Ethiopian Shopping and Food

Shopping in Ethiopia is limited, but what you can get is bright, beautiful and versatile. The scarves and cotton in Ethiopia are unique and bold, which makes it irresistible to pass up. One is never enough.

Did you know that the Rasatari Movement all began in Ethiopia? The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, was considered a reincarnation of Jesus. As a result, there was a movement that took place in Jamaica to support this belief. In addition to this, if you are a true follower of Rasta, you smoke weed. This is considered a sacrament for the soul. How many teenagers would quickly convert on that principle alone?

My handsome man amongst all the overpriced African junk a tourist could want.

If the trip didn't go as well as planed, I could have come home in a fancy casket. Luckily, all was well and I have a photo to share with the mortuary when my day finally comes.

The spoils of our trip modeled by my sweet children. They made quite the entrance to church this Friday. I believe Sedona wore her dress for at least 4 days straight.

FOOD

Ethiopian food is incredibly unique. I honestly can't think of a similar food out there. It has such a distinct, different taste that it is hard to liken it to any other culture. Injera is served every day, all day long. It is a flatbread that is spongy and sour. It has a vinegary acidic flavor, which is definitely an acquired taste. The Ethiopian people are true to their food and don't deviate much from that. I don't think you can buy another type of food in all of Ethiopia. It is injera on the bottom, injera on the side, topped off with a little more injera.

I was skeptical at first about the food. It may have been that it was served with a raw meat dish that is typically eaten with the injera. It didn't do much for me, but Axel was sold. The 'wat' (stew) that you eat with it was delicious though. I grew to like all of it. The whole meal came with a nasty orange drink that tasted twice as bad as any horrible tasting cough syrup that you have ever choked down. Rarely do I spit anything out, but that drink was just not my friend. I later found out it was because it was basically highly concentrated alcohol. Glad to know my taste buds are still working.

Ethiopia is also well known for its coffee. From what I understand, it is one of the best producers of coffee in the world. This was evident with all the peudo-Starbucks shops throughout Addis. Even the inside of the coffee shop was trying very hard to convince you that it could just try to take over the Seattle giant. Maybe.

Our favorite night in Addis was at a cultural center where they served you injera with all sorts of different shades of poop dishes. Poop looking or not, it was delicious. There was also plenty of African cultural dancing to keep you from remembering that the beef was not cooked and there are still starving people in Africa.

Sitting with a few less dollars in our pocket, a bag full of clothes and scarves, and a full belly. Two very happy tourist!

Ethiopian Eucalyptus

While on Entoto mountain we explored the beautiful eucalyptus forest. The green was the most vibrant I have ever seen. I felt like I was in a J.J.R Tolkien book. There were no fairies to be found, but I am not ruling out that we may have squished a few on our way down.

The strange thing about this forest was that there were no birds to be seen. Apparently, the potency of the eucalyptus is unfavorable to fowl and they avoid even going remotely near the area. The blasting Doha summers have the same effect, just less pretty.

Haile and Axel

We were led to a 'cave' while following two young boys throughout the forest. The cave itself was quite unremarkable, but the boys' excitement to share their finding was worth the trip. Apparently, this is a old soldier's fort, mud throne and all.

I was tempted to take some leaves back with me just to brew up my own decongestant. Then I realized spending $1.50 on Tiger Balm in almost any country around the world would be as equally as effective. Also less messy....and less questionable when going through customs in Doha.

Entoto Mountain

My friend, Wakanyi, who I met in Nepal, used to live in Ethiopia. She moved just one month before we arrived. I was so sad that we didn't get to see her, but she was so incredibly kind to make a schedule for us while we were visiting Addis Ababa. We even got to hire her old driver. He knew all the special spots and took us straight there.

One of those special spots was Entoto Mountain. The mountain is the highest peak in the Addis Ababa region. It is about 3, 200 meters above sea level. The drive is absolutely beautiful (if you can avoid, the tree branches, cows, sheep, and children) and the greenery was gorgeous.

At the top of the mountain you will find several churches and monasteries. It is believed that the Arc of the Covenant makes its way to one of the churches every year. One of the Ethiopian pastors on June 25, 2009 told the world that he would unveil the Arc of the Covenant the following day. However, on June 26, 2009 he said he decided not to and that his testimony of the existence of the Arc should be enough. I guess that is enough for me, why wouldn't I believe?

