Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/217

 of the Gumara on an enormous basalt rock, "grouping its garden-encircled houses around the clumps of junipers which mark the sites of churches." The town is surrounded on three sides by chasms, but connected with the neighbouring plateau on the fourth by a narrow isthmus which might be easily fortified. MahderaMariam is no longer a royal residence, but its two churches — those of the "Mother" and the "Son" — are still much frequented by pilgrims, and numerous merchants visit its fair. Two distinct quarters were till recently occupied by Mussulmans,

who differ from the other Abyssinians merely by their peaceful and business-like habits. The hot springs of Mahdera-Mariam are retailed by the priests, who also practise the medical art.

The most important commercial town on the eastern bank of Lake Tana is Koarata, situated about six miles north-east of the spot where the Abaï emerges from the lacustrine basin, and near the mouths of the Gumara and Reb. Were Abyssinia well provided with routes, this town would form the converging point for the routes of many river valleys. A rounded basalt hill stands in the middle of the plain, its western spur projecting into the lake. The town covers a