Instagramming Ethiopia

Our Easter Feast, Ethiopia style. A soshabie (like a thali) to break the Ethiopian Orthodox 55-day Lenten fast. A mix of tasty stews served atop injera, a spongy sourdough flatbread. #yum via Instagram http://ift.tt/1r4SGQ8

Treespotting en route to Blue Nile Falls. Red soil, blue sky, this is Ethiopia. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1ra5Tap

There be castles in Ethiopia. This 17th c. one: Fasiladas' Palace in Gondar. I'm fast realizing I knew little of the depth of this country's history. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1lzMDQn

Gnarly banyans at the baths. Fasiladas Bath complex - Gondar, Ethiopia via Instagram http://ift.tt/1jGG25e

The Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

The Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. Referred to as The Roof of Africa. Where we've disappeared to for the last couple of days. Layers of mountains and canyons with textures of vegetation, animals and birds. Ethiopia = keep your eyes open. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1fzoyWi

Markets, where you meet the people. Also where you find chili peppers to make berbere, the masala crucial to Ethiopian cuisine. Taken in Debark, #Ethiopia via Instagram http://ift.tt/1gY5ktJ

Keeping an eye on the library, Fasiladas Palace. Gondar, Ethiopia. The Italians later came to town to take over. The British subsequently bombed them in WWII. The Italians also brought pasta and espresso machines, still here today. via Instagram http://ift.tt/PErKZq

Favorite ancient doorway candidate #31. Taken amidst the churches in the "Earthly Jerusalem" complex - Lalibela, Ethiopia. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1nRC4th

Busy blessing. The Ethiopian Orthodox priest inside the 12th c. Bet Danaghel (House of Virgins) - Lalibela, Ethiopia via Instagram http://ift.tt/QM7syD

The 12th c. rock hewn alleyways of Lalibela, Ethiopia. The entire complex was built top-down by carving into the ground and cutting into the rock. via Instagram http://ift.tt/S0mb9P

House of St. Merkerios. Taken from the footbridge before the storms rolled in. From the 2nd group of rock-hewn 12th century churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1mRbPn3

On the edge of an African sunset. En route, Yemrehanna Kristos to Lalilbela. This just might be the Ethiopia I remember most. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1pHBvH3

Favorite ancient doorway candidate #32. This one literally buried in a cave, at the 12th century Yemrehanna Kristos church in the northern Ethiopian hills. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1jcHCy9

Gheralta Mountains of Ethopia

Late afternoon descent, Gheralta heights. Phenomenal hike and rock climb to the hilltop monasteries of Maryam Korkor. This is peak Ethiopia.

Audrey around the bend, on the edge of the cliffside, a few inches from a long way down (about 500m / 1600ft). Worth the terror, slowly facing fears. Backdrop = Gheralta, Ethiopia. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1n7MchY

Church of St. George, Lalibela - Ethiopia

Church of St. George. Carved top-down from red volcanic rock in the 12th century. Ethiopia's signature historical sight...remarkable. Note the tiny people, right. George slew the dragon. For this, Ethiopia named a beer after him and a country was named after him, too. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1i6tp1b

Shooting at the edge of the Adwa Mountains. Where Ethiopia defeated the Italians in 1896, thereby maintaining their status as the only African country not colonized by Europeans. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1oaTTDI

Camels in Ethiopia...who knew? Along the edge of and into the Rift Valley, camel herds and drives are a common sight in the road and on. Traditionally, it was on their backs that salt made its way out of the deserts of the Danakil Depression into the highlands. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1q1gRSG

Late afternoon red clay and stone spires of Gheralta, northern Ethiopia. via Instagram http://ift.tt/Reccgt

Been doing a lot of writing about Africa lately, including the not-so-usual suspects. This is a shot of Ethiopia's Gheralta plateau, Tigray province. Stunning and severe, the region recalls bits of the southwestern U.S. via Instagram http://ift.tt/1nEUnk0

Lalibela Doorway, Ethoipia

Morning shadows and niches. Bethlehem, House of the Holy Bread, connected to Bete Maryam, in the 13th century New Jerusalem complex -- Lalibela, Ethiopia. #doorwayporn via Instagram http://ift.tt/1wH3IS7

Layers -- Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. Taken on an overcast afternoon, perfect to cast the canyons in relief. Gelada baboons -- technically not even baboons, but "old world monkeys" -- hang out (quite literally) on the cliff's edge and amongst the trees. #mountainporn via Instagram http://ift.tt/1q9iP1P