Lake Tana Haiq (Blue Nile Source) – A Mystical Refuge to Seekers of Truth

Like a moth drawn to the flame, Bahire Tana — Lake Tana and its surrounding lands — has been calling seekers, mystics, and healers since the beginning of time. Generations have come here to awaken their spirit, to remember that they are divine beings in human form, and to serve God.

The world has always been in awe of the Nile, the longest river on earth, but for Ethiopia, the mystery begins here, at Lake Tana. It is remembered as the first Ethiopian home of the Ark of the Covenant, safeguarded for over 800 years before being taken to Axum. It is believed to be one of the places where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus sought refuge when they fled persecution in Palestine. Its more than 35 isolated islands remain havens of prayer and guardianship, monasteries that hold treasures of Ethiopian history, faith, and the veiled secrets of the universe.

The source of the Blue Nile lies in the northwestern highlands of Ethiopia, in the Amhara Regional State of Gojjam. Since ancient times, it has stirred explorers’ passion. In Greece, it was one of the earth’s most compelling mysteries. Herodotus, the historian, wrote extensively about the Nile around 460 BC, imagining it flowing between two great mountains. Emperor Nero later sent expeditions to trace its origin. And in the Old Testament, the Blue Nile is remembered as the River Gihon, which “flows around the whole land of Cush”, the name by which Hebrews knew Ethiopia.

For those who arrive here, Bahir Dar and Lake Tana become more than a destination. They become an Eden of solace, reflection, and alignment—a place where mind, body, and spirit return to balance.

My Seventh Return to Bahir Dar

This Christmas, my inner compass drew me back here once again. It was my seventh journey to Lake Tana and Bahir Dar, yet each return feels like a homecoming. This time, I sought a more spontaneous adventure—an extended Christmas celebration lived not in distraction, but in gratitude for both the complexity and the simplicity of life.

As a solo woman traveler, I arrived with one intention: to celebrate Jesus’s birth in reflection, awareness, and freedom. I came to ground myself in nature, to listen deeply, to surrender to the paradox of being human yet led by spirit, as we ushered in 2023.

What I discovered was that my adventure mirrored the journey within. Whenever I travel outward, I am also traveling inward—to heal, to align, and to unlock new layers of my being.

Lake Tana reminded me of a pilgrimage I once made to Rishikesh and Haridwar in India, where the Himalayas and the Ganges river had mesmerized and cleansed me. Standing by the Nile’s source, I felt the same timeless pull of water as medicine, mountain as witness, and sacred land as mirror.

Christmas as Child and Seeker

I have always loved Christmas. As a child, it was not only a holiday of festivity with family but a season of light and lessons. Growing up, I had the privilege of celebrating both Ethiopian Orthodox and Western traditions.

My father—descendant of ancient scholars, warriors, and defenders of faith—rooted us in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo celebration of fasting, prayer, and the mysteries of Christ’s birth and resurrection. At the same time, he embraced the joy of Western rituals: the Christmas tree, the glitter, the music, the laughter.

Our childhood Christmases were full of this duality: strict fasting and divine liturgy by night, sparkling trees and new clothes by day. These celebrations were more than external—they were inner teachings of peace, joy, forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude.

Yet, my upbringing was also marked by contrasts. In Ethiopia’s conservative, socialist society, I was sheltered, guarded, and armored. Within family and community, I was conservative in faith and survival. Yet through my international education and global travels, I was free, liberal, and expansive. That tension shaped me: inwardly protected, outwardly seeking.

The Lesson of Impermanence, Rebirth, and the New Earth

Now, as I reflect in the later stages of my journey, Christmas carries a deeper meaning. It is less about festivity and more about Christ’s timeless truth: that nothing is permanent, nothing is guaranteed.

Christmas is about the birth of Christ, that God loves us so much He came to save us in human form, to teach us the way of seeking truth. Through fasting, Lent, prayer, meditation, remembrance, and reading the Bible, we remember our lineage from Adam and Eve, how the world, the cosmos, and the universe came to be.

Sitting by Lake Tana on Christmas Day, listening to church bells ringing, I went back in time. I remembered who I am. With direct access to all of myself, I sat in awe of the “human technology” and spiritual tools I inherited from my ancestors, now redirected out of my ego and into my consciousness.

I dipped myself into Tisisat Falls, took a boat across the lake, and felt my vessel—my body and temple—being purified and upgraded. I am part of the New Earth.

As humanity shifted, COVID forced us all to pause. In that collective stillness, I chose my own rebirth. I was rebaptised in the Gihon River, bridging forgiveness of the past and embracing the present while envisioning the future. I took my power back from every dimension, time, and space, aligning myself wholly with God.

From the balcony overlooking Lake Tana, I stared at the cosmos, the universe, and the shimmering energy of the water in pure bliss and gratitude. I embraced my powerful feminine divinity—in awe, compassion, and reverence for how far I have risen, lived, led, and co-created my life. I had arrived. 

For me, traveling—whether to Lake Tana, to the Ganges, red sea, mefiterian, trekking or into solitude—is always a way of traveling inward. Whenever my being seeks truth, I go within to align with spirit, to heal the body and mind, and to return to God’s vast universe renewed.

This Christmas, Lake Tana reminded me of that eternal journey. Its waters flow endlessly, feeding the Nile, carrying life across nations. So too does the soul: always flowing, always seeking, always returning to Source.

✍🏾 By Dutchess @deldeyoch