Ethiopia : Land of Tribes, Religions and Myths

Highlights

Journey deep within Ethiopia on a photographic exploration and adventure to the 4 million year old cradle of humanity! From the Rift Valley where fossils of the oldest known upright hominid were discovered and an endless span of multicolored landscapes exist; to the vibrant energy of the annual Timket religious street festival, Ethiopia thrives with vivid images for your photographic eye. A trip designed for the truly adventurous photographer, PQA will take you beyond the tourists for the rare experience to photograph the remote local tribes along the Omo Rift Valley. Travel with PQA to east Africa and absorb Ethiopia’s dynamic scenery while our pro photographers lead you in capturing the heart of this stunning country with breathtaking photos!

• Photograph remote local tribes and villages along the Omo Rift Valley including the Mursi, Karo, Turmi, Hamer, Dasenech, and the Nyangatom, Bume Peoples
• Shoot the infamous and unique Rock Hewn Churches of King Lalibela a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Catch the action of the Annual Timket Festival’s colorful religious street celebration of the Ethiopian Epiphany in Gondar

Itinerary

Jan 15 – ARRIVE IN ADDIS
Arrive in Addis Ababa and transfer from airport to hotel. O/N – Ghion Hotel (4*)

Jan 16 – FLY FROM ADDIS TO LALIBELA
A Morning flight form Addis to Lalibela. In the afternoon visit the first group of the rock-hewn churches of King Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These unique churches sit below the ground level and were sculpted and carved, both inside and out, directly from the living bedrock. O/N – Roha Hotel

Jan 17 – LALIBELA
Morning mule back ride to the hill top semi monolithic church of Asheten Mariam (13th Century AD). The peak of the hill offers a wonderful viewpoint of the surrounding area including the town of Lalibela. Afternoon visits to the second and the third group of churches of Lalibela. O/N – Roha Hotel

Jan 18 – LALIBELA
In the morning, we will visit Neakuto Leab church. In the afternoon, we will visit local villages in Lalibela. O/N – Roha

Jan 19 – FLY TO GONDAR
After breakfast, we will fly to Gondar – the 17th century capital of Ethiopia. Gondar is also known as the Camelot of Africa. In teh afternoon, you will attend the eve ceremony of Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany) festival. A colorful religious street festival of priests and the deacons singing religious songs and dancing as the replicas of the Ark of the Covenant from each church are transported to the nearby common water place. O/N – Goha Hotel

Jan 20 – GONDAR
Attend the continuation of the ‘Timket’ ceremony in the morning and then in the afternoon visit the ‘Royal Compound’ with it’s many majestic castles constructed in the European middle age architectural style. Visit the ‘Bath of Emperor Fasiladas’ and finally Debre Birhan Sillassie church (‘Trinity at the mount of light’), which is the finest of the Gonderine churches. O/N – Goha Hotel

Jan 21 – GONDAR – ADDIS
Fly back to Addis with a half-day city tour of Addis including stops at the National Archeological Museum of Addis location of the fossil remains of the oldest hominid – Lucy (3.25 mil years old.) Drive to Mt. Entoto for panoramic view of Addis and Merkato – the largest open-air market in Africa. O/N – Ghion Hotel (4*) or Global(4*)

Jan 22 – ADDIS- JINKA, MURSI VILLAGES- MAGO NATIONAL PARK
Fly from Addis to Jinka and drive to Mago National Park (3-4 hours) where you can visit the most famous people of the Omo Valley – the Mursi people. The women of the tribe are known for their practice of inserting clay lip plates in their lower lips. O/N- Camping at Mago Park

Lodging

4* hotels where available otherwise the best available.

Priced for double occupancy

Single supplement is not available

Outdoor tents with mats at campsite

• Addis Ababa: Ghion Hotel (2 nights)
• Lalibela: Roha /Similar Hotel. (3 nights)
• Gondar: Goha /Similar Hotel. (2 nights)
• Campsites in Omo Valley: Mago Park, Turmi and Murrulle Lodge (5 nights)
• Jinka: Jinka Resort Hotel or Goh Hotel (1 night)

Cost per person

$ 8999 Per person (based on double occupancy) from Addis Ababa

Limited to 12 Participants

Terms and Conditions

Included:

