Saturday, August 1, 2020

European exploration - Blue Nile River

European exploration - Blue Nile River 

The first European to have seen the Blue Nile in Ethiopia and the river's source was Pedro Páez, a Spanish Jesuit who reached the river's source 21 April 1613. Nevertheless, the Portuguese João Bermudes, the self-described "Patriarch of Ethiopia," provided the first description of the Blue Nile Falls in his memoirs published in 1565, and a number of Europeans who lived in Ethiopia in the late 15th century such as Pêro da Covilhã could have seen the river long before Páez, but not reached its places of source.

The source of the Blue Nile was also reached in 1629 by the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Jerónimo Lobo and in 1770 by the Scottish explorer James Bruce.

Blue Nile Gorge in Ethiopia

Although a number of European explorers contemplated tracing the course of the Abay from its confluence with the White Nile to Lake Tana, its gorge, which begins a few kilometres inside the Ethiopian border, has discouraged all attempts since Frédéric Cailliaud's attempt in 1821. The first serious attempt by a non-local to explore this reach of the river was undertaken by the American W.W. Macmillan in 1902, assisted by the Norwegian explorer B.H. Jenssen; Jenssen would proceed upriver from Khartoum while Macmillan sailed downstream from Lake Tana. However, Jenssen's boats were blocked by the rapids at Famaka short of the Sudan-Ethiopian border, and Macmillan's boats were wrecked shortly after they had been launched. Macmillan encouraged Jenssen to try to sail upstream from Khartoum again in 1905, but he was forced to stop 500 kilometres (300 mi) short of Lake Tana. R.E. Cheesman, who records his surprise on arriving in Ethiopia at finding that the upper waters of "one of the most famous of the rivers of the world, and one whose name was well known to the ancients" was in his lifetime "marked on the map by dotted lines", managed to map the upper course of the Blue Nile between 1925 and 1933. He did this not by following the river along its banks and through its impassable canyon, but following it from the highlands above, travelling some 8,000 km (5,000 mi) by mule in the adjacent country.

In the 1950s-1960s several kayakers paddled parts of the Blue Nile's canyon. In 1968, at the request of Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, a team of 60 British and Ethiopian servicemen and scientists made the first full descent of the Abay from Lake Tana to a point near the Sudan border led by the explorer John Blashford-Snell.The team used specially-built Avon Inflatables and modified Royal Engineers assault boats to navigate the formidable rapids. Subsequent rafting expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s generally only covered parts of the river canyon.

In 1999, writer Virginia Morell and photographer Nevada Wier made the journey by raft from Lake Tana to the Sudan, afterwards publishing a documentary about their journey. In 2000, American and National Geographic reader, Kenneth Frantz, saw a photo taken by Nevada Wier for National Geographic which would lead him to found the charity Bridges to Prosperity. This photo showed a bridge broken during World War II, with 10 men on either side of the broken span pulling each other across the dangerous gap by rope. This historic bridge was built by Emperor Fasilides in approximately 1660 with Roman bridge technology brought to Ethiopia by Portuguese soldiers during the battle with the Muslim invaders in 1507. In both 2001 and 2009, Bridges to Prosperity volunteers travelled from the United States to repair the broken bridge across the Blue Nile river and later build a new suspension bridge not susceptible to flood.

On 28 April 2004, geologist Pasquale Scaturro and his partner, kayaker and documentary filmmaker Gordon Brown, became the first known people to navigate the Blue Nile. Though their expedition included a number of others, Brown and Scaturro were the only ones to remain on the expedition for the entire journey. They chronicled their adventure with an IMAX camera and two handheld video cams, sharing their story in the IMAX film Mystery of the Nile and in a book of the same title.

On 29 January 2005, Canadian Les Jickling and his teammate New Zealander Mark Tanner completed the first fully human powered transit of the entire Blue Nile. Their journey of over 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) took five months and travelled through the countries of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. They recount that they paddled through civil war conflict zones, regions known for bandits, and encountered multiple hazards and rapids.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Recent Articles

