Ethiopia: The land of prester John.

THE legendary wealthy kingdom of Prester John exerted such a prodigious influence on European thought in the Middle Ages that Pope Alexander III despatched a messenger to him in 1177. Prester John was reputed to have withstood the onslaught of Islam and was therefore perceived as a potentially powerful ally in the Crusades. The messenger never returned.

So did Prester John exist and, if so, who was he and where was his kingdom? Legend says he was descended from one of the Magi who visited the baby Jesus and was both priest and king. Marco Polo, writing in the late thirteenth century, places him in the Far East, probably what is now Mongolia. However in those days people had only a vague concept of place outside their known world.

It seems more likely that the foundation for the legend lies in the prosperous Axumite empire in the north of present-day Ethiopia. Christianity had become the official religion there in the fourth century and Axum had also given refuge to some of the Prophet Muhammad's earliest and most respected followers. In gratitude he commanded the inhabitants 'be left in peace', so there was peaceful co-existence.

This perception of wealth and power forms a stark contrast to media reports emanating from Ethiopia in the closing decades of the twentieth century. People now associate the country with famine and internal conflict. I went to see for myself.

The famines of 1979 and 1986 were natural disasters caused by successive years of rainfall failure, but they were exacerbated by other factors. Because of political unrest and a harsh repressive military regime, Western aid was refused -- until a BBC programme fronted by Michael Buerk and the subsequent Bob Geldof-led Band Aid woke the world's conscience. But even when aid arrived there were distribution problems: the government was reluctant to supply Tigre province, a hot-bed of dissent, and the poor transport system slowed supplies. Most of the 10,000 deaths in 1979 and another million in 1985 should have been preventable.

Despite a change of government, greater democracy and the granting of full independence to Eritrea in 1993, the situation remains volatile. There is the ever present danger of inadequate rainfall, though we were assured that the 2000 harvest was good. Farms are small, though, little more than subsistence level, and methods and equipment antiquated. Border warfare was still taking place, causing certain parts of northern Ethiopia to be declared out-of-bounds to visitors. At Bahir Dar, on Lake Tana, the plane's blinds were lowered on descent and remained down until cruising height had been reached after take-off as this is a military airfield. Even further south, burnt out tanks remained by roadsides.

Only on one occasion, though, were we obliged to be accompanied by an armed guard. This, we were told, was for our protection as the local people were 'bad'. The ones we encountered greeted us with the same friendly smiles as other Ethiopians -- one woman was enthralled when offered a loan of binoculars. Doubtless the sight of our young guard's Kalashnikov deterred the more hostile. It was on this occasion that the minibus broke down. We had travelled the rough un-surfaced, ungraded roads for nearly a fortnight without mishap, but now sand had clogged the filter and the vehicle coughed to a halt. Driver, guide and guard jumped out. The former removed the filter and blew it clear while the latter stood guard. None of the 30 bullets he assured us he carried were required.

Road journeys are bumpy and slow. The 13-mile drive from Gonder airport to the town took nearly an hour. Had we travelled there by road instead of flying from Addis Ababa it would have taken two days to cover the 400 miles instead of a few hours. It is not surprising that aid took so long to reach the famine-struck north.

Flying over the high mountain ranges emphasises why road travel is so tortuous, but the sight of these peaks and ravines is awe-inspiring. The Ethiopian Highlands are the largest area of comparably high mountain terrain (over 6,000 ft. and with 20 peaks above 13,500 ft.) in Africa. Their eastern edge falls, equally dramatically, to the Great Rift Valley.

Here, in the Danakil Depression in 1972, an archaeological excavation uncovered the missing link: proof that upright-walking creatures inhabited this area at least two-and-a-half million years earlier than previously supposed. The find was an almost complete female hominid skeleton about 3ft. 6ins. tall, a three-and-a-half million year old example of an entirely new species of the australopithecine genus, later officially named A. afarensis. However Donald Johansen, who found her, called her Lucy as the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was playing on the camp radio at the time of her discovery. To the Ethiopians she is Dinqinesh (You are Wonderful). Gazing at a replica in the National Museum in Addis Ababa proved an emotional experience. Twenty years later the first complete male A. afarensis skull was discovered less than six miles from where Lucy was found. Ethiopia seems to have been the cradle of mankind.

