Bahir Dar

City in EthiopiaWikipedia

17

MENTIONS

7

EPISODES

2

PODCASTS

Sep 3, 2026

Unknown podcast

Gonder's Green Walls and the Meskel Fire

Sep 3 · 1 Mention

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3:03

But you must check current travel advisories before planning your visit.

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3:07

The security situation in the Amhara region remains fragile, with reports of intermittent blockages on the roads leading into Gondar from Debark and Bahir Dar.

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3:16

It is a reality we cannot ignore no matter how beautiful the stones are.

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3:22

Leaving the enclosure, I headed west toward the Qusquam complex about four kilometers out of town.

Unknown podcast

The Last Birr in Gorgora, Lake at Full

Aug 27 · 5 Mentions

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0:21

Today is my last full day in Gorgora.

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0:24

Tomorrow I head back through Bahir Dar and then east towards Lalibela, and I wanted this day to be slow.

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0:30

Simple.

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0:31

Coda, not a finale.

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4:54

I tried to pay more, and she refused, waving her hand at me as if I were a child being silly.

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5:01

That’s the thing about Gorgora.

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5:03

It doesn’t have the polish of Bahir Dar or the grand history of Gondar.

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5:07

It’s a working town.

Unknown podcast

Gorgora's Last Day and the Lake at Full

Aug 26 · 2 Mentions

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0:27

This leg was never meant to be a long one.

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0:29

I came up from Bahir Dar by road, looping around the northern shore of Lake Tana through the Denbia District just as the rains were peaking.

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0:38

Gorgara was a counterpoint, a slow-living pause before the push east to Lalibela.

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0:44

But the green season has a way of holding you.

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4:20

The Gorgora Eco Resort, the flagship project that opened last year, has changed the town's profile in a way that is both exciting and a little uneasy.

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4:29

It sits on the shore, a modern structure that seems to have grown out of the landscape rather than been imposed on it.

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4:37

I walked past its gates and I could see the boats ferrying guests across the lake from Bahir Dar.

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4:43

The new Tananesh Ferry has made the trip far easier, I'm told.

Unknown podcast

Gorgora's Last Rain and the New Year's Promise

Aug 25 · 2 Mentions

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5:48

I'd seen that a night here runs somewhere around nineteen thousand to twenty-two thousand birr, which is the sort of money that would cover a week of my guest house.

speaker_0UNKNOWN

5:56

But I wanted to see it with my own eyes, to watch how this place was changing the local economy I'm told the Tananesh ferry now runs directly between Bahir Dar and the Gorgora Eco Lodge, carrying over 180 passengers, and that's shattered the old isolation of this town.

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6:13

I stood at the resort's edge and watched a small motorboat pull in, dropping off a couple of European tourists with day packs.

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6:21

They looked around with that overwhelmed expression people get when they first see the lake's expanse.

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9:48

If you’re staying longer, you’ll need to register with the Immigration Service within 30 days, get a TIN from the tax office, and open a bank account in person at a branch.

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9:57

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has a branch here, and they’re patient with newcomers.

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10:02

I’ll link all of this in the episode notes, including how to book a guest house, arrange a transfer from Bahir Dar, and sort your e-SIM before you land.

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10:12

Tomorrow is the sixth of my seventh days here, and I think I’ll spend it on the water.

Unknown podcast

The Lake at Full, Ospreys and Ruins

Aug 24 · 2 Mentions

Dawit BekeleHOST

7:14

It is a big place, all wood and glass looking out over the water, and it has changed the character of the harbor a little.

Dawit BekeleHOST

7:21

The ferry from Bahir Dar now docks nearby, and the guest house where I am staying has been busier than it was in the dry season.

Dawit BekeleHOST

7:28

The staff at the resort were polite, and I had a soda at their bar while I watched the sunset come in over the lake.

Dawit BekeleHOST

7:35

The rooms there are not cheap, around 19 to 20,000 bear a night, which is several hundred dollars, but the view is unbeatable, and it is the only proper resort on the shore.

Dawit BekeleHOST

8:42

a note on the practical stuff if you are thinking of coming here.

Dawit BekeleHOST

8:46

The road from Gondar is passable this month, but check the security advisories with your embassy before you drive, because the situation in Amherra can change.

Dawit BekeleHOST

8:56

You can also take the ferry from Bahir Dar, which now runs a direct service to the Gordera Eco Resort Pier, and that is the smoother way if the roads are bad.

Dawit BekeleHOST

9:05

For a SIM card, go to the Ethio Telecom office in town with your passport, and they will set you up with a local number.

Powering Africa's Next Century: Energy, Enterprise & the New — GLOBAL I AM ARCHIVES

Aug 23 · 2 Mentions

Patrick A. HowellHOST

2:51

A tenured executive with Global Fortune 500 firms in Southern California, he is an accomplished technologist and financier who brings a razor sharp business acumen to global ambitions.

Patrick A. HowellHOST

3:02

Solomon leads an energy products manufacturer, Alhambra Technologies, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, manifesting clean energy solutions in the largest untapped market globally.

Solomon TedlaGUEST

3:15

Our guest

Patrick A. HowellHOST

3:15

today, Solomon Tedla, is a strategic, tenured and accomplished business leader and technology and energy around the world.

Patrick A. HowellHOST

3:40

The growth in sub-Saharan Africa can be gauged by the fact that the International Monetary Fund upgraded many countries in the region, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia to the rank of emerging markets.

Patrick A. HowellHOST

3:56

Solomon Tedla is the founder and president of Abramba Technologies in Newport Beach, California.

Patrick A. HowellHOST

4:03

The manufacturing energy product startup has manufacturing headquarters in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, manufacturing solar and efficient lighting products primarily for the off-grid markets.

Patrick A. HowellHOST

4:14

Solomon is a visionary and business leader who clearly sees and is creating the future global potential in Africa.

Unknown podcast

Ashenda Drums and the New Gorgora

Aug 23 · 3 Mentions

Dawit BekeleHOST

2:35

The ferry was the big news when I got here.

Dawit BekeleHOST

2:38

The Tananesh, they call it, and it's been running regular passenger service between Bahir Dar and the Gorgora Eco Lodge since last November.

Dawit BekeleHOST

2:47

It's a proper boat, not a tankwa, and it cuts the trip to a few hours across the lake instead of the rough road around the North Shore.

Dawit BekeleHOST

2:54

I took the road in, but I'm thinking of taking the ferry back to Bahir Dar when I head east to Lalabela.

Dawit BekeleHOST

3:01

I've heard the road is still checkpoints and delays, and a couple of hours on the water sounds better than four on a bus.

Dawit BekeleHOST

3:07

I'll need to check the schedule at the Lake Tana Transport Authority compound, which apparently doubles as a birdwatching platform, but I'll sort that out later.

Dawit BekeleHOST

3:22

It's about five kilometers from the new town, and the path follows the lake, past clusters of round houses with corrugated iron roofs, and fields of yellow adiabiba flowers that are just starting to bloom for the new year.

Dawit BekeleHOST

3:36

The air smells of wet earth and eucalyptus, and the only sounds are the birds and the occasional splash of a fish jumping.