July 16, 2008

When we were traveling to Awassa, Mehari, our driver, commented that "the
burden is on the women in Ethiopia". Here women are the ones to haul
household water from sources often quite a distance from their homes. We
have seen women carrying large loads of wood they have gathered from god
knows where to build fires on which they cook the family meals. Shortly
before we left home we viewed a PBS piece called Walk to Beautiful I
think. It was the story of Ethiopian rural women who experience damage to
their bladder and bowel during childbirth because all their lives they
have been undernourished and have carried loads too heavy for their
bodies. In addition many married when they were quite young, early to mid
teens and their bodies aren't fully developed. These factors result in
women being too small to delivery children without damage to their bodies.
Because of the tears in the bladder and bowel, these women 'leak' urine
and feces and are consequently shunned in their communities. The piece
showed one woman who had to live in a hovel attached to her mother's hut.
So the story was about three women who through pure grit made their way to
Addis where the Fistula Foundation provides free medical service to help
restore these women's bodies. Some have more success than others with the
repairs. Needless to say we were in tears throughout the program but
Mehari's comment further emphasized the plight of the women of Ethiopia.

Well it is Thursday here in Addis. It is wind up time for the Bergman's.
Today I will starting organizing the packing, pulling out clothes we will
not need before we leave, pulling out the items I have purchased (lots of
baskets) so that my master packer, Mr. B. can start thinking about what
will go where. He always says 'oh, it will fit', or no problem, we can fit
one more thing in the suitcase'. Then he works things around until sure
enough it all works. Sometimes the zippers are straining on the luggage
but he has never failed to get it all in. What a guy!

Tonight we are taking the ICMA staff and their dates to dinner at our
favorite Italian restaurant. Tomorrow night we will have a romantic dinner
at our favorite restaurant, Serenade. Here's a funny story. We have tried
to call numerous times for a reservation. Last time we went we couldn't
get through so we went without a reservation and had to sit in the smoking
section. Three Dutch folks sat at the next tables and smoked before,
during and after their meal. ICK. So this time we really wanted a
reservation so we could be seated in the non smoking section. Last time we
were there we picked up their business card to ensure we had the correct
number. Again Ron called and no ability to get through so he calls the
catering number and the man said to call the other number which it turns
out is misprinted in the monthly publication that highlights good
restaurants in Addis. Wouldn't you think they would tell the magazine? We
have been here for two issues with the same wrong number. Well it turns
out the number is wrong on their business card too!!!! Oy, they don't know
from business in Addis.

Last night we went to dinner at Makush, an art gallery and restaurant
combined which is a brilliant idea. While we dine we get to view original
paintings and photos. The last time we ate there we saw an artist's work
that we really liked but I found out earlier this week when I had lunch
there that the paintings we liked had been sold. There is a lesson here,
folks. Buy it when you see it or it may not be there when you come back!
SO they told me to come back on Wednesday as they would have more from
this artist. Well they had only one and we liked it so we bought it.
Because we had come by twice, the manager of the gallery discounted the
piece by $20 (about 15%), which essentially paid for our dinner. Are we
lucky or what? So we asked how much to frame it and it was $15! Yes, we
are having it framed as a matter of fact and will pick it up on Saturday.
It is a small oil of a typical street scene in Addis with the ubiquitous
blue and white cabs and small stalls with vendors and shoppers.

Today, Thursday, my tasks are to go get lots of cash for tonight's dinner
and to take money to the gallery to pay for the painting. I will cover a
lot of ground as the Hilton ATM is the closest ATM and the gallery is in
the opposite direction. But I have lost weight here and I am sure it is
due to my daily treks on foot. The Hilton is one hour round trip and going
it all up hill. I still can't make it up the seven flights to our room at
the hotel without stopping at least once, gasping for breath. However
initially I stopped three times so there is improvement. I am convinced
the Ethiopians are superior runners because of training at the high
altitudes they have developed incredible lung capacity.

While out on my errands today I passed a man leaning against a fence
talking to another man. He stopped me and asked why I was walking with an
open umbrella and it wasn't raining. I mention this because I feel so safe
here that I am completely comfortable talking to complete strangers
without fear. I explained that I use the umbrella to protect my skin from
skin cancer and I showed him my most recent scar for SC surgery. We then
chatted for five or ten minutes before I continued with errands. Further
on, I heard an adult voice yell 'mommy'. I turned and spied a very
handsome young man, probably in his early twenties who flashed a big smile
and said, 'I love you, Mommy'/ We laughed together and I realized how hard
it will be to leave such an endearing place, where people can feel free to
be themselves without fear of judgment. What a gift!

There are so many mini-bus vans here. They are government licensed but
privately owned as they are all blue and white all over the country. They
seat about 12 people and have two staff: a driver and a 'conductor'. The
conductor hangs his upper body out the window and announces the route in a
loud voice. Anyone on the curb who wishes to board flags the bus and the
conductor open the door, exits, takes the fare and gets back in. I can't
help but wonder how his body feels at the end of the day from riding in
this most awkward position. Obviously this wondering stems from an elderly
person who can't endure a twisted spine! Ah, youth………

Another sight I spied today was another polio victim who had wrapped his
lower body from his waist to his mid thighs in what looked like piece of
rubber sheeting. Sine he had to propel himself along the sidewalk with his
hands that were protected by using a pair thong sandals, this would
protect his torso which was dragging on the sidewalk. I have seen many
polio victims who get to the streets to beg and move along the sidewalk in
this manner. Later in the day I came across another man who instead of
using sandals had fashioned two wood blocks with 'handles' to protect his
hands from the sidewalk. People here are too poor for wheelchairs. I may
have seen one or two the entire time we have been here. I constantly
reflect on America's wealth at every level when I see how people here make
do.

When Derge picked us up tonight, his cab wasn't working. He got out of the
car, raised the hood and fiddled with something. He repeated this twice
then went to the trunk and got out some tools. He changed a spark plug and
we were on our way. Talented man. We went to dinner with the three staff
members: Shewaye, project director, Asfah, finance and Zelalem, the
driver. Shewaye and Asfah brought their fiancées. We had taken $200 cash
as VISA cards aren't used here. Our bill for the evening was $45.00 for
appetizers, drinks and entrees! So much for thinking we knew how to
estimate a going away party!

July 18 2008
Today it is raining. We are ¾ packed and I will go to Adama with Ron and
Shewaye today. It is one of the four cities where they are doing work.
Tonight we will go to our favorite restaurant. Tomorrow we will do a
little sight seeing, get a massage at the hotel, go to dinner on the way
to the airport and head home, arriving 26 hours after departing Addis.

I won't miss the smell of urine and animal feces on the streets but I will
definitely miss the flirtatious shoe shine guys who always have a ready
smile and friendly wave. I will miss the incredibly helpful and friendly
staff at our hotel and am grateful we stayed here rather than the Hilton.
I will miss the great weather. Before I came I thought everyday would be
like the 'greyt' NW in the winter and spring: gray and miserable because
we were arriving during the rainy season. Instead we have had some sun
everyday but one I think. And the temperature is a perfect high 70's or
low 80's with low humidity. Of course being the frugal people we are, we
will miss the cost of things here. We have traveled so much in developing
countries that we have completely lost our perspective on the cost of
things. I will miss the aroma and the taste of the wonderful coffee here.
YUM

Ethiopia is an intriguing place. It was a difficult adjustment initially
but now that it is time to depart, we are grateful to have been guests in
the country with so many needs yet with people who are so generous. Meaza
who helps to coordinate the housekeeping staff asked to speak with me
privately the other day. She came to our room and said she is married and
both are working but they can't make ends meet with all the increases in
the cost of food, etc. She wanted me to find an agency in America that
would help them to raise her son because there wasn't enough money to send
him to school. I told her I didn't know of any but would look into it. My
gut reaction is there is no such agency. And her situation is so much
better than all those folks I meet on the streets who say "I'm hungry".

Ethiopia is a heart breaker because of its many needs.

Since we have been here, numerous times I have seen vendors who walk
around with a tray of sticks about 5-6 inches in length. I finally found
out that they are 'Ethiopian toothbrushes'. You chew on the stick and it
becomes fibrous and can be used as a toothbrush sans paste. Another
mystery solved.
Tomorrow we will go to Entoto Mountain for sight seeing, have lunch, get a
massage, head out for dinner and onto the airport for our 26 hour journey.
We have truly enjoyed our experience here and look forward to a return
trip in the fall.

That's all from the land of 13 months of sunshine.

Post script

We're now back home. The flight was uneventful… but grueling none the
less with 27 hours of elapsed time. One of our bags didn't make it all
the way to Portland, but it was delivered to the house some 10 hours
later. The wonderful TSA had searched the bag and then forgot to put back
the TSA approved lock. They guys are useless.

We fall asleep around 9:00 each evening and sleep through the night… but
wake up early around 6:00 AM. Hopefully we'll be back to normal soon.
We're on day two of a three day regimen to take de-worming pills as a
precaution. This is something we do after visiting developing countries.
You never know what you can get from eating vegetables there.