Although the country inhabited by Lucy and her tribe was much wetter than today, it is nevertheless ironic that a country where people die of famine caused by water shortage should be the source of four major river systems. The most important of these is the Nile. Both White and Blue Nile tributaries rise in the Ethiopian Highlands, supplying about 90 per cent of the water of the river which sustains Egypt's agriculture.

The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana which, despite its proximity to the Eritrean border, seems a world away from a battle zone. It is an oasis of tranquillity, a feature recognised by the 20 monasteries on its islands. Villagers paddle to and fro in fragile-looking papyrus boats, or tankwa, reminiscent of those of ancient Egypt and Peru's Lake Titicaca. Tankwa are cheap and simple to construct and last for about two months before becoming water-logged.

Less than 20 miles after leaving Lake Tana the Blue Nile tumbles over a 150ft.-high rock face in a spectacular waterfall known as Tis Abay (Smoke of the Nile). Above the fall the river is about 450 yds wides-below it the flow plunges into a ravine less than half that width but estimated to be over 100 ft. deep. The noise of the foaming water defeats conversation. The spray -- which can be felt half a mile away -- creates a rainbow, arching over the whole width and shimmering in the sunlight.

There is ample potential for irrigation projects and, hidden away in the mountains and Rift Valley are reserves of potash, salt, coal, oil, iron, gold and platinum. Although mining has been carried out since ancient times, commercial exploitation is handicapped by inaccessibility. Not only is Ethiopia a mountainous country, it is also landlocked since the secession of Eritrea. Manufacturing is limited to agricultural processing, mainly coffee. Thus Ethiopia is one of the world's poorest countries with a high infant mortality rate and low life expectancy. Outside Addis Ababa (the capital since 1887) health care is rudimentary and mainly provided by charities.

Education suffers from a lack of equipment and books. Class sizes in the two rural schools I visited numbered 50 or more, as teachers prefer to work in the capital where conditions are better. Although education is compulsory from five to fourteen years there is a high drop-out rate particularly among girls in rural areas -- despite 18 now being the legal age for marriage many girls are married off at twelve and taken out of school. Since pupils must pass an examination to proceed to the next standard there is a wide age range in some of the higher grades. Nevertheless most children could speak some English -- which is taught from the age of nine -- and were delighted to practise this on visitors.

But the legend of Prester John tells of a wealthy kingdom and there is abundant evidence of past wealth. Frescoes, many dating from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, cover the walls of churches; there are massive and delicately wrought silver and gold crosses; silver and gold-plated drums; priests' vestments encrusted with silver, gold and jewels and intricate embroidery; church treasuries contain priceless illuminated manuscripts. In Britain these would be in locked glass cabinets under dim lighting but in Ethiopia priests display them to visitors, often in bright sunlight and handling them with none-too-clean fingers. Occasionally this has disastrous consequences: in 1997 the Ethiopian Church's most valued and holy artefact -- a twelfth century gold cross weighing about 17 lbs. and said to have belonged to King Lalibela -- disappeared, allegedly stolen by a Belgian tourist. It has never been recovered.

The fabled wealth of Ethiopia pre-dates the medieval Prester John legend by many centuries. The Pharoahs of Egypt obtained myrhh from this area as long ago as 3000BC and it was known to the ancient Greeks: Homer, in the Iliad, tells of Zeus departing for the country of 'the blameless Ethiopians'. Some sources credit the Greeks with giving Ethiopia its name: 'the land of people with burnt faces' -- though Ethiopians themselves believe the name is derived from Ethiopic, Noah's great grandson. The Axumite kingdom was described by a third century Persian writer as one of the four great kingdoms of the world, the others being Persia, China and Rome. It traded with Egypt, Arabia, Persia, India and Ceylon. It issued its own currency and was a literate society with a unique language and script based on the Sabaean alphabet, related to that used in South Arabia and hence to Hebrew. A sixth century saint is said to have devised the first system of musical notation in Africa and to have composed the formalised sacred mu sic and dance still in use today.

Ethiopians believe this was also the land of Sheba whose queen visited Solomon. Queen Makeda, who ruled for 31 years in the eleventh and tenth centuries BC, is said to have been a direct descendant of Ethiopic. She was a wealthy woman whose empire included Yemen and who owned a fleet of 73 ships and a caravan of 520 camels, trading with Palestine and as far afield as India. When the queen visited Solomon she bore gifts of gold, ivory and spices 'in such a quantity as never again came' to him. During her stay the two royals, so the story goes, became more than friendly: 'King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked'. In view of such adoration and his well-known prowess as a lover, it is scarcely surprising that the queen returned home pregnant. The dynasty thus founded ruled until 1974, when the 237th emperor, Haile Selassie, was overthrown in a coup.

