My Ethiopian Adventure–on the Road from Lalibela to Gonder

August 14, 2014August 23, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

Since there is only one road in and out of Lalibela, we headed back to the main road after an 8:00 breakfast. By this time, after three times on this road, the heights hardly bothered me.

We drove through mountains a large part of the day, through the large towns of Nesfas Mawcha, Debre Tabor, and turned north at Wereta. By this time, I had become accustomed to seeing endless beautiful scenery, hardly knowing when to take photos.

The invasive eucalyptus trees and pastoral mountain villages show up everywhere.

Most villages have their own church. The building with the round roof in the distant middle is one such little church.

Excellent roads, mostly built by the Italians years ago, crisscross this part of the country. Some newer roads have been built by the Chinese. Many Ethiopians made jokes about this, implying they do not expect them to last long. After reaching a high plateau, we drove through endless pastures and fields of green.

Up in this high country, farmers grow wheat, barley, and oats. Horses and cattle graze in large pastures.

The mountains appear to continue forever.

Buildings, like the one in this photo above, usually house animals at night to protect them from predators such as hyenas.

Whenever we stopped, children ran up sometimes asking for pens, occasionally for money. Dino and Alemu, the driver, usually scolded them in Amharic for begging.

Houses here seemed bigger, usually two story, with rocks used as a main building material.

We drove by two men galloping along on horseback, their horses adorned in fancy tack.

As we began a long descent into a huge valley, common baboons appeared along the road.

These huge rocks left my millions of years of erosion, provide a dramatic contrast to the intense green.

It took more than an hour to cross this valley. As usual cattle, goats., burros, people mingled with vehicles. What a surprise: Rice fields as far as I could see on either side of the road.

The villages in this area are built higher–above the rice paddies. And then as we climbed out of the valley…

The name of this rock really surprised me, the Finger of God.

A big later, suddenly Alemu turned off on a dirt road and this appeared.

The sign says: Guzara Palace, G.C. 1563-1597.

When a person goes on such a trip, sometimes places hold your heart, places unexpected. I loved this place. It seemed magical. With no other people around, it felt private and special. It becomes obvious quite quickly why a king would build a castle here. You can see forever, for miles and miles, all the way to Lake Tana in the background.

We climbed up to the second story and could see Lake Tana even more clearly in the distance. I felt a sudden rush of emotion, looking at Lake Tana, my first glimpse of where the Nile River begins.

On the other side of the castle, looking toward the mountains, the remains of the old wall around the castle show up clearly. The part of the wall on the path to the castle has been restored. This part still awaits restoration. We drove on to Gonder. We stayed there two nights at Hotel Goha, but not in sequence. I found the window coverings so unique I had to take a photo.

Fabric, stretched over a frame slides back and forth so you can slide it to cover the window. This hotel possesses fantastic, modern showers.

My Ethiopian Adventure–Lalibela, the Churches, Part Three

August 11, 2014August 11, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

After we left the first group of churches, we had to walk to reach the one that is probably the most photographed.

Like all these churches, this one, Bet Emanuel, was carved and dug out of solid rock and is built so that the top is level with the slope of the land. Thus, it is purposefully nearly invisible unless you are quite close to it. To get to the bottom and go inside you have to climb down rather steep steps. Built in the Auxumite style (Auxum was the original “capital” of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), some art historians consider it to be the most impressive church in Lalibela. It is 18 meters by 18 by 12 (58.5 feet by 58.5 by 39).

The guide explained that because this church is of harder stone, it has no protective cover like some of the first churches we entered.

Like the first group of churches, this one also has a drainage trench around it.

A pool of holy water–I saw a boy go up to one of the pools and fill a bottle with water.

A holy space where only priests can enter. Every church has a copy of the Ark of the Covenant and a symbolic Bethlehem.

Saint George and the Dragon appear everywhere. Saint George is the national saint of Ethiopia. There is even St. George beer.

