Sit for any time in the foyer of the Hilton Hotel in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, and you'll see a procession of Americans and Europeans wandering from their rooms across the marble floor to the restaurant or swimming pool with their precious new possessions - babies or infants they've just adopted.
I'd never really thought a great deal about international adoption until I was confronted with the scene as I checked into the hotel in September last year.
I'd arrived to film a story for ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent program about the drought-induced famine.
The longer I stayed, the more I started to think about the adopted children - where they were from and how they must feel to suddenly find themselves alone with someone whose skin colour doesn't match theirs and whose language they don't speak.
They're dressed in alien attire - a brand new Red Sox baseball cap and T-shirt with some cute and cheery foreign slogan plastered across the front - and in an environment like none they've ever seen, when just out on the street is the one they know so well, where their extended family and fellow countrymen reside.
There was something incredibly disturbing about seeing international adoption en masse. All these children about to leave their country to begin a new life in a faraway place, disconnected from their heritage and culture.
Out on the street where poverty and hardship prevail, my attitude softened. While I was filming at the produce market in Addis Ababa a little urchin appeared beside me.
She had short hair and was wearing a torn, faded dress with sash tails hanging loosely from the waist at both sides, and shoes with no laces.
Her toes exposed where the leather had worn through. She would have been about nine or 10, but she was already working; her job was to sweep up the rubbish in the markets.
"Miss," she said, "Americana?"
"No." I nodded with a smile as I rushed off to catch up with the crew.
"Where are you from?" She was at my side again.
"Australia," I replied, thinking in my ignorance that her next question would be, "Where's Australia?" But, no, she knew it was the land of the kangaroos and wanted to know if I could take her back so she could go to school.
"I would love to," I said, impressed by her request. "But unfortunately I can't." I was hoping, I must admit, that would be enough to send her and her friends back to work, but she persisted.
"Do you have any pens for me?"
"Sorry, I don't," I replied, quite surprised she was asking for pens and not, as is usually the case, money.
"What about paper? Do you have any paper for me for school?"
I didn't have anything on me because I'd been told to leave my bag in the car to avoid pickpockets. I felt terrible that I couldn't help her.
Here was this child desperate to write and learn, but instead of being at school she was dragging rotten fruit and vegetables from the mud and slush between the stalls.
What obvious potential she had. Imagine what she could achieve if I could take her back to school in Australia. Perhaps adoption is the answer, I thought to myself.
But that was an emotional reaction. It would be almost a year before I would have the chance to dwell seriously on the subject. In July I was on a plane heading back.
Seedy underbelly
Ethiopia is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, which requires international adoptions be used only as a last resort after all domestic adoption options have been exhausted.
There is overwhelming evidence to prove it is far better for a child to remain with its family or, if that's not possible, with another family in his or her own country than to be shipped off overseas. But in Ethiopia today it seems it's not about what's best for the child, but rather meeting the demand of foreigners wanting a child.
There are more than 70 private international adoption agencies operating in Ethiopia. None of them are Australian. In Australia, international adoptions are a Government affair and strict regulations help to keep the process transparent. Almost half the agencies in Ethiopia are unregistered, some doing whatever they can to find children to satisfy the foreign market.
While there are more than 5 million legitimate orphans in Ethiopia, a large proportion of these will never be considered for international adoptions.
Foreigners prefer younger children - babies to five-year-olds. Older children or those with health problems are more difficult to pitch. So while many children languish in underfunded and overcrowded orphanages, some international adoption agencies are out spruiking in villages asking families to relinquish their children for adoption.
It's a phenomenon known as "harvesting" and it's shocking to see.
A DVD sent to families wanting to adopt by an American adoption agency, Christian World Adoption, shows one of the agency's workers in full flight surrounded by families and children in a remote community in the south of the country, where the vast majority are evangelical Christians.
"If you want your child to go to a Christian American family, you may stay. If you don't want your child to go to America, you should take your child away," she says.
The DVD goes on for some hours with the woman introducing each child offered for adoption one at a time. They sit on a bench in between her and their parents or guardians.
"Here are two brothers, but only one is available at the moment," she says for one family. For the next she tells how "it's very hard for a widow to care for her children in this culture".
"Oh no, you mustn't pick your nose," she says to a child. She then points out a rash on another's face and reassures the viewer it isn't permanent and that it can be healed with treatment. All children are asked to sing the alphabet song made famous on Sesame Street. It reeks of a new colonialism. It's hard to believe it's happening in the 21st century.
Parents are often unaware of what they're doing when they offer their children for adoption. They're led to believe they'll hear from their children regularly and their children will be well educated and eventually bring the family wealth.
But in reality, the parents and families never hear from their children and receive little information about where their children have gone. We filmed a room full of grieving mothers who gave their children for adoption after agencies promised they'd be given regular updates.
Some were even told the agency would help support their remaining children. Their stories are gut-wrenching.
No one disputes there is a real need for international adoptions, but for the sake of the children and adoptive parents there needs to be some protection from unscrupulous agencies who purport to be driven by humanitarian interests, but in reality are stuffing their pockets with dirty cash.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
48 hours in Addis Ababa
ADDIS ABABA - Got 48 hours to spare in Addis Ababa -- Africa's diplomatic hub and one of the highest capital cities in the world? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge give tips on how to make the most of a short stay.
FRIDAY
5 p.m. Have a couple of cold beers by the pool during happy hour at the Hilton Hotel. You'll rub shoulders with African Union diplomats, United Nation's workers and government ministers so the conversation is always controversial and interesting.
8 p.m. Ethiopians serve their food on a spongy pancake called injera. Well-cooked pieces of lamb called tibs are particularly good as are the array of vegetables eaten during fasting times. Hop in a taxi (the blue ones are cheapest and perfectly safe) to Fasika. It's one of the swankiest restaurants in town but a great place to try the local cuisine for the first time. A lively dance show takes you on a whistle-stop tour of Ethiopian culture.
10 p.m. With a belly full of Ethiopian food, now's a good time to head to a traditional bar known as an Azmari bet. Try the Kazanchis area and ask your taxi driver for recommendations. Fendika is a good one. Azmaris are the performers who sing songs often made up on the spot. If you're lucky they might even sing one about you.
SATURDAY
9 a.m. Many visitors to Addis are overwhelmed by the scale of visible poverty and the street children they see on almost every corner. Instead of doling out change randomly, pay a quick visit to Hope Enterprises on Churchill Road and buy some meal tickets. Every day almost 700 children redeem the tickets for a healthy dinner at the center.
9:15 a.m. Now you're in the right spot to indulge in some souvenir shopping. Shops carrying everything from Ethiopian silver to memorabilia from Ethiopia's brief Italian occupation line Churchill Road. Take your time to compare prices across a few stores.
11:00 a.m. If the shopping bug has bitten, why not hop in a taxi to the Mercato? Some say it's Africa's biggest open-air market but nobody really knows. Just watch your pockets. But don't worry too much. Addis is one of Africa's safest capitals and crime is rare.
1 p.m. After a trip to London at the turn of the 20th century, Princess Taitu asked her husband Emperor Menelik II to build a hotel like the ones she had seen there. The Itegue Taitu Hotel was the result and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Addis. Go for a bite and ask to be served outside the upstairs bedrooms in the main building.
3 p.m. Time for coffee. And you're in the best place in the world for that. Legend has it the coffee bean was discovered centuries ago by a shepherd in northern Ethiopia and Ethiopians take their coffee very seriously indeed. Tamoca on Algeria Street is the oldest coffee shop in town and serves a great macchiato (espresso with milk). Coffee beans roast in front of your eyes in stylish Italian art-deco surroundings. They're for sale too.
5 p.m. English Premier League football obsesses Africans.
FRIDAY
5 p.m. Have a couple of cold beers by the pool during happy hour at the Hilton Hotel. You'll rub shoulders with African Union diplomats, United Nation's workers and government ministers so the conversation is always controversial and interesting.
8 p.m. Ethiopians serve their food on a spongy pancake called injera. Well-cooked pieces of lamb called tibs are particularly good as are the array of vegetables eaten during fasting times. Hop in a taxi (the blue ones are cheapest and perfectly safe) to Fasika. It's one of the swankiest restaurants in town but a great place to try the local cuisine for the first time. A lively dance show takes you on a whistle-stop tour of Ethiopian culture.
10 p.m. With a belly full of Ethiopian food, now's a good time to head to a traditional bar known as an Azmari bet. Try the Kazanchis area and ask your taxi driver for recommendations. Fendika is a good one. Azmaris are the performers who sing songs often made up on the spot. If you're lucky they might even sing one about you.
SATURDAY
9 a.m. Many visitors to Addis are overwhelmed by the scale of visible poverty and the street children they see on almost every corner. Instead of doling out change randomly, pay a quick visit to Hope Enterprises on Churchill Road and buy some meal tickets. Every day almost 700 children redeem the tickets for a healthy dinner at the center.
9:15 a.m. Now you're in the right spot to indulge in some souvenir shopping. Shops carrying everything from Ethiopian silver to memorabilia from Ethiopia's brief Italian occupation line Churchill Road. Take your time to compare prices across a few stores.
11:00 a.m. If the shopping bug has bitten, why not hop in a taxi to the Mercato? Some say it's Africa's biggest open-air market but nobody really knows. Just watch your pockets. But don't worry too much. Addis is one of Africa's safest capitals and crime is rare.