Ethiopian Tidbits

Have I mentioned the shoe shine guys in Ethiopia? They are ubiquitous.
There are often in groups of three to five sometimes many more. They can
be found on just about every street corner or mid block or both. Each has
a little wooden box, a small bucket of dirty water (I'm sure it starts off
clean in the morning), a few rags, brushes and limited polish. They are
flirtatious and are fun to joke with. I walk the same route most days so
have acquired a group of 'friends' who greet me daily, many asking daily
to shine my shoes. They first wash your shoes with water to remove the
dust or mud depending on the weather. Then they use the smallest amount of
polish possible and finished the job with lots of flourishes as they shine
your shoes. You rest your shoe on the middle riser on their box. When they
want you to change feet, they tap the box with the side of the brush
handle. The cost is, of course like almost everything here, negotiable.
Ron's pays 2 birr and I pay 5 (remember I'm the one who doesn't like to
negotiate.) One birr is almost ten cents US. Negotiations start at ten
birr.

The other tidbit I wanted to be sure to mention is that Ethiopians are
generous. Everyday I see many people dig into their pockets and purses to
fish out coins for the many beggars we encounter on the street. People are
truly hungry here. Since I can't feed them all, I tend to give to those
who are 'most in need': the elderly, and the disabled. There are many in
both categories. I also give meal tickets to women with children and other
able bodied beggars.

The Ethiopian Story of Coffee

I can't tell you how many times Ron has wondered aloud, "How did anyone
ever see a bean on a bush, decide to roast it, grind it and pour hot water
over it so it could then be consumed?" Well, coffee was first created in
Ethiopia and here is their story on the birth of coffee. Kaffa is
generally regarded to be the region from where the Arabica strain of
coffee originated and it is where this plant was first cultivated. A
popular legend said to date somewhere between the 3rd and 10th centuries,
claims that a young herdsman called Kaldi first observed the stimulating
properties of wild coffee. When his goats became hyperactive after eating
the leaves and berries, Kaldi swallowed some of the berries himself, found
that he too became abnormally excited, and ran to the nearby monastery to
share his discovery.

The monks chastised Kaldi for bringing evil stimulants into their
monastery and threw the offending berries into the fire. But then seduced
by the aromatic smell of the roasting berries, the monks decided to give
them a go and found that they were unusually alert during their nocturnal
prayers. Soon it became accepted practice throughout Christian Ethiopia to
chew coffee beans before lengthy prayer sessions, a custom that persists
in some parts of the country today. Later it was discovered that the
roasted berry could be ground to powder to produce a tasty and energizing
hot drink-one that still goes by the name of the Kaffa region in most
places where it is drunk.

The drink of coffee probably remained an Ethiopian secret until the 16th
century when it was traded along the Indian Ocean spice route and
cultivated in Yemen and other parts of Arabia. The bean first arrived in
Europe via Turkey in the 17th century and it rapidly took off-more than
200 coffee shops reputedly traded in Venice alone by the early 18th
century. Today coffee exports typically account for up to 70% of
Ethiopia's annual foreign revenue. Of Ethiopia's annual crop of four
million bags, 90% or more is grown on subsistence farms and small holdings
and about 40% remains in this coffee mad country. (Brandt's Ethiopia
Guidebook) I would add that much is probably grown organically because no
one can afford chemical fertilizer!

By the way, it is the national drink. There are coffee bars everywhere,
just like Portland, every corner has one. It is consumed morning, noon and
night. The traditional way it is made in the home is the beans are first
roasted over charcoal in a flat metal dish where the women constantly stir
them. They like a very dark roast almost burnt. The beans are then ground
into a powder with a mortar and pestle. Next water is placed into a
ceramic jug and heated over charcoal. When the water is hot, using a
folded slip of paper, the grounds are put into the small opening on the
top of the ceramic vessel. I don't know how long it steeps but it is
always quite hot and strong when served in small espresso-sized cups. So I
guess you just don't rush out first thing in the morning with a process
like that. The coffee shops have those wonderful Italian espresso
machines, a much faster option.

July 12 2008
Trip to Awassa for fun, no work!

Our driver was a delighted man by the name of Mehari Messele, probably in
his early to mid thirties. He is married and has one son about 6 yrs old.
He is a professional driver. He never talks on his cell when driving. He
will either ignore the call or he will pull over to take a call. That won
points with us. He also is a very responsible driver. He came to us via
Shawaye, Ron's coworker.

We left the hotel at 9:30 Saturday morning, very tired from our travels to
the east and the late night return Friday night from Dire Dawa. However,
we are determined to see what we can in the time we are here. Ron has
three categories of vacations:
1. Vacations of obligation: visit family
2. Tourists on speed: I may never come here again so I will see and do
everything I can to maximize the experience
3. PMB: park my butt-sleep in, stroll along the beach, read a novel under
a palm tree, take a nap, etc

Well we were in the second mode: tourists on speed. So getting out of
Addis is a pain in the ass. It took two hours and forty minutes to go 70
km (43 miles). But once out of Addis our speed increased. Remember though
we are in Africa so there are still a myriad of animals to avoid in the
middle of the road, each requiring a complete stop. Even though we had
good roads to travel on, we were in the car until 5:00 p.m. to travel 275
km (170 miles) south of Addis. Along the way we saw horrendously long
lines of every kind of vehicle (trucks, cars, buses) waiting for gas. I am
sure some were in line for one-two hours. It rained the entire day. As we
were driving out of Addis, I noticed people selling vegetables that were
spread out on a small croaker sack on the ground with the vendor sitting
on the cold ground and holding an umbrella to keep the rain off. Lord, I
don't know how people do it day in and day out. Be grateful for your life!

Along the way we saw fabulous farm land. We spied men with a simple plow,
a thin piece of wood with a single metal blade, behind a cow plowing his
field. We were in the Rift Valley which is the single largest geological
feature on the African continent and was the only such feature visible to
the first astronauts to reach the moon (or so the travel book says). The
process of rifting started some 20 million years ago along a 4,000 km long
fault line that stretches from the Red Sea south to Mozambique's Zambezi
Valley. The gradual expansion of the valley has been accompanied by a
large amount of volcanic activity. The Ethiopian portion of the Rift
Valley runs from the Red Sea to Lake Turkana on the Kenyan border. In
northern Ethiopia, it forms the Danakil Depression, an inaccessible and
inhospitable desert that dips to an altitude of 116 m below sea level, one
of the lowest points on the earth's surface.

The southern part of the Ethiopian Rift Valley is lower, warmer and drier
than the other densely populated parts of the country. Covered in acacia
woodland and studded with lakes it is also one of the few parts of
Ethiopia that feels unequivocally African. The six main lakes of the
Ethiopian Rift Valley formed during the last Ice Age. (Brandt's Ethiopia
Guidebook)

Eighty-five percent of Ethiopia's population is rural. Almost all the
homes we saw were made of wood stick frame and mud with either thatch
roofs or corrugated metal roofs. In Ethiopia both men and women wear
'shawls' to keep warm or the keep the rain off their bodies. Again we
spied very young children perhaps six years old or younger caring for
livestock. If the herds were larger we saw groups of children caring for
the herds as none of these animals are restrained in any way, making
travel by car a unique and at times dangerous adventure.

I had read that Ethiopia anticipated developing a floraculture industry
when Kenya went off the developing nation list. Sure enough we saw the
largest greenhouse operation I ever imagined. Row after row of huge
greenhouses in width that are row after row in depth that grow cut flowers
for the European markets. These are foreign firms (The Netherlands and
India) we were told. Buses take the workers to and from the site which is
a ways out of town. The Rift Valley is a rich agriculture area. We saw
fields of maize, tomatoes, potatoes, papaya, strawberries, and tef. In one
town there were many tractor trailer trucks idled on the street. Mehari
explained that this town has lots of sand used for construction but when
it rains the trucks cannot get to the sand so they sit until they can.
What blew our minds was that they are loaded by hand. A crew of 20 men
chew chat, which makes them a bit hyper then they sing as they shovel. Oy!
Not exactly how it is done back home.

We also saw many small children under the age of six I would guess who
wore shirts but nothing else: no underpants, no shorts, no pants. Poverty
reigns here. We stopped for lunch at Lake Langano, one of the Rift Valley
Lakes. It is the color of tea with a little milk, sort of orange brown. It
is 150 ft deep and covers an area of 305 sq. km. There were birds
everywhere at the resort where we stopped, even in the dining room. Window
screens are not used in this part of the world. This resort is popular and
there was a group of young women, probably college students, frolicking on
the water's edge in the rain. This is an older Ethiopian resort, to
clarify. Nothing like the resorts we are used to.

We passed more fuel stations with incredibly long lines. One smart woman
was entrepreneurial and was walking along the line selling hot coffee or
tea from a large thermos to those who had to wait. Smart cookie! We
passed through the Rastafarian community. I believe I wrote about them
before. They have never been granted citizenship, even their Ethiopian
born children. When we were stopped I noted one young man with a Bob
Marley t-shirt. Marley was smoking a reefer the size of a cigar and the
caption said Free Your Mind. Rastafarians consider marijuana a sacrament.
Pork, milk and coffee are strictly forbidden. They are still patiently
waiting for the restoration of the Ethiopian monarchy and view the war
with Eritrea as punishment to the country for having killed its king,
Haile Selassie.