When he was in his early 20s Sheba's son, Menelik, travelled to Jerusalem to introduce himself to his father. Menelik too was warmly welcomed and when he returned home he was accompanied by a horde of Israelites: on Solomon's orders each commissioner sent his eldest son and each of the twelve tribes 1,000 of their people.

Among this entourage was the eldest son of the high priest who dreamed he should pack the holiest of Jewish relics in his baggage: the Ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of the law -- the Ten Commandments -- given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. When Solomon discovered the loss he set off in hot pursuit -- until he too had a dream: that it was right for Menelik to have the Ark of the Covenant, but that its disappearance must remain a secret. Several theories have been propounded as to the whereabouts of the Ark today, but Ethiopians firmly believe it has remained in their country, securely locked away in the church of St. Mary Zion in Axum, the original of which was the oldest Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa. However, as only the sole guardian is allowed to enter the room where it is kept, there is no way of verifying its existence.

Nevertheless this story could account for the presence of a large number of Jews in northern Ethiopia and for the unique degree of Jewish influence on Orthodox church rituals. Saturday is kept as the Sabbath, circumcision is practised and food prescriptions are similar to Jewish ones. Some Ethiopian churches are built according to Solomon's plan for the Temple in Jerusalem and all are divided into three sections, the innermost of which is the holy of holies where only the priest may enter. The holy of holies contains a replica of the Ark of the Covenant.

Great emphasis is placed on the teaching of the book of Genesis and the early part of Exodus. For instance, as the Lord told Moses to take off his shoes when he stood on holy ground, everyone removes their shoes before entering an Ethiopian church. This custom has given rise to a money-earner in Lalibela, where churches are close together and connected by a labrynth of tunnels and passages. It would become tedious for visitors to remove and put on their shoes between each church so shoe carriers earn a tip by taking shoes from the entrance of one to the exit of another.

The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are extraordinary. There are eleven, grouped in two clusters of seven and three and one more isolated. The seven monolithic churches were excavated out of the ground and are surrounded by trenches and courtyards with graves and hermit cells cut into the inner cliff face. The others have been carved from a vertical rock face and are more cave-like. They are huge cathedral-sized structures: Bet Medhane Alem (the House of the Saviour of the World) is the world's largest monolithic church at ll2ft. long, 78ft. wide and 37ft high. The interiors are elaborately carved and contain paintings and wall hangings; the Jewish Star of David and the Hindu reversed swastika suggest external influences. All but one were built in the early twelfth century during the 26-year reign of King Lalibela, after whom the town is named.

According to legend, Lalibela was transported to heaven while he was asleep and shown a city of rock-hewn churches which he was commanded to copy. Another version is that while in exile in Jerusalem he was inspired by a vision to create a new Jerusalem of rock. It is estimated it would have taken around 40,000 people to complete the work but legend attributes the speed of construction to the help of angels, who did double the amount of work by night as the human day shift accomplished.

These churches are still in regular use and the visitor has a profound sense of being in a Christian country, albeit some 35 per cent of the population today are Muslim. Christianity is thought to have become the official religion when King Ezana was converted by two Syrian monks; the cross replaced the sun and moon symbols on coins after AD 341. However an even earlier convert was the man from Ethiopia who, on his journey home from Jerusalem shortly after the crucifixion, encountered the apostle Philip.

It was probably the Christian aspect of the Prester John legend that provided the impetus for Portuguese exploration. A Portuguese expedition arrived in Ethiopia in 1520, shortly before a series of skirmishes between the Christian and a growing Muslim population who, by this time were ignoring their prophet's injunction. This was the first direct contact between Ethiopia and Europe for many centuries and, far from the former acting as a useful ally against Islam, the situation was reversed. Assisted by the Portuguese, peace and Christian supremacy were restored. However, the Portuguese then set about converting the Ethiopians to Roman Catholicism and the Orthodox church was outlawed. Many people were persecuted and killed before Emperor Susneyes was forced to abdicate in 1632 in favour of his son, Fasiladas.

Fasiladas not only restored the Orthodox church but also banned all foreigners from the country. For the next 150 years Ethiopia was a closed kingdom. Fasiladas was also responsible for establishing Gonder as his capital and beginning the construction of a complex of castles there.