In this second group of buildings, two were definitely designed as churches. However, even though others are currently used as churches, there is some question as to whether that was their original purpose. The guide told us that one building is believed to have been the residence of King Lalibela and his family. Unlike most of the other buildings, its layout does not appear to have been designed as a church. It also does not contain the usual paintings and artwork.

Another sacred space. Before we could go on to see the other churches in this group, we had to climb out and walk by the River Jordan.

All the trenches that drain water from the churches during the rainy season flow into this River Jordan. The design of the churches, the symbolism, this River Jordan, everything was designed to duplicate to the extent possible he Holy Land, to create another Holy Land in the highlands of Ethiopia, a new Jerusalem.

The road by the River Jordan. Until recently people lived in the traditional houses you see on the right. In front of one we saw a group of young men being trained as priests.

The land near the churches looks just like anywhere. You cannot see the churches until you are really close to them. We were told they were built this way intentionally to protect them from invaders who had destroyed earlier visible churches.

On both sides of the River Jordan are cemeteries. The dead from the tombs in the walls opposite the churches (see Part I and II) were moved here.

Unlike the first group of churches shown in Part I, not all the churches in the second group are connected by trenches or so close together.To see some of them you have to climb in and out from one to another.

The guide took this photo. Why am I wearing my socks over my jeans? Fleas. It is common knowledge that the carpets and bamboo mats on the floors of the churches contain lots of fleas. We were told to tuck our jeans inside our socks and spray everything below our knees with insect spray.

Between this latter group of churches, there are some passageways so you do not always have to climb in and out. There is a third type of church in this area, churches built in caves, one of which is 40 kilometers from Lalibela. Churches such as these exist nowhere else in the world. The only way in and out of Lalibela is that steep road below my hotel room.

It was drier around Lalibela because the rains were late. We headed to the cave church of Yemrehanna Krestos for the afternoon.

One disadvantage of traveling to Ethiopia this time of year, especially in the north, is the weather, cold and rainy. On the positive side, often we were the only tourists.

The climb up to the church was long and a bit steep but with good steps and handrails. Rain had made the stones a bit slippery. The churches have served an unintentional good in that around most churches in the country the original forest is left to hide the church. This was one of a few places where we could see what the land looked like before deforestation and before invasive species were brought in from elsewhere.

The guide who took us through the churches in Lalibela came with us here. I walked with him and Dino and Zuriash walked with the priest who did not speak English.

This is what you see when you first arrive at the top. Like in all the churches, you have to take your shoes off.

An entire church resides inside the cave. We were told that the white marble and wood were brought from Egypt by elephants. The church dates to the 11th century.

The cave is big with lots of space around the church.

The decor and carvings inside the church are very detailed and elaborate. Services are held here weekly and at certain times of the year many pilgrims journey here some walking for many miles.

The priest who resides in the village. This is “his” church.

Behind this fence at the back of the cave lay the bones of pilgrims who died here.

The Ethiopians believe that one of the Three Wise Men came from Ethiopia.

The tomb of Yemrehanna Krestos resides behind the church inside the cave.

The road to this church is relatively new. Before pilgrims had to either walk or ride a horse or donkey to get here. The road continues above the village, but we turned around and headed back to Lalibela.

There were two shops in the village that sold sacred objects and souvenirs. I bought this cross which has St. George and the Dragon on one side and the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus on the other. Mary is exceedingly important in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

I like to bargain and generally did quite well with it when purchasing various items. However, the man in this shop for this particular item refused to come down. I really wanted it because it seemed quite unique so bought it at his price. Nowhere else did I have to do that.

On the road back to Lalibela we decided to stop and admire a couple of huge fig trees.

My Ethiopian Adventure–Lalibela, Part Two–the Monolithic Churches

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

This is the first of the monolithic churches we visited. Because the churches were built from the top down and actually cannot be seen until you are very near them, you have to climb down a lot of steps to get to the bottom level from which you can enter into the interior. The “trenches” around them are the same depth as the churches are high because they were carved out of the solid stone. As you look at these photos, you will notice multiple cross designs, including Greek, the type found in Axum, those referred to as Lalibela. Every carving, every painting, every design possesses an explicit symbolic meaning. I wish I had been able to record all the information provided by the guide. This church, Bet Medhane Alem, is the largest of this type. It’s approximate size is 33.7 meters by 23.7 meters with a height of 11.5 meters (109.5 feet by 77 feet with a height of 37.4). All sides have columns.

