we hired a van to drive us from axum to mekele. we drove through the town of adwa, the site where the ethiopians defeated the italians, perhaps the most famous historical instance of successful african resistance of colonial power.
we also stopped at yeha, an ancient temple from before the time of christ, as well as a few monastaries along the route. at one, a priest showed us a 700 year old book, with pictures, still colorful, inside.
we stopped for lunch in adigrat, right on the border with eritrea, which split from ethiopia in 1998 after a deadly civil war. the border between ethiopia and eritrea is currently closed.
we stopped at another rock-hewn church in wukro, before leaving ann off in a small town north of mekele. we had planned this in advance, but i felt a bit bad leaving her alone. she was going to a lodge in the tigray countryside to see some more rock-hewn churches, while i continued on to somaliland. the problem was, the lodge was a few hours off the main road, and we didn’t yet know how she was going to get there, and the sun was already setting in this small, dusty town we barely knew the name of, where no one spoke english. we kissed goodbye and hoped for the best, and thankfully i found a few days later when she was back in a place with mobile service that she had made it!
i then got to mekele that night, and on the next place the neck morning: harar!