  • Ethiopia: 75-Year-Old Civilian Brutally Murdered in Church by Abiy Ahmed Regime’s Forces
     In a shocking and disturbing incident, 75-year-old Mr. Fentaw Derbew, a civilian, was brutally murdered while attending a mass at Kobo Michael Church in Raya Kobo Woreda, North Wollo Zone in Ethiopia. According to eyewitnesses and sources, Mr. Fentaw Derbew was killed by the Abiy Ahmed...
    July-27 - 2025 | More »
  • Ethiopian Health Professionals Association Urges Govt to Promptly Respond to Health Workers' Demands Amid Pre-Strike Demonstrations
     Dagmawi Melnilik Hospital, which was later upgraded to a referral hospital, is the nation’s first hospital, built in 1909.Addis Standard (Addis Ababa)As health professionals across Ethiopia stage pre-strike demonstrations demanding improved salaries, benefits, and working conditions, the...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • Commentary: Why Ethiopian university lecturers' strike failed: A cautionary tale for health professionals
     The moment of release of the detained teachers’ coordinators, greeted by fellow teachers awaiting their return. Photo: Provided by the writerIn 2022, Ethiopian university lecturers launched a year-long social media campaign  and subsequent threat for indefinite...
    May-13 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • ሐኪም በመሆኔ ያተረፍኩት ድኅነትን ነው" የኢትዮጵያ ጤና ባለሙያዎች እሮሮ እና ጥያቄ
     የደሞዝ እና የጥቅማ ጥቅም ጥያቄ ያነሱ የጤና ባለሙያዎች መንግሥት ለጥያቄዎቻቸው ምላሽ የማይሰጥ ከሆነ የሥራ ማቆም አድማ እንደሚመቱ ተናገሩ።ባለሙያዎቹ ጥያቄዎቻቸውን ለመንግሥት ማቅረባቸውን የተናገሩ ሲሆን፤ ምላሽ እንዲሰጣቸውም የ30 ቀናት ቀነ ገደብ ከሰጡ ሳምንታት ተቆጥረዋል።የጤና ባለሙያዎቹ "መኖር አቅቶናል" ያሉ ሲሆን፤ በተለያዩ መንገዶች ድምፃቸውን እያሰሙ ነው።ሐኪም ለመሆን 23 ዓመታትን በትምህርት እንዳሳለፉ ለቢቢሲ የተናገሩት ዶ/ር ይማም እንድሪስ...
    May-08 - 2025 | More »
  • በአዳማ ከተማ እየተካሄደ ነው ስለሚባለው 'አፈሳ' የነዋሪዎች ስጋት
     ከሁለት ሳምንት በፊት ጀምሮ በኦሮሚያ የተለያዩ አካባቢዎች ወጣቶች ከመንገድ እየታፈሱመሆናቸውን ወላጆች፣ ወጣቶች እና ፖለቲከኞች በተለያዩ ማኅበራዊ ሚዲያዎች ላይ እየገለፁ ነው።ቢቢሲ ያነጋገራቸው የከተማ ነዋሪዎችም በግዳጅ የታፈሱ ወጣቶችን እንደሚያውቁ እና እነርሱም ባለባቸው ስጋት የተነሳ ድንገት ከተያዝን በሚል "ገንዘብ ይዘው እንደሚንቀሳቀሱ" ተናግረዋል።ቢቢሲ ከአዲስ አበባ አንድ መቶ ኪሎ ሜትር ያህል ርቃ በምትገኘው በአዳማ ከተማ የሚገኝ እና ከመንገድ ላይ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • ሰባት ኢትዮጵያውያን ስደተኞችን ወደ ባሕሩ ጣሏቸው'፡ ትኩረት ያላገኘው የስደት መንገድ
     መሐመድ አብዱላሂ ሞሐሙድ 35 ዓመቱ ነው።ከጂቡቲ ወደ የመን በጀልባ ያደረገውን የስደት ጉዞ አይረሳውም። በ20ዎቹ ዕድሜ ሳለ ነበር የተሰደደው።ሶማሊያን ጥሎ የወጣው የተሻለ ሕይወት ፍለጋ ነበር።ከአፍሪካ ወደ የመን የሚደረገው ስደተኞች የሚጓዙበት መንገድ 'ምሥራቃዊው ኮሪደር' በሚል ይታወቃል።በብዛት ስደተኞች ከሚጓዙባቸው መንገዶች አንደኛው ነው። እምብዛም ግን ትኩረት አላገኘም።ይህ መንገድ በጣም አደገኛው እንደሆነም መሐመድ ይናገራል።"መንገድ ጀምረን 30 ደቂቃ...
    May-05 - 2025 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s civil war: what’s behind the Amhara rebellion?
     Ethiopia is in the grip of a civil war between federal government forces and the Fano, a loose alliance of ethnic-based militia in the Amhara region.This conflict in Ethiopia’s north erupted less than a year after the devastating Tigray war, which ended in...
    Apr-28 - 2025 | More »
  • በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!
     በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ እየተመረተ ነው!ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ በቀን ከ14 ሺህ ቶን በላይ የዓሣ ምርት የሚገኝበት አቅም መፈጠሩን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ገለጹ። ኢትዮጵያ እምቅ የዓሣ ሀብት ቢኖራትም በተለያዩ ተግዳሮቶች ምክንያት በዘርፉ ተጠቃሚ ሳትሆን መቆየቷን በግብርና ሚኒስቴር ዓሣ ሀብት ልማት ዴስክ ሃላፊ ዶክተር ፋሲል ዳዊት ተናግረዋል። በሀገር ደረጃ...
    Mar-26 - 2025 | More »
  • የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!
     የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን ሊቀመንበር ደፋር ማሻሻያዎችን እና አፍሪካን የሚመሩ መፍትሄዎችን ከፒአርሲ ጋር የመጀመሪያ ስብሰባ ላይ አሳሰቡ!የመጀመርያው የቋሚ ተወካዮች ኮሚቴ (PRC) እና አዲስ የተሾሙት የአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን አመራር አባላት ዛሬ በአዲስ አበባ ተካሂደዋል። ስብሰባውን በኤች.ኢ. ማህሙድ አሊ የሱፍ፣ የAUC ሊቀመንበር እና ኤች.ኢ. በአፍሪካ ህብረት የአንጎላ ሪፐብሊክ ቋሚ ተወካይ እና የፒአርሲ ሊቀመንበር አምባሳደር ፕሮፌሰር ሚጌል ሴሳር...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • ፀሐይ ባለበት የቫይታሚን D እጥረት ለምን?
     ለሰውነታችን ጠቃሚ የሆነው ቫይታሚን ዲ የሚገኘው በፀሐይ ጨረር አማካኝነት በተፈጥሮ ሂደት ነው። ኢትዮጵያ ዓመቱን ሙሉ የፀሐይ ብርሃንና ሙቀት የምታገኝ ሀገር ብትሆንም በቅርቡ የወጣ መረጃ ብዙዎች የቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት እንዳለባቸው  ያመለክታል። ለምን ይሆን?ቫይታሚን ዲየቫይታሚን ዲ እጥረት በመላው ዓለም ሰዎች ላይ ስለሚታይ አሳሳቢ መሆኑ ይነገራል። በተለይ በዓመት ውስጥ የፀሐይ ብርሃንም ሆነ ሙቀቷን በውስን ወራት ብቻ በሚያገኙ የሰሜኑ ንፍቀ ክበብ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • "እንደ አሮጌ ምንጣፍ የተጣለ" - የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የቪኦኤ በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰኑን አወደሰ!