1 p.m. After a trip to London at the turn of the 20th century, Princess Taitu asked her husband Emperor Menelik II to build a hotel like the ones she had seen there. The Itegue Taitu Hotel was the result and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Addis. Go for a bite and ask to be served outside the upstairs bedrooms in the main building.
3 p.m. Time for coffee. And you're in the best place in the world for that. Legend has it the coffee bean was discovered centuries ago by a shepherd in northern Ethiopia and Ethiopians take their coffee very seriously indeed. Tamoca on Algeria Street is the oldest coffee shop in town and serves a great macchiato (espresso with milk). Coffee beans roast in front of your eyes in stylish Italian art-deco surroundings. They're for sale too.
5 p.m. English Premier League football obsesses Africans.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Travelling back in time to ancient Ethiopia
MEQUAT MARIAM, Ethiopia - A giant eagle glides gracefully over a remote mountaintop in northern Ethiopia as a barefoot man draped in goatskin watches.
"It’s a big bird that makes a peaceful sound," he says in the local Amharic language to two foreigners who have approached the cliff edge. "Where is your country?"
Until a few years ago, most people who live in these small villages surrounded by dramatic scenery and rock-hewn churches had never even seen anyone from outside Ethiopia.
But now tourists are beginning to come and communities are changing.
"We’ve helped the people set up hosting facilities -- a place where tourists can sleep and stay," says Mark Chapman of Tesfa, a charity that brings tourists to these areas but encourages locals to manage the business and earn money from the visitors.
"They look after the tourists, then the tourists trek from one place to another, each village providing a service, with a donkey to carry luggage and a guide to come along."
Ethiopia boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites but decades of hunger, conflict and political instability have kept its palaces, obelisks and castles off the beaten track for even the most intrepid visitors to Africa.
Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of the Horn of Africa nation’s gross national product -- something the government of this desperately poor country is trying to change.
"There is a very important community tourism experience in Ethiopia under Tesfa," Tourism Minister Mohamoud Dirir told Reuters. "That experience would bring income to marginalised communities, where an appreciative, responsible tourist could live with the communities. It is an open-ended opportunity."
A straw-and-mud hut stands at the edge of a vast meadow where cattle graze and farmers thresh grain much as they have for thousands of years. But learning to grind grain -- while a horse and a cow watch from the corner of the room -- is German tourist Susanne Wolfgarten.
"The special thing is you really meet the people in a natural setting," said Susanne.
"We had lots of interesting and funny meetings along the way. People were coming from church, farmers were working, women were outside washing clothes."
Susanne and her guide leave the house and walk through a field of corn by a cliff edge as boy shepherds stop shouting at each other across the valleys to greet her in English.
"To some extent it’s a throwback to our own history in Europe in the middle ages with fields of wheat and barley growing," said Chapman. "So I think one thing that fascinates people is this throwback to historical -- even biblical -- images."
The guides who walk with the visitors introduce them to communities, explain the way of life and help to search out wildlife such as baboons and the rare Ethiopian wolf.
"The work makes me healthy and I meet different people from different countries," said Addisu Abebaw, a former soldier now working as one of the guides. "I get different knowledge from different countries. I can’t describe how much I love it."
Chapman says part of the reason Tesfa was set up was to ensure that local communities were not exploited by the arrival of the tourists -- something that worries some charities.
"There is a need for alternative incomes here," he said. "Farm sizes are getting smaller, farmers are ploughing less and they can’t get enough food to feed their families for a year. Tourism is an obvious idea when you’re in a very beautiful area."
Yeshiye Getu, who cooks for Tesfa, says that since the tourists started to come she has been able to pay for the education of her two daughters and buy them shoes.
"I can say that life has changed," she said. "It is good now."
Her daughters approach two Irish doctors and begin to laugh.
"There’s no TV out here," says Chapman, smiling as the children practice their few English words. "So I think to some extent the tourists have become the entertainment."
"It’s a big bird that makes a peaceful sound," he says in the local Amharic language to two foreigners who have approached the cliff edge. "Where is your country?"
Until a few years ago, most people who live in these small villages surrounded by dramatic scenery and rock-hewn churches had never even seen anyone from outside Ethiopia.
But now tourists are beginning to come and communities are changing.
"We’ve helped the people set up hosting facilities -- a place where tourists can sleep and stay," says Mark Chapman of Tesfa, a charity that brings tourists to these areas but encourages locals to manage the business and earn money from the visitors.
"They look after the tourists, then the tourists trek from one place to another, each village providing a service, with a donkey to carry luggage and a guide to come along."
Ethiopia boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites but decades of hunger, conflict and political instability have kept its palaces, obelisks and castles off the beaten track for even the most intrepid visitors to Africa.
Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of the Horn of Africa nation’s gross national product -- something the government of this desperately poor country is trying to change.
"There is a very important community tourism experience in Ethiopia under Tesfa," Tourism Minister Mohamoud Dirir told Reuters. "That experience would bring income to marginalised communities, where an appreciative, responsible tourist could live with the communities. It is an open-ended opportunity."
A straw-and-mud hut stands at the edge of a vast meadow where cattle graze and farmers thresh grain much as they have for thousands of years. But learning to grind grain -- while a horse and a cow watch from the corner of the room -- is German tourist Susanne Wolfgarten.
"The special thing is you really meet the people in a natural setting," said Susanne.
"We had lots of interesting and funny meetings along the way. People were coming from church, farmers were working, women were outside washing clothes."
Susanne and her guide leave the house and walk through a field of corn by a cliff edge as boy shepherds stop shouting at each other across the valleys to greet her in English.
"To some extent it’s a throwback to our own history in Europe in the middle ages with fields of wheat and barley growing," said Chapman. "So I think one thing that fascinates people is this throwback to historical -- even biblical -- images."
The guides who walk with the visitors introduce them to communities, explain the way of life and help to search out wildlife such as baboons and the rare Ethiopian wolf.
"The work makes me healthy and I meet different people from different countries," said Addisu Abebaw, a former soldier now working as one of the guides. "I get different knowledge from different countries. I can’t describe how much I love it."
Chapman says part of the reason Tesfa was set up was to ensure that local communities were not exploited by the arrival of the tourists -- something that worries some charities.
"There is a need for alternative incomes here," he said. "Farm sizes are getting smaller, farmers are ploughing less and they can’t get enough food to feed their families for a year. Tourism is an obvious idea when you’re in a very beautiful area."
Yeshiye Getu, who cooks for Tesfa, says that since the tourists started to come she has been able to pay for the education of her two daughters and buy them shoes.
"I can say that life has changed," she said. "It is good now."
Her daughters approach two Irish doctors and begin to laugh.
"There’s no TV out here," says Chapman, smiling as the children practice their few English words. "So I think to some extent the tourists have become the entertainment."
Friday, June 12, 2009
Living history in Ethiopia
Ties to ancient Israel run deep in the home of the Queen of Sheba, where Christianity came early and the churches are ancient and unique
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The Queen of Sheba's palace isn't what it used to be. Its roof is long gone. Its grand entrance is but a memory. Yet the 3,000-year-old ruins remain, sprawling over thin-grassed farm fields in Axum -- once the capital of a great world power and today a dusty Ethiopian town where cows and children, goats and donkeys roam free.
The Queen lived well. It is still possible to stride across her vast flagstone-floored throne room, just one of 50 excavated chambers. The sophisticated drainage system features fish-shaped granite gargoyles. Several brick ovens line the large kitchen, and multiple stairwells indicate that there were many more rooms above.
Here, according to Ethiopians, a great dynasty was born. And, as all great dynasties should, this one begins with a love story. As they tell it, the Queen of Sheba left Ethiopia only once, to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem. Solomon, despite being married, became smitten with the beautiful Queen. She reciprocated his desire and upon her return to Axum she gave birth to his son, Menelik.
Menelik I took the throne when his mother died, roughly a thousand years before the birth of Christ, and began a line of Solomonic rulers that endured with only a brief interruption until Emperor Haile Selassie, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was deposed 31 years ago.
Menelik I is also, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox church, responsible for that country's possessing the greatest relic of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It seems that the king went to visit his father, and somehow brought back the original Ark of the Covenant, previously kept in the great temple in Jerusalem.
The Ark is believed to hold the original tablets containing the Ten Commandments that God handed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and it is now said to be kept in Axum's Church of St. Mary of Zion. Only one elderly monk guards this treasure, which no one else may see.
St. Mary of Zion is one of thousands of Christian churches that dot the Ethiopian landscape. Christianity came early to Axum, and soon after A.D. 300 this new faith became the country's official religion. It has evolved little over the years, and its vivid churches are unlike any found elsewhere in the world.
This town's greatest attractions, however, are not its churches, but its stelae -- towering obelisks piercing the bright blue sky, the largest nine stories tall and cut from a single piece of granite. An even taller one, the height of a 13-storey building and weighing some 500 tonnes, lies on its side, broken. It fell, according to a written account, in about 850 AD.
Each stele has an altar for sacrificial offerings and a false door. No one knows exactly when or why they were built. Some say they were meant to house spirits.
Axum today shows much and hides much. Only about three per cent of this once vast city has been excavated. Kids routinely pull ancient coins from farm fields. It is a place rich with the feeling of unsolved mysteries.
In fact, mysteries and miracles abound all along Ethiopia's Historic Route, with each of the three remaining stops reflecting a different era in the county's rich life.