It is commonly known that the Arc of the Covenant was housed in Axim, which is in the north of Ethiopia. We were very tempted to make our way up to Axim, but sadly, for the sake of time, we had to shave off that expedition. Yet another reason to visit again. Next time we will explore with Harrison Ford, and if Shia LaBeouf works on his acting skills and becomes less annoying he can tag along as well.

Me and Haile, our trusted driver and friend

The old king's palace is also located at the top of the Entoto Mountain. It is humble, to say the least, but has classic style. Oh, how I wish I could renovate.

This colorful house was actually where they kept the king's wife's body after she died. She is no longer there, but man, if you can get over the stench, what a great place to take a photo.

Our visit was blissful and the scenery was gorgeous. It was worth the climb and the best part is yet to come: the eucalyptus forest.

Lovely Bones

A highlight for us while in Addis Ababa was visiting the National Museum of Ethiopia. Not only was it complete with several masks laced with human hair and crazy African mosaics, it also housed the oldest human remnants.

This is not the oldest human, but these monkey bones date back to 4.4 million years. A pretty impressive find, and it makes me wonder what stressed this little guy out. Did the bananas taste the same? Did he/she ever ponder global warming? Did he/she even ponder at all? So many questions....

Here is the famous 'Lucy' hominid. She dates back to 3.2 million years ago. There isn't much there to see, but this 3 foot nothing girl happened to exist during the pleistocene era (ie, giant, crazy mammal period). Did she frolic in the fields with the huge sloths? I don't know, but I guarantee she has some sweet stories to share.

The archaeological and paleoanthropological sections in the basement of the museum were humble, but so very impressive. Axel's favorite section was the mammal exhibit featuring all the Ice Age 2 characters--but this time not animated--instead, for reals. This is a mammoth bone.

It was a fascinating and incredible exhibit, and completely worth the stop. Lucy didn't disappoint because she made me visit a world in my mind that I rarely ever contemplate. Life is a blip, a mere sliver in time. If I ever worry about trial issues in my life I can always remember, 'Another 100 years, all new people.'

The Streets of Addis Ababa

Eid is the Muslim celebration after Ramadan. I am equally as excited about Eid as the local people in Qatar because I can eat, In public, without being arrested. It is something to celebrate for everyone.

Axel had a few days off work for Eid so we decided to make a quick trip to Ethiopia. In the '80s I was always so moved by the UNICEF 'Feed the World' campaign. Images of Ethiopia were imprinted in my brain and I always thought, I wish I could visit there and help. When we debated over where to go for our vacation, Ethiopia was my first choice. Isn't it everyones?

The first image we saw outside of our hotel window

What surprised me the most when I arrived was it was nothing like the images I saw on TV. In fact, there were signs of positive development within the country and the Ethiopian people seemed to be pleased with their government and the direction of Ethiopia as a whole. It is still very third world, but in most ways, it was much more developed than Nepal. It was especially fun to arrive during Eid and see all the Muslim women praying. Ethiopia is 85% Christian and 15% Muslim. You would have never known it while we were there though. It seemed there were Muslims everywhere. I was just happy to see colourful abayas. The black ones in Qatar start making my eyes spin after a while.

Strangely, most people did not want their photo to be taken. I have noticed that collectively some countries love to have their photos taken and other don't. Ethiopians are in the latter category. I have a million photos with hands over faces. Thank goodness for my photography skills and a good telephoto (Read: lack of respect for privacy).

The bubble gum boys are my favorite and I can never resist their offer. By the end of the trip I had a lifetime supply of rubber gum that loses flavor before you can say the word 'banana', but giving them 20 times the price they were asking did my heart some good.

\

Interesting facts about Addis Ababa:

* Only 3 million of the 82 million Ethiopian population live in Addis

* 14% of the homes have flush toilets and 70% have pit toilets

* Washington, DC and Johannesburg, South Africa are two of its sister cities.

I felt so at home in Addis. I am definitely a person who loves the third world. I honestly felt more comfortable there than I do in Doha. The smells, the people, the lively atmosphere, and the guarantee of the unexpected is my kind of place. It felt good to be back.