dogon country at the weakening of the Ghana empire in the 11th century (Dogons arrived in 14th century)
Tellem textiles included important symbolism, not just pretty designs, no method of fabrication found with other artifacts, so may be imported (?), tunics from 10th – 12th centuries, lots of indigo color, écharpe = ?, strange red designs (see drawing in journal), striped indigo-white cap cotton, another with vertical triangular stripes to the top center
November 8, 2007, Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire (IFAN) Museum, Dakar, Senegal
Due to an unfortunate incident with a young man who was trying to steal money from me, I spent my last evening in Dakar cooped up inside the hotel. Part of the evening was entirely dark due to a blackout. The hotel chef was kind enough to prepare a vegetarian meal for me and I met an interesting Algerian business guy for a chat at the hotel bar.
My final day in Dakar, I went to the Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire (IFAN) Museum.
The museum had interesting exhibits of the various peoples of West Africa and their masks and other ritual objects. I took a lot of notes.
Afterwards, I tried to mail some heavy documents at the post office. I had to take a taxi to a special post office for mailing packages and they told me it would cost almost US$100 to mail 7 kilos of printed materials. I decided to wait for Mali to see if it would be cheaper. The taxi rides around town and to the airport provide an excellent opportunity to get an idea of the terrain in Dakar.
Notes from IFAN Museum in Dakar:
Women’s initiation, Mande, Sierra Leone, masks showing stages of initiation
Nigerian sanctuary statues from near Port Harcourt, River State
Ekoi, Nigeria, Janus helmet, River State
Initiation of boys, Bassari, Senegal, circumcision at age 13, to become a man and learn mystical, technical, and artistic knowledge, large round masks around face with frame structured
Initiation of boys, Boukout or Bukut, Diola, Senegal, every 20-25 years in different villages, announced 3-4 years in advance, ceremonies, festivals, dances, sacrifices, Kuisen ceremony — maskes with horns called ejumba, in Balingore region other masks called samaï and niagarass
Diola, Senegal, couple statuettes, Bignona
Diola, Senegal, giant carved wood pitchers with handle (shape like beer stein) for palm wine, Ziguinchor regionally
Baga people in Guinée, banda or kumbaduda is long horizontal mask combining royal crocodile, chameleon, antelope, and human imagery with colorful geometrical representations, man metamorphosing into a genie
Baga, tam-tam drum on wood stand
Bidjogo, Guinée, archipel de Bissagos, Ile de Ponta, hippo mask
Ghana, Ashanti, Asipim, ceremonial chair, wood, leather, and copper(?) tacks
Ghana, Ashanti, large ceremonial tambour drums, pegs mid-level stretch animal skin attached by cords over the top, intricate geometrical and symbolic designs on base
Ivory Coast, Sénoufo, maternity statue — baby at breast, statue of woman
Mali, Segon (or Ségou), Bamabara, “Chi-Wara” or “Tyiwara”, worn on top of woven cap with cowries, i.e. top of head, one of six “confrèries” in which Bamabara is initiated, mythical hero related to cultivation of the earth, also stylized antelope carvings
Nimba and D’mba, of the Baga and others, ideal image of feminine in society, also have fecundity figure, both with pendulous breasts
Mali, Sikasso, Manianka statuette, hands on belly holding face
Ivory Coast, Senoufo, creator of world god named Koulotiolo, mother of the village god Katiéléo
Pono (or Poro?) initiation rituals in sacred forests, three cycles of seven years is 21 years, receive ritual names at each level, proofs of endurance, secret language
Poworo, children 7-12 years old, farming and intro to initiation
Kwonro, adolescents, liturgical rites, ceremonial dances, and warrior training
Tyologo, 12 levels depending on knowledge with top level called Kafa around 30 years old
Ivory Coast, Karogo, Senoufo, Masque-Cimier, Nayogo, beautiful cowrie-studded mask with beak and long tail
Mali, Dogon, days of mourning in which women wear cowrie masks covering their faces, other masks too, Mopti, Sikasso regions
Mali, Dogon, Mopti region, Bandiagara circle, pillar “d’abri des hommes”?
Several “magic” figures from Ivory Coast (masks for singers):
Yacouba We Man Glé
Nigeria, Yoruba, Oya, Ibadan region, polychromatic mask, also statue of woman holding “une coupe”, Gélédé society for prosperity of women
Benin, Fon, Abomey province, divining cup, carved wooden bowl on stand in shape of bird, Pierre Verger received it from son of the last great Bokono king, also textiles with allegorical stories, colorful appliqué technique, also iron and copper “autel” for royal ancestors, Asen
Mali, Bambara, special clothing for hunter, triangular geometric design, also Ségou region — cane of culture with carved head on top, also marionette, also long mask of Komo society
November 7, 2007, Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire (IFAN), Dakar, Senegal
After an impressive interview in French with archaeologist and historian Charles Becker on November 6 at his home near the home of the President of Senegal, I next went to interview Hamady Bocoum, Minister of Culture in Senegal and Researcher at the Institut Fondamental de l’Afrique Noire (IFAN), University of Cheikh Anta Diop, that interview also conducted in French. (Mille fois merci to my high school French teachers!)
