The continent, famous for its deserts and ancient history, also boasts quite large reservoirs. Standing on their shore, it is often difficult to imagine that around a thousand square kilometers of waterless land. And the Lake Tana is most striking - the water surface, which seems boundless and teeming with the most diverse life.
Geographical position of the lake
It is the largest water reservoir in Ethiopia. In addition, in addition to the established name, Lake Tana on the map of Africa can sometimes be found as Tsana (a variant of writing and reading the Latin alphabet) or Dembea, similar to the name of a country that adjoins the northern shore. More or less accurate coordinates are considered to be 11 ° 35'-12 ° 16 's. w. and 34 ° 39'-35 ° 20 'in. e. Why not completely accurate? Because in the rainy season, Lake Tana occupies a larger area than in the dry. It incorporates the waters of many diverse arteries - from fairly large rivers, the largest of which is Abbay, to almost imperceptible streams. But only one river flows from it - Bar-El-Azreq, also called the Blue Nile. Lake Tana abounds in islets of various sizes, but always small; the total area of isolated land is about 50 square kilometers, which against the background of at least 3, 000 (in dry time) square kilometers of water seems to be a real mess.
Potential Lake Tana
It must be said that it was not in vain that several countries once claimed sole possession of this huge body of water. According to rough estimates, the construction of power plants on it could provide electricity to all of Africa - about 60 billion kWh would be enough for the whole continent. But at the moment there is only one such station, and there are certain complaints about it: the construction has significantly reduced the flow in the waterfall with the romantic name Tis-Isat - “Smoke of Fire”.
Lake Tana in Africa is teeming with fish, shellfish and crabs. Their extraction is one of the main sources of food for local residents. There are also many birds that settle along the shores and on the islets. An additional bonus is the lack of crocodiles in the waters of the lake, which simply teem with all the rivers flowing into the Tanu. Although there are enough hippos here, but if you do not touch them, they peacefully coexist with people.
In recent years, Lake Tana is increasingly gaining popularity among tourists. They are attracted by local beauties, historical monuments, and religious shrines.
Religious values
As already mentioned, Lake Tana is strewn with small islands. There are 37 in total. Temples, churches and monasteries are built on more than half of them. In their vaults, priceless ancient manuscripts and manuscript Bibles are preserved, many walls are painted with unique frescoes, ancient Coptic crosses are preserved, and in the monastery they are allowed to look at the mummies of kings. The most mysterious monastery is located on the island of Tana Kirkos. To get there is almost impossible, although many believers would willingly kneel in the monastery. According to legend, it was here that eight centuries the priests hid from the desecration of the Ark of the Covenant. However, those who wish can visit the monasteries of Ura Kidane Mehret (Zege Peninsula), Narga Selassie (Dec), the monastery of Jesus.
Natural and historical monuments
In addition to the already mentioned waterfall, Lake Tana in Africa also boasts the fact that not far from it is the highest Ethiopian peak Ras Dashen. Temples were also located on it since ancient times, but it is more famous for its picturesqueness. Nevertheless, it’s worth looking at the waterfalls, although they are already not as impressive as before the construction of the station. But there, from the 17th century, a stone bridge built by the Portuguese was preserved. From the point of view of architecture, the city of Gonder, located near the lake, is very curious: you won’t see so many castles anywhere else. And the Fasil-Goebby fortress amazes even the many travelers who have seen it. And it’s worth, of course, to swim with the local fishermen in the morning: the combination of wonderful views and the exotic appearance of the “gondolier” (they still use national clothes, and by no means to attract tourists) will probably be remembered for a lifetime.