The 11 rock-hewn churches in the town of Lalibela have often been called the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Like the monoliths at Axum, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And, according to legend, they were each carved out of a single piece of rock at record speed, "as angels worked on them during the night."
The churches, many carved in deep trenches with only their roofs exposed, others cut directly into the rocks of caves, are all connected by a labyrinthine series of tunnels, paths and steep steps. Each has been used continuously since the beginning of the 13th century. Most are decorated with a Star of David, underscoring the church's close kinship with King Solomon. One displays a very old painting of a black Jesus.
It is a remarkable place, as priests and monks in brilliant brocade vestments carry on a religious life that has gone on here, hidden among the hills and caves, for nearly a thousand years.
If the rock churches of Lalibela impress with their stark simplicity, the 29 churches and monasteries scattered over the islands of Lake Tana, headwaters of the Blue Nile River, delight with their vivid paintings in primary colours.
Abba Hailemariam Genetu, Head Priest at Azwah Maryam -- a circular church with a grass roof, located on an isolated peninsula -- greets visitors.
"This church," he says, "dates back to the 14th century. It is younger than most."
The handsome Abba, or Father, Genetu, speaks a Semitic language related to Hebrew, doesn't eat pork and performs ritual circumcision. He, like all Ethiopian Orthodox, practices a Christianity that is older, closer to Judaism, and far more exotic -- complete with ritual dancing and drumming -- than you'll find anywhere in North America.
His remote church was constructed to protect the faith, but also to reserve Ethiopia's ancient religious treasures -- ornate silver and bronze crosses, prayer sticks that recall Moses' staff and centuries-old illuminated manuscripts.
The church walls are covered with paintings which, over time, have also become treasures. One shows the child Jesus zooming down a board from a second story window, while less sacred children, who have tried and failed, lie scattered around the ground. Others illustrate the Holy Trinity: three identical dark-skinned, white-haired, white-bearded men.
If the rock churches are marvels of construction, and the churches of Lake Tana delight with their vivid paintings, the castles of Gondar simply astonish. Getchu Eshetu, my guide throughout Ethiopia, calls this site "Africa's Camelot," and he does not overstate the case. This palace complex looks as though it has been airlifted from medieval Europe.
In fact, the castle construction was begun by Emperor Fasiladas in 1632, when he declared the town of Gondar to be Ethiopia's first official capital.
His brown basalt palace was assembled using mortar and boasts four domed towers and battlements.
A Yemeni merchant who visited in 1648 wrote that it was "one of the most marvelous of buildings" he had ever seen, mentioning rooms trimmed in ivory and jewels, courtiers in fine brocade and thrones embroidered in gold.
Succeeding rulers constructed their own palaces. The 18th-century Empress Mentewab built a lovely one, where it is said she hosted Scotsman James Bruce (for five years!) when he came through searching for the headwaters of the Nile.
Other Europeans were less kind to the castles. Mussolini's Italians, who occupied Ethiopia from 1935 to 1941, used them as barracks. The British found out and bombed the buildings. Restoration is a slow process in a poor country, yet much of the complex remains, a reminder of the days when Gondar ruled a great empire.
As travellers complete the historic circle, it becomes abundantly clear that this mountainous country in the Horn of Africa contains treasures that should be on every history buff's wish list. Someday they will be, but for now it's still possible -- and lovely -- to experience Ethiopia's great sites without being jostled by hoards of tourists.
- - -
ACCOMMODATIONS IN ETHIOPIA
Addis Ababa, the capital city and jumpin off point for tours, offers several luxury hotels:
Sheraton Addis, a member of the chain's luxury collection, is one of the finest hotels in Africa. Its vast pool and gardens, excellent shops and Italian, Indian and fine dining restaurants make it a lovely oasis in a sometimes chaotic city. Doubles from $181 US a night. 888-625-4988 or 011-251-1-171717; www.starwoodhotels.com; Taitu Street, Box 6002, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Hilton Addis Ababa, on six hectares in the heart of the city, features a heated pool, four tennis courts and a spa (where a one-hour massage costs roughly $8.50). The hotel has a vast array of shops and restaurants, and rooms complete with balconies. Doubles from $151 a night. 800-HILTONS or 011-251-1-518400; www.hilton.com; corner of Menelik II Avenue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ghion Hotels, a chain run by the Ethiopian government, are the best available on the Historic Route. They are well located (on the shore of Lake Tana, on a hill overlooking Axum, for example), but the accommodations tend to be rather simple. Prices vary, and will be included in tour packages. Phone: 011-251-1-1513-222; Ghion Hotels Enterprise, Res Desta Damteu Ave., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Be sure to sample Ethiopian cuisine, typically a fermented, sponge-like pancake called injera, topped by a spicy stew called wat. The hotels on the Historic Route, however, are accustomed to catering to western tastes, serving up fresh fish, chicken and spaghetti. Save your fine-dining appetite for meals at the Hilton or the Sheraton, at journey's end.
Melissa Burdick Harmon served as travel editor of Biography Magazine and its predecessor, A&E Monthly, for 12 years.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The Queen of Sheba's palace isn't what it used to be. Its roof is long gone. Its grand entrance is but a memory. Yet the 3,000-year-old ruins remain, sprawling over thin-grassed farm fields in Axum -- once the capital of a great world power and today a dusty Ethiopian town where cows and children, goats and donkeys roam free.
The Queen lived well. It is still possible to stride across her vast flagstone-floored throne room, just one of 50 excavated chambers. The sophisticated drainage system features fish-shaped granite gargoyles. Several brick ovens line the large kitchen, and multiple stairwells indicate that there were many more rooms above.
Here, according to Ethiopians, a great dynasty was born. And, as all great dynasties should, this one begins with a love story. As they tell it, the Queen of Sheba left Ethiopia only once, to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem. Solomon, despite being married, became smitten with the beautiful Queen. She reciprocated his desire and upon her return to Axum she gave birth to his son, Menelik.
Menelik I took the throne when his mother died, roughly a thousand years before the birth of Christ, and began a line of Solomonic rulers that endured with only a brief interruption until Emperor Haile Selassie, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, was deposed 31 years ago.
Menelik I is also, according to the Ethiopian Orthodox church, responsible for that country's possessing the greatest relic of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It seems that the king went to visit his father, and somehow brought back the original Ark of the Covenant, previously kept in the great temple in Jerusalem.
The Ark is believed to hold the original tablets containing the Ten Commandments that God handed to Moses on Mount Sinai, and it is now said to be kept in Axum's Church of St. Mary of Zion. Only one elderly monk guards this treasure, which no one else may see.
St. Mary of Zion is one of thousands of Christian churches that dot the Ethiopian landscape. Christianity came early to Axum, and soon after A.D. 300 this new faith became the country's official religion. It has evolved little over the years, and its vivid churches are unlike any found elsewhere in the world.
This town's greatest attractions, however, are not its churches, but its stelae -- towering obelisks piercing the bright blue sky, the largest nine stories tall and cut from a single piece of granite. An even taller one, the height of a 13-storey building and weighing some 500 tonnes, lies on its side, broken. It fell, according to a written account, in about 850 AD.
Each stele has an altar for sacrificial offerings and a false door. No one knows exactly when or why they were built. Some say they were meant to house spirits.
Axum today shows much and hides much. Only about three per cent of this once vast city has been excavated. Kids routinely pull ancient coins from farm fields. It is a place rich with the feeling of unsolved mysteries.
In fact, mysteries and miracles abound all along Ethiopia's Historic Route, with each of the three remaining stops reflecting a different era in the county's rich life.
The 11 rock-hewn churches in the town of Lalibela have often been called the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Like the monoliths at Axum, they are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And, according to legend, they were each carved out of a single piece of rock at record speed, "as angels worked on them during the night."
The churches, many carved in deep trenches with only their roofs exposed, others cut directly into the rocks of caves, are all connected by a labyrinthine series of tunnels, paths and steep steps. Each has been used continuously since the beginning of the 13th century. Most are decorated with a Star of David, underscoring the church's close kinship with King Solomon. One displays a very old painting of a black Jesus.
It is a remarkable place, as priests and monks in brilliant brocade vestments carry on a religious life that has gone on here, hidden among the hills and caves, for nearly a thousand years.
If the rock churches of Lalibela impress with their stark simplicity, the 29 churches and monasteries scattered over the islands of Lake Tana, headwaters of the Blue Nile River, delight with their vivid paintings in primary colours.
Abba Hailemariam Genetu, Head Priest at Azwah Maryam -- a circular church with a grass roof, located on an isolated peninsula -- greets visitors.
"This church," he says, "dates back to the 14th century. It is younger than most."
The handsome Abba, or Father, Genetu, speaks a Semitic language related to Hebrew, doesn't eat pork and performs ritual circumcision. He, like all Ethiopian Orthodox, practices a Christianity that is older, closer to Judaism, and far more exotic -- complete with ritual dancing and drumming -- than you'll find anywhere in North America.
His remote church was constructed to protect the faith, but also to reserve Ethiopia's ancient religious treasures -- ornate silver and bronze crosses, prayer sticks that recall Moses' staff and centuries-old illuminated manuscripts.
The church walls are covered with paintings which, over time, have also become treasures. One shows the child Jesus zooming down a board from a second story window, while less sacred children, who have tried and failed, lie scattered around the ground. Others illustrate the Holy Trinity: three identical dark-skinned, white-haired, white-bearded men.
