 Young girl herding sheep outside Debark |
 Hillside farm with thatched huts |
 Descending along the Simien escarpment on the road to Axum |
 The road from Debark to Axum crosses part of the Simien Mountains National Park |
 The Italian-built road from Debark to Axum |
 Along the road north from Debark |
 One of the world's great drives, the road north from Debark |
 The rugged landscape we had seen from atop the Simien Escarpment |
 Looks like a patch of hillside land was burned |
 Rugged landscape north of the Simien Mountains makes for slow travel |
 At least the dirt road is in reasonable condition |
 Crossing a bridge |
 Rugged landscape north of the Simien Escarpment |
 Rugged landscape north of the Simien Escarpment |
 Distinctive peak |
 Shark's tooth peak with a small village |
 Shark's tooth peak with a small village |
 It's a very scenic drive... |
 The Italian road snaking its way through the rugged landscape |
 Getting closer to the mesas and pillars we had seen from the escarpment |
 Adarkai, Ethiopia (903 km from Addis) |
 "Monument Valley" |
 "Monument Valley" |
 "Monument Valley" |
 No matter how remote an area we thought we were in... |
 ...when we would stop, kids would magically appear |
 Partially terraced hillside |
 The first bit of flat land north of the Simien Mountains |
 Another village, north of Adi Ar Kay |
 What's with the red "X"? |
 Roadside village, Buya or Haida? |
 Maytsebry, Ethiopia - a wide dusty avenue like the Old West |
 A straight stretch of road |
 The road from Debark to Axum around Haida |
 The road from Debark to Axum around Haida |
 Village of grass huts |
 Interestingly, the dirt surface of the road changes color |
 Last village before the descent to the Tekeze River |
 Looking across the river valley of the Tekeze River to the Italian road climbing into Tigray Province |
 This section of road was also carved out of the mountain by the Italians |
 His passengers were French and had been stuck with improper tools for about an hour |
 The other drive wasn't able to get his spare off the mount |
 Our driver stopped to help out another Land Cruiser driver in distress |
 We were lucky and didn't have any mechanical trouble with our ancient Land Cruiser |
 Our driver helping another driver with a tire change |
 Tekeze River, a major tributary of the Atbara River, which joins the Nile north of Khartoum |
 Stragetic bridge across the Tekeze River |
 The Tekeze River has carved a canyon 2000m deep in places |
 Ruins of a hilltop fort along the Tekeze River |
 Driving along the Tekeze River |
 The Tekeze River separates the Ethiopian states of Amhara and Tigray |
 Cattle crossing the Tekeze River |
 Upstream several hundred km, the Chinese have built a giant hydroelectric power station on the Tekeze |
 The bridge across the Tekeze River, a major link between northern and southern Ethiopia |
 Remains of an older bombed out bridge from one of Ethiopia's earlier conflicts |
 Bullet scarred fortifications on the north bank of the Tekeze River progecting the bridge |
 Skeletal remains of another destroyed bridge across the Tekeze River |
 Crossing the bridge over the Tekeze River |
 Bullet ridden fortifications, Tekeze River |
 The tiny village on the north shore of the Tekeze River in Tigray Province |
 Looking back to the Tekeze River Bridge |
 Baobab along the dusty red road |
 Tracks completely covering the hill after centuries of grazing |
 Hills on the northern bank of the Tekeze River |
 Criss-crossed goat paths on a hillside |
 Togo Ber, the first village on the Tigray side of the river |
 Togo Ber, stone huts with rubble |
 Cones rising out of the flat plain |
 Interesting tree along the road |
 2257m |
 The first camels we've seen in Ethiopia |
 Endabaguna, Ethiopia |
 Endabaguna, Ethiopia |
 Endabaguna, Ethiopia |
 Endabaguna, Ethiopia |
 Pack camel, Endabaguna |
 War memorial, Endabaguna |
 The road north to Axum |
 War relic from 1991, a Soviet-built T-55 tank |
 T-55 tank stripped of its tread |
 T-55 Main Battle Tank |
 The tank must have been defending this crossing |
 T-55 tank |
 Keith the Conqueror |
 War relic along the road to Axum - T-55 tank |
 War relic along the road to Axum - T-55 tank |
 Don't think I'll make any calendars... |
 Destroyed T-55 tank |
 Landscape looking west from the Axum road |
 Another disabled T-55 tank from 1991 |
 This does look like "good" tank terrain |
 Disabled T-55 facing north along the Axum road |
 T-55 relic from the 1991 civil war |
 Soviet-built BTR-60 armored personel carrier with a turret-less T-55 |
 T-55 tank, abandoned where it's stood since 1991 |
 Shady tree and rocky bluff |
 The Chinese are improving the road to Axum |
 Chinese road building equipment outside Shire |
 Construction shell with not much activity, Shire |
 Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Shire (Endaselassie) |
 New building nearing completion, Shire (Endaselassie) |
 Mian roundabout, Shire (Endaselassie) |
 Camel in the roundabout |
 General Hayelom Araya monument, Shire |
 Mosque of Shire |
 Shire (Endaselassie) |
 Gebar Shire Hotel, Endaselassie |
 Beer depot, Shire (Endaselassie) |
 Lunch break at the Africa Hotel, Shire (Endaselassie) |
 Menu of Ethiopian dishes, Shire |
 Parked camel, Shire |
 Billboard for Dashen Beer, Shire-Axum road |
 Chinese-led road construction crew improving the road from Shire to Axum |
 When complete, that will make the journey much easier, but probably just as dangerous as people will drive too fast |
 I'm no expert but looks like the Chinese are using child labor in Ethiopia road construction... |
 Chinese road equipment, Shire-Axum road |
 Chinese road equipment, Shire-Axum road |
 Pack camel with large pottery jugs being led along the Shire-Axum Road |
 Village between Shire and Axum |
 Landscape between Shire and Axum |
 Some kids of cactus looking plant |
 View south from the Shire-Axum Road |
 View south from the Shire-Axum Road |
 Another destroyed T-55 tank from the 1991 Civil War |
 I'm a bit surprised they've just left these here for 18 years... |
 T-55 war relic between Shire and Axum |
 Soviet-built T-55 tank between Shire and Axum |
 Me on top of a T-55 |
 Me walking the barrel of the gun |
 Roadside village between Shire and Axum |
 Minaret of a small mosque near Axum |
 Some kind of mining operation outside Axum |
 Detour ahead |
 More much needed road construction |
 License plate - Ethiopian military DF |
 When they're done, this should be a nice paved road |
 Village outside Axum |
 Yellow and aqua-green seem to the the Ethiopian mosque coloros |
 Village a short distance west of Axum |
 Depot of China Gezhouba Corporation Ethiopia AAS Road Department, near Axum |
 Succulent vegetation outside Axum |