Ethiopia January 2007
Hello Everyone,
Here is the first installment of my Ethiopian travels. This letter covers the first 5 days in the country. I didn’t take my digital camera with me so no online pics to look at.
I give myself until April to complete the letters when the next vacation starts. Thanks for all the letters and cards.
Happy Reading,
Becky
Abu Jambo Ethiopia
Ethiopia – Trip Letter January 2007
E is for Even better than expected, Eucalyptus trees, and Enthusiasm of the people
T is for Teff and Tej
H is for Harrari houses, Hyenas, and History
I is for Insurance and Incense
O is for Overpopulated and Orthodox churches
P is for Plateau, Paintings, Pollution, and Patchwork fields
I is for Injera
A is for Addis Ababa, Axum, and Amharic
A typical question a fellow traveler would ask of another is, “what brings you to Ethiopia?” I had to confess Ethiopia was not my original destination for this three week holiday. Plan A was to Iran for more calligraphy but visa issues held me back. Plan B was to Pakistan to trek and volunteer at a school until I discovered I had to get the visa before entering the country and no time to do it so a no go. Plan C was to Kenya on the recommendation from a coworker but I was on the waiting list from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. With four weeks left before vacation I started to panic. I needed to make PLANS. A friend hearing this tale of woes said why not get off in Addis Ababa and explore Ethiopia. Now there’s a thought but what is there to see and do in Ethiopia?
A lot of things as I soon discovered. Ethiopia as a destination appears to be divided into two categories History and People. If you want history go north. If you want to see tribal people head south. I flipped a coin and north I went. To do justice to both areas would require a solid four weeks. I had three and didn’t want to rush things. As luck would have it I would be in country for the St Gabriel’s celebration and for orthodox Christmas. With guidance from the Ethiopian Airlines area manager in Jeddah, I mapped out my domestic flight itinerary to include flights to Dire Dar to feed hyenas outside the walled city of Harar and to partake in the St Gabriel’s celebration in Kulubi, to Bahar Dar to see the Blue Nile falls, Lake Tana and the local market, to Gondar to see the Royal enclosure and the 80 angles painted on the ceiling of the Debre Berehan Selassie church, to Lalibela for a 2 day eco-trek, the rock-hewn churches, and for their local Christmas celebration, and to Axum to see the obelisk field.
The ticket to Addis Ababa is reasonable at around $450 from Jeddah. The 7 internal flights was the big ticket item on this trip but I was willing to pay the price for comfort and convenience. If you are traveling with someone you do get a break on the price. Outside the cost of the tickets I averaged $45 a day on lodging, food, beverages, tours, guides, ground transportation, and souvenirs. Food, coffee/tea and beer is cheap. A bottle of beer is about 50 cents and not back at all; much better than the local wine in my opinion. A kilo of coffee is $4.32. I selected the low end for accommodations and paid between $6 - $24 per night. The bottom line is your money can go far here if you don’t mind simple but clean accommodations, eating the local food, and joining groups for seeing the major sights.
To prepare for the trip I did some reading and research. Notes were compiled into a checklist of things I wanted to see per destination. This was easy to carry, quick to refer to, and made me look like I knew where I was going and what I was doing rather than the Lonely Planet/Brandt guide toting tourists looking like, well, tourists. My Ethiopian friends in Addis hovered over and scrutinized the Addis checklist as if it were the roadmap to peace and then would lift their heads in agreement announcing plans for the day and what items could be checked off.
You might be wondering when and where did I pick up Ethiopian friends. A friend in Jeddah put me in touch with an Ethiopian lady, Mary, and I offered to carry letters to her family in Addis. The letters turned into a small suitcase and by happenstance her brother-in-law, Danny, is a taxi driver in Addis. After a call it was arranged to have Danny pick me up at the airport. Even with my flight being 7 hours late he was there to greet me.