These churches are not mere tourist attractions. We saw many people walking around, praying, and worshipping. Services are still held here. Carved into some of the “trench” walls opposite the church are tombs. Those buried in these tombs have been removed and their graves now lie on either side of the River Jordan–photos of that later.

The interior decoration includes detailed carvings, elaborate drapes, and paintings.

Certain areas, like this one behind the drapes, only priests can access, mainly because they contain the sacraments. The floors of all the churches are hard rock so all contain coverings of cloth, Persian type rugs, and bamboo. Accessing the interior requires a lot of climbing up and down very worn, slick, stone steps.

While smaller trenches and areas separate this first group of churches from each other, the entire group is surrounded by the deepest, large trench. This is the next church we visited. It lacks outside columns.

At first the sight of swastikas everywhere startled me until I remembered how old these churches are and the original meanings attached to this symbol. Our deacon guide explained that they symbolize everlasting life (the circle of life) and also mentioned its meaning in ancient Hinduism–the continual, everlasting cycle of birth and rebirth.

This is the fertility pool. It is so deep that the priest must be lowered into the water attached to ropes as are the man or woman who wants treatment in this holy water. At one point, someone realized that the pool was no longer as deep as it was originally. When they investigated, they found the pool had been filled with dirt below where it could be seen. When this dirt was excavated, a cache of ancient, holy artifacts were found. They had been buried there to protect them.

Ethiopians wrap themselves in white not just to go to church, but in general. I constantly marveled how they keep these garments so incredibly white in spite of dirt and rain and walking through mud everywhere. The person on the right is our guide, a deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He knows the meaning of every carving, every painting, every symbol. The extent of information explained was not only detailed but extensive.

Only some of the churches possess paintings on the walls as well as carvings. The wise men, Mary, everyone looks Ethiopian at least to some extent.

Notice the Star of David. This symbol is everywhere because the Ethiopians believe they are descendants of Solomon and Sheba. As a consequence, the paintings, carvings, all the symbols reflect not only the New Testament but also the Old Testament.

Every church has this curtain behind which only a priest can go. Every church has a copy of the Ark of the Covenant. They believe the original was taken by Menelik I, the son of Solomon and Sheba, to its current location in Axum in a special treasury next to the Church of Saint Mary of Zion. It has been safely kept there through the millennia.

Protective roofs cover some of the churches. The guide explained that the hardness of the basalt varies. Because some of the stone is softer, churches carved out of this softer stone had begun to deteriorate. The coverings protect and preserve them.

To get from church to church in this first group of churches, usually we walked through these trenches. To reach the actual church entrances requires climbing up steps. These trenches enable water drainage into the River Jordan during the rainy season. The floor of the churches remain above the water.

Walking through these churches kept me in a constant state of awe. They were built more than 800 years ago without modern tools. And there are eleven of them all here, carved out of solid stone.

St. George and the Dragon hold a prominent place in Ethiopian Orthodox symbolism. The dragon represents paganism. St. George slated the dragon.

We left this group of churches, climbing out from this trench and headed to one of the most photographed.

We encountered two walking funeral processions complete with chanting. I took no photos because it seemed disrespectful.

My Ethiopian Adventure–Lalibela, Part One

August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 1 Comment

The final climb to Lalibela nearly terrified me–switchbacks up and up, no guard rails as I recall, and drop-offs more than a thousand feet. This photo, taken from my hotel room patio, fails to really show just how far down the drop really is. The other buildings in the photo are also hotels. Having been told that only one really good restaurant exists there, we ate at the same place two evenings. It rests at the end of a narrow unpaved road at the edge of a cliff.