• Quest workshop Fee, leader, customized portfolio reviews, classes & materials.
• Accommodations based on double occupancy
• All meals out of Addis, and only breakfast in Addis
• All entrance fees
• Comfortable coaster bus for the north and air-conditioned FWD * Toyota Land Cruisers with fuel, and insurance
• Professional English speaking guide
• First class camping sites; cooking utensils. Cook for the c amping days
• Portage fees
• All local guides

Rosanne Pennella

Travel Photographer Rosanne Pennella has been honored by Nikon as a “Legend Behind the Lens”. Clients include Nikon, Lowepro, The Travel Channel and many international tourism offices, travel companies and book publishers including Fodor’s, Random House, The New Yorker, the New York Times, Digital Camera, Travel Holiday, Popular Photography, Asian Photography, Shutterbug, Discover and PDN. Rosanne teaches travel photography at the International Center of Photography and NYC’s The New School.

Quest Leader’s website: Rosanne’s website

About Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the land of a thousand miles, the country where the two oldest religions co-existed in harmony for centuries, home of the arc of covenant and seed-bed of Christianity & origin of civilization. The land of friendly people with acclaimed hospitality. The only land in Africa that is infamous for its unique calendar and alphabets. Above all things, it is a country of great antiquity with a culture and traditions dating back more than 3,000 years.

HISTORY
At Lalibela there are 11 remarkable rock-hewn monolithic churches. Decleared a UNESCO Horld Hertigae Site. The 17th century the city of Gondar is a focus as a historical attraction. In addition there are many age-old churches, monasteries and mosques with rich collection of relic in different parts of Ethiopia. Many colorful festivals like the Annual Timket Festival’s colorful religious street celebration of the Ethiopian Epiphany in Gondar.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE
With a history stretching to three millennia back and with different people speaking over 83 languages and 200 dialects, it is no wonder that the mosaic of cultural diversity of Ethiopia is a major attraction and enchantment. Ethiopia is rich medley of people of different religions and customs with distinctive life styles, including the nomadic culture of the people of the Omo Valley. The life style of the people has hardly changed for centuries. People still dress from animal skins, drink from calabashes and decorate with clay. It is unique, undisturbed, wild and considered to be among the most fascinating in the African continent.

NATURE
Ethiopia is a country with contrasting nature, from the snow caped peaks of the Semien Mountains to the arid lands of low land desert, the Denakil Depression. Its unique landscape makes Ethiopia to have more endemic flora and fauna than any other regions in Africa. There are more than 800 species of birds discovered in the region of which more than 16 species are endemic.

Climate and Clothing

Because of elevation, temperature rarely exceeds 25c (77 degrees Fahrenheit). In the Omo Valley it can get considerably hotter.

Pack light clothes for the daytime and light jacket or sweater for the evenings. A good pair of walking/hiking shoes, hat or head cover and sunglasses.

Visit the weather center for up to date information: www.weather.com

A cultural note: Shoes must always be removed before entering churches and mosques-for getting around sites like Lalibela with its many churches airline socks are very useful.

Health and Medical

All visitors should be in possession of valid yellow fever vaccination certificate. Immunization for Hepatitis A and B, Typhoid and Polio is recommended.

Malaria: in many sites malaria is not a problem because of the elevation.

Visit US Center for Disease control for more information: www.cdc.gov

Gear to Bring

We recommend you bring the following gear with you on our Quests.

Camera Gear

• Digital SLR with back up camera that will fit your lenses
• Battery charger
• A few extra batteries
• Memory cards (bring plenty!!!)
• Sensor cleaning supplies
• Flash with plenty of batteries

Lenses

• 12-24mm (for the 1.5x sensor size cameras) or 17-35mm (for full frame shooters) lens for landscapes and cityscapes; also for environmental portraits
• 28-105mm lens or similar for street shooting and portraits; a nice lens to have shooting busy markets.
• 70-200mm lens for portraits and nearby wildlife; VR or IS lenses are very helpful.
• 70-300mm or 100-400mm lens for more distant wildlife
• 1.4X tele-converter for telephoto lenses
• Polarizing filter(s)v
• Lens hoods for all lenses
• Lint-free cloth to clean lenses and blower ball for dust
• Fish-eye lens (if you have one, very creative lens!)
• Lensbaby if you have one or else you can try ours!

Computer / Digital Acessories

• Laptop with charger and Photoshop CS3 and Lightroom (not mandatory)
• Storage device, such as an EPSON P5000, or portable hard drives like Lacie hard drives
• Card Reader
• All cables for drives, computer, card readers, storage devices, etc.
• Power converters/adapters for all International Quests