After changing money, Danny drove me to my hotel in the piazza area. I decided on staying at the Baro to meet other travelers since I was solo. I read mixed reactions to the place but it suited me just fine. While I was getting settled in Danny ran into his friend Abraham and the three of us set off to start my sightseeing. After the National Museum where we paid our respects to Lucy, the oldest human bones known to date, we drove to Mary’s mother’s house for my first coffee ceremony and a tasty traditional meal. I met the many family members and neighbors as people came in went through the house. How nice to be able to associate with an Ethiopian family right away. I enjoyed their company very much and invited Mary’s daughter to join Danny, Abraham and me for the next day’s sightseeing tour.
The four of us pretty much spent the weekend together. Saturday’s itinerary was non stop with going to Enrico’s for the best ever Italian style pastries (you know this place is a landmark when it is always busy and doesn’t have a sign outside), Entoto Mt to see Mariam and Raguel churches with wonderful paintings inside, the Shero Meda market for the ubiquitous cotton shawl called the gabbi, macchiatos at the Tomoca coffee bar, the Ethnological museum which is excellent, getting lost in the crowds at the Merkato touted as Africa’s largest outdoor market, trying Tej, honeywine, at a traditional restaurant – it is Fanta orange in color and served in chemistry looking glassware. Yes, all this in one day. Sunday included going to the Trinity church, attending a packed and moving protestant church service, lunch at Danny’s house with his mother and more family members, walking around Addis Ababa university, admiring the Christmas decorations at the Sheraton hotel inside and the outside gardens and fountains (we were there at night to see the fountain light show and as luck would have it a wedding party was having their pictures taken in front of it) and ending another great day with pizza.
Monday was Christmas for me and I decided to treat myself to a massage at the Addisu Filwoha Hot Springs. It is more or less a public bath house with a therapeutic area in the back. The jet stream massage in a big bath tub followed by an oil massage did the trick; I was relaxed, clean, and glowing according to Danny and Abraham. It was time for a coffee break – when in Ethiopia do like the locals. They took me to one of their favorite spots. The coffee in Ethiopia is very mild and served in small quantities. If the place serves coffee/tea then the place typically has a pastry showcase, some good some fair. The rest of the day I was on my own and did some shopping and yakked it up with other tourists at the Baro Hotel. The place has a nice courtyard area to meet and hangout with other people passing through. I compared notes with people who already did the northern circuit and this helped me to decide what places to stay at. For Christmas dinner Susanna from Switzerland and I went out for Italian food and local beer. It was early to bed with having an early departure the next morning. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Addis Ababa and Ethiopia.
I will admit I was a bit intimidated at first walking by myself in the piazza area by the hotel. There is never a lack of a friendly, English speaking guy to come up to start a conversation right away. It is hard not to be alone in Ethiopia. Here is a venting session I wrote to a friend.
…if I had to stay in a large town where young boys/guys walk along side asking questions and wanting to be helpful every step of the way, I’d go crazy. At times I’d rather stay in the safety of the hotel courtyard rather than face another round of, “Mistah you buy” (I really got to grow my hair out), or “Madame I get taxi for you” or “Sistah can I show you a very good place.” It is very hard to get a moment of peace out on the streets.
Most of the time I was with a guide or more like an escort and was not bothered as much.
Unless you have been to Ethiopia you might not know they use the Julian calendar. There are 13 months and the current year is 1999 so if you missed out on the millennium celebration 7 years back you have a second chance. Telling time there can lead to confusion because they are 6 hours behind or they might say I am 6 hours ahead. When I would ask Danny to pick me up at 5am for a 7am flight he would ask is that in the evening or morning. For him it would be 11pm in the evening. I got use to saying pick me up at 5am breakfast time or 1pm lunch time. He never failed me – thanks Danny. Thanks go to his wife too because she let me borrow her Sim card so I could use it in my mobile. This was very handy to communicate with him and hotels. Since I am on the topic of unusual things in Ethiopia I will add a mannerism that threw me at first. I noticed this mostly in the central area. When someone would speak they would finish with an inhalation as if they were going to say, “Oh, no” or have to sneeze but don’t. I might as well add the shoulder bump here too. This is the common way to greet one another. I observed people approaching one another with a slight bend at the knees, bring in their right shoulder and then lift upwards to bump right shoulders – sort of catchy.
