NORTH ETHIOPIA

Monasteries of Lake Tana >> Tana Chirkos

This small island monastery, separated from the eastern shore by a narrow marshy corridor, is dominated by a striking spine of rock perhaps 30m high, and fringed by riparian forest supporting several pairs of fish eagle. In Graham Hancock's book The Sign and the Seal, it is claimed that the island's monks have an ancient tradition that the Ark of the Covenant was kept here for 800 years before it was removed to Axum in the 4th century AD by King Ezana.

Tradition has it that the Christian monastery was founded during the 6th century reign of Gebre Meskel by Saint Yared and Abuna Aregawi .The church building, though reasonably old, is architecturally undistinguished and rather ramshackle, with no paintings that appear to be more than a decade old.

Far more interesting than the monastery itself is a trio of hollowed out sacrificial pillars alongside it, testifying to the island's importance as a Judaic religious shrine in pre-Christian times. Given the Ethiopian predilection for mythologising - a 'footprint' on one of the island's rocks is claimed to be that of none other than Jesus Christ - it is stretching a point to conclude, as Hancock does, that these pillars provide circumstantial support for the Ark having once resided on the island.

Tana Chirkos lies some three hours from Bahir Dar by boat, the walk from the jetty to the monastery takes no more than five minutes.

On the way to the island (or coming back), it is possible to look at two further monasteries, both on small forested islands about 30 minutes from Tana Chirkos These are Rema Medhane Alem, a recently rebuilt church in which are stored a few interesting old paintings, and Misehe Fasilidas, founded during the rule of the emperor after whom it is named, and architecturally undistinguished - though the surrounding forest is rich in bird life.

Tana Chirkos can also be visited by taking the main road to Gonder from Bahir Dar for about 70km, then following rough tracks for about 5km east to the mainland church of Kristos Samra, itself an important pilgrimage site in honour of the nun after whom it is named. From the mainland, a papyrus tankwa can easily be arranged to Tana Chirkos.