Mekele

Mekele is in the Tigrayan Highlands in Ethiopia. It is the capital of the Tigray region and has a population of 200,000. Understand Mekele, or the small town of Wukro just to the north, can be used as a base to explore the many rock-hewn churches of Tigray that are scattered across the stunning high-desert landscape of northern Tigray. The churches are as rewarding to visit as they are (often) difficult to reach. Abuna Yemata Guh is a particular highlight, although not recommended for those with a fear of heights. The tourist office in Wukro can help to arrange guides and transport. Get in By bus: Coming from Aksum there are three types of buses: public buses, minibuses and shared taxi. The buses depart from Aksum in the early morning. If you want to go to Mekele in the afternoon you have to go by either minibus with a stopover in Adwa or by shared taxi. Ask at the bus station for certain taxi companies. The public bus should be about 65 birr, the minibuss 90 birr and the shared taxi around 100 birr. By plane: As of July 2011 there are daily direct flights to Aksum, Addis Ababa and Lalibela. For other destinations you have to change flights. Get around See Yohannis IV Museum, opposite the Atse Yohannis Hotel. Fomerly the palace of Emperor Yohannes IV. Sit on the balcony of the Atse Yohannis Hotel (situated near Ethiopian Telecomms building, on the roundabout that has a sometimes-on fountain in its centre) and watch the world go by while having a coffee, cold beer, fresh juice, lunch or dinner. It's a nice view and you're up on the first floor so you're away from beggars and street-stares. Do Walk around the town, the tree-lined streets are pleasant to walk around and observe life going on around you. Chele Anka Waterfall - 8km out of Mekele, to the southwest - a nice hike to get there, more dramatic in the rainy season. Buy Eat There are quite a few 'ferenji' restaurants in Mekele, serving pizza, meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and salads. There's also lots of national food restaurants and many cake/pastry/coffee shops. Ferenji means onlookers may call you ferenji if you are a white foreigner. None of this is threatening - in fact it’s generally very friendly. Geza Gerelassie - eating/drinking/dancing venue, has great beef dishes such as shish kebab and shekla tibs. Live Ethiopian music and dancing. Everyone gets up and joins in, it's good fun. They have good food too and a bar. Pizza and other 'ferenji' dishes as well as national food in the Yordanos restaurant beside the Abreha Castle Hotel. They have another branch down the road in town, called Yordanos Blue (this one doesn't have pizza but has everything else). Drink Sleep There is a problem with finding good western hotels in the city. The closest you get is the newly built rooms at the Axum Hotel, make sure that you get one of the new rooms as the old ones are poorly maintained. Atse Yohannis Hotel, (situated near Ethiopian Telecomms building, on the roundabout that has a sometimes-on fountain in its centre). One of the classic "western" hotels in town. They have a huge selection of good food which is surprsingly cheap. 220-400 birr depending on room.  edit Milano Hotel, Ring Rd St (On the oposite side of the Police Station where Agaezi Rd and Ring Rd St meets.), ☎ 00251-34-440 6355. Considered being one of few really good hotels in Mekele. It's considerably better than Atse Yohannis, but still not as good as Axum Hotel.  edit Axum Hotel, P.O. Box 592, Mekelle, Ethiopia (A bit outside the very city center, ask a driver to bring you there), ☎ 00251-34-440 5155/56/57. axum.n@ethionet.et The oldest and most classic hotel for westerners in Mekelle, making it the best. It is considerably better than Atse Yohannis Hotel and even better than Milano Hotel. It has an international feeling and a place where businessmen, NGO-workers and other foreigners meet to enjoy western standards. However, don't expect it to be Hilton, there are still many considerably shabby rooms. Make sure you ask for one of the newly built rooms.  edit Get out Wukro and Negash: As a day tour it is perfect to either rent a 4WD with driver or take a minibus (2011: 30 birr) from the Bus Station to the small city of Wukro. It is a considerably older outpost than Mekelle with some of the oldest Christian churches in the country. Ask local drivers when getting there to bring you to the Abuna Yemata Guh, about 5 kilometeres outside of Wukro (in 2011 around 50-100 birr for a daytrip). In this church you can find some original wood carvings and well preserved paintings speaking to the religious influences and clashes during early Christian times. For someone who is interested it is well worth a visit and probably more fascinating than most of the religious places in Ethiopia. There is an unoffical entrance fee of 50 birr, but they might ask for 100. Negash is a small Muslim village about 8 kilometres north of Wukro where you will see what is stated to be the oldest spot for a mosque in the country. However, the mosque is today fairly new and nothing very exciting but the view from the spot is nice and worth a visit, located on the top of a high cliff. They will ask for a donation of about 50-100 birr depending on the number of people visiting. The minibus to Negash departs all the time from Wukro and should be 10 birr, they might ask for 20 from a foreigner. As you can see all the prices are very flexible and depend on who you are asking. This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!