Armed with local knowledge about time, greetings, and how to say how much is this (centinos) and thank you (amasagnalow) I was ready to head out on my own and fly to Dire Dar. From Dire Dar I had to take a mini van to my final destination of Harar and I was hoping there would be other tourists on the plane so I could play sheep and follow them – ok, I was still a bit nervous being on my own when it comes to haggling about rides. I was the only sheep and felt like I was being sent to slaughter as I walked out of the airport and had to face the barrage of taxi drivers. I stood my ground and said I wanted to share a ride into town to get to the bus station. At the bus station, a sandy lot with a few vans around, I didn’t even get a chance to get outside the taxi before being bombarded with rides going to Harar. This is what it must be like being chased by paparazzi all the time. I was quickly whisked away in a van with a few other passengers. We drove to the outskirts of town and then people we told to get out – at least that is what it seemed like to me. A few clicks up the road the driver stopped again and requested more people to get out. Now it was only me and a couple. I was thinking this is strange and if the lady was told to get out then so would I – she could see the concern in my eyes and nodded it was OK. We set off again passing the people the driver made get out to walk the road. After a few more idle stops he picked up the same people walking. Very strange. This was also the start of St Gabriel’s celebration in Kulibi and the road from Dire Dar to Harar has a turn off to Kulibi about 45 km away. Already we saw people walking on the road to Kulibi. I was hoping to attend the celebration too if I found a group to go with in Harar.
Stay tuned for:
· Country music with Dedemous
· Feeding the hyenas
· Reaching critical mass at Kulibi
Here is the first installment of my Ethiopian travels. This letter covers the first 5 days in the country. I didn’t take my digital camera with me so no online pics to look at.
I give myself until April to complete the letters when the next vacation starts. Thanks for all the letters and cards.
Happy Reading,
Becky
Abu Jambo Ethiopia
Ethiopia – Trip Letter January 2007
E is for Even better than expected, Eucalyptus trees, and Enthusiasm of the people
T is for Teff and Tej
H is for Harrari houses, Hyenas, and History
I is for Insurance and Incense
O is for Overpopulated and Orthodox churches
P is for Plateau, Paintings, Pollution, and Patchwork fields
I is for Injera
A is for Addis Ababa, Axum, and Amharic
A typical question a fellow traveler would ask of another is, “what brings you to Ethiopia?” I had to confess Ethiopia was not my original destination for this three week holiday. Plan A was to Iran for more calligraphy but visa issues held me back. Plan B was to Pakistan to trek and volunteer at a school until I discovered I had to get the visa before entering the country and no time to do it so a no go. Plan C was to Kenya on the recommendation from a coworker but I was on the waiting list from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. With four weeks left before vacation I started to panic. I needed to make PLANS. A friend hearing this tale of woes said why not get off in Addis Ababa and explore Ethiopia. Now there’s a thought but what is there to see and do in Ethiopia?
A lot of things as I soon discovered. Ethiopia as a destination appears to be divided into two categories History and People. If you want history go north. If you want to see tribal people head south. I flipped a coin and north I went. To do justice to both areas would require a solid four weeks. I had three and didn’t want to rush things. As luck would have it I would be in country for the St Gabriel’s celebration and for orthodox Christmas. With guidance from the Ethiopian Airlines area manager in Jeddah, I mapped out my domestic flight itinerary to include flights to Dire Dar to feed hyenas outside the walled city of Harar and to partake in the St Gabriel’s celebration in Kulubi, to Bahar Dar to see the Blue Nile falls, Lake Tana and the local market, to Gondar to see the Royal enclosure and the 80 angles painted on the ceiling of the Debre Berehan Selassie church, to Lalibela for a 2 day eco-trek, the rock-hewn churches, and for their local Christmas celebration, and to Axum to see the obelisk field.
