Grand Escapades
Travel Photography & Travel Experiences of Africa, South America, the Middle-East & Asia
The Great Stele, Main Stelae Field, Aksum, Ethiopia, Africa
Aksum changed A LOT in 5 years… This sleepy town, quite Off The Beaten Track 5 years ago, is now on the itinerary of all travel agencies, and you will meet large tour groups in all better hotels & restaurants in town. The good news is: there are so many things to do and see in and around Aksum that you will more often than not only see very few tourists during the day… Continue Reading →
At the Market in Harar, East Ethiopia
Harar, in the lowlands and the desert East of the country, is a place apart in Ethiopia. This is probably the only city that you can fully discover on foot and that will invite you for long strolls. Plan a few days if you want to truly enjoy it and stay in the Old City! Continue Reading →
Reconstitution of Lucy, National Museum, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia
As many large African cities, Addis Abeba is very difficult to apprehend for newcomers: a widespread, nondescript grid of busy streets lined with low concrete blocks and congested with traffic, with no clearly identifiable center. To make matters worse, you need a car to move around, as distances are huge, far too big for pedestrians… Continue Reading →
Road between the Siemien Mountains & Aksum (November 2015), Ethiopia
I first went to Ethiopia in December 2010 (2 weeks in the Lower Omo Valley & the Danakil Depression), followed by another trip over Easter 2011 (12 days on the Northern Historical Route), at the time when tourism was still in a very early phase, but already showing signs of a quick take off. Continue Reading →
Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church, Lalibela
Our itinerary
We have visited Ethiopia twice. The detailed account of our trip to the Lower Omo Valley and the Danakil Depression over the Christmas holidays 2010 – 2011 has been published on our website, on the website of the Lonely Planet & of the Bradt Guide and received a lot of attention. Continue Reading →
Bet Giyorgis Rock-Hewn Church, Lalibela
Discovering Ethiopia’s great history – Over Easter 2011, we followed what has become known as the “Northern Historical Circuit”. This term subsumes unparalleled highlights: Bahir Dar and the Monasteries of Lake Tana, the Royal Palaces of Gonder, the Stelae in Axum & the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela – Here you find a selection of 26 pictures from Ethiopia Continue Reading →
Fasilida’s Casstle, Fasil Ghebbi, the Royal Enclosure, Gonder, Ethiopia
We visited Ethiopia twice in 2010-2011. Both times we travelled during the busy season (Christmas and Easter) and spent about two weeks in the country each time. This is not our preferred time and tempo. Nevertheless we felt a lot less rushed than most other tourists. Especially large groups on buses go at a merciless pace! Continue Reading →
In Addis Abeba
Our 15 hours in Addis was packed with an incredible amount of activities and experiences. At least one hour was killed by fighting with a cab driver, who we thought was overcharging us. We had agreed on a price, then a girl joined us and she was also expected to pay the same price. Only when the police did not seem interested in the story of the driver did the matter slowly settle. Continue Reading →
Surroundings of Lalibela, Ethiopia, Africa
Travelling to Genata Maryam took us through stunning landscape. Crossing the oasis-like River Jordan was only one of the highlights! Together with a German family, we rented a taxi to this rock-hewn church an hour’s drive outside Lalibela. Continue Reading →
Women using Umbrellas against the sun, Lalibela, Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s most visited tourist destination, we expected Lalibela to be a pretty developed place. Wrong again! We were taken aback by the squalor and slum like dwellings that line the road up to the “city center”. Only the two mile road that connects the hotels down the hill up to the “town center” is paved with large cobble stones. Everywhere else, only muddy trails! Between the wooden shacks, you find a few stalls selling textiles and men sewing raggedy clothes on ancient Singer machines. Children enjoy chasing each other around the ditches running along the road. Continue Reading →