We arrived at our destination, Awassa around 5:00 p.m. We checked into the
hotel and headed for the lake a few blocks away. That day was graduation
day from a local university and all the graduates were at the lake to take
photos with their families. It was a zoo but what a wonderful occasion. We
were a rarity we soon discovered. We got lots of friendly looks. As soon
as we entered the park, a small child about three or four years old came
right up to us and stuck out his hand for us to shake. His parents loved
it and so did we. The next thing we knew we were having our photo taken
with family members. One of the adult women in the group acted like I was
her long lost sister or mother. She insisted that there be of photo of
just the two of us and she put her head next to mine. She hugged me and
made a big fuss over me. Well this happened many times as we walked along.
I was looking at birds with the binoculars and one child tried to look
through them backwards. While looking through the binoculars, I spied many
colorful birds including an eagle. All the graduates held huge bouquets
of very brightly colored artificial flowers wrapped in clear cellophane.
All were wearing their robes. There were many proud families: parents,
spouses and children. A college education used to be free here but now the
cost is shared between the student and the government. One family asked us
to send the photos we took of them via email which Ron has since done. I
must say going to the lake was one of the highlights of the trip. It is
very humbling to have so many people appreciate our presence in their
country. It is one of those events that makes this kind of travel so
special and makes us aware that we are one big family here on the planet.

While we were walking along, our driver pointed out a wood box attached to
a tree with writing on it. The box was painted white. It contained
condoms, in an effort to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and USAID was one
of the sponsors. A good use of our tax dollars, I'd say. We went back to
the hotel as the mosquitoes were starting to come out and this is a
malaria region.

We dined at the hotel and had a good meal of fish for which the area is
noted. The next morning I was delighted to have a hot shower only to
discover that it wouldn't drain so the shower pan quickly filled up and
never drained during the time we were in the room, during breakfast and
after. Poor Ron was denied a shower as the water would have flowed all
over the place had he tried to shower. He had to do a sponge bath with
the wash cloth we always bring with us. The breakfast was good and after
we finished we noticed a woman filling the bakery case with fresh
croissants. Ron ordered one with his second cup of coffee but I was too
full from breakfast. They were delicious so I bought three for the road
trip home.

We stopped at the Lake Abiata-Shala National Park on the way home. This is
a 887 sq. km. park. Lake Shala's 410 sq. km. surface sits within the
collapsed volcanic caldera and depths exceed 260 m. in some areas, while
Abiata's highly alkaline waters rest in a shallow pan no more than 14 m.
in depth. The last decade has seen Lake Abiata suffer greatly at the hands
of humans. We saw many people living within the boundary of the park. They
are illegal settlers who had chopped down the acacia trees to make
charcoal to sell. We saw so many stumps. Commercial farms and a government
owned soda ash factory have caused pollution and a substantial drop in the
water level. The lakes increased salinity has killed the fish and
therefore the resident bird population has deserted their former nesting
grounds. The government is doing nothing to stop the destruction of the
park. It is a sad story indeed. The roads within the park are only
passable with a 4 wheel drive vehicle and even then it scared the heck out
of me. If nothing else hire those illegal residents to maintain the roads
and then they wouldn't have to chop down all those trees. Of course, we
all know if I were in charge things would be different!!

On the shore of Lake Shala there is a sulphurous hot spring which we
visited. Here the residents bathe, wash clothes, and cook maize and
potatoes in the hot water. One spring was littered with maize cobs. Yuck!
The locals drink the water from the spring but not the lake. As we drove
into the park and through the areas where there were homes (mud huts)
children came up to the car or in some cases ran after us along side the
car, trying to get us to buy clay objects that someone had made. The look
on one child's face undid me. He looked so desperate. I just get
overwhelmed at times with the poverty here. As we drove through we saw
wart hogs, deer, plover, ostrich (there was a farm in the park) and
flamingoes. From the park we headed home, stopping for a bad lunch at a
local hotel. Both going to Awassa and returning to Addis we saw no fewer
than six or seven overturned Isuzu trucks. Mehair calls them Al Qaida
because the drivers always take someone out with them when the wreck. We
got home around 4:00 in the afternoon, very tired but happy to have seen
part of the gorgeous Rift Valley.

July 10 2008

We flew to Dire Dawa, a short trip of 35 minutes I think. Dire Dawa is a
beautiful town in comparison to Jijiga. Dire Dawa is the second most
populated town in the country with over 300,000. It was founded in 1902
under the named Addis Harar, New Harar, by Menelik II to service the
Franco-Ethiopian railway that connects Djibouti to Addis. Dire Dawa
experienced an economic boom with the secession of Eritrea leaving
Ethiopia without a seaport of its own. Djibouti became Ethiopia's only
link to the Indian Ocean. Set at an altitude of 1150 m. Dire Dawa is
divided into two distinct parts by the wide arc created by the wadi, a
normally dry watercourse. Kezira, a French designed city centre consists
of wide avenues that are tree lined and in neat grids with colonial style
buildings. The old Muslim quarter, Megala, by contrast is more 'organic'
in shape and mood, with all alleys leading to its colorful and vast
market. The two parts of the town are connected by a bridge in the north
and a seasonal causeway in the south.

During the rainy season, there are terrible flash floods that come right
through the center of town in the wadi. In August 2006, 250 people died as
a result of a flash flood. The area surrounding Dire Dawa is mountainous
and all of the water from the mountainous watershed heads right for Dire
Dawa during the rainy season. We spent a considerable time looking at
improvements being completed to help abate the next flood. ICMA through
their City Links program is purchasing two early warning siren systems.
Ron gave the consultant in Dire Dawa some ideas for rectifying a problem
area. There is a long and high flood wall on the banks of the wadi but
where the bridge crosses the wadi there is a huge gap in the wall so water
rushing down the mountain through the water course would be somewhat
contained until it reached the bridge then it would flow right into the
heart of the market area I mentioned above. The used clothes portion of
the market is set up in the middle of the wadi, right where the flash
flood waters will be. Not a good choice.

When we came out of the place where we had lunch a small camel caravan
passed by loaded with wood. There were three women with the four camels,
walking beside them. Not an everyday occurrence back home! I also saw men
sitting on the sidewalk at small tables with manual typewriters. These are
people you can hire to complete legal documents for you. There are many
entrepreneurs in this part of the world.

We had some spare time so headed to the old city of Harar, considered by
some Muslims to be the fourth holiest city in the world after Mecca,
Medina, and Jerusalem. We drove through an arid rocky region with cacti
and eucalyptus and with houses made from the local rocks then we passed
through a beautiful mountainous area and in one village at the top of the
mountain there were women who had platters of beautifully arranged mangoes
on their heads. They were selling the fruit and would approach vehicles
asking if you wanted any fruit. It was so colorful but no photos were
allowed. Later we saw many homes made from mud and with dirt floors. Some
had metal roofs and other had the traditional thatch roofs.

Harar is mentioned in an early 14th century manuscript and its oldest
mosque is said to have been built in the 12th century. The walls
surrounding the old city were built in 1560 and it is called Jugal. Old
Harar remains mostly Muslim with 90-odd mosques, many of them private. It
is said to be the largest concentration of such shrines in the world.
There are about 22,000 people living within the walled city in about 5,000
homes.

Harar lies at the center of a fertile agricultural area known for its
quality coffee although this crop is increasingly being replaced by chat
which is exported to Europe. It is illegal in the US. Here we saw women
chewing chat, lying on the grounds of a private museum we were visiting.
Apparently just about everyone chews chat here. There is a huge market
here for chat and there are checkpoints along the road to ensure anyone
transporting chat is paying the proper taxes. We hired a guide requiring
negotiations but fortunately Ron doesn't mind. People are funny. The guide
said it will be 250 birr for the day (it was already 2:00 pm) and we said
we would only be here a couple of hours so he said 200. We settled at 150
I think and Ron gave him a tip.

Entering the city we were hit with the smell of urine, which we have
smelled a lot here due to inadequate sanitation facilities. We see men
peeing everywhere and anywhere. The 'streets' of Harar are really narrow
passageways. We visited the home of Arthur Rimbaud, a French poet (no, I
hadn't heard of him but that is beside the point). At 21 he left France
and had decided to turn his back on poetry due to the not so great
reception with which his work was met. He was the first white man to enter
the Ogaden region of southeastern Ethiopia. He ran guns for King Menelik
II. His interest in the Ethiopian culture, people and languages made him
popular with the locals and his plain speaking and integrity won the trust
of the chiefs and local governor. In 1891 he developed a tumor on his knee
and traveled for a week by stretcher to the coast. Treatment in Yemen was
not successful and he traveled to Marseilles where his leg was amputated.
By the time of his return to France, his poetry was becoming known but he
was indifferent. He died later that year at the age of 37.

The house was a beautiful, double storey, somewhat Oriental looking, wood
structure. The museum keeper was nowhere to be found so we only got to see
the first floor exhibit then visited some basket makers on the property.
The keeper of the keys never returned so we headed to a private museum,
that was formerly Ras Tafari's (Haile Selassie) house. The museum had
displays of various items such as clothes, weapons, and cookware. We
visited a coffee roaster and bought a kilo of freshly roasted and ground
coffee. Then we visited each of the five gates in the walled city.

Saying goodbye to our guide, our driver went to various places trying to
get fuel for the car. There is a fuel shortage in Ethiopia and
consequently there are long lines to buy fuel with many stations having
none. One driver said it is a false shortage created by the government so
that they can then 'fix it' and make themselves look good. Gas is about
$1. a liter.(3.8 liters to a gallon.) Our driver was young and reckless,
literally. He drove way too fast, used his cell phone constantly and waved
to friends along the way. At one point Ron asked him to slow down and he
did for about 20 seconds.