If the rock churches are marvels of construction, and the churches of Lake Tana delight with their vivid paintings, the castles of Gondar simply astonish. Getchu Eshetu, my guide throughout Ethiopia, calls this site "Africa's Camelot," and he does not overstate the case. This palace complex looks as though it has been airlifted from medieval Europe.
In fact, the castle construction was begun by Emperor Fasiladas in 1632, when he declared the town of Gondar to be Ethiopia's first official capital.
His brown basalt palace was assembled using mortar and boasts four domed towers and battlements.
A Yemeni merchant who visited in 1648 wrote that it was "one of the most marvelous of buildings" he had ever seen, mentioning rooms trimmed in ivory and jewels, courtiers in fine brocade and thrones embroidered in gold.
Succeeding rulers constructed their own palaces. The 18th-century Empress Mentewab built a lovely one, where it is said she hosted Scotsman James Bruce (for five years!) when he came through searching for the headwaters of the Nile.
Other Europeans were less kind to the castles. Mussolini's Italians, who occupied Ethiopia from 1935 to 1941, used them as barracks. The British found out and bombed the buildings. Restoration is a slow process in a poor country, yet much of the complex remains, a reminder of the days when Gondar ruled a great empire.
As travellers complete the historic circle, it becomes abundantly clear that this mountainous country in the Horn of Africa contains treasures that should be on every history buff's wish list. Someday they will be, but for now it's still possible -- and lovely -- to experience Ethiopia's great sites without being jostled by hoards of tourists.
- - -
ACCOMMODATIONS IN ETHIOPIA
Addis Ababa, the capital city and jumpin off point for tours, offers several luxury hotels:
Sheraton Addis, a member of the chain's luxury collection, is one of the finest hotels in Africa. Its vast pool and gardens, excellent shops and Italian, Indian and fine dining restaurants make it a lovely oasis in a sometimes chaotic city. Doubles from $181 US a night. 888-625-4988 or 011-251-1-171717; www.starwoodhotels.com; Taitu Street, Box 6002, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Hilton Addis Ababa, on six hectares in the heart of the city, features a heated pool, four tennis courts and a spa (where a one-hour massage costs roughly $8.50). The hotel has a vast array of shops and restaurants, and rooms complete with balconies. Doubles from $151 a night. 800-HILTONS or 011-251-1-518400; www.hilton.com; corner of Menelik II Avenue, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ghion Hotels, a chain run by the Ethiopian government, are the best available on the Historic Route. They are well located (on the shore of Lake Tana, on a hill overlooking Axum, for example), but the accommodations tend to be rather simple. Prices vary, and will be included in tour packages. Phone: 011-251-1-1513-222; Ghion Hotels Enterprise, Res Desta Damteu Ave., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Be sure to sample Ethiopian cuisine, typically a fermented, sponge-like pancake called injera, topped by a spicy stew called wat. The hotels on the Historic Route, however, are accustomed to catering to western tastes, serving up fresh fish, chicken and spaghetti. Save your fine-dining appetite for meals at the Hilton or the Sheraton, at journey's end.
Melissa Burdick Harmon served as travel editor of Biography Magazine and its predecessor, A&E Monthly, for 12 years.
Love Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the most interesting, memorable, and difficult countries in Africa, and I’m happy to say I was in love with it at first sight.
The countryside is lovely. I never knew if the subject of my next spontaneous rural shot will give me a big smile and then come see what’s on the screen, or will bend down for a rock. On that note - tired looking women with enormous heaps of straw, grass, and wood strapped to their backs, are surprisingly agile and have excellent aim!
My camera here caused the usual fuss – whole villages, ages three to one hundred and three, would gather to see what did the faranga (foreigner) find up in that tree? There is nothing there but some of the usual marabu storks with some chicks!
And the food! Ah, the food is the greatest I’ve tasted in traditional Africa so far. A huge flat spongy slightly sour pancake called
injera>/i> is toped with meats and vegetable in spicy sauces to be eaten with your hands. Yum!
The countryside is lovely. I never knew if the subject of my next spontaneous rural shot will give me a big smile and then come see what’s on the screen, or will bend down for a rock. On that note - tired looking women with enormous heaps of straw, grass, and wood strapped to their backs, are surprisingly agile and have excellent aim!
My camera here caused the usual fuss – whole villages, ages three to one hundred and three, would gather to see what did the faranga (foreigner) find up in that tree? There is nothing there but some of the usual marabu storks with some chicks!
And the food! Ah, the food is the greatest I’ve tasted in traditional Africa so far. A huge flat spongy slightly sour pancake called
injera>/i> is toped with meats and vegetable in spicy sauces to be eaten with your hands. Yum!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Ethiopia Football suspension ended
FIFA announced the lifting of the suspension by the FIFA Executive Committee on the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) on the condition that the electoral committee which has been installed would “organise and chair an elective general assembly by the end of July 2009.”
FIFA suspended the EFF in July after it failed to comply with the roadmap agreed in February 2008 aimed at normalising the situation of the federation. The problems at the EFF began in January 2008, when its general assembly fired Dr Ashebir. The assembly wanted to remove the president for what they said was the "dismal" record of Ethiopian football, and elected Ahmed Yasin to replace him. However, the January meeting was not recognised by Fifa, according to BBC, who have been trying to find a solution ever since.
In another development, FIFA gave Nigeria a deadline of 11 June to commit to hosting the under-17 World Cup or face forfeiting the tournament. Nigeria is due to host the 24-team event from 24 October to 15 November. But FIFA is unhappy that several cities have yet to prove their suitability to stage matches.
Wollega Stadium
Wollega Stadium Complex is a major ongoing project in Nekemte by Oromos and other Ethiopians from the Diaspora as well as in Oromia, Ethiopia. The construction is expected to last 4 years from 2008-2011.
The total project cost which is estimated at Birr 190 million is expected from community, public and donors. According to its website, to this date, Birr 33,200,000 is collected. According to JT sources, the youth, students, the local government and members of Jimma University have also organized fundraising activities to help the stadium. Among its various facilities are expected to be an Olympic standard running track & field as well as a FIFA standard football field. Click Here to Visit Wollega Stadium website
To find scores of Football matches in the Ethiopian Premier League use the JT SCOREBOARD sub-section at the "SPORTS" section of Jimma Times website.
FIFA suspended the EFF in July after it failed to comply with the roadmap agreed in February 2008 aimed at normalising the situation of the federation. The problems at the EFF began in January 2008, when its general assembly fired Dr Ashebir. The assembly wanted to remove the president for what they said was the "dismal" record of Ethiopian football, and elected Ahmed Yasin to replace him. However, the January meeting was not recognised by Fifa, according to BBC, who have been trying to find a solution ever since.
In another development, FIFA gave Nigeria a deadline of 11 June to commit to hosting the under-17 World Cup or face forfeiting the tournament. Nigeria is due to host the 24-team event from 24 October to 15 November. But FIFA is unhappy that several cities have yet to prove their suitability to stage matches.
Wollega Stadium
Wollega Stadium Complex is a major ongoing project in Nekemte by Oromos and other Ethiopians from the Diaspora as well as in Oromia, Ethiopia. The construction is expected to last 4 years from 2008-2011.
The total project cost which is estimated at Birr 190 million is expected from community, public and donors. According to its website, to this date, Birr 33,200,000 is collected. According to JT sources, the youth, students, the local government and members of Jimma University have also organized fundraising activities to help the stadium. Among its various facilities are expected to be an Olympic standard running track & field as well as a FIFA standard football field. Click Here to Visit Wollega Stadium website
To find scores of Football matches in the Ethiopian Premier League use the JT SCOREBOARD sub-section at the "SPORTS" section of Jimma Times website.
Masai upsets Ethiopia’s Dibaba in New York race
By Mutwiri Mutuota and IAAF
World Cross silver medallist and prodigious talent, Linet Masai, served notice she could be a serious contender at multiple distances after upsetting world record holder, Tirunesh Dibaba, at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York.
Masai, the world junior record holder over 10,000m breezed 14:35.39 to scorch the Ethiopian double Olympics champion in the women’s 5,000m race.
Dibaba clocked 14:40.93 with both women fighting swirling winds at the same track where another Ethiopian, Meseret Defar set a then world record of 14:24.3 three years ago. At the Beijing Olympics, Masai finished fourth in the 10,000m race won by Dibaba who later added the 5,000m title. The Ethiopian clearly intended to chase a fast early-season mark, demanding a pace the designated pacemaker could only maintain for about 1,800m.
After that it was Dibaba, Masai, Dibaba’s younger sister Gezenbe, and Kim Smith of New Zealand. Smith was the first off the back, beginning to fall back after 2,000m, and with six laps remaining Dibaba waved Masai to the front to share the pacesetting labour.
Masai delivered more than was expected of her, not only maintaining the pressure, but after three laps building a small gap on Dibaba. With two laps remaining it was clear that Masai was going to be hard even for Dibaba to catch, and indeed her lead continued to grow until the finish line.
"I’m so excited," Masai told IAAF afterward. "I was not expecting that fast a time, 14:45 maybe. I was expecting (Dibaba) to pass me in the last lap, even when I saw the lead I had. I was surprised when she never showed up."
Another victory for Kenya at the same meeting was delivered by world 10k record holder Micah Kogo, who humbled double world champion, Bernard Lagat, in the men’s 5,000m race.