The Royal Enclosure consists of five castles and other associated structures. Stone-built, they have a curiously medieval European appearance with crenellated walls, arched doorways and domed turrets, all surrounded by a massive stone wall. The complex was damaged by earthquake in 1704 and British bombardment in World War II -- when the Italians established their headquarters there during the occupation. Some desultory restoration work, largely paid for by UNESCO, was in progress in 2000.

Fasiladas also built seven churches, seven bridges and, a mile or so outside the town, a sunken bathing pool overlooked by a small building said to have been his second home. The pool is supplied by a canal from the River Qaha and is still used annually for the Festival of Timkat.

Timkat, which takes place in early January, is a major celebration of the Ethiopian church. Although termed Epiphany, it is not associated with the coming of the Magi as in western Christianity. Instead it celebrates the baptism of Jesus. Every village and town has a procession of priests resplendent in their robes and carrying prayer sticks (to lean on during the inordinately lengthy services), crosses and ornate velvet tasselled umbrellas to shield them from the sun. The procession is accompanied by drums and a chanting, clapping congregation. Their destination is the pool where the water is blessed by the priests and splashed onto all the people. The evening before Timkat is the only occasion when the replica tables are removed from the replica Arks of the Covenant. They are carried to the pool and housed in a temporary structure where, all night long a continuous prayer chant is maintained.

The association of Epiphany with Christ's baptism is not the only peculiarity of the Ethiopian calendar to strike the visitor. Their year is divided into 13 months, 12 of which have 30 days each; the thirteenth month has five days, or six if it is leap year. New Year's Day is September 11th and Ethiopia is seven (or eight, depending on the month) years behind the western calendar. To complicate matters still further, time is measured in 12-hour cycles beginning at dawn and dusk (ie 6am and 6pm). So, when the clock stands at six o'clock, the overhead sun and the visitor's watch will indicate noon.

Such quirks are unlikely to trouble anyone cocooned in an international hotel such as the Hilton or Sheraton in Addis Ababa. But to stay in such havens would be to miss the real Ethiopia. Nevertheless the infrastructure outside the capital is scarcely geared to tourism. New hotels have been built in the historic towns but they are generally small and fairly basic by international standards. Electricity supplies can be erratic and hot water is not always available -- at Lalibela there is no water at all except between 6.30 and 8.00am and 6.30 and 7.30pm. At Ambo, however, where the supply comes from the nearby mineral springs, water from the cold tap is hot and that from the hot tap -- when the boiler is operating -- positively scalding. Although the road between Lalibela airstrip and the town had by far the best surface we encountered, there are no telephones so passengers must estimate the likely take-off time.

What is lacking in infrastructure, though, is more than compensated for by the warm welcome and excellent service. Food, too, is generally good though most of that served to tourists has to be imported. Few would want to exist on the Ethiopian staple diet. Injera is a large pancake made from fermented tak flour, a grain unique to Ethiopia. It has a grey foam-rubber appearance and texture; pieces are broken off and used to scoop up various kinds of meat, fish, chicken and vegetables -- the spicier the better, to counteract the blandness of the injera -- from a communal dish.

All this raises the question: to what extent should tourism be developed? Visitors bring in much-needed foreign currency and employment is created in construction and service industries. But conspicuous consumption and wealth in material goods can set up tensions -- people whose basic needs are satisfied do not realise they are poor until they become aware that others have more. Furthermore most of the profit from international hotel chains goes to developments elsewhere and to their shareholders, not to the host country. In Ethiopia however, tourist class hotels outside the capital are generally run by one of four government chains.

Though internationally probably only rating one or two stars, the Goha in Gonder stands fortress-like on its cliff-top site, from which there is a panoramic view. The Tana in Bahir Dar has an idyllic setting in peaceful gardens leading down to the lake shore. Reconciling an ancient civilization with the modern world is fraught with all manner of problems, but in Ethiopia there is a strong sense of continuity between past and present being maintained.

Whether Prester John as an individual ever existed, whether the legends are founded on fact or grew up to explain observable phenomena is less important than that they are part of a society's heritage. The legends and Ethiopia's inaccessibility gave -- and still give -- it an aura of mystery.

Irene Waters is a freelance researcher and writer who is addicted to visiting parts of the world regarded as off the beaten track. On this occasion she travelled with Noble Caledonia Ltd., 11 Charles Street, Mayfair London, W1X 8LE