Debre Damo Monastery, Ethiopia

I did visit the Debre Damo Monastery in Tigray, Ethiopia, not far from Eritreia. It is necessary to climp up a cliff with a rope to visit this Monastery, which is not at all easy -- in fact probably impossible if you have not done any rope climbing since junior school very many years ago. Coming down is also rather scary as you cannot see where to put your feet. Without the assistance of my guide, who managed to crack his head several times against the cliff trying basically to raise and lower me on his shoulders, I would not have managed this! The monks at the top were kind enough to charge me an extra 50bir (£1.50) in addition to the standard 50bir for a pull on the leather-assisting rope, on the grounds that I was "heavy". Somewhat exhausted, they took pity and gave me a little water from an old can, which my guide assured me was safe to drink. In fact I spent the next half hour coughing up some dustlike substance I had ingested. I asked him again if he was sure the water was alright, and he said "of course, it is holy water, kept in the holes in the rocks. They scrape off the algae before drinking it". There is not much to see at the top, except some illuminated books, indeed I was in no state to look around much. The monks were not, however, beneath hitching a lift with us on to Adigrat.