The second evening there, we met the owner, an older woman from Scotland who originally came to Lalibela at the request of a friend to teach. She stayed, bought this land, and hired two young architects from Addis to design the restaurant–to look like a flower.

To get to this restaurant from the hotel, Alemu had to turn the corner as tightly as he could, backup a bit, and then proceed on this road. Immediately below where we backed up, there is a steep cliff. I asked him if anyone ever fell off. He said a friend of his did. I assumed he had died, but no, his vehicle was caught by a tiny ledge and he survived.

The road up to Lalibela as viewed from my hotel patio. We stayed at the Maribela Hotel which was one of the nicest on the road trip. They were still building a restaurant but served an excellent breakfast.

Lalibela is to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church what Jerusalem is to Jews and many western Christians. It is famous for its eleven churches carved from solid rock. It has been called the New Jerusalem, a New Golgotha. In approximately 1200 AD, King Lalibela, one of the last kings of the Zagwe dynasty, came to power after God told his brother, who was king, to abdicate. The name Lalibela comes from honey, sweetness because when a baby, King Lalibela was surrounded by bees which prophesied his future greatness. The story becomes quite complicated but in essence, angels took his soul to heaven and showed him the churches he was to build. They were built in twenty four years with the help of angels. Lalibela then became the holy city. Like the ancient rulers from Axum (the original holy city where they believe a church holds the Ark of the Covenant), the Zagwe dynasty traced their origin to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

In Lalibela two types of rock churches still stand: rock hewn monolithic churches which were cut out of solid basalt from the top down with trenches surrounding them and rock hewn churches which were cut inward from a cliff or by using a natural cave or indentation in a cliff as a starting point. The architectural and technical building skill required is clearly evident. The churches are on several levels and built in such a way that they drain to carry off the heavy rain flow during the rainy season. The trenches around the churches also serve to feed the River Jordan–an area made to duplicate the original River Jordan. The architecture of the monolithic churches exists nowhere else in the world.

To tour the churches requires a professional guide who knows the history and architecture intimately. Our guide held the position of deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. While many Muslims live in parts of Ethiopia, Lalibela is a Christian town in a heavily Christian area. Deacons and priests can marry, but if a male wants to become a bishop, he cannot marry. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, like the traditional Catholic Church with Latin, has its own ancient religious language, Ge’ez. The alphabet of modern Amharic is the same as Ge’ez. Priests learn to read Ge’ez. Later, in Gondar, we were able to get a priest to chant from a religious text in Ge’ez. For more details regarding the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a list books in both the New Testament and Old Testament, as well as other sacred texts and hymnals, go to: http://www.ethiopianorthodox.org. There are many more books in the Orthodox Bible than in those used by European and American churches.

My Ethiopian Adventure–On the Road to Lalibela, Part Two

August 1, 2014August 1, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 1 Comment

Mountains pervade everywhere it seems. We continually drove up and down mountainsides. Eucalyptus is not native. They were brought in by the Australians many years ago and became invasive. They are a mixed blessing–grow rapidly and have many uses, but they take a lot of water and drive out native species. When simply cut down, they grow right back. In some places, we saw preserves where the original species of trees still exist and are protected. Otherwise, eucalyptus reign.

And there are several species of eucalyptus as you can see here. Not only do the leaves differ, but also the color of the trunks.

Almost all the mountainsides are covered with fields. Ones, like this one, may have been just plowed or just planted. In the mountains barley, wheat, and oats are grown and sometimes teff. Barley seems to ripen first.

At first, I suffered minor terror because of the steep roads and huge drop-offs, sometimes thousands of feet. However, eventually I became rather used to it.

These roads, mostly built a long time ago by the Italians, remain excellent and do have guardrails. The Chinese have built some of the newer roads. The Ethiopians make jokes regarding how long they think these Chinese roads will last.

Eventually, we rose to a high plateau area across which we drove for hours.

The endless shades of green, indicating different crops, or in some cases, the gold of ripening grain.

Winnowing grain the old fashioned way.

Houses on this high plateau seemed mostly built of rocks which lay everywhere.

