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Ethiopia: Abyssinia Adventure Hwy 1: Addis Ababa to Mekele Bicycle Africa / Ibike Tours |
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Small group, self-contained people-to-people bicycle tour from Addis Ababa to Mekele -- across the high plateau and into the gouges of the Horn of Africa. This tour passes through some spectacular countryside and traverses some the culturally rich territory of Amhara, Afar and Tigrinya people. And samples some of the wonderful hospitality of the region. Both the people and the scenery seem to get more and more wonderful everyday. |
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These photos are from a visit in 1996 -- in the days before digital photography and much more judicious use of the shutter. The photos have now been digitized but have lost some of their quality in the process. | ||
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Early 1991 saw some of the fiercest
battle of the Ethiopian civil war, that would bring down the rule of the Derg by
May. Five years later debris from battles could still be found on the road
side, especially at strategic mountain passes. Another concern were warnings of mine fields just off the roads. No one had an iota of compulsion to go cross country. |
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By 2010 most of Highway 1 was paved,
but in 1996 most of it was gravel. A few sections that had been paved had
been torn up by military activity. In 1996, they were just starting the
process of fixing the highway. The road surface didn't matter a lot, both the big views of valleys and mountains and the detailed views or the local culture were sufficiently captivating to exceed any hardship. A view of a valley and mountains generally meant that a long descent,
followed by another long ascent lie in our future. So much of the route
was either an ascent or descent that we joked that there might be no word for
flat in the local language because it would have been an abstract concept. |
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Ethiopian woman traditional did
tattooing on their face. This included religious symbols on their foreheads and
lines or geometric patterns on their necks and chin line.
Cattle walking through a town on its way to market is not an uncommon sight. |
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The primary ethnic group living along
the southern half of the route is the Amharic, but the Afar ethnic group lives
to the east and mix in. The primary domain of the Afar is the lowlands of eastern Ethiopia, including the Danakil depression. In that area they mine salt, which is brought up the hills to the markets in the highland towns by camel caravan. The Afar also collect fire wood in the mid-elevations which is similarly brought up to the towns on the plateau. |
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Boy posted to scare birds away from
the ripening sorghum crop. At Woldyia there is an east-west cross-country road that links Highways 1 and 3. This is now the access route to Lalibela, which is know for its enormous rock hewn churches. |
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(Addis Ababa)
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