The ticket to Addis Ababa is reasonable at around $450 from Jeddah. The 7 internal flights was the big ticket item on this trip but I was willing to pay the price for comfort and convenience. If you are traveling with someone you do get a break on the price. Outside the cost of the tickets I averaged $45 a day on lodging, food, beverages, tours, guides, ground transportation, and souvenirs. Food, coffee/tea and beer is cheap. A bottle of beer is about 50 cents and not back at all; much better than the local wine in my opinion. A kilo of coffee is $4.32. I selected the low end for accommodations and paid between $6 - $24 per night. The bottom line is your money can go far here if you don’t mind simple but clean accommodations, eating the local food, and joining groups for seeing the major sights.
To prepare for the trip I did some reading and research. Notes were compiled into a checklist of things I wanted to see per destination. This was easy to carry, quick to refer to, and made me look like I knew where I was going and what I was doing rather than the Lonely Planet/Brandt guide toting tourists looking like, well, tourists. My Ethiopian friends in Addis hovered over and scrutinized the Addis checklist as if it were the roadmap to peace and then would lift their heads in agreement announcing plans for the day and what items could be checked off.
You might be wondering when and where did I pick up Ethiopian friends. A friend in Jeddah put me in touch with an Ethiopian lady, Mary, and I offered to carry letters to her family in Addis. The letters turned into a small suitcase and by happenstance her brother-in-law, Danny, is a taxi driver in Addis. After a call it was arranged to have Danny pick me up at the airport. Even with my flight being 7 hours late he was there to greet me.
After changing money, Danny drove me to my hotel in the piazza area. I decided on staying at the Baro to meet other travelers since I was solo. I read mixed reactions to the place but it suited me just fine. While I was getting settled in Danny ran into his friend Abraham and the three of us set off to start my sightseeing. After the National Museum where we paid our respects to Lucy, the oldest human bones known to date, we drove to Mary’s mother’s house for my first coffee ceremony and a tasty traditional meal. I met the many family members and neighbors as people came in went through the house. How nice to be able to associate with an Ethiopian family right away. I enjoyed their company very much and invited Mary’s daughter to join Danny, Abraham and me for the next day’s sightseeing tour.
The four of us pretty much spent the weekend together. Saturday’s itinerary was non stop with going to Enrico’s for the best ever Italian style pastries (you know this place is a landmark when it is always busy and doesn’t have a sign outside), Entoto Mt to see Mariam and Raguel churches with wonderful paintings inside, the Shero Meda market for the ubiquitous cotton shawl called the gabbi, macchiatos at the Tomoca coffee bar, the Ethnological museum which is excellent, getting lost in the crowds at the Merkato touted as Africa’s largest outdoor market, trying Tej, honeywine, at a traditional restaurant – it is Fanta orange in color and served in chemistry looking glassware. Yes, all this in one day. Sunday included going to the Trinity church, attending a packed and moving protestant church service, lunch at Danny’s house with his mother and more family members, walking around Addis Ababa university, admiring the Christmas decorations at the Sheraton hotel inside and the outside gardens and fountains (we were there at night to see the fountain light show and as luck would have it a wedding party was having their pictures taken in front of it) and ending another great day with pizza.
