Ethiopia (14 days / 13 nights)

Our tour in Ethiopia, will take us on a journey through time as well as the grey areas between fact and mythology and the cross roads of many major religions. We will see how this country is connected with the Queen of Sheba, King Solomon of Israel, and their son Menelik 1^st, who brought the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia in 950 BCE.  We will visit some of the amazing rock-hewn Christian churches of Tigray, some with histories dating back to the 3^rd and 5^th century CE, and the incredible monolithic churches of Lalibela that were carved out of living mother rock, and an ancient pagan temple that predates all of these.

This country is also filled with plenty of natural beauty; we will see hippos, crocodiles and zebras as we explore the sacredness of the Lake Tana and the origins of the Blue Nile River.  Even the ancient Egyptians, classified Ethiopia (“Punt”) as the “land of beauty and plenty”. Egypt’s Queen Hepshutsut at multiple times sent legions of boats and merchants to trade for the riches of frankincense, myrrh and exotic animals. Still today, in the markets, we will see huge bags filled with these incenses that were once worth more then gold. We will journey deep into the Simian Mountains to see Gelada Baboons, Walia Ibex and if we are lucky some Caracals.