A walk around Axum
We breakfasted at the Ark Hotel and then walked back to the stelae field. Along the dirt road, people invited us to look into their shops. We told them we'd be back later. We walked past the baths and along an uneven dirt road. A man in a horse drawn cart followed us and asked if we wanted a ride. He pulled out a piece of paper on which a list of places and prices were written out by hand. We thanked him but declined. He turned his cart around and drove back towards the town.
We passed a small tin shack with a man beside it. He offered to unlock the shack for a few birr, but we demurred. Later, we realized he was offering to show us King Ezana's inscription, a stone with a trilingual inscription from between 330 and 350 AD. The shack was so non-descript that we hadn't given it a second look.
A little futher one we reached the toms of King Kaleb and Gebre Meskel, said to date from the 6th century. Steep stairs lead down into the chambers, which were built of rock so perfectly carved as to leave few gaps between them. Ed said the construction reminded him of the Great Pyramid in Giza. I told him that I'd try to get a ticket to go inside when I returned.
From the tombs, we continued walking away from town, searching for the Abba Liqanos Monestary. We found ourselves on a small dirt path leading towards a village before I turned to our right and saw a building upon a hill. We followed a gently sloping path up the hill which lead to a set of steep stairs and were soon standing before the monestary. I walked around to the back and found two monks seated in conversation. We asked if we could enter the building but they said no. Instead, they brought out the holy relics for us to see. Throughout, one of the monks kept up a running commentary, whch made us wonder if he might be a bit mad.
From the monestary we had a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside. To one side we could see the Abba Pentalewon Monestary seated alone atop a steep hill overlooking the homes and fields. On the other side, we could see the grid-like city of Axum. In the far distance we could see the quiet airport.
Climbing back down from the monestary, we walked towards the Abba Pentalewon. We walkd along paths lined with stone fences, past fields of grass and small huts. Villagers drove goats towards town. At the Abba Pentalewon, we climbed the stairs to the monestary, took off our shoes, and looked at the paintings within. From the hill we could see Abba Liqanos on the opposite side of the fields.
Back at the base of the hill, we walked to the small museum, where a monk brought out the church cross and illuminated manuscripts. Ed told me that there was a picture of him in his guidebook wearing the same clothes and holding the same cross. He turned to the page and showed the monk. His face broke out into a wide smile as he looked at himself reproduced on the page.
Back in town, we began souvenir shopping. Walking into one particularly large store I said to Ed, "Wow! This place is expansive." The proprietor bristled. "Why you say expensive?" he asked. Ed explained to him what I had actually said. He calmed down and prepared to show us his wares. Later, as we looked through the guidebook, we noticed the name of his shop. The author had written that the shop "houses a large collection of good-quality, but not cheap handicrafts."