Amelu asked us if we wanted to see inside one of the houses and visit with some people. Of course, we said yes.

This couple had a somewhat older child who was out herding their animals–cattle as I recall. At night they bring the animals inside their house to protect them from predators, e.g. hyenas. They also provide body heat which helps them keep warm. He explained in Amharic that he did not own land, but was saving up and when he could, would build a separate house so that their animals would be able to stay in one and his family in another. I thought Amelu knew these people, but he did not. His own children had outgrown some of their clothes. He had brought them to give away so he gave them to this family.

After we crossed the plateau, we dropped down and crossed a river. Because it was the rainy season, rivers raged everywhere, running dark with mud.

The little shed is for the river guard. We did not see anyone here when we crossed, but major rivers have guards often armed with an assault rifle.

Almost to Lalibela–we discovered later that the rains were late and people were very concerned. Crops had been planted and they were waiting.

The first photo in Lalibela–the view from my room at the edge of a cliff–the Maribela Hotel.

My Ethiopian Adventure–on the Road to Lalibela, Part One

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

Although the Sunny Side Hotel’s rooms in Kombolcha seem elemental to say the least, the food there is some of the best I had in Ethiopia. One of the reasons for this may be their extensive gardens which not only hold flowers, but vegetables and fruit trees.

That’s a papaya in the middle.

Dinner consisted of fresh talapia–Lake Tana is full of talapia and is a common item on menus, perfectly grilled, julienned vegetables sautéed in sunflower oil and seasoned with a sprig of rosemary. The next morning we headed for Lalibela. The first larger city through which we drove is Dese. As in most Ethiopian cities, new construction could be seen everywhere. They do not use steel for scaffolding. They use eucalyptus as in this building.

We continually climbed switched back roads. Usually, terraced fields lay as far as we could see on the mountainsides.

Not too far from Dese, we came to the smaller town of Hayk. Hayk is the Amharic word for lake. The town is named after this nearby lake.

Seven species of acacia grow in Ethiopia. These, higher in the mountains, appear considerably more lush than those farther south in semi arid places. You cannot swim in this lake because, like many bodies of water in Africa, the schistosomiasis parasite lives here. There is a cure, but not very pleasant. Huge fig trees and acacias provide a setting like one sees in movies.

This monastery resides on a small peninsula that juts out into the lake. The sign says no women allowed. Foreign male visitors may enter for a fee–locals free. Lush fields surround the lake.

Yes, that is cactus on the right–not exactly a place I expected to see cactus. On the road out of the lake, we saw this girl walking and asked to take her photo. She is carrying dried dung. Houses are first framed in eucalyptus and then plastered with a mixture of dung and mud or just mud. Sometimes they are left the natural dark brown color. Some home owners prefer to paint them bright colors.

This is a typical house in most areas left unpainted with a metal roof. Everywhere people worked the fields the “old” way with a beautiful result.

We passed villages and towns of all sizes.

And always children as well as adults drove animals along the road.

Eighty languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Some, like Amharic and Oromo, are spoken my millions, others by only a particular small tribe. Everywhere we went people knew Amharic, an Afro-Asian, Semitic language (like Arabic and Hebrew) which originates in the ancient language of Geez, a language now only used as the sacred language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. English is taught in elementary school, which is compulsory through the eighth grade. Because of too many students and too few schools and teachers, especially in rural areas, school is half a day. One group goes in the morning and another in the afternoon.

My Ethiopian Adventure–from Addis to Kombolcha

July 27, 2014July 28, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Saying goodbye to Addis at 8 in the morning, we headed northeast and later north toward Kombolcha–spelling differs, depending on whose map you view. The official Ethiopian map spells the town as Kombolch. Addis is high, the second highest capital in the world. We drove northeast all morning across rivers and through green fields.

Not far outside Addis we saw this scene, a river with many people near it. Our driver, Alemu explained this river contains holy, healing water and all those people you see through the window are pilgrims coming to be blessed by the resident priest and hopefully healed by the river waters.