Lagat, whose hopes of a sub-13:00 race were undermined by the gusty conditions, found himself kicking with Kogo in the final lap and the world record holder got the nod, winning in 13:02.90 to Lagat’s 13:03.06.
"I thought I would get beaten out in the sprint," Kogo told IAAF adding. "I know he’s a 1,500m man and he can run faster than me. But I saw in the last 200m that he could not go.
"It was difficult because of the wind on the back side. I was hoping to tuck in, but I wasn’t able to."
In the men’s 800m, Olympic semi-finalist and US-based student, Boaz Lalang, ran 1:46.48 for third where American Khadevis Robinson clocked 1:46.00 for victory.
In the women’s 1,500m event, world championships silver medallist, Vivian Cheruiyot, was relegated to fifth (4:08.54) a place behind compatriot Sally Kipyego who breasted the tape in 4:07.92.
World Cross silver medallist and prodigious talent, Linet Masai, served notice she could be a serious contender at multiple distances after upsetting world record holder, Tirunesh Dibaba, at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York.
Masai, the world junior record holder over 10,000m breezed 14:35.39 to scorch the Ethiopian double Olympics champion in the women’s 5,000m race.
Dibaba clocked 14:40.93 with both women fighting swirling winds at the same track where another Ethiopian, Meseret Defar set a then world record of 14:24.3 three years ago. At the Beijing Olympics, Masai finished fourth in the 10,000m race won by Dibaba who later added the 5,000m title. The Ethiopian clearly intended to chase a fast early-season mark, demanding a pace the designated pacemaker could only maintain for about 1,800m.
After that it was Dibaba, Masai, Dibaba’s younger sister Gezenbe, and Kim Smith of New Zealand. Smith was the first off the back, beginning to fall back after 2,000m, and with six laps remaining Dibaba waved Masai to the front to share the pacesetting labour.
Masai delivered more than was expected of her, not only maintaining the pressure, but after three laps building a small gap on Dibaba. With two laps remaining it was clear that Masai was going to be hard even for Dibaba to catch, and indeed her lead continued to grow until the finish line.
"I’m so excited," Masai told IAAF afterward. "I was not expecting that fast a time, 14:45 maybe. I was expecting (Dibaba) to pass me in the last lap, even when I saw the lead I had. I was surprised when she never showed up."
Another victory for Kenya at the same meeting was delivered by world 10k record holder Micah Kogo, who humbled double world champion, Bernard Lagat, in the men’s 5,000m race.
Lagat, whose hopes of a sub-13:00 race were undermined by the gusty conditions, found himself kicking with Kogo in the final lap and the world record holder got the nod, winning in 13:02.90 to Lagat’s 13:03.06.
"I thought I would get beaten out in the sprint," Kogo told IAAF adding. "I know he’s a 1,500m man and he can run faster than me. But I saw in the last 200m that he could not go.
"It was difficult because of the wind on the back side. I was hoping to tuck in, but I wasn’t able to."
In the men’s 800m, Olympic semi-finalist and US-based student, Boaz Lalang, ran 1:46.48 for third where American Khadevis Robinson clocked 1:46.00 for victory.
In the women’s 1,500m event, world championships silver medallist, Vivian Cheruiyot, was relegated to fifth (4:08.54) a place behind compatriot Sally Kipyego who breasted the tape in 4:07.92.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Visiting Ethiopia - Part I
By Martin Roberts and Naylah Hamour
Finally I have got round to writing my review of our trip, and I got a bit carried away.
That was partly because I started thinking I would like to write something down for Naylah and myself to help us remember.
We had been intending to go to Ethiopia for a long time, and we were delighted that we finally got round to doing it, and even more delighted that we happened upon Eskinder of Highway Tours.
He came up with an itinerary for us which turned out to be the ideal amount of time in each place. We were also pleased to be able to spend some time with him in Addis showing us the sights there. Eskinder also came on the final leg of our trip, to Harar, enduring a 12-hour coach journey both ways just so he could check on the driver there, who he had not met before.
On every leg of our trip, we found extremely pleasant, knowledgeable guides and excellent drivers who could not have done more to make our stay a pleasurable one. Our guide in the Simien Mountains, Sema, even invited us into his house for a coffee ceremony, which was a fascinating experience in itself, as well as wonderful hospitality.
And all the time we were travelling round, our guides were fielding phone calls from the ever vigilant Eskinder, making sure everything was running smoothly.
More at :http://www.ethiopiantour.com/blog/finally-visiting-ethiopia-pt1/
Finally I have got round to writing my review of our trip, and I got a bit carried away.
That was partly because I started thinking I would like to write something down for Naylah and myself to help us remember.
We had been intending to go to Ethiopia for a long time, and we were delighted that we finally got round to doing it, and even more delighted that we happened upon Eskinder of Highway Tours.
He came up with an itinerary for us which turned out to be the ideal amount of time in each place. We were also pleased to be able to spend some time with him in Addis showing us the sights there. Eskinder also came on the final leg of our trip, to Harar, enduring a 12-hour coach journey both ways just so he could check on the driver there, who he had not met before.
On every leg of our trip, we found extremely pleasant, knowledgeable guides and excellent drivers who could not have done more to make our stay a pleasurable one. Our guide in the Simien Mountains, Sema, even invited us into his house for a coffee ceremony, which was a fascinating experience in itself, as well as wonderful hospitality.
And all the time we were travelling round, our guides were fielding phone calls from the ever vigilant Eskinder, making sure everything was running smoothly.
More at :http://www.ethiopiantour.com/blog/finally-visiting-ethiopia-pt1/
Friday, May 8, 2009
Traveling back in time to ancient Ethiopia
By Barry Malone
MEQUAT MARIAM, Ethiopia (Reuters Life!) - A giant eagle glides gracefully over a remote mountaintop in northern Ethiopia as a barefoot man draped in goatskin watches.
"It's a big bird that makes a peaceful sound," he says in the local Amharic language to two foreigners who have approached the cliff edge. "Where is your country?"
Until a few years ago, most people who live in these small villages surrounded by dramatic scenery and rock-hewn churches had never even seen anyone from outside Ethiopia.
But now tourists are beginning to come and communities are changing.
"We've helped the people set up hosting facilities -- a place where tourists can sleep and stay," says Mark Chapman of Tesfa, a charity that brings tourists to these areas but encourages locals to manage the business and earn money from the visitors.
"They look after the tourists, then the tourists trek from one place to another, each village providing a service, with a donkey to carry luggage and a guide to come along."
Ethiopia boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites but decades of hunger, conflict and political instability have kept its palaces, obelisks and castles off the beaten track for even the most intrepid visitors to Africa.
Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of the Horn of Africa nation's gross national product -- something the government of this desperately poor country is trying to change.
"There is a very important community tourism experience in Ethiopia under Tesfa," Tourism Minister Mohamoud Dirir told Reuters. "That experience would bring income to marginalized communities, where an appreciative, responsible tourist could live with the communities. It is an open-ended opportunity."
"TOURISTS ARE THE ENTERTAINMENT"
A straw-and-mud hut stands at the edge of a vast meadow where cattle graze and farmers thresh grain much as they have for thousands of years. But learning to grind grain -- while a horse and a cow watch from the corner of the room -- is German tourist Susanne Wolfgarten.
"The special thing is you really meet the people in a natural setting," said Susanne.
"We had lots of interesting and funny meetings along the way. People were coming from church, farmers were working, women were outside washing clothes."
Susanne and her guide leave the house and walk through a field of corn by a cliff edge as boy shepherds stop shouting at each other across the valleys to greet her in English.
"To some extent it's a throwback to our own history in Europe in the middle ages with fields of wheat and barley growing," said Chapman. "So I think one thing that fascinates people is this throwback to historical -- even biblical -- images."
The guides who walk with the visitors introduce them to communities, explain the way of life and help to search out wildlife such as baboons and the rare Ethiopian wolf.
"The work makes me healthy and I meet different people from different countries," said Addisu Abebaw, a former soldier now working as one of the guides. "I get different knowledge from different countries. I can't describe how much I love it."
Chapman says part of the reason Tesfa was set up was to ensure that local communities were not exploited by the arrival of the tourists -- something that worries some charities.
"There is a need for alternative incomes here," he said. "Farm sizes are getting smaller, farmers are plowing less and they can't get enough food to feed their families for a year. Tourism is an obvious idea when you're in a very beautiful area."
Yeshiye Getu, who cooks for Tesfa, says that since the tourists started to come she has been able to pay for the education of her two daughters and buy them shoes.
"I can say that life has changed," she said. "It is good now."
Her daughters approach two Irish doctors and begin to laugh.
"There's no TV out here," says Chapman, smiling as the children practice their few English words. "So I think to some extent the tourists have become the entertainment."
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
MEQUAT MARIAM, Ethiopia (Reuters Life!) - A giant eagle glides gracefully over a remote mountaintop in northern Ethiopia as a barefoot man draped in goatskin watches.
"It's a big bird that makes a peaceful sound," he says in the local Amharic language to two foreigners who have approached the cliff edge. "Where is your country?"
Until a few years ago, most people who live in these small villages surrounded by dramatic scenery and rock-hewn churches had never even seen anyone from outside Ethiopia.
But now tourists are beginning to come and communities are changing.
"We've helped the people set up hosting facilities -- a place where tourists can sleep and stay," says Mark Chapman of Tesfa, a charity that brings tourists to these areas but encourages locals to manage the business and earn money from the visitors.