     የቻይና መንግሥት ጋዜጣ የአሜሪካው ፕሬዝንት ዶናልድ ትራምፕ የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) በጀት እንዲቋረጥ መወሰናቸውን አወደሰ።የአሜሪካ ድምፅ (ቪኦኤ) እና ራድዮ ፍሪ እስያ (አርኤፍኤ) በቻይና መንግሥት ዙሪያ ለዓመታት ሲዘግቡ የቆዩ ሲሆን ትራምፕ የጣቢያዎቹ በጀት እንዲቀነስ ወስነዋል።ውሳኔው የተላለፈው ባለፈው አርብ ነው። 1300 የቪኦኤ ሠራተኞች በግዴታ እረፍት እንዲወጡ ተነግሯቸዋል።ተቺዎች ውሳኔው ዲሞክራሲን ወደኋላ የሚጎትት ነው ቢሉም ግሎባል ታይምስ...
    Mar-18 - 2025 | More »
  • Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!
     Killings, abductions, funding shortfalls stifle WFP relief efforts across Ethiopia!Eight personnel dead as org. takes USD 30mln loan to sustain operationsThe World Food Program says security concerns are straining its ability to deliver crucial aid assistance in Ethiopia as no less than eight...
    Sept-15 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia : Dialogue Commission wants gov’t to create “enabling condition
     Professor Mesfin Araya, Chief of the Dialogue Commission (Photo credit : DW Amharic)The National Dialogue Commission on Thursday presented its performance report to the parliament. Unusual about it was that this meeting took place in a hotel, not at the parliament building. The practice...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • Struggles of High-Rise Living
     Located on the western outskirts of AddisAbaba, the Asko 40/60 condominium towers stand tall, promising a modern lifestyle but delivering a daily ordeal for its residents. Among them is Melat Kasa, a pregnant mother of two young children aged 4 and 6, who lives on the 13th floor. “I’ve been...
    June-30 - 2024 | More »
  • TPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessing
     NewsTPLF regains political legitimacy with Justice Ministry’s blessingThe Ministry of Justice has granted the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) the green light to register with the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) as a political party.Heads of the NEBE were informed of the...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • A father who lost 2 sons in a Boeing Max crash waits to hear if the US will prosecute the company
     Ike Riffel fears that instead of putting Boeing on trial, the government will offer the company another shot at corporate probationPhoto by: Jim Young/APProtesters hold photographs of victims of the 2019 Boeing Ethiopian Airlines crash, including Melvin Riffel, left.By: AP via Scripps...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Ethiopia’s dam fills threaten Egypt’s lifeline: Calls for international intervention
     Adel Sadawi, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former Dean of the Institute for Research and Strategic Studies on Nile Basin Countries, commented on Ethiopia’s announcement of its readiness to carry out the fifth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Fashion event brings Kanu, others to Ethiopia
     Former Nigerian national football team striker Nwankwo Kanu and other African former football players are in Addis Ababa to participate in the Shenen Africa Fashion Festival Week 2024Upon arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, on Thursday Kanu was welcomed by Ethiopia’s...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »
  • Economic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State Department
     NewsEconomic, conflict spurring human trafficking in Ethiopia: US State DepartmentYemeni Houthis forcing Ethiopian migrants into military serviceThe US Department of State commends the Ethiopian government’s efforts to combat human trafficking but urges that more needs to be done to eliminate...
    June-29 - 2024 | More »

Recent Video Uploads

Subscribe Ethiopia Today Videos and Watch on You Tube

Ethiopia Today

  • Active a minute ago with many
  •  
  •  videos
Ethiopia Today bringing you recent information about Ethiopia. It bring you, news, Amharic movies,  Musics and many clips. subscribe and get many Videos on time