Our driver took us to dinner later in the evening and said to call him
when we were ready to go back to the hotel. He gave us a card with three
numbers on it. After dinner Ron tried numerous times but couldn't get
through so he asked the restaurant cashier to call and she couldn't get
through so after waiting, hoping he would come by or call, we walked to
the intersection and took a three wheeler back to the hotel. Back at the
hotel, our room was hot, but we had cold showers as there is no hot water
at our hotel. As this is a malaria area we were under the mosquito net for
the night but we had a fan, thank god because the room never cooled off.

The next morning there were meetings with various folks at the municipal
offices that were close by. These offices are three years old and a big
improvement over Jijiga. I noticed the same desk formation; artificial
flower arrangements and the carpet on the floors had been laid but not
finished. The edges were run up the wall for 3-6 inches and the edges were
not finished.

Everywhere we go in Ethiopia we see big murals on the side of buildings
with the new Coke logo "Live on the Coke side of life". What a joke here.
Most people are scratching out a living, many go hungry every day. Somehow
living on the coke side has zero appeal in this setting. If anything it is
offensive.

That's it for Dire Dawa. Our plane was to leave around 5:00 p.m. and it
was four hours late. We sat in the hot airport all that time but were
treated to a bad dinner thanks to Ethiopian Airline. We got back to the
hotel around 11:00 p.m. and were up past midnight trying to unpack all of
the luggage that we had stored with the hotel, do some hand laundry and
pack for Awassa. We left Saturday morning at 9:30.

July 9 2008 written July 14

I have five days of blog to catch up so I will do this in stages. I forgot
to mention one other item about Gambella. On one of our trips into the
town area, we spied about 8-10 people, mostly men, who were sitting in
little stalls , one after another, with treadle sewing machines, making
repairs on clothing and I assume making clothing. Also there were men with
the old fashioned irons that are filled with charcoal for heat. Forget
electricity. Life is not easy here, folks.

We left the hotel on July 9th at 6:00 a.m. and discovered many people
sleeping on the sidewalks on the way to the airport. We are never out late
so we have not witnessed this other than the one I described in a previous
blog: the nest of children. There is a very new, very large Orthodox
Christian church on the way and there were many people sleeping outside
the fence/gates of the church.

As we were flying to Jijiga, I looked out the window and saw a desert
landscape with lots of dry river beds, camels and little vegetation. It is
what I usually think of when I think of Ethiopia. It looked arid, flat and
hazy. I have seen very little of clear skies here. Then we flew over a
hilly area that was terraced and green. There were small villages in this
region as well as isolated rural homes and farms.

As we flew into Jijiga which is quite near the Somalia border there were
what looked like huge tracts of farmland but no crops, no houses. I was
told it has been a bad year for rain. There is very little irrigation
here. Too expensive. The airport was out of town about 20 km. We alit from
the plane, walked across the tarmac, over a gravel then dirt path and
waited for our bags. Three men pushed a wagon of all the bags to where we
retrieved them. Jijiga is on a flat plain and it was sunny but quiet
windy. We were met by the local ICMA rep and a hired driver. In order to
put our bags in the back of the 4x4, the driver had to crawl across the
back seat to unlock the hatch, and then go around to the back of the
vehicle to open it. Life is not easy here and money is in short supply.
People make do with what they have. We had a decent asphalt road into
town, I think it was new. Along the way there were donkeys, sheep, goats
and camels. In this part of the world, the animals are everywhere, not
restrained and drivers must be alert as they have to repay the owner if
they hit one of these animals. So anytime we travel there are frequent
stops as one or more animals cross the road or moves out of the way, or
not.

Once we got into town, it was a different story. The road surfaces were
completely worn away in many areas so that huge rocks, road base material,
the size of a softball or larger poked through the asphalt surface, making
for a very uncomfortable ride. I joked with Elsa who is Shalwaye's
fiancée, that we were the only women in town in pants. All the women I saw
wore long dresses/skirts, and a head covering that covered three-fourths
of their bodies. This is a Somali region of Ethiopia so there are many
Muslims here. Did I mention that this is a very poor region? The clothing
worn is colorful but mismatched by our standards. A woman might have on a
bright polyester print dress that covers her ankles with a completely
different color scheme print head covering that extends to her mid calf.
It was sort of like the tile floors in our hotel. There were 12-18 inch
floor tiles with ornate patterns but in places you would have no fewer
than three or four different tiles with completely different patterns and
colors. Nothing goes to waste, every scrap is used.

Jijiga is known for growing chat. Chat (Catha edulis Forskal) is chewed by
Muslims who are forbidden to drink alcohol. Chat is a small evergreen
shrub about 2 m high and the branches are picked and the tender leaves are
chewed for 1 ½ -2 hours for effect. It is a mildly intoxicating stimulant.
I was astounded to see so many men sprawled on the ground with their hand
full of branches, pulling off leaves and stuffing them into their mouths.
It is acceptable to chew chat throughout Ethiopia and has been around for
centuries. The best chat is grown near Harar, a Muslim town. The growing
area for chat is at an altitude of 1500-2800m. It is picked and shipped
the same day to Somaliland or Djibouti, both of which are near Jijiga. In
Somaliland and Djibouti it has become a national addiction with serious
socio-economic consequences. I would say from what we saw that Jijiga
isn't far behind. Chat costs money and the poverty in this area was
overwhelming. As poor as the region is I didn't see any beggars. Shawalye
explained that the Somali community is a clan culture and is good about
taking care of their community.

Most housing here is what is called Somali traditional houses: a structure
made of wood branches, grasses and cloth. There must be close to airless
inside with only a small opening for a door. They are mostly in the shape
of a loaf of bread. Muslins here have large families so according to our
driver, 10-12 people are sleeping inside. Sometimes there is a smaller hut
that is used for cooking. No electricity, no water and much worse, no
sanitation facilities, no public toilets. When we get back to the US we
will post photos of the area.

We spent the day in meetings with the mayor, revenue officer and
sanitation officer. We met the mayor in the office of the ICMA rep in
Jijiga. The mayor was accompanied by an armed guard who stood outside the
door with his automatic rifle. I do so hate guns! Four of the seven chairs
in the office were broken: arm rests missing, backs gone, etc. His
furniture that ICMA is providing is supposed to arrive at the end of the
week from Addis. The tired curtain on the window covered about ¾ of the
window. In the hallways, there was trash on the floor by the stairway.
The tiles on the steps were broken. The desk of the revenue officer had a
huge bashed-in area on the surface as though something heavy had fallen on
it. The interior of the building was desperate for paint. We guessed it
had been 15-20 years since the walls had been painted and they were
filthy, black with grime. When I asked to use the toilet, I was taken back
to our hotel. If Americans saw how the rest of the world lives, I think
they would complain less and be more grateful for what they have. There is
NO comparison! Most of the meetings were conducted in Somali I think so we
had the local rep serve as interpreter. He speaks Somali, Amharic and
English.

Elsa and I sat in on the meetings; otherwise we would have been sitting in
our hotel rooms with no power. I noticed that in Gambella and here, the
city employee will have an office desk and tied into it will be a small
conference table so that when you meet with the official, you sit at the
conference table but that prohibits you from facing the person directly.
Some offices can't afford the small conference table so they substitute a
coffee table. Artificial flower arrangements are big here. I counted six
on one office. When meeting with one person, there was a woman who must
have been his assistant who sat in the back of the room. A couple of times
she left the room and locked us in as a way to limit interruptions. Not
what we would consider a safety practice in the US.

Like Sri Lanka, residential waste collection is handled by someone walking
down the street and announcing the lorry is coming and to put your solid
waste out by the front door. The trash collectors here make 10 birr a day
(that's about a dollar a day, not a living wage). Consequently they have a
turnover rate of over 100% a year. A lot of time was spent clarifying
revenue collection. We ate lunch at the hotel and took a break as
Ethiopians rest from 12-2 or 2:30. Shops close and apparently so do city
offices. After lunch we went on a tour of facilities. The city owns a
slaughter house and it is one of the things they requested help with from
ICMA. I didn't realize that was where we were going, thinking we were on
our way to the city dump or temporary collection site for solid waste. We
drove into a gated, huge walled area and got out of the car. There were
hundreds of flies. I then noticed the horrid odor of dead flesh. Yuck! I
saw a herd of camels in the corner of this compound, ready for slaughter
tomorrow. Somalis eat camel. I looked at Ron and said I was getting back
into the car. Shawalye and Elsa had stayed at the hotel as she had a
migraine and he had been on this tour. Ron talked to the city employees
about the issues and took photos. What a guy! He never complains and just
works to get the job done. I talked to the driver and we swatted flies the
entire time. He talked about the Somalis who chew chat, don't work and
have large families. I listened but gathered he was less than approving of
the Somalis lifestyle. He is graying and has one son who is about 2 yrs
old. I think many people here marry late. The city charges 12 Birr (about
$1.20) to use the facility to slaughter an animal (for butchers) and sees
this function as a social service. They are operating at a deficient
obviously. Other cities charge 80-120 birr. There were three slaughter
houses. One was for the Christian butchers and two were for the Muslim
butchers (each used for different kinds of meat). We saw men with donkey
carts with a 50 gal. drum on the cart. These are filled with water at town
taps then taken around neighborhoods where they sell the water, none of
which is drinkable. We also observed the main transportation in town which
was donkey or horse carts with little canopies on tops made from old car
axe . There were a few tri-wheel taxis, what we called trishaws in Sri
Lanka and tuktuks in Thailand.

