Bahir Dar
Bahir Dar is one of the foremost tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile River. The city is known for its wide avenues lined with palm trees and a variety of colorful flowers. It is also considered one of the most beautiful, well planned, and safest cities.Bahir Dar is situated on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile (locally called Abay). The city is located just about 578 km (360 miles) north-northwest of Addis Ababa, and an elevation of 1,840 meters (6,036 foot) above sea level
What to see in Bahir Dar
Lake Tana
Lake Tana, largest lake of Ethiopia, located in the northwest plateau, 6,000 feet (1,800 metres) above sea level. It forms the main basin for the Blue Nile (Abbay) River, which drains its southern border near Bahir Dar. The lake’s surface covers 1,418 square miles (3,673 square km), with a surrounding drainage of 4,500 square miles (11,650 square km); its maximum depth is 45 feet (14 metres).
The islands and peninsulas of Lake Tana are most properly approached by boat from Bahir Dar on the southern side of the lake, though boats can often also be obtained at Gorgora on the northern shore. The many charming and historic locations on or around the lake include the islands of Birgida Maryam, Dega Estefanos, Dek, Narga, Tana Cherkos, Mitsele Fasilidas, Kebran, and Debre Maryam, as well as the Gorgora, Mandaba, and Zeghe peninsulas. All have superior churches. Permission to the churches is, for the most part, not allowed to women; they are allowed to land on the banks of the islands but not permitted to proceed any additional. Women are, however, permitted to visit churches on the Zeghe peninsula, the nearby church of Ura Kidane Mehret, and Narga Selassie.
Kebran Gabriel
The contiguous monastery to Bahir Dar is a primary tourist attraction. Recognized in the fourteenth century and rebuilt during the reign of Emperor lyasu I (1682-1 706), it is an humble but on the other hand extraordinary structure with a diverse cathedral impression.
Ura Kidane Mehret
It is another trendy attraction that women are allowed inside. located on the Zeghe peninsula, the monastery is an primary part of the local society. The church intend dates from the same time as that of the Kebran Gabriel church, but it is a more ornamental building, with colorful frescoes depicting biblical scenes from biblical lore and the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Dega Estefanos
The third major attraction is which is not allowed to women. It is also farther away from Bahir Dar, it is well implication visiting. Some ninety meters (300 feet) above the lake’s surface are low, round, thatched-roof buildings that house the monks, and nearby an arc set into a high stone wall leads to a verdant defrayal, at the centre of which stands the church of St Stephens.
Dega Estefanos is also said to have served as a fleeting defeat place for Ethiopia’s most anxiously protected religious remnant the Ark of the Covenant. Ritual has it that the Ark was brought to the island for protection in the sixteenth century, when the Muslim forces of warlord Ahmed Gragen attacked and engaged Axum, where the Ark usually rested.
Close to the eastern side of the lake. And, of course, when touching around on the lake,
Dek Island
This is the prime island on Lake Tana. Located almost in the centre of the lake, a trip to this island can take a full day or more. In total, four churches can be found around Dek Island. Most appealing nevertheless, is the monastery church Narga Selassie, located on a small island to the west of Dek.