Who would know this is Ethiopia if no one told you? Not what I expected at all honestly.

Most of the farmland is very rocky. Farmers gather rocks, in some places make fences out of them or just pile them up. Even with these efforts fields remain full of rocks.

We drove for hours through this type of farmland.

This is a typical country village which appeared off and on continuously along the highway. Traditional buildings are usually round with thatched roofs. More and more people have begun to use metal roofs which forces the building shape to rectangular rather than round. We heard a story about a thatched roof house that caught on fire. Nothing but the thatch burned because underneath the thatch was a meter of mud.

Most Ethiopian farming is done the old way: either horses or cattle pull the plow with a man guiding it usually through a lot of rocks. I commented about seeing no tractors so then every time we saw one everyone shouted, “Juliana, there’s a tractor.” I think I saw only five of them in ten days and only one was actually working in a field. It became obvious rather quickly how totally impractical a tractor and its equipment would be in much of the farmland: too many rocks and as you will soon see, too steep. The tractor would fall over.

Eventually we started climbing higher and higher. To the left was one of Ethiopia’s high peaks near or over 4000 meters–13 to 14 thousand feet.

And then, there it was, Menelik’s Window. This was the first area we saw with numerous gelada baboons. However, these ran away unlike the ones later in Simien National Park.

That’s Dino down on the edge. At this point in the trip, I was still quite horrified by all the steep cliffs and stayed way back. He was trying to get a good photo of the baboons. Menelik II, the last Ethiopia leader to be able to claim himself as a direct male descendant of King Solomon, found this place special, a view into the real Ethiopia across miles of mountains. He is known for defeating the Italian invaders, expanding the kingdom, and especially for modernizing Ethiopia.

My grandson now owns this hat. This boy and his friends spend their days chasing the baboons away from the tufts of grass, which their families use to make the thatched roofs, and making hats for sale.

You can see the selection of different styles of hats on display on the grass. On the mountainside in the back lots of herbs grew, including thyme. The boys also sold packets of herbs they had gathered and dried.

We dropped down on a winding mountain road through eucalyptus forests. Eucalyptus is not native to Ethiopia, but grows everywhere there. It is used as a basic material for building their houses, for scaffolding to build tall city buildings, for just about everything. Several different species grew along the road.

Ethiopia’s main highways are excellent. Many were built years ago by the Italians, more recent ones by the Chinese. Ethiopians make jokes about how long the Chinese roads might last.

Eventually, we dropped down out of the mountains into an area that was much drier.

A typical town with all sorts of shops right along the road. When driving in Ethiopia, dodging people, cattle, camels, horses, burros, and goats is the norm. Everything it seems likes these good roads.

A boy driving camels down the highway. Loose animals, like the burro on the right, roam seemingly unattended. I saw few fences.

In the small towns in this semi arid area, we saw several totally veiled women, faces covered totally except for their eyes. Alemu informed us that this was a new thing, not seen until the last few years. He seemed to think it had become fashionable to copy Saudi women.

We stopped to look at certain plants beside the road.

Dino recalled playing with these pretty green balls as a child with this forewarning, “Do not eat them, do not touch your eyes or you will go blind.” They are called the Apples of Sodom.

At this juncture near the beginning of this adventure, I had not yet realized how everything in Ethiopia possesses symbolic meaning.

We drove along this immense, lush valley for miles. Alemu said this huge herd of cattle belonged to a semi nomadic group who brought their cattle here during the rainy season to graze and fatten. A bit farther down the road the land belonged to one of the richest men in Ethiopia, indeed the world, Al Amoudi. It was the only place where I saw a tractor actually used in a field.

Arriving in Kombolcha, we saw this new college in the process of creation. This became a common sight–new buildings, new schools, construction everywhere.

My first hotel room in Ethiopia at the Sunny Side Hotel in Kombolcha complete with mosquito netting–the blue blob above the bed. At least it had a shower and toilet. Many places use the style of accommodations one finds in a lot of Asia. Forget toilets as you know them–just a tiled area with a hole in the ground and the ever present water with which to wash. We carried our own toilet paper just in case. However, many places had both so customers could choose.

