Ethiopia (November-December
2013)
Korem to Tenta (7): From Magdala to Tenta
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Return to main Ethiopia November-December 2013 webpage
To
see the map of the trek with the plot of the waypoints in another tab, click here.
To see the waypoints in Google Earth, click here.
Magdala
is an important historical site in Ethiopia. In April 1868 a battle
was fought there between Abyssinian forces led by King Tewodros
II and British/Indian troops led by Robert Napier. Following a series of misunderstandings
between Tewodros and the British Consul in Ethiopia, Tewodros had imprisoned the consul together with other
British subjects. In response, the British sent an army and eventually defeated
Tewodros at Magdala.
Refusing to be taken prisoner, Tewodros committed
suicide on April 13, 1868 (Easter Monday).
I
was initially confused by what actually forms the site of Magdala.
I expected a single amba, but there are two,
separated by a high saddle protected by steep cliffs. The locals refer to the
two ambas as Magdala, which
makes sense since it would have been easier for Tewodros
to defend both of them together rather than just one. In fact, one of the
bronze cannons brought by Tewodros lies on one of the
ambas, while the places where he committed suicide
and was buried lie in the other ambas.
The
first photo below shows the first amba as it is seen
coming from the north. The second and third photos show the second amba as it is seen from the first. The saddle between the
two ambas is visible on the left side of these two
photos. The cliffs surrounding the second amba are
more impressive. Overall the scenery is spectacular.
Although
the two ambas are separated by a rather short walk,
we spent one night on the first amba (Camp 11) and
another one on the second (Camp 12) before going to Tenta,
the end of the trek. This gave me enough time to ′′explore′′
both ambas.
The
first amba is relatively highly populated.
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Its
main ′′attraction′′ is a bronze mortar strangely
nicknamed Sebastopol. This cannon of almost 7 tons was brought by Tewodros across the highlands to defend Magdala.
It is said to have been built by Tewodros′
hostages. A replica is located in the centre of a roundabout at Tewodros Square in Addis Ababa.
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Another
attraction of the first amba is the gorgeous scenery
around it.
The
second amba is dryer and only sparsely inhabited.
The
amba supports a small pond (the ′′Magdala Lake′′!) of brown water used by animals.
There is also a source of cleaner water running from a surrounding cliff 50m
below the top of the amba.
The
place on the amba where King Tewodros
committed suicide (left), its grave (center), and its portrait (right).
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Perhaps
living on top of the amba gives to its people a sense
of superiority. In any case, locals seem to greatly enjoy the views and often
walk dangerously close to the cliffs...
...
especially at sunset.
On
our way down from the second amba toward Tenta, we saw many baboon monkeys (left) and more great
scenery (right).
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A
last view of the two ambas. The first amba is the one in the middle of the photo, the second is
the one on the center-left.
Arrival
in Tenta around noon (left). This small town is
rather bleak, but boasts a relatively impressive statue of Ras Mikael of
Dessie, a local hero. Ras
Mikael was born a Muslim, but later converted to Christianity. His son Iyasu became king of Ethiopia in 1913, but was deposed a
few years later in a coup masterminded by Ras Tefari (the future Haile Selassie). In response, Ras Mikael led an army to reinstate his son. But he was
defeated at the battle of Segale
on 27 October 1916 and was held captive for the rest of his life.
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That
was the end of the trek. A car sent by Solomon Berhe
had arrived in Tenta earlier that morning and was
waiting for us. We drove to Bati for the Monday
market (just like me, Gebru and Gebrehiwet
also wanted to see the market), via Gishen Maryam, Dessie, and Kombolcha.
Other
sections of the trek:
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