Tankwas on Lake Tana, Ethiopia

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Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and is the largest lake in Ethiopia.  It is located in Amhara Region in the north-western Ethiopian highlands. The lake has a number of islands, seven to eight of which have monasteries or churches on them.

I visited a couple of these islands, and the most impressive one for me was without doubt the one with the Ura Kidane Mehret church with its beautiful wall paintings.

To move around the lake and to fish, the locals are still using tankwas, a papyrus boat similar to the ones used in egypt a few thousand  ago.

Bahar Dar is the city where one stays to visit these islands. There is also an important and  beautiful market where the people living in nearby villages gather once a week.