As for our hotel, it is considered the best place to stay and to eat in
town. Our room was dark with one small window. No overhead fan, no power
until dark, and the small table where our travel bag had been put had a
top that fell off. We moved it aside. The toilet seat was leaning against
the wall, not attached in any way to the toilet. One towel, and a mattress
that I thought may have been made of ceramic tile it was so hard, no give
to it. We had a TV and a refrigerator but neither is of much use until
nightfall. We slept with the window closed as this is a malaria are. We
used the mosquito net over us which always makes for a hot night as very
little air can penetrate the net.

At lunch we were given one menu for the table. Like I said people make do
here. The items included a section for beef, lamb and chicken and each
section had 3-5 choices. For example there was fried chicken, breaded
chicken and grilled chicken. Then there was a salad section and soup
section with multiple offerings. I ordered minestrone soup. Nope, they
only had vegetable soup so I ordered it. It was a gray, lumpy gross
looking soup with a speck of carrots and I assume potatoes and it was
tasteless. I ate a few bites of Ron's macaroni with meat sauce. I always
eat with trepidation when we are in these little towns with such limited
facilities, worry that I will get sick. So far so good but it makes for a
nervous meal.

Our last activity of the day was to visit the city dump site. I know this
isn't everyone's idea of a good time, but we actually enjoy seeing how
cities manage their solid waste as there is usually room for improvement
and ICMA has technical advice to help make those improvements. Let me say
it was devastating. Everywhere we looked as we approached there were
plastic bags. They were hanging on every bush like a Christmas tree
decorated with trash. They were in trees, on rocks, etc. It was awful. On
the way to the site, our guide pointed out one of the city's water wells
where they get their drinking water. We also saw the traditional Somali
huts on the way and at the dump. The people who live here are scratching
through the garbage hoping to find usable items to sell or trade. The
landscape was stark: flat, windy and strewn with trash. The guide pointed
out how they dump the garbage and then burn it. Ron noticed a ravine right
next to the dump and the ravine goes right by the city well that had been
pointed out to us on our way to the site. Ron pointed out how when it
rains all the materials from the garbage that has leached out will go into
the ravine and right into the well, poisoning the water. The guide argued
that they burn the garbage so 'no problem'. Ron assured him there was
still leaching going on and it was a huge problem. After seeing all the
Somali huts in town and at the dump, the utter poverty then discovering
this horror, I was totally undone, bordering on depression.

We went to dinner and discovered although the menu lists numerous items we
could order macaroni or lamb cutlets or roasted lamb. They were 'out' of
everything else on the menu. It reminded me of Henry Ford who said you
could have any color car you wanted as long as it was black. We opted for
lamb and were pleasantly surprised. The best part was we didn't get sick.
So much for my worrying. When will I learn?

The next day we headed for the airport. Along the way we saw lots of
donkeys hauling yellow jugs about 5 gallons carrying water. We saw them
about 5 km out of town. Imagine hauling your water everyday, 5 km into
town and 5 km back out of town, on foot. Near the airport we saw a
community of Somali homes, about 10-12. Once at the airport, we got to a
'station' outdoors where there are guards who searched our bags then did a
body search. There is a little area for privacy where a woman pats my
breasts, waist, thighs, etc. There is a male guard for the men. Then we
got into the metal shed for our boarding passes and checked our bags. Then
we were told to go to another area of the shed that requires us to go back
outside into another door and small room. All passengers wait here until
called. There are metal benches and a few upholstered chairs. There is a
woman who serves coffee, and snacks using the tiniest space to prepare the
items to be consumed. There is a constant wind here. The shed is held
together with small trees branches 4-6 inches in diameter and branches 2-3
inches in diameter. The only lumber is was the frame for the sheet metal
door. Even the roof trusses were trees, not sawn lumber. Electrical
conduit was in a rubber garden hose not metal conduit. Guess code hasn't
reached Ethiopia. I don't remember how late the plane was but we have yet
to take a trip that the plane was on time. Next installment will be Dire
Dawa.

July 7 2008
Man oh man, we woke up this morning and thought we were back in the
"Greyt" NW! It was dark, and gloomy with heavy clouds and a constant
rain. This was a first here. Usually we wake up to sunshine and as the
day progresses we get some rain. Then it clears up. But July is the heavy
rain month so I think we will see something different this month.
Ethiopia's travel motto is '13 months of sunshine'. Ethiopia uses the
Julian calendar which has 12 months of 30 days and one month of five
days. The rest of the Christian world switched to the Gregorian calendar
in 1582. So even during the heavy rain season there will be some sun.
Sure enough, I left the hotel at 11:30 and the sun was out. It is now
3:00 and the rain is coming this way.

When I was out today getting worm pills, that's right, worm pills, I was
approached by many who asked for money. My favorite experience was a
little boy probably 4-5 years old who was selling boxes of tissues. I told
him I already had some in my room but he persisted. Finally he said "how
come you won't buy? You have baby?" I laughed and said "I have
grandchildren". That did it; he turned on his heel and went away. I guess
grandmothers are notorious for being stingy. Okay about those worm pills.
If you eat any fresh vegetables in this part of the world you need to
de-worm yourself after you leave the country. This requires going to a
pharmacy and asking for tablets and taking them for 1-3 days depending on
the manufacturer. It is a painless process and there are no side effects.

Today I discovered yet another decent restaurant that I can walk to. It is
located on the top floor of the Dembel Shopping center and serves lunch
and dinner. We are now up to 11 restaurants. I must admit as a person who
generally loves various ethnic foods, Ethiopian is not my favorite. I have
one dish I like, chicken stew that is in a heavy red sauce and have eaten
it twice since being here. This is week four.

Tonight we tried a Thai restaurant we discovered via an ad in a monthly
brochure that highlights events in Addis. The tom yum soup was quite good
but I didn't much care for the tofu stir fry. The veggies were okay but
the tofu wasn't that great. Ron, aka dragon mouth, smothered his dinner in
crushed red pepper flakes and was quite content. Our favorite cuisines are
Thai and Indian so we are happy to have yet another choice here. That
brings us up to 12 restaurants.

July 8 2008
Tomorrow we leave for Jijiga near the Somalia border and on Thursday we
fly to Dire Dawa, both are east of Addis. These are two of the four cities
Ron is working with and we will have Shawalye, the program coordinator,
Elsa his fiancée and another consultant from here with us. We are hopeful
that there will be time to explore the city of Harar, known for its
ancient walled city and famous for its coffee. We will not have access to
the Internet so will post again on the weekend most likely. We return
Friday and may travel to Awassa, south of Addis, to see more of the Rift
Valley if we can hire a car and driver.

I will pack up our room today to store our luggage while we are gone, and
I am getting a pedicure. The spa/salon I am going to is owned by an
Ethiopian who owned a high end salon in Boston. He decided to return to
his homeland and opened a high end salon here. There offer manicures,
pedicures, massage and hair services. It is the only place like it in
Addis and looks very western. The major difference is price: manicure is
about $4.00 and a pedicure I think is $8.00. They have these fancy comfy
chairs that have a foot tub in them so you can soak your feet in hot water
as prep for the procedure. Since we are going to hot weather country
tomorrow requiring sandals, I thought I'd treat my toes to a pedicure.

On my walk to the post office I spied three donkey trotting along the
street. When they got to the major intersection they managed to stop three
lanes of traffic with their owner in hot pursuit. No injuries reported. On
my way back at the same intersection there was a man holding his sheep by
their tails to prevent a similar situation. Unfortunately he had three
sheep and the two he was holding wanted to be with the one that was free.
Although there were no injuries the sheep did manage to stop a vehicle or
two. When's the last time you saw sheep and donkeys in the

July 3, 2008

 

Yesterday we flew to Gambella. Our plane was quite late, a little over two hours but apparently that is standard here. Since the plane was so late, we were served a piece of dry yellow cake and soft drinks while we waited. As it turned out the snack on the flight (no meal) was another piece of the same cake. We went without eating a meal until supper time. No one in our group was complaining or surprised at the delay. The AC wasn’t working and made for an uncomfortable trip. Landings in the Fokker 50 were rough, one or two good bounces each landing.  I guess what we heard from the pilot at Victoria Falls when we traveled there in 2000, holds true for Ethiopia.  In
Africa, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

 

We flew first to Jimma then onto Gambella. The scenery was beautiful from the plane coming onto Gambella. There was ridge after ridge of trees, greenery, and lush vegetation. When we landed in Jimma no passengers got off and none got on that I noticed. But we were allowed off the plane for a ten minute break. Since it was hot, a number of us found shelter from the sun under the wing of the plane. When we landed in Gambella, there was no airport facility, just a metal shed. The passengers who would board after we off loaded were gathering outside the building in a group. Another group of people were standing by to pick up the passengers who were getting off the plane. Gambella was the final stop for the passengers so everyone got off the plane. This area was unpaved. Okok, Ron’s coworker seems to know everyone here. Okok is a very tall, 6’6’, and says he is from the shorter of the two main tribes that reside in Gambella.

 

We were met at the airport by Okelo, Okok’s son, and another man who had brought Okok’s vehicle to transport us to our ‘hotel’. The road out of the airport was a one lane dirt road. A vehicle that was in a bigger hurry than us passed us riding off the road on the wild grasses. From here we went onto a bigger, one and a half lane dirt road that brought us into town. As we reached town, there were two wide asphalted roads. These were newly paved roads and some sidewalks had been asphalted, some yet to be paved. It was hotter here as we are now in the lowlands at a much lower altitude. But lush. My goodness on the way into town the vegetation was lush: vines, trees, and grasses were thick.

