Ethiopia to be Featured for Novel Destinations

Posted: 2/7/2017 12:20:52 PM
A truly novel country will be featured as a Novel Destinations Friday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library.

Bob Schaffnit will share images and stories from his visit to Ethiopia in 2005 after receiving an invitation from the Coptic Ethiopian Church.

“We were able to visit some sites as well as islands which are off limits even to Ethiopian countrymen,” Schaffnit said. “We visited the capital of Addis, Axum, Lalabella, and then Bahir-dar.”

The journey also included villages where people lived as they did 4,000 years ago, he said.

“We pieced together an ancient history of the Ark of the Covenant as we attended the Timket festival, Schaffnit said. “Ethiopia is the only nation that claims to have the Ark, yet does not care if anyone even knows about this claim. The highlight of the expedition was visiting Lalabella to explore the churches that have been hewn out of rock and then carved out from the inside out.”

After our trip to Ethiopia the History Channel did their own film documentary that was based off of their itinerary, he said.

Novel Destinations is sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Foundation with a grant from Mothership Adventures. The program is free, but donations are welcome.

Anyone with a travelogue to share at the library is asked to contact the Library Foundation at 208-769-2380 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Patrons who need accommodation to participate in library programs or services are asked to contact the staff prior to the activity by calling 208-769-2315. For more library information visit cdalibrary.org or lcplibrary.org. The library is a department of the City of Coeur d’Alene and a member of the Cooperative Information Network, cinlibraries.org. The library news blog is available at cdalibrary.or/newsletter. Library Director, Bette Ammon. Main Library hours: Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m./Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m./Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Lake City Branch Hours: Monday through Thursday, 3-6:30 p.m. For regular updates follow our libraries on Facebook and Twitter.