M. Bocoum told me as much as one could in one hour about the role of the blacksmith (forgeron) in African history. He mentioned Soumaoro Kanté, who was a blacksmith king. Sundiata battled him to start a new dynasty and Kanté lost. He recommended reading La geste du Sonjiata.
Boucom feels that the story of the battle represents a battle over African values. Kante represents African independence, ingenuity, and self-awareness. Sundiata represents transahelianism, Islam. Kanté opposed slavery.
He summarized with three contrasts:
Cultural – traditional religion v. Islam
Economic – blocking river traffic and water rights
Technical – inventors and blacksmiths
Now, he says, Africans are consumers to the detriment of producers.
He talked about the supposed caste system which he feels does not really exist in Africa, at least not anything like what happens with the untouchables in India.
He mention reading about the caste system in Sudan and a book called Mande Blacksmith: Knowledge, Power and Art in West Africa (by Patrick R. McNaughton).
Regarding the existence of a caste system in West Africa, Bocoum mentioned:
Structuralism
Concepts of pure and impure
Triumph of consumers over producers
He said that blacksmiths were the ones who invented the state in this part of Africa.
He referred to his L’Age de Fer au Senegal (which I later copied parts of at the tremendous IFAN library).
Bocoum doesn’t believe there was a taboo against blacksmiths either. He described the concept of the societal norm versus the structure, giving the example of how burping is normal and good for the health but considered impolite in many societies.
There was a sense that the work of a blacksmith is the work of the devil. After 2000 years of the domestication of fire, the blacksmiths were the only ones who knew the secrets of transforming stone into metal, a kind of alchemy, a magic/technology.
He mentioned how the blacksmiths had sacrificial ceremonies to do their work and how people who weren’t blacksmiths couldn’t participate in that work.
Once the work of the blacksmith was no longer secret and became democratized, the blacksmiths no longer had a monopoly and lost their power. That started to occur by the 11th century but didn’t happen completely until the 16th century.
In some societies, it was also taboo to make love to or marry a blacksmith, but it still happened.
Bocoum also mentioned a novel called L’Enfant noir by Camara Laye.
He said there was more of a system of domination than a caste system. The system of domination helped generate a class structure (Marx).
The wives of blacksmiths were usually potters, hairdressers, tattoo artisans (for men and women). Blacksmiths traditionally performed circumcisions.
When the ferry was ready for us, everyone in the waiting room squeezed through two small exits onto the dock. Then, we crossed over to the ferry with two guys grabbing each passenger to help them across the one foot wide step to get on board. Once on board, the two Germans and I sat on the upper deck. I chose a spot in the shade. In port next to us was a giant container and cargo ship, twelve stories tall. The ferry boat is new, launched in 2006 under the name of Beer. The Germans and I joked quite a bit about that… like, how come no free beer on board? 😉
From the ferry, we had excellent views back to the Dakar harbor and Cape Vert (I think it’s called).
Soon, we reached the open sea with magnificent views of Île de Gorée.
We sailed around the tip of the island where the fortress, now a museum, is located to get a great view of the harbor, beach, and seaside.
The island boasts some wonderful old houses.
Once on land, we paid a tourist tax and walked toward the Maison des Esclaves (Slave House), which was closed for siesta time. On the way to the Maison, we saw this monument to the end of slavery with a man and some children having their photo taken alongside the monument.
We also saw a breadfruit tree with breadfruit hanging from its branches.
We entered a cathedral with some black statues, as well as white ones.
On our way up to a peak where the old cannons are gradually rusting away, we saw many arts and crafts stands and paintings painted by local artists.
On the way down from the peak, we saw a local soccer game with some guys in real good shape.
We walked over to the port for lunch. A man tried to get us to eat at his restaurant, but I really wanted to eat at the place recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook. Eventually we escaped his clutches and made our way over to the Ana Saban restaurant.
After lunch, we went to the Musée Historique de l’IFAN on the island.
I somehow lost the Germans at the museum, so I walked alone back over past the beach to the Maison des Esclaves, now finished with their siesta break. I started by taking pictures of the “Door of No Return,” which was apparently the last place where slaves bound for the Great Passage across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas set foot on the African continent.
Here’s what it was like to stand just in front of the door out to where the slave ships used to load their human cargo and the sign currently posted by the Door of No Return.
Inside the Maison des Esclaves, an exhibit explained about the history of the slave trade and showed some of the actual fetters used to bind slaves.
In a small museum office with lots of signs and sayings posted on the walls, there is an elder who must have helped to establish the museum. I went in to thank him for what he has done and he replied that to the contrary he must thank me for coming.
After the disturbing and moving museum, it was a real treat to be able to relax on the beach with locals and people visiting from all over the world. I met a sweet Italian fellow (married) who is working in nutrition in Africa. It was so much fun that the Germans and I had to run for the Beer ferry when it was time to go.
