Travelogue: Day 8, Gonder

Gonder is history. OK, it’s a double meaning. I’m writing the day after our visit into Gonder. But Gonder is indeed full of history. We visited the large walled area in the center of the city that is the castle compound of the ancient kingdoms of Gonder. Impressive, amazing, interesting, historical, all of the above . . .

We packed up and said good-bye as a family to our last hotel experience on the road in the Goha Hotel. No one shed any tears about that. We left the mountaintop where we were staying and drove down into the city. We eventually met up with our friends from the Meserete Kristos Church AIDS Prevention Office (MKC-APO) who were going to escort us on a visit later. But first we all planned to visit the castles of Gonder. These castles looked like the castles of Europe from the time period around the 11th century but these were built in the 17th century in Ethiopia. The rise of the Gonder kingdom (1655-1835) was arguably the greatest kingdom of ancient Ethiopia. During this time the borders of the rulers of Ethiopia were expanded to the modern day borders and beyond. There were forays into Sudan and Yemen. The seat of power was Gonder. The kings’ compound (Fasil Ghebbi) was as large as 70 hectares at one time with each successive king building another castle or large structure inside the compound.

To quote from a section of Bradt’s Ethiopia Tour Guide book (by Phillip Briggs, 4th ed., 2005), inside the structure are "six castles, a complex of connecting tunnels and raised walkways, and several smaller buildings. The most impressive castle within the enclosure is the original built by Fasilidas, which was built circa 1640, partially restored in the mid 20th century, and more fully restored, using the original construction methods, with UNESCO funding between 1999 and 2002. Fasilida’s Castle is made of stone and shows a unique combination of Portuguese, Axumite and even Indian influences. The ground floor consists of reception and dining areas. The walls are decorated with a symbol similar to the Star of David, which became the emblem of the Ethiopian royal family after the Solomonic dynasty reclaimed the throne in the 13th century. The first-floor roof of the castle was used for prayer and religious ceremonies, and it is also where Fasilidas addressed the townsfolk. Fasilida’s prayer room, also on the first floor, has four windows, every one of which faces a church. Stairs lead from the roof to the small second-floor room that Fasilidas used as his sleeping quarters. Above this is an open balcony, which was probably the watchtower. This third-floor platform, 32m above the ground, offers views in all directions; on a clear day you can even see Lake Tana on the horizon, emphasizing the strategic advantage of choosing Gonder as a capital." (pgs. 226-227)

The other castles belong to Fasilidas’ sons and successors; Yohannis I, Iyasu, Dawit III, Bakafa, Iyasu II. It is one thing to read about these structures in a book but it is quite another to actually walk the castle grounds and imagine them in their lifetime. Various Europeans had visited and reported on Ethiopian kingdoms over the centuries and during this age there were Portuguese, French and English individuals who give us a fascinating insight into the customs and habits of dynasties long past.

So we were given a tour of the grounds by a guide, Belay, who was pretty good at his job. He tried to interject humor with the information and provided us with a few laughs. Our group of 10 was joined by 4 Ethiopian university students for the tour. The girls enjoyed running through the ruins much more than following the group and listening to the tour guide (which I have envied on our tours from time to time during our travels).

After we finished with the tour we went to the local MKC church to visit with local church leaders and especially the MKC HIV-AIDS worker volunteers in Gonder. These are people who have been affected by HIV-AIDS; either through infection or because of family members who have been infected. In all cases the persons were contacted by a person from MKC, befriended and invited to church. MKC leaders such as Solomon Teferi of the Addis APO office like to say that they are unique because they treat the whole person; physical, emotional and spiritual. And it would seem that hope is a powerful factor in the stories we heard; not just of people surviving but thriving in the midst of HIV-AIDS. Like Zelalem; living with HIV/AIDS and taking the ART (anti-retroviral treatment) and now is living a relatively healthy life. But even more, she was invited to come to a MKC worship service and Bible study and it was there that she found life and hope for herself. Now she is a full time worker for the HIV/AIDS program and meets so many people in her neighborhood, bringing hope to individuals through Jesus and counseling them if they have problems like AIDS.

So we prayed with the group and left. One more stop. There was a feeding center for elderly people in another part of town. We arrived just as lunch was being served. Although not part of the HIV/AIDS ministry, it was a ministry of the local church, they invited us to see it. Elderly women (didn’t see any men, perhaps there were some and we didn’t see them but men were welcome to come, we were assured) were coming into this very modest building, taking off their shoes, having their hands washed (Ethiopian style; water pitcher and basin is brought around by a servant, in this case an MKC volunteer, and water is poured over the hands. Soap and then more water, then a towel to dry). A large piece of injera and a generous helping of hot shero (a liquidy paste of chickpeas). The preparation was done by MKC volunteers in the basic kitchen next door. An inspiring sight.

We ate lunch in a small café downtown Gonder and left for Bahir Dar afterwards. Mekonnen drove, the girls mostly played in the back seat and I spent time in the back of the Land Cruiser napping for a bit. The drive took less than 4 hours on paved road, a real treat for us (and the vehicle)! So we dropped Mekonnen off at the hotel and we found our friends’ house. Charles and Dee Ivy, from Albuquerque, NM are friends of Anita who have become our friends. They arrived in mid-May and we hosted them in Addis for a meal and hit it off. They invited us to stay with them when they were settled. So when we planned this trip we contacted them and now we were showing up at their doorstep.

The Ivys are here with the Clinton Foundation for 2 years working in Bahir Dar in the local hospital. Charlie is a long time hospital administrator and is offering his expertise and experience in this area. Dee is looking for a place to plug in and volunteer. They have been overseas before, Ethiopia is only the latest stop. So we brought our bags in and sat down, tired as usual in spite of sitting in a vehicle most of the day. But it was so good to relax in good company. Included in company was an Ethiopian couple, friends of theirs, Fekadu and Martha, who had helped them in many ways as they were settling. In our conversation it came out that they were MKC and it felt like we were playing the ‘Mennonite Game’ with them. We asked them if they knew this person and that person and to our delight they did! They asked us if we knew so and so and to their delight we did! So we talked about mutual friends, about their stories, about the MKC church, about who we are and what MCC is. We talked about religion and politics and managed to stay friends after we were all through. They will be moving to Addis in a week, so we can meet up with them in the future.

We had our first home cooked meal in over a week and what treat it was! Dee is a natural in community organizing. She asked our girls to help her make the meal and they were very excited. So she took them out to their garden and they cut some collard greens and brought them into the kitchen. Soon the kitchen was bustling with activity. Amani was cutting up garlic and onions, Abby cut up carrots and Sophia helped with the pasta by watching the water come to a roiling boil. That night we ate wonderful vegetarian fare; bow-tie pasta with cooked collard greens, onions and garlic, sliced and cooked carrots, sundried tomatoes and capers. It was delicious change of pace. Our welcome was complete and we relaxed.