"They look after the tourists, then the tourists trek from one place to another, each village providing a service, with a donkey to carry luggage and a guide to come along."
Ethiopia boasts eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites but decades of hunger, conflict and political instability have kept its palaces, obelisks and castles off the beaten track for even the most intrepid visitors to Africa.
Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of the Horn of Africa nation's gross national product -- something the government of this desperately poor country is trying to change.
"There is a very important community tourism experience in Ethiopia under Tesfa," Tourism Minister Mohamoud Dirir told Reuters. "That experience would bring income to marginalized communities, where an appreciative, responsible tourist could live with the communities. It is an open-ended opportunity."
"TOURISTS ARE THE ENTERTAINMENT"
A straw-and-mud hut stands at the edge of a vast meadow where cattle graze and farmers thresh grain much as they have for thousands of years. But learning to grind grain -- while a horse and a cow watch from the corner of the room -- is German tourist Susanne Wolfgarten.
"The special thing is you really meet the people in a natural setting," said Susanne.
"We had lots of interesting and funny meetings along the way. People were coming from church, farmers were working, women were outside washing clothes."
Susanne and her guide leave the house and walk through a field of corn by a cliff edge as boy shepherds stop shouting at each other across the valleys to greet her in English.
"To some extent it's a throwback to our own history in Europe in the middle ages with fields of wheat and barley growing," said Chapman. "So I think one thing that fascinates people is this throwback to historical -- even biblical -- images."
The guides who walk with the visitors introduce them to communities, explain the way of life and help to search out wildlife such as baboons and the rare Ethiopian wolf.
"The work makes me healthy and I meet different people from different countries," said Addisu Abebaw, a former soldier now working as one of the guides. "I get different knowledge from different countries. I can't describe how much I love it."
Chapman says part of the reason Tesfa was set up was to ensure that local communities were not exploited by the arrival of the tourists -- something that worries some charities.
"There is a need for alternative incomes here," he said. "Farm sizes are getting smaller, farmers are plowing less and they can't get enough food to feed their families for a year. Tourism is an obvious idea when you're in a very beautiful area."
Yeshiye Getu, who cooks for Tesfa, says that since the tourists started to come she has been able to pay for the education of her two daughters and buy them shoes.
"I can say that life has changed," she said. "It is good now."
Her daughters approach two Irish doctors and begin to laugh.
"There's no TV out here," says Chapman, smiling as the children practice their few English words. "So I think to some extent the tourists have become the entertainment."
(Editing by Paul Casciato)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Ethiopia Made Easy
By John Owens
Editor in Chief
Some of the most wonderful places to photograph are the most difficult to get to. At least that used to be the case with Ethiopia. This East African country, with its thundering Blue Nile Falls, beautifully preserved 12-century churches, and many people untouched by the modern world, truly falls into the category of “undiscovered.”
Part of the reason is that for many years it was difficult to find a travel company that could take you there on your terms without feeling—and spending—like you were on a Victorian-era expedition.
But the country’s Boeing-jet-flying flag carrier has made customized trips easy to set up and easy to afford with its new Ethiopian Airlines Journeys.
Say you want to spend a week exploring the northern half of the country, starting in the center at the capital of Addis Ababa. As little as $2,000 per person can get you round-trip airfare from Washington, D.C.’s Dulles airport, accommodations, and a guided sweep through the best of the country photo ops.
From the capital to the Blue Nile Falls to Gondar (with its compound of royal castles), to Lalibela (with its 12 churches hewn out of red stone and preserved as an absolute marvel of both engineering and piety), you will get images that are as uncommon as the place itself.
A visit to the southern part of Ethiopia will bring you into areas where local life is still quite tribal, and the infrastructure primitive. But the rewards include opportunities to photograph people such as the Mursi tribe, where a mark of beauty for women in wearing a pie-sized plate in the lower lip. And to visit Shala and Abyata Rift Valley Lakes National Park where the bird-watching alone is worth the trip.
If you want even greater local insights, Ethiopian Airlines Journeys can enlist experts ranging from archaeologists to professional photographers to join you. In fact, you can get your trip customized in any way, including adding a traditional safari to nearby Kenya or Tanzania.
September and October are great times to visit because the rainy season is over and the landscape is green. To get amazing images of the tens of thousands of white-robed faithful celebrating Timkat, Epiphany in the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, visit in late January. To avoid the crowds, try February and March.
To see what a trip to East Africa can do for your photography, visit www.seeyouinethiopia.com, or call Ethiopian Airlines Journeys at 866-599-3797.
Editor in Chief
Some of the most wonderful places to photograph are the most difficult to get to. At least that used to be the case with Ethiopia. This East African country, with its thundering Blue Nile Falls, beautifully preserved 12-century churches, and many people untouched by the modern world, truly falls into the category of “undiscovered.”
Part of the reason is that for many years it was difficult to find a travel company that could take you there on your terms without feeling—and spending—like you were on a Victorian-era expedition.
But the country’s Boeing-jet-flying flag carrier has made customized trips easy to set up and easy to afford with its new Ethiopian Airlines Journeys.
Say you want to spend a week exploring the northern half of the country, starting in the center at the capital of Addis Ababa. As little as $2,000 per person can get you round-trip airfare from Washington, D.C.’s Dulles airport, accommodations, and a guided sweep through the best of the country photo ops.
From the capital to the Blue Nile Falls to Gondar (with its compound of royal castles), to Lalibela (with its 12 churches hewn out of red stone and preserved as an absolute marvel of both engineering and piety), you will get images that are as uncommon as the place itself.
A visit to the southern part of Ethiopia will bring you into areas where local life is still quite tribal, and the infrastructure primitive. But the rewards include opportunities to photograph people such as the Mursi tribe, where a mark of beauty for women in wearing a pie-sized plate in the lower lip. And to visit Shala and Abyata Rift Valley Lakes National Park where the bird-watching alone is worth the trip.
If you want even greater local insights, Ethiopian Airlines Journeys can enlist experts ranging from archaeologists to professional photographers to join you. In fact, you can get your trip customized in any way, including adding a traditional safari to nearby Kenya or Tanzania.
September and October are great times to visit because the rainy season is over and the landscape is green. To get amazing images of the tens of thousands of white-robed faithful celebrating Timkat, Epiphany in the Ethiopian Orthodox faith, visit in late January. To avoid the crowds, try February and March.
To see what a trip to East Africa can do for your photography, visit www.seeyouinethiopia.com, or call Ethiopian Airlines Journeys at 866-599-3797.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Field Trip to Ethiopian Orthodox Church in L.A.
Above: Antonia Blumberg, 18, center, enjoys the music at
Virgin Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church on Compton Avenue.
She’s participating in a USC program called Souljourn that
takes students to different churches around the city to
experience different cultures and beliefs. (Liz O. Baylen /
Los Angeles Times).
Field trip of world religions doesn’t go far
USC’s extracurricular ‘Souljourn’ program lets students study
firsthand how world religions are ‘lived,’ by visiting the dozens
of churches that sit within blocks of campus.
By Joe Mozingo
April 27, 2009
In his quest to have students experience firsthand how people around the world worship, Varun Soni, the dean of religious life at USC, did not start up some expensive study-abroad program. He just ventured a few blocks from campus. Read more.
Related from Tadias Archives:
History of Ethiopian Church Presence in Jerusalem
Above photo: Ethiopian monks on the roof of Christianity’s
holiest shrine in Jerusalem (Creative Commons Attribution).
Tadias Magazine
Editor’s Note:
Updated: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
New York (Tadias) - The following piece was first published on the print issue of Tadias Magazine in the context of the July 2002 brawl that erupted on the roof of Christianity’s most holy place between Ethiopian and Egyptian monks.
“Eleven monks were treated in hospital after a fight broke out for control of the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the traditional site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection”, wrote Alan Philps, a Jerusalem based reporter for the Daily Telegraph.
“The fracas involved monks from the Ethiopian Orthodox church and the Coptic church of Egypt, who have been vying for control of the rooftop for centuries.”
We have republished here part of the original article from our archives with a hope that it may generate a healthy discussion on the subject.
Deir Sultan, Ethiopia and the Black World
By Negussay Ayele for Tadias Magazine
Above: Main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (27/03/2005),
Easter Sunday. This image is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.
Unknown by much of the world, monks and nuns of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, have for centuries quietly maintained the only presence by black people in one of Christianity’s holiest sites—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem.
Through the vagaries and vicissitudes of millennial history and landlord changes in Jerusalem and the Middle East region, Ethiopian monks have retained their monastic convent in what has come to be known as Deir Sultan or the Monastery of the Sultan for more than a thousand years.
Likewise, others that have their respective presences in the area at different periods include Armenian, Russian, Syrian, Egyptian and Greek Orthodox/Coptic Churches as well as the Holy See.
As one writer put it recently, “For more than 1500 years, the Church of Ethiopia survived in Jerusalem. Its survival has not, in the last resort, been dependent on politics, but on the faith of individual monks that we should look for the vindication of the Church’s presence in Jerusalem…. They are attracted in Jerusalem not by a hope for material gain or comfort, but by faith.”
It is hoped that public discussion on this all-important subject will be joined by individuals and groups from all over the world. We hope that others with more detailed and/or first hand knowledge about the subject will join in the discussion.
