Travel: Timkat, Ethiopia

Timkat (Epiphany), the commemoration of Christ's baptism, is the most important religious festival of the year in Ethiopia. On the eve of Timkat, priests and their congregation remove the tabot, which symbolises the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments, from each church. The tabots are taken to a pool of water or river, which is blessed for the next day's celebration.