 

Our “hotel” was actually a guest house run by the UN’s World Food Program. It is a fenced compound with offices and several rooms for guests. We have a bougainvillea arbor in front that provides shade in front of the house but it is low, maybe seven feet or so off the ground. We entered a screened porch then a sitting area that contained a chair with cushions, a small couch, a round plastic patio table pushed up against the couch and a coffee table against the wall and plastic table. There are two bedrooms, one with a single bed and one with a bed that is slightly wider than a single but narrower than a double. They had thought Ron and I were traveling separately so we told them we would take the one room with the wider bed. The room is about 7 ft by 10 ft. The bed has a mosquito net over it, a small table by the bed and one chair. No where to hang clothes or put things. No problem. Ron and I have been wilderness campers in years past and know how to make do.

 

There were two other areas in the house: a small kitchen area with a stainless sink and a cabinet and a small bathroom with a toilet, sink with no stopper and shower. The bathroom had soft floors which made me think there was some serious dry rot. The floors were worn out, stained linoleum. It was clean but very tired. Okok said this is one of the best accommodations in Gambella.

 

Okok left us at the guesthouse to return in less than an hour to take us around town and to dinner as the guest house didn’t even have water for us to drink. So we changed into cooler clothes and sat on the screened porch and read our books.

 

We drove back into town, maybe a quarter of a mile and bought water for the room, then onto another very small store were we got some juice. I had plain tea cookies and peanuts in case we got hungry. I even had brought granola but realized that there were no bowls, spoons or way to refrigerate milk and juice so discounted that idea immediately. We were totally dependent on Okok for access to meals and we were thankful he had a car and was willing to host us. After the two stores he drove us to the Baro River, the only navigable river in Ethiopia and this river flows into Sudan and then into the Nile.  It is an important means of trade. It was along this river that raiding slave parties transported thousands of captured men. This evening by the river there were many (10 or more) small gatherings of people who were having afternoon tea or coffee being served by vendors from thermos as there were no permanent stalls with power here. Obviously this is the place to socialize in the evening. The vendors with small chairs or stools were located under the shade of the trees on the bank of the river. Further down was the men’s bathing place.  In Sri Lanka people usually bathe with some clothing on but not here so I averted my gaze once I realized the men were not clothed. The river is big with a swift current. There are crocs in the river but the locals know where the safe place to bathe is apparently. The water is muddy from recent rains.

 

From here we went to the Baro Gambella Hotel where we had drinks on the veranda outside then went inside for dinner. We had spaghetti and bread. It is hot so I have little appetite (maybe I will be able to shed those pounds I gained on the two month road trip last fall.) The hotel where we ate dinner seemed quite nice. Okok said the only problem is it is not air conditioned. Not so much a problem right now but the temperature can reach 41C here according to one team member from Portland who visited earlier in the year. That translates to 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Okok took us home. We decided to look at a movie as we had brought a DVD to view on the computer. Bucket List was entertaining but the sound track had a problem so the volume was quite low. Did I mention you can only buy pirated goods in this part of the world? We sat side by side on the bed to view the movie, holding the laptop on our laps and at times bending over to hear the dialog.

 

As I mentioned, the bed was small but we were delighted to discover that we could lay flat side by side with no room to spare. We were blessed to have AC in the bedroom. And we slept well.

 

The next morning we discovered that the large bucket of water was probably for bathing not bucket flushing the toilet. When I turned on the cold water only shower, there was a steady drip, not a flow. I was actually glad as it reduced the shock of the cold on my skin.

When it came to washing my hair Ron passed a bucket of water into the tiny shower stall for me to rinse the shampoo from my hair as I might still be there otherwise

 

Okok picked us up at 8:00 a.m. and we went back to the hotel for breakfast. We had a new trainee for a waiter. I ordered toast, coffee and scrambled eggs. Ron had the same but an omelet. Okok order coffee with milk. Somehow we got four coffees but Okok realizing this man was new and decided it was easier to accept the mistake rather than try and correct it. The food was good. I ordered another coffee and asked Okok to explain what I wanted which was the equivalent to an Americano (a shot of espresso with hot water instead of milk). The new waiter got nervous so he agreed to bring the water to the table. So all told we had two breakfasts, five coffees and a liter of water and our bill with 10% service was 35 birr. ($3.50 USD)

 

After breakfast we went to Okok’s office, a series of concrete one story buildings. Most of these were municipal offices.  He has a small 8 x 12 office and today there is no power so I am sitting in the dark writing this from the little bit of light coming in from the window. There are shade trees and Ron is between me and the window so there isn’t much light. I will correct my mistakes later as I worry when I will run out of battery power. Outside there is thunder and light rain. Ron and Okok are planning the day’s activities.

 

Okok is married and has nine children. His oldest daughter was born deaf and mute and now is a teacher of the deaf and mute. His son Okelo (which means born after twins) whom we met yesterday will start college in the fall, hopefully in an architecture program. Okok has a daughter studying nursing. I don’t know about the other children. Yesterday he had his youngest daughter at the airport in Addis where she was living with an older sister while she attended school.  She was returning to Gambella for the school break. Her name is Omega, meaning the last child. Remember “I am the alpha and the omega” from the Bible, meaning I am the beginning and the end?  Omega is six and her oldest sibling is 26! She was most impressive. She speaks exquisite English. She was quite and very observant. Okok says she takes it all in then later will talk about what she has observed. She was dressed in an adorable outfit of a matching jean jacket and skirt. Each piece had pink beads forming flowers. She had on a coordinating blouse. She has just spent a year separated from her mother, living with her sisters who live in Addis. She is in Addis to get a better education as they teach English starting in K-1. In Gambella she would not have English until starting in grade six or so. At breakfast today Okok was explaining a bit about naming to us. There are about seven tribes in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya that share a similar language and culture so men’s names start with O, like Okok, Okelo, and Obama and women’s names start with A. So if the child born after twins were a female her name would be Akelo as opposed to Okelo. Interesting.

 

Recently Gambella has paved several main roads in town. One of Ron’s projects will involve a public awareness campaign regarding safety for pedestrians. Because roads have always been dirt, people walk in the roads, cars have moved slowly because the roads weren’t paved, and people could hear cars coming as they were noisier on the dirt. Now there are more cars on the road, they move swiftly and people can’t hear them and this results in many accidents. Ron’s project plans include painting bicycle paths and doing a public awareness campaign using banners across the street showing where pedestrians should walk, bicyclist should ride and where traffic should go. He hasn’t figured out as to where animals should go. Yesterday we had to stop the car as a large herd of cattle were being moved along the road. Today there was a smaller herd of goats on a different road. Interesting, working in developing countries where you have very different issues to deal with.  So here many people are on the road because the asphalted sidewalks have not been completed due to a cement shortage and the rainy season is upon us so construction has to be halted. It is much easier to walk on a paved surface than an unpaved one but since forever people have walked in the road. This will be a major endeavor to change an engrained habit.

 

Unlike Addis we find people on the street will stare at us but not respond with a smile or acknowledgement. We read that the people here are reticent and deeply suspicious but quite hospitable. There are five tribes here but the two main tribes are the Nuer and the Anuak.  Anuak huts are characterized by low doorways and thickly thatched roofs. The eaves, which stretch almost to the ground, keep out both the torrential rains and the baking sun.  The Nuer tribe uses cicatrizing which is considered sensual. The skin is raised in patterns to decorate the face, chest and stomach. Rows of dots are often traced on the forehead. Today we met the deputy mayor who had about six rows of tiny dots across his forehead. If you didn’t look closely you would think he had a creased brow but upon closer examination I realized these were scars. I have since seen it on several people.

 

There are no beggars here and children are discouraged from hassling tourists. In some towns tourists are followed by young people and taunted with slogans such as ‘you, you, you’ or ‘faranji faranji’ (foreigner) or worse ‘fuck you’. So far we have been spared. We count our lucky stars for many blessings every day.

 

The offices of the public employees are quite meager. They are housed in small concrete buildings, most interiors need a coat of paint and furniture is worn. However those with a lot of responsibility seem to have nicer desk than most people we saw in Sri Lanka. Many were large, newer wood topped desks and comfortable desk chairs. Most seem to have AC although it isn’t needed now in the rainy season. It is quite humid here however. In the US the AC would probably be on but we haven’t had much electricity today, none in Okok’s office. The electricity went off in the office of the transportation engineer’s office while we were meeting. Nothing changed once it went off. The meeting continued in the dark uninterrupted

 

We went to Okok’s house for lunch. He has a large house that he built himself in stages as money was available. His lovely wife, Nuno, had prepared a traditional feast for us. We had chicken stew and a beef and okra stew with sorghum, injera, rice and Italian bread. Okok said sorghum is the main staple here. It looked like bread dough that had risen but not been cooked. It was in a gourd that had been cut in half and I would guess that it was steamed. We each tried it and it was soft and bland. The two stews were delicious. In addition we had fresh sliced tomatoes with onions, hot peppers and fresh squeezed lime juice and fresh sautéed greens. Afterwards we were served traditional coffee and salted peanuts. Nuno is a member of the local parliament and very active in the community particularly helping the poor find a way to improve their lives by selling produce in the market here. Nuno is probably five feet tall and standing next to her husband who is about 6’6” looks quite small. She is a very strong woman however!