Accounts of Ethiopian presence in Jerusalem invoke the Bible to establish the origin of Ethiopian presence in Jerusalem.
Accordingly, some Ethiopians refer to the story of the encounter in Jerusalem between Queen of Sheba–believed to have been a ruler in Ethiopia and environs–and King Solomon, cited, for instance, in I Kings 10: 1-13.
According to this version, Ethiopia’s presence in the region was already established about 1000 B.C. possibly through land grant to the visiting Queen, and that later transformation into Ethiopian Orthodox Christian monastery is an extension of that same property.
Others refer to the New Testament account of Acts 8: 26-40 which relates the conversion to Christianity of the envoy of Ethiopia’s Queen Candace (Hendeke) to Jerusalem in the first century A.D., thereby signaling the early phase of Ethiopia’s adoption of Christianity. This event may have led to the probable establishment of a center of worship in Jerusalem for Ethiopian pilgrims, priests, monks and nuns.
Keeping these renditions as a backdrop, what can be said for certain is the following: Ethiopian monastic activities in Jerusalem were observed and reported by contemporary residents and sojourners during the early years of the Christian era.
By the time of the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem and the region (634-644 A.D.) khalif Omar is said to have confirmed Ethiopian physical presence in Jerusalem’s Christian holy places, including the Church of St. Helena, which encompasses the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord Jesus Christ.
His firman or directive of 636 declared “the Iberian and Abyssinian communities remain there” while also recognizing the rights of other Christian communities to make pilgrimages in the Christian holy places of Jerusalem.
Because Jerusalem and the region around it, has been subjected to frequent invasions and changing landlords, stakes in the holy places were often part of the political whims of respective powers that be.
Subsequently, upon their conquest of Jerusalem in 1099, the Crusaders had kicked out Orthodox/Coptic monks from the monasteries and installed Augustine monks instead. However, when in 1187 Salaheddin wrested Jerusalem from the Crusaders, he restored the presence of the Ethiopian and other Orthodox/Coptic monks in the holy places.
When political powers were not playing havoc with their claims to the holy places, the different Christian sects would often carry on their own internecine conflicts among themselves, at times with violent results.
Contemporary records and reports indicate that the Ethiopian presence in the holy places in Jerusalem was rather much more substantial throughout much of the period up to the 18th and 19th centuries.
For example, an Italian pilgrim, Barbore Morsini, is cited as having written in 1614 that “the Chapels of St. Mary of Golgotha and of St. Paul…the grotto of David on Mount Sion and an altar at Bethlehem…” among others were in the possession of the Ethiopians.
From the 16th to the middle of the 19th centuries, virtually the whole of the Middle East was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. When one of the Zagwe kings in Ethiopia, King Lalibela (1190-1225), had trouble maintaining unhampered contacts with the monks in Jerusalem, he decided to build a new Jerusalem in his land. In the process he left behind one of the true architectural wonders known as the Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela.
The Ottomans also controlled Egypt and much of the Red Sea littoral and thereby circumscribed Christian Ethiopia’s communication with the outside world, including Jerusalem.
Besides, they had also tried but failed to subdue Ethiopia altogether. Though Ethiopia’s independent existence was continuously under duress not only from the Ottomans but also their colonial surrogate, Egypt as well as from the dervishes in the Sudan, the Ethiopian monastery somehow survived during this period. Whenever they could, Ethiopian rulers and other personages as well as church establishments sent subsidies and even bought plots of land where in time churches and residential buildings for Ethiopian pilgrims were built in and around Jerusalem. Church leaders in Jerusalem often represented the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in ecumenical councils and meetings in Florence and other fora.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Ottoman rulers of the region including Palestine and, of course, Jerusalem, tried to stabilize the continuing clamor and bickering among the Christian sects claiming sites in the Christian holy places. To that effect, Ottoman rulers including Sultan Selim I (1512-1520) and Suleiman “the Magnificent” (1520-1566) as well as later ones in the 19th century, issued edicts or firmans regulating and detailing by name which group of monks would be housed where and the protocol governing their respective religious ceremonies. These edicts are called firmans of the Status Quo for all Christian claimants in Jerusalem’s holy places including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which came to be called Deir Sultan or the monastery (place) of the Sultan.
Ethiopians referred to it endearingly as Debre Sultan. Most observers of the scene in the latter part of the 19th Century as well as honest spokesmen for some of the sects attest to the fact that from time immemorial the Ethiopian monks had pride of place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Deir Sultan). Despite their meager existence and pressures from fellow monks from other countries, the Ethiopian monks survived through the difficult periods their country was going through such as the period of feudal autarchy (1769-1855).
Still, in every document or reference since the opening of the Christian era, Ethiopia and Ethiopian monks have been mentioned in connection with Christian holy places in Jerusalem, by all alternating landlords and powers that be in the region.
As surrogates of the weakening Ottomans, the Egyptians were temporarily in control of Jerusalem (1831-1840). It was at this time, in 1838, that a plague is said to have occurred in the holy places, which in some mysterious ways of Byzantine proportions, claimed the lives of all Ethiopian monks.
The Ethiopians at this time were ensconced in a chapel of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Deir Sultan) as well as in other locales nearby. Immediately thereafter, the Egyptian authorities gave the keys of the Church to the Egyptian Coptic monks.
The Egyptian ruler, Ibrahim Pasha, then ordered that all thousands of very precious Ethiopian holy books and documents, including historical and ecclesiastical materials related to property deeds and rights, be burned—alleging conveniently that the plague was spawned by the Ethiopian parchments.
Monasteries are traditionally important hubs of learning and, given its location and its opportunity for interaction with the wider family of Christendom, the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem was even more so than others. That is how Ethiopians lost their choice possession in Deir Sultan.
By the time other monks arrived in Jerusalem, the Copts claimed their squatter’s rights, the new Ethiopian arrivals were eventually pushed off onto the open rooftop of the church, thanks largely to the machinations of the Egyptian Coptic church.
Although efforts on behalf of Ethiopian monks in Jerusalem started in mid-19th Century with Ras Ali and Dejach Wube, it was the rise of Emperor Tewodros in 1855 in Ethiopia that put the Jerusalem monastery issue back onto international focus.
When Ethiopian monks numbering a hundred or so congregated in Jerusalem at the time, the Armenians had assumed superiority in the holy places. The Anglican bishop in Jerusalem then, Bishop Samuel Gobat witnessed the unholy attitude and behavior of the Armenians and the Copts towards their fellow Christian Ethiopians who were trying to reclaim their rights to the holy places in Jerusalem.
He wrote that the Ethiopian monks, nuns and pilgrims “were both intelligent and respectable, yet they were treated like slaves, or rather like beasts by the Copts and the Armenians combined…(the Ethiopians) could never enter their own chapel but when it pleased the Armenians to open it. …On one occasion, they could not get their chapel opened to perform funeral service for one of their members. The key to their convent being in the hands of their oppressors, they were locked up in their convent in the evening until it pleased their Coptic jailer to open it in the morning, so that in any severe attacks of illness, which are frequent there, they had no means of going out to call a physician.’’
It was awareness of such indignities suffered by Ethiopian monks in Jerusalem that is said to have impelled Emperor Tewodros to have visions of clearing the path between his domain and Jerusalem from Turkish/Egyptian control, and establishing something more than monastic presence there. In the event, one of the issues that contributed to the clash with British colonialists that consumed his life 1868, was the quest for adequate protection of the Ethiopian monks and their monastery in Jerusalem.
Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889), the priestly warrior king, used his relatively cordial relations with the British who were holding sway in the region then, to make representations on behalf of the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem.
He carried on regular pen-pal communications with the monks even before he became Emperor. He sent them money, he counseled them and he always asked them to pray for him and the country, saying, “For the prayers of the righteous help and serve in all matters. By the prayers of the righteous a country is saved.”
He used some war booty from his battles with Ottomans and their Egyptian surrogates, to buy land and started to build a church in Jerusalem. As he died fighting Sudanese/Dervish expansionists in 1889, his successor, Emperor Menelik completed the construction of the Church named Debre Gennet located on what was called “Ethiopian Street.”
During this period more monasteries, churches and residences were also built by Empresses Tayitu, Zewditu, Menen as well as by several other personages including Afe Negus Nessibu, Dejazmach Balcha, Woizeros Amarech Walelu, Beyenech Gebru, Altayeworq.
As of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Century the numbers of Ethiopian monks and nuns increased and so did overall Ethiopian pilgrimage and presence in Jerusalem.
In 1903, Emperor Menelik put $200, 000 thalers in a (Credileone) Bank in the region and ordained that interests from that savings be used exclusively as subsidy for the sustenance of the Ethiopian monks and nuns and the upkeep of Deir Sultan. Emperor Menelik’s 6-point edict also ordained that no one be allowed to draw from the capital in whole or in part.
Land was also purchased at various localities and a number of personalities including Empress Tayitu, and later Empress Menen, built churches there. British authorities supported a study on the history of the issue since at least the time of kalifa (Calif) Omar ((636) and correspondences and firmans and reaffirmations of Ethiopian rights in 1852, in an effort to resolve the chronic problems of conflicting claims to the holy sites in Jerusalem.
The 1925 study concluded that ”the Abyssinian (Ethiopian ) community in Palestine ought to be considered the only possessor of the convent Deir Es Sultan at Jerusalem with the Chapels which are there and the free and exclusive use of the doors which give entrance to the convent, the free use of the keys being understood.”
