TULLU GUDDU MONASTERY

The island of Tullu Guddu is home to the ruins of the original monastery which, according to local legend, welcomed the Ark of the Covenant as it fled from Aksum in the ^9th century. It is now inhabited only by a few raccoons. You'll pass through picturesque villages on the island and come across fishermen on their papyrus boats, the tankwa. The priest who shows you around the new church (of little interest) is loquacious about Ethiopia's Christian history. A museum houses some famous holy books, beautifully illuminated and over seven hundred years old.