 

Okok revealed that he had been imprisoned for three years after unrest in the area about five years ago. He was taken to Addis along with other people in the opposition party. His sons were hunted by the police but escaped unharmed into Sudan and Kenya. During the time Okok was in prison a church in England helped sustain the family. Okok told this story with no bitterness or anger. In fact, he said it was a learning experience. Okok showed us a vase that had an intricate pattern of bead work covering the surface. Nuno had created this while he was imprisoned as a way to maintain her sanity. It was truly beautiful!

 

Many people here are quite tall and slender and much darker than other Ethiopians. Some are very poor and wear a hodge podge of western clothes, mostly jeans and t-shirts, often torn or ragged. This is interspersed with men and women wearing more traditional African clothes. There is an abundance of West African fabrics that are bright prints and tie dyed clothes: beautifully embroidered shirts that are tie dyed or brightly printed fabrics in highly contrasted colors.

 

The day was spent meeting various people who would be involved with the project Ron is working on or with whom he would need to coordinate. At the end of the day, Okok took us to a community garden. Here he had worked to obtain a lease from the government to use the land for a church community project. All land in Ethiopia is owned and leased by the government, perhaps a leftover from the communist era. Okok shared his vision of this project whereby they would raise food both to be consumed and sold to generate income, to train rural people in a number of skills such as fisheries management and baking. This would help them become more self reliant and have a means of earning an income. They had planted a field of maize that was 12-14 feet high. I have never seen anything like it. The field was HUGE and all planted by hand! It will be harvested within a week and sold to generate more income for the project. As a thank you for his hospitality we made a cash donation to his project. He is such an impressive man. On the way back to town we passed a young man and Okok told us the man had come to him, saying he was an orphan and wanted Okok to be his father. Okok has helped him by giving him work and taking him under his wing. There was a little boy we met the second day we went to Okok’s home. This little boy doesn’t know who his father is but again Okok has taken him in. Okok is an incredibly generous man of great faith. He inspired us both. No doubt he will do a tremendous job on the project. He has a Masters degree from the UK and many years experience in development work in Gambella.

My work in Ethiopia generally and Gambella specifically is oriented around helping local governments do a better job for their citizens through capacity building and demonstration projects.  My role is two fold;  First I am here to help ICMA get the project organized so it can be managed properly.  It is so strange to me that an organization that has Management as its middle name has so few systems for the international work that it has.  But I guess that’s good for me because it provides an opportunity for us to travel to these locations.  So I’ve been building a detailed step-by-step project plan with start and stop dates, assignment of responsibilities, etc, to track our progress and monitor activities.  I am also trying to leverage our program activities with programs from other NGOs and agencies.  This piece involves meeting with other agencies and seeing where our programs overlap…. And hopefully find common ground for some partnerships.  One other aspect of this part of my work is working with USAID on the registration ICMA needs from the Government of Ethiopia so we can officially work here.  The application was submitted in September of 2007 and it still has not been issued.  Ah  Bureaucracy!  And we’re trying to do work that’s funded by USAID that was REQUESTED by the Govt. of Ethiopia.  Amazing.

 

The second part of my work is to provide technical advice on some of the specific projects we are working on.  In Gambella these include a demonstration transit project, and traffic management plan for a brand new paving of the main roads in town.  Here   are looking at community and school education programs on how to use the roadway.  We are also doing a demonstration project in 6 villages for trash collection (the city does not collect trash now…. And the town shows it).  Our aim is to establish this as an enterprise operation that is self supporting.  We will also be rehabilitating one of the city’s 8 non-functioning public toilets (they only have 9 in total) and set it up on a sustainable basis.  We will add a male shower and a female shower that can be used only by the people that maintain the toilets.  A small fee for the toilets will be collected to offset operating costs.  We will also rehabilitate the city slaughter house and set it up in a sustainable manner.  Finally we will provide advice, training and guidance in collecting revenues that are owed the city.  This is a very ambitious program especially given the short timeframe (1 year) and a meager $125,000 in direct project budget.

 

We left Gambella around 1:30 and drove out to the airport. Our plane was delayed somewhat. First we entered the metal building that I would guess is 30 feet square. Here one man took our tickets, and issued a boarding pass while another man used a manual typewriter to create the rooster of passengers. Then our luggage was inspected manually as there was no x-ray equipment. We went back outside. After about 30 minutes everyone went back inside to go through a pat down (no body parts spared) and an inspection of carry-on items. We were crammed into a tiny room of classroom style setup of chairs while we waited for the plane to board. Fortunately the AC worked on this plane. It was a non event returning to Addis by way of Jimma. We were grateful to see yet another part  Ethiopia and extremely honored to have met such wonderful people as Okok, Nuno and their family.

July 1, 2008

Today I am packing up the things in our room as we leave tomorrow for
Gambella, west of here. It is one of the towns where Ron is working.
Initially we thought I would not travel with him because of the expense
and because Antonio advised against it, mainly because 'there is nothing
to do there'. We changed our minds and I will travel with Ron as there
isn't a lot to do in Addis either and we came this far to see as much as
we can of Ethiopia. It is expensive because we will fly there and back.
Flying for Americans is expensive whereas it isn't so expensive for
Ethiopians: there are two prices. Seems fair to me.

I find that some days I don't want to leave the hotel knowing that I will
be approached by so many beggars and it wears on me. But to put that in
perspective it isn't nearly as wearing on me as it is on them. There are
so many hunger people here. So I leave and continue to give money and meal
tickets. Lonely Planet advises to give the same as Ethiopians do. The
currency here is birr. One birr is about nine cents. The smallest note is
one birr and the largest is 100 birr, about nine dollars. A birr is broken
into 100 cents in coins of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50. So when I give money I am
giving a portion of a dime, the most being a nickel US. Beggars are almost
always grateful. Some do not want the meal tickets whereas I had now had
two people snatch an extra one from my hand, refusing to give the extra
back. I must remember I have no idea what it is like to be hungry everyday
and never judge those who are. Sri Lanka was not this poor although it was
much less developed.

I don't think I have done a very good job in the blog of telling you about
Ethiopia so will try to do more of that. The following is from Wikipedia.
Ethiopia (IPA: /ˌiːθiːˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez:
ኢትዮጵያ
ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially the Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country situated in the
Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Sudan to the
west, Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the
north-east.
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world[1] and Africa's
second-most populous nation.[2] Ethiopia has yielded some of humanity's
oldest traces,[3] making the area important in the history of human
evolution. Recent studies claim that the vicinity of present-day Addis
Ababa was the point from which human beings migrated around the
world.[4][5][6] Ethiopian dynastic history traditionally began with the
reign of Emperor Menelik I in 1000 BC.[7][8] The roots of the Ethiopian
state are similarly deep, dating with unbroken continuity to at least the
Aksumite Empire (which adopted the name "Ethiopia" in the 4th century) and
its predecessor state, D`mt (with early 1st millennium BC roots).[9][10]
After a period of decentralized power in the 18th and early 19th centuries
known as the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of the Judges/Princes"), the country
was reunited in 1855 by Kassa Hailu, who became Emperor Tewodros II,
beginning Ethiopia's modern history.[11][12][13][14] Ethiopia's borders
underwent significant territorial expansion to its modern borders for the
rest of the century,[15][16][17] especially by Emperor Menelik II and Ras
Gobena, culminating in its victory over the Italians at the Battle of Adwa
in 1896 with the military leadership of Ras Makonnen, and ensuring its
sovereignty and freedom from colonization.[18][19] It was brutally
occupied by Mussolini's Italy from 1936 to 1941,[20] ending with its
liberation by British Empire and Ethiopian Patriot forces.
Having converted during the fourth century AD, it is also the
second-oldest country to become officially Christian, after Armenia.[21]
Since 1974, it has been secular and has also had a considerable Muslim
community since the earliest days of Islam.[22] Historically a relatively
isolated mountain country, Ethiopia by the mid 20th century became a
crossroads of global international cooperation. It became a member of the
League of Nations in 1923, signed the Declaration by United Nations in
1942, and was one of the fifty-one original members of the United Nations
(UN). The headquarters of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) is in Addis Ababa, as is the headquarters of the African Union
(formerly the Organisation of African Unity), of which Ethiopia was the
principal founder. There are about forty-five Ethiopian embassies and
consulates around the world.
It is about twice the size of Kenya or the state of Texas. It has a
population of 75.1 million as of 2006. It is one of the world's poorest
nations. In the 1980's the per capita income was $120 per year and it
hasn't changed much since then. Life expectancy is 52 for men and 54 for
women. The economy suffers from two major and persistent weaknesses: food
insecurity and a near total dependency on coffee for foreign exchange
earnings. Agriculture provides the livelihood for 85% of Ethiopians but
drought and pests and severe soil erosion due to deforestation continue to
keep agriculture yields erratic and low. More from Wikipedia below.
[edit] Exports
Ethiopia was the original source of the coffee bean, and coffee beans are
the country's largest export commodity.[113]
Ethiopia is also the 10th largest producer of livestock in the world.
Other main export commodities are khat, gold, leather products, and
oilseeds. Recent development of the floriculture sector means Ethiopia is
poised to become one of the top flower and plant exporters in the
world.[114]
With the private sector growing slowly, designer leather products like
bags are becoming a big export business, with Taytu becoming the first
luxury designer label in the country.[115] Additional small-scale export
products include cereals, pulses, cotton, sugarcane, potatoes and hides.
With the construction of various new dams and growing hydroelectric power
projects around the country, it has also begun exporting electric power to
its neighbors.[116][117][118] However, coffee remains its most important
export product and with new trademark deals around the world, including
recent deals with Starbucks, the country plans to increase its revenue
from coffee.[119] Most regard Ethiopia's large water resources and
potential as its "white oil" and its coffee resources as "black
gold".[120][121]
The country also has large mineral resources and oil potential in some the
less inhabited regions; however, political instability in those regions
has harmed progress. Ethiopian geologists were implicated in a major gold
swindle in 2008. Four chemists and geologists from the Ethiopian
Geological Survey were arrested in connection with a fake gold scandal,
following complaints from buyers in South Africa. Gold bars from the
National Bank of Ethiopia were found to be gilded metal by police, costing
the state around US $17 million, according to the Science and Development
Network website. [2]
Leather goods are relatively inexpensive. Taytu, the luxury designer
mentioned above has one shop here. I have visited it twice. Their handbags
are unique in design and color. Apparently they sell to a store in New
York. The bags here run about $130-$250. I can't imagine what they would
cost in the US.
The literacy rate is 42%, meaning the person is 15 years old or over and
can read and write. It is about 50 % for men and 35% for women. Because
most of the population is rural, young children are needed to help with
livestock. When we were in Lalibela, we saw numerous young children, I
would guess under 10 years of age, tending to small herds of goats and
sheep.
That's it for today. I need to finish packing up the room. The hotel will
store our luggage until we return on Friday. I may not have Internet
access in Gambella so it may be a few days before I post again.