Monday was Christmas for me and I decided to treat myself to a massage at the Addisu Filwoha Hot Springs. It is more or less a public bath house with a therapeutic area in the back. The jet stream massage in a big bath tub followed by an oil massage did the trick; I was relaxed, clean, and glowing according to Danny and Abraham. It was time for a coffee break – when in Ethiopia do like the locals. They took me to one of their favorite spots. The coffee in Ethiopia is very mild and served in small quantities. If the place serves coffee/tea then the place typically has a pastry showcase, some good some fair. The rest of the day I was on my own and did some shopping and yakked it up with other tourists at the Baro Hotel. The place has a nice courtyard area to meet and hangout with other people passing through. I compared notes with people who already did the northern circuit and this helped me to decide what places to stay at. For Christmas dinner Susanna from Switzerland and I went out for Italian food and local beer. It was early to bed with having an early departure the next morning. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to Addis Ababa and Ethiopia.
I will admit I was a bit intimidated at first walking by myself in the piazza area by the hotel. There is never a lack of a friendly, English speaking guy to come up to start a conversation right away. It is hard not to be alone in Ethiopia. Here is a venting session I wrote to a friend.
…if I had to stay in a large town where young boys/guys walk along side asking questions and wanting to be helpful every step of the way, I’d go crazy. At times I’d rather stay in the safety of the hotel courtyard rather than face another round of, “Mistah you buy” (I really got to grow my hair out), or “Madame I get taxi for you” or “Sistah can I show you a very good place.” It is very hard to get a moment of peace out on the streets.
Most of the time I was with a guide or more like an escort and was not bothered as much.
Unless you have been to Ethiopia you might not know they use the Julian calendar. There are 13 months and the current year is 1999 so if you missed out on the millennium celebration 7 years back you have a second chance. Telling time there can lead to confusion because they are 6 hours behind or they might say I am 6 hours ahead. When I would ask Danny to pick me up at 5am for a 7am flight he would ask is that in the evening or morning. For him it would be 11pm in the evening. I got use to saying pick me up at 5am breakfast time or 1pm lunch time. He never failed me – thanks Danny. Thanks go to his wife too because she let me borrow her Sim card so I could use it in my mobile. This was very handy to communicate with him and hotels. Since I am on the topic of unusual things in Ethiopia I will add a mannerism that threw me at first. I noticed this mostly in the central area. When someone would speak they would finish with an inhalation as if they were going to say, “Oh, no” or have to sneeze but don’t. I might as well add the shoulder bump here too. This is the common way to greet one another. I observed people approaching one another with a slight bend at the knees, bring in their right shoulder and then lift upwards to bump right shoulders – sort of catchy.
Armed with local knowledge about time, greetings, and how to say how much is this (centinos) and thank you (amasagnalow) I was ready to head out on my own and fly to Dire Dar. From Dire Dar I had to take a mini van to my final destination of Harar and I was hoping there would be other tourists on the plane so I could play sheep and follow them – ok, I was still a bit nervous being on my own when it comes to haggling about rides. I was the only sheep and felt like I was being sent to slaughter as I walked out of the airport and had to face the barrage of taxi drivers. I stood my ground and said I wanted to share a ride into town to get to the bus station. At the bus station, a sandy lot with a few vans around, I didn’t even get a chance to get outside the taxi before being bombarded with rides going to Harar. This is what it must be like being chased by paparazzi all the time. I was quickly whisked away in a van with a few other passengers. We drove to the outskirts of town and then people we told to get out – at least that is what it seemed like to me. A few clicks up the road the driver stopped again and requested more people to get out. Now it was only me and a couple. I was thinking this is strange and if the lady was told to get out then so would I – she could see the concern in my eyes and nodded it was OK. We set off again passing the people the driver made get out to walk the road. After a few more idle stops he picked up the same people walking. Very strange. This was also the start of St Gabriel’s celebration in Kulibi and the road from Dire Dar to Harar has a turn off to Kulibi about 45 km away. Already we saw people walking on the road to Kulibi. I was hoping to attend the celebration too if I found a group to go with in Harar.
Stay tuned for:
· Country music with Dedemous
· Feeding the hyenas
· Reaching critical mass at Kulibi
posted by Becky of Arabia at 7:37 PM
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