My Ethiopian Adventure–the Beginning

July 25, 2014July 25, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

After leaving the US on July 2, flying 14 hours to Dubai, spending a day there, I finally made it to Addis Ababa (also spelled Abeba) on the 4th. I remained in Ethiopia until this past Monday when I left Addis late in the afternoon. Blog posting from Ethiopia was limited because wifi is available only in certain areas and places and there is no 2,3, or 4G anywhere. For those of you who saw my four posts from Ethiopia, some photos and a few details may be repeated. My plan is to post photos and detailed information now that I am back which will require a number of posts because not only did we go on a ten day road trip, we also spent time in Addis Ababa and Adama (Nasret).

I went on this trip with two friends, a couple. Dino is from Ethiopia, having grown up in Dire Dawa. His parents now live in Adama where his father owns and runs a printing press. Two of his sisters and one brother live in Addis. We spent the first few days before our road trip in Addis, staying with his sister, Anna, who owns a painting company. She imports the paint from Italy and her clients include individuals and businesses. Her company also paints cars. Of course, she painted her own house with this paint. I loved the colors and textures.

The front of Anna’s lovely house. It is the rainy season and flowers grow everywhere.

The translation for these orange flowers, which I had never seen before, is flowers of the sun.

One afternoon four of us decided to take a drive around Addis to see some of the more beautiful spots which mainly included the Addis Hilton Hotel and the Sheraton, which is a five star. Carlo, Dino’s father drove. What a remarkable man, in his 80s and still getting to work at 6, driving everywhere. The Hilton is the older of the two. The grounds of both display lush greenery.

Zuriash and I enjoying the grandeur.

Papyrus by the pool at the Sheraton.

The swimming pool at the Sheraton. You cannot use it unless you are staying there. However, the pool at the Hilton is available on a membership basis–you do not have to stay there to use it.

The rooms at the Sheraton overlooking the gardens and pool. Dino and Carlo, son and father, walking down the path to the pool area. Apparently, many visiting dignitaries stay here. Inside walls are filled with excellent local art.

And then there is Addis traffic. Approximately six million people live there. In five or so days, riding here and there all over the city, I saw only two traffic lights, neither of which worked. Most large intersections contain a traffic circle and around and around you go trying to wiggle into a space and get across the intersection. Take a look.

Trying to drive to Guiseppe’s house, Anna driving, we were stuck here. The big trucks would not let us through. Finally, a guy in another car, got out, stopped the trucks and waved us on. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get there. A couple of days later, he came to Anna’s in twenty minutes.

In front of Guiseppe’s house. A typical residential street, sometimes like this one with gates on each end. People hire someone to watch the gates. You honk and they are opened and then closed.

On the last evening before we began our ten day road trip, Anna took us to a cultural restaurant to eat traditional food and watch the dancing from different parts of the country. I expected it to be just a tourist spot, but no, many locals were there. During the dancing, locals competed with the professionals to see who could dance the best.

This dance requires almost no motion except a lot of shoulder action. I attempted to do it myself when the man behind the girl in white came over and asked me to dance. I tried but would have to practice forever to get this one right.

The young men in the background competing.

Anna and I in front of her house. She is wearing a traditional Ethiopia dress.

Ethiopia–Lake Tana and the Blue Nile

July 14, 2014July 14, 2014 / Juliana Lightle / 2 Comments

I spent yesterday evening and today here in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, looking at, riding across or around on Lake Tana and the Blue Nile. The out flow of Lake Tana is the beginning of the Blue Nile, the world’s longest river. I crossed the Nile three times today in a relatively small motor boat. Due to a diversion of water for hydroelectric power, the Nile falls are only a fraction of what they used to be. Fishermen still fish Lake Tana in boats made from papyrus, scarves are still woven on hand looms, and corn, beans, and sugar cane are cultivated by hand, The following photos were all taken today, including the exquisite gardens at the restaurant where we ate lunch.