To round out the evening, we dashed to Point des Almadies to see the sunset and eat dinner on the seashore.
I made it to Luxor after a wonderfully relaxing two-day cruise from Aswan. We stopped along the way to see the temples at Kom Ombo and Edfu. In Aswan, I saw Philae, Elephantine, and other great sites. Luxor is jam-packed with sites, so I’ll be very busy here for at least a few days.
I met a really nice guy named Ahmed who came along on the cruise. Even though we registered as “friends” with the Aswan tourist police, we had to pay for two cabins on the ship because foreigners and Egyptians aren’t allowed to share the same accommodations in hotels, etc.
I apologize for the “radio silence” since Khartoum, but I haven’t seen an Internet cafe since I left there headed north along the Nile for Egypt. I’m hale and hearty, except for a small cough probably due to all the dust in Sudan. All is well with my adventures. Since Khartoum, I took a bus past Shendi to explore the old Meroë pyramid cemeteries and ancient city by camel! near Barijawaya. On the next bus, I accepted an invitation from a fellow passenger to visit his home village near where Sudan’s President Bashir’s home is located. Escaping there from a near Islamic conversion experience, my friend drove me to a half-dozen hotels in Atbara — all of them full that evening. So, he put me up with his uncle in nearby Ed Damer and we visited more of his family the next day. The bus from Atbara went on a ferry across the Nile and through irrigated fields and the Bayuda Desert. I arrived in Merowe (not the same as Meroë) and explored the Nuri cemetery pyramids, including that of the great Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa and his great-grandson Aspelta. The next day, I crossed the Nile again by ferry to Karima where I stayed at a beautiful and expensive Nubian Guest House. Walking from the hotel that evening, I visited the Temple of Amun and the Temple of Mut at Jebel Barkal, the sacred mountain, which I climbed to see the scenery and the sunset. Near Jebel Barkal at El Kurru, the tombs of Tanwetamun and his mother Qalhata were very impressive and, although not much remains of Piankhy’s tomb, I enjoyed being there among the 25th dynasty characters for my novel. Next came a crazy ride on the back of a bokasi truck during haboob-like dusty desert winds of at least 60 mph. Near Dongola on the banks of the Nile, I saw the ancient city of Kawa. A donkey cart ride brought me to the large mud Deffufa structure and its surrounding ancient village at Kerma. With a stop at the village of Wawa for a walk over to the Nile and a passenger ferry to the temple at Soleb, I spent the night for free in a traditional Nubian home, then by bokasi the next morning to Abri and right onto a bus to Wadi Halfa in time to buy a ticket for the ferry to Aswan, Egypt, which leaves only once a week on Wednesdays. After a 16-hour ferry ride past Abu Simbel, I’m in Aswan, Egypt, with what appears to be a hi-bandwidth Internet location. 🙂
In other good news, I finished the first full draft of the first part of my novel, although I have to fill in a couple of items after further research and writing. I hope you are all well. I’d love to read news from you by email. If it takes me some time to reply, don’t worry — I’m catching up with thousands of emails from when I had no Internet access.
On March 7, I flew from Axum to Gonder to experience the Gonder palaces and to get ready for onward travel to the Simien Mountains, back to Gonder, then on to the Ethiopian-Sudan border at Metama-Gallabat.
I met a young, recently engaged Ethiopian couple from Addis on the taxi ride from the airport to the town of Gonder, alternatively spelled Gondar. We quickly agreed to spend the day sight-seeing together, so I checked in and dropped my bags off at the Belegez Pension, then rode in the taxi up to the Goha Hotel where they were staying. The Goha Hotel is probably the “best” hotel in town with wonderful panoramic views of Gonder town below.
After lunch at the hotel, where some delightful singing birds joined us, the fiances hemmed and hawed over whether she was well enough to go sight-seeing. We decided not to pay the taxi driver big bucks the following day, but instead to walk down to town ourselves to see the palaces and whatever else we could see. I liked the paintings at the entrance to what looked like a small cafe.
King Fasilidas founded Gonder in 1635 and the town remained Ethiopia’s capital for 250 years. The Fasil Ghebbi, or Royal Enclosure, includes the six palaces of King Fasilidas and his descendents, as well as a Royal Archive Building and the remnants of lion cages.
In our trek across the city, we came across the old outdoor stadium used for socialist-inspired gatherings during the Derg era in Ethiopia. Every Ethiopian town seems to have one or more.
We also visited Fasilidas’ Pool, which is dry year-round except for the Timkat (or Epiphany) Festival each January.
After our tour of Gonder, I return to my room at Belegez Pension. On the door of my hotel room is an AIDS prevention sticker.
For one of my lunches, I ate delicious fasting food at the Habesha Restaurant across from the entrance of the Gonder palace complex. A tame goose lives inside the restaurant and eats up food scraps when the proprietor isn’t looking. I went back to the same restaurant later with a Belgian screenwriter named Eric and his son Thomas who I met at Belegez Hotel. They had just returned from a Simien Mountain trek and urged me to go, despite Eric’s knee injury during the hike to Gich.