Until the Fascist invasion of Ethiopia in the 1930’s when Mussolini confiscated Ethiopian accounts and possessions everywhere, including in Jerusalem, the Ethiopian presence in Jerusalem had shown some semblance of stability and security, despite continuing intrigues by Copts, Armenians and their overlords in the region.
This was a most difficult and trying time for the Ethiopian monks in Jerusalem who were confronted with a situation never experienced in the country’s history, namely its occupation by a foreign power. And, just like some of their compatriots including Church leaders at home, some paid allegiance to the Fascist rulers albeit for the brief (1936-1941) interregnum.
Emperor Haile Sellassie was also a notable patron of the monastery cause, and the only monarch to have made several trips to Jerusalem, including en route to his self-exile to London in May, 1936.
Since at least the 1950s there was an Ethiopian Association for Jerusalem in Addis Ababa that coordinated annual Easter pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Hundreds of Ethiopians and other persons from Ethiopia and the Diaspora took advantage of its good offices to go there for absolution, supplication or felicitation, and the practice continues today.
Against all odds, historical, ecclesiastical and cultural bonding between Ethiopia and Jerusalem waxed over the years. The Ethiopian presence expanded beyond Deir Sultan including also numerous Ethiopian Churches, chapels, convents and properties. This condition required that the Patriarchate of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church designate Jerusalem as a major diocese to be administered under its own Archbishop.
Above: Timket (epiphany) celebration by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
Church on the Jordan River, considered to be the place where Jesus was
baptized. Jan. 1999. Photo by Iweze Davidson.
Ethiopia and Black Heritage In Jerusalem
For hundreds of years, the name or concept of Ethiopia has been a beacon for black/African identity liberty and dignity throughout the diaspora. The Biblical (Psalm 68:31) verse , “…Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hands unto God” has been universally taken to mean African people, black people at large, stretch out their hands to God (and only to God) in supplication, in felicitation or in absolution.
As Daniel Thwaite put it, for the Black man Ethiopia was always “…an incarnation of African independence.”
And today, Ethiopian monastic presence in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or Deir Sultan in Jerusalem, is the only Black presence in the holiest place on earth for Christians. For much of its history, Ethiopian Christianity was largely hemmed in by alternating powers in the region. Likewise, Ethiopia used its own indigenous Ethiopic languages for liturgical and other purposes within its own territorial confines, instead of colonial or other lingua franca used in extended geographical spaces of the globe.
For these and other reasons, Ethiopia was not able to communicate effectively with the wider Black world in the past. Given the fact that until recently, most of the Black world within Africa and in the diaspora was also under colonial tutelage or under slavery, it was not easy to appreciate the significance of Ethiopian presence in Jerusalem. Consequently, even though Ethiopian/Black presence in Jerusalem has been maintained through untold sacrifices for centuries, the rest of the Black world outside of Ethiopia has not taken part in its blessings through pilgrimages to the holy sites and thereby develop concomitant bonding with the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem.
For nearly two millennia now, the Ethiopian Church and its adherent monks and priests have miraculously maintained custodianship of Deir Sultan, suffering through and surviving all the struggles we have glanced at in these pages. In fact, the survival of Ethiopian/Black presence in Christianity’s holy places in Jerusalem is matched only by the “Survival Ethiopian Independence” itself.
Indeed, Ethiopian presence in Deir Sultan represents not just Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity but all African/black Christians of all denominations who value the sacred legacy that the holy places of Jerusalem represent for Christians everywhere. It represents also the affirmation of the fact that Jerusalem is the birthplace of Christianity, just as adherents of Judaism and Islam claim it also.
The Ethiopian foothold at the rooftop of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the only form of Black presence in Christianity’s holy places of Jerusalem. It ought to be secure, hallowed and sanctified ground by and for all Black folks everywhere who value it. The saga of Deir Sultan also represents part of Ethiopian history and culture. And that too is part of African/black history and culture regardless of religious orientation.
When a few years ago, an Ethiopian monk was asked by a writer why he had come to Jerusalem to face all the daily vicissitudes and indignities, he answered, “because it is Jerusalem.”
—
About the Author:
Dr. Negussay Ayele is a noted Ethiopian scholar. He is the author of the book Ethiopia and the United States, Volume I, the Season of Courtship, among many other publications. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Ethiopia, the best kept secret in Africa
From television images of the country's serious droughts in the early 1980's many foreigners think of Ethiopia as a dry and barren place, devoid of beauty and greenery. This could hardly be further from the truth.
It is undoubtedly a land of contrasts- there are hot, dry, and barren places, as well as rolling hills, fertile highlands, savannah, and mountainous regions that often see frost and sometimes even snow. There are deserts, canyons, gorges, and a wealth of beautiful waterfalls, lakes and rivers. It all combines to make Ethiopia a country of breathtaking scenery that changes constantly from one region to another, a microcosm of an entire continent in a nation the size of France and Spain combined. More than 800 species of birds are found in Ethiopia, of which twenty-eight are found exclusively in the country. There are also 103 separate mammal species, seven of which are endemic.
Although it’s anything but desert wasteland or a perpetual home of famine and war, Ethiopia is monetarily poor and travel here is tough, both physically and mentally. However, those willing to take some doses of displeasure with Ethiopia’s bounty of treasure will be pleasantly rewarded.
Capital
With a population of more than two million people, Addis Ababa is not only the political capital but also the economic and social nerve-centre of Ethiopia. Founded by Emperor Menilek in 1887, this big, sprawling, hospitable city still bears the stamp of his exuberant personality. more than 21,000 hectares in area, Addis Ababa is situated in the foothills of the 3,000 meters Entoto mountains and rambles pleasantly across many wooded hillsides and gullies cut through with fast-flowing streams.
Like any other capital in the world, there is more than enough for anybody to do in Addis. There are numerous restaurants offering various exotic dishes from many parts of the world. Ethiopian food is served at the majority and there are Chinese, Italian, Indian, Armenian, Arabic, Greek and many other specialist restaurants. Indeed, it is possible to eat your way round the world without ever leaving Addis Ababa. on the entertainment side several cinemas show international films with English dialogue or sub-titles. Most of these cinemas also stage dramas in Amharic depicting Ethiopia’s social and cultural life during different historical epochs. Shopping in Addis is a delight and the shops are fairly well stocked with almost all consumer goods. The local jewellery, sold by the weight of gold or silver, is in particularly high demand .The main market-known as the Mercato, is largest open market place in Africa and has a wonderful range of goods and products, items of local art and Ethiopian curios and antiques. Here, haggling over prices is expected - and one should allow ample time for this, At the shops in town, however, prices are fixed, although a small discount is often allowed on large purchases.
If you want to visit this country full of surprises, go to www.medestino.com and book a hotel. We advise you not to book a room during the wet season. The heaviest rains traditionally fall June to early October, making the rest of the year prime time to visit. Directly after the rains the highlands are wonderfully green, covered with wildflowers and sublime for trekking.
It is undoubtedly a land of contrasts- there are hot, dry, and barren places, as well as rolling hills, fertile highlands, savannah, and mountainous regions that often see frost and sometimes even snow. There are deserts, canyons, gorges, and a wealth of beautiful waterfalls, lakes and rivers. It all combines to make Ethiopia a country of breathtaking scenery that changes constantly from one region to another, a microcosm of an entire continent in a nation the size of France and Spain combined. More than 800 species of birds are found in Ethiopia, of which twenty-eight are found exclusively in the country. There are also 103 separate mammal species, seven of which are endemic.
Although it’s anything but desert wasteland or a perpetual home of famine and war, Ethiopia is monetarily poor and travel here is tough, both physically and mentally. However, those willing to take some doses of displeasure with Ethiopia’s bounty of treasure will be pleasantly rewarded.
Capital
With a population of more than two million people, Addis Ababa is not only the political capital but also the economic and social nerve-centre of Ethiopia. Founded by Emperor Menilek in 1887, this big, sprawling, hospitable city still bears the stamp of his exuberant personality. more than 21,000 hectares in area, Addis Ababa is situated in the foothills of the 3,000 meters Entoto mountains and rambles pleasantly across many wooded hillsides and gullies cut through with fast-flowing streams.
Like any other capital in the world, there is more than enough for anybody to do in Addis. There are numerous restaurants offering various exotic dishes from many parts of the world. Ethiopian food is served at the majority and there are Chinese, Italian, Indian, Armenian, Arabic, Greek and many other specialist restaurants. Indeed, it is possible to eat your way round the world without ever leaving Addis Ababa. on the entertainment side several cinemas show international films with English dialogue or sub-titles. Most of these cinemas also stage dramas in Amharic depicting Ethiopia’s social and cultural life during different historical epochs. Shopping in Addis is a delight and the shops are fairly well stocked with almost all consumer goods. The local jewellery, sold by the weight of gold or silver, is in particularly high demand .The main market-known as the Mercato, is largest open market place in Africa and has a wonderful range of goods and products, items of local art and Ethiopian curios and antiques. Here, haggling over prices is expected - and one should allow ample time for this, At the shops in town, however, prices are fixed, although a small discount is often allowed on large purchases.
If you want to visit this country full of surprises, go to www.medestino.com and book a hotel. We advise you not to book a room during the wet season. The heaviest rains traditionally fall June to early October, making the rest of the year prime time to visit. Directly after the rains the highlands are wonderfully green, covered with wildflowers and sublime for trekking.
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