June 28 2008

We got up a little after 4:00 and ate a quick breakfast of granola and
coffee in our room then took off for the airport. What an experience. We
got there two hours in advance of departure for a domestic flight. The
term 'cluster fuck' comes mind, pardon my French! The overhead monitor
read "for Lalibela Proceed to gate". Since we know you can't believe
everything you read, I asked an employee who instructed me to get in the
line on the right. As we got in line, about half the line was getting out
of line to get into the line on the left. Keep in mine they are pushing
carts loaded with luggage and everyone is moving around trying to get out
of line or into line depending on where they are going. There is no
signage, only one man telling people where to go. This is the same man who
is also trying to direct traffic between the front of the two lines and
the counter. He is monitoring when there is an open window for someone to
precede to the counter to get checked in. Oy! He closes off our line and
no one is allowed to proceed to the counter. Mr. B got impatient at one
point and asked what the heck was going on. The man asked where we were
going and informed us we had plenty of time. It turns out that the line on
the left was for people who had earlier flights than ours so they got to
go first. Very interesting. Bottom line after about 35-40 minutes of
standing in line we got checked in.

We flew on a Fokker 50, a small plane for about 50 passengers I would
guess. Didn't Snoopy fly a Fokker? We made two stops on our way to
Lalibela, the flight taking about 2.5 hours altogether. The scenery from
the plane was beautiful but we were not able to capture it with the
camera. The two towns where we stopped were lush green from the sky with
what looked like lots of farm land and flowing rivers and huge lakes. When
we flew into Lalibela, it was a totally different story. It is quite
mountainous there at 8547 ft. It was arid with little vegetation. All the
river beds were dry or had only a trickle of water. The landscape was a
gray/ brown with sand and rock. This was a volcanic region in the past. As
a matter of fact the churches we had traveled to see were carved from
compressed volcanic ash. It is a very isolated and sparsely populated
area.

The rainy season was late here. Farmers had planted crops but the rains
didn't come and now the crops are withering after one or two brief
rainfalls. The livestock (goats, sheep and cattle) are all gaunt from
hunger. It breaks your heart to see the plight of farmers when there is no
irrigation and the weather is unpredictable. We were met at the airport by
a van that took four tourists and two locals up to Lalibela. We climbed
the entire 25 minute trip. We saw small villages of about 20-25 huts made
of straw roofs that must be replaced about every five years and mud walls
as we climbed to Lalibela. Occasionally we would see a home with a
corrugated metal roof. Lalibela has experienced a lot of growth in recent
years and the government has instituted a planned community whereby each
house must have the same floor plan so there was one area before the
center of town that had numerous homes that were identical.

As we drove towards Lalibela we saw lots of people on foot heading to
town. These were rural farmers heading to the weekly Saturday market. Most
men and some women carry sticks that are about 4-5 ft. long. They are
carried across the shoulders so they can rest their hands on each end as
they walk or if they are carrying a large load such as a sack of grain or
a eucalyptus tree the stick can be used to stabilize the load. Because of
the poverty no one owns a car so transport is either by foot or donkey. We
saw lots of men carrying a single eucalyptus tree. These are the frames
for the roofs of houses. Lalibela was very arid and very dusty.

Our hotel was on the far side of town. It consisted of six two storey
structures that were modeled after the traditional homes in this region.
They are round stone structures with a straw roof. The family lives in the
upper storey and the livestock lives in the lower storey. Our hotel had
twelve rooms in the six structures with no livestock! Our room was on the
second floor, had an entry way, a large bedroom with curved walls and a
glass wall with a balcony that overlooked the town and vista. We had a
large bathroom with sink, toilet and fancy shower. The floors in the
bedroom were laminate wood and tile in the bath area.

Our bed was made of bamboo as was all the furniture. We had instructions
to not put any toilet paper in the toilet, a common practice in developing
countries. I assume this is due to lack of infrastructure to handle it. A
receptacle was placed near the toilet for paper.

Our guide Fikru whom we had hired over the Internet met us at our hotel.
It was about 10:30 so he suggested since today was market day that we go
see it. We were delighted as we have avoided the market in Addis due to
safety issues. Fikru assured us we need not have any worries about safety
here. The population is about 10,000 here and it is very much a rural
community. We walked to the market where 100's if not 1000's of locals had
come to market. Some come from as far away as 25 km. The market was on a
hillside and divided into sections: chili peppers, livestock, grains,
spices, weavings, shoes, etc.

Each vendor had spread their goods on a tarp and the tarps overlapped or
at least touched in most cases. This meant stepping over tarps to wind our
way through the market. We were terrified that we would stumble and land
in someone's lap. Fortunately it didn't happen. I noticed that sometimes a
few grains or leaves as the case with spice would fall into the dirt. The
vendor would carefully retrieve the goods from the dirt so that nothing
was wasted. We saw sorghum, barley, tef, ginger, coffee, hops, onion,
potatoes, eggs, etc. One of our favorite vendors was selling sandals made
from tires for the soles and inner tubes for the straps. When we figure
out how to post photos Ron has a great one of a man with a huge knife
making a repair on one of the sandals. The livestock area had donkeys,
cattle, goats, sheep and chickens.

Donkeys were seen a lot here. They are the beasts of burden for sure. They
can be seen everywhere here carrying what most often appear to be sacks of
grain. We also saw men carrying sacks of grain on their shoulder. We saw
some that were stamped USAID with an American flag.

We were surrounded by high mountains here but what surprised us was how
hazy it was. We never saw a clear blue sky which I had anticipated given
that we were in a rural area far way from big city pollution. I am not
sure if the pollution is this widespread or if it has to do with the
climate but I haven't seen clear skies or vistas since being in Ethiopia.

After the market we went back to our hotel and had lunch. We assumed that
Lalibela would be much cooler since it was at a higher altitude but it
actually was warmer there. Our lunch was traditional Ethiopian: injera,
sautéed greens, potatoes, lentils in a sauce, sautéed cabbage, beans made
into a soupy sauce, goat meat that we did not eat as it was very chewy
although it had been cut into tiny pieces. We rested until 2:00.
Throughout Ethiopia businesses and shops often close between 12-2. We took
a hired car to the churches as it was all up hill (remember we are now at
8500 ft), we were going to be on our feet all afternoon and it was a long
walk to the entry point. The entry fee $40 for the two of us and this fee
now supports the 11 churches which are still in use by the way. Fikru
explained that the Orthodox Christian church has incorporated some Judaic
practices into their beliefs. He cited not eating pork and separation of
men and women in the religious services as examples as well as the use of
a Semitic language in the services. About 45% of Ethiopians are Orthodox
Christians and Fikru said he thought about 40% were observant. I would
concur seeing how often and how many Ethiopians attend church throughout
the week and almost every conversation with an Ethiopian will eventually
come around to religion, Orthodox Christian religion that is.

Lalibela was the capital of the Zagwe dynasty in the 12th and 13th
centuries which is when the churches are thought to have been constructed.
Scholars claim it would have taken 40,000 workers to have built the
churches whereas legend has it that the angels did much of the work in the
night after the workers left for the day. The churches are remarkable for
three reasons: many are not carved into the rock but freed entirely from
it unlike most of Petra in Jordan; because the buildings are so refined;
and because there are so many within a small area. Because some of the
churches were being damaged from the environment (mostly rain) several are
now protected by huge structures that form an umbrella over them thanks to
UNESCO. Our guide was disparaging of the structures as they take away from
the aesthetics of the churches.

The first church we saw was Beit (House or place of) Medhane Alem (Savior
of the World) and it is said to be the largest rock hewn church in the
world. It measures 33.5 m by 23.5 m and is over 11.5 m high. A meter is 39
inches. The interior consist of a barrel vaulted nave and four aisles.
There are three empty graves in one corner and are said to have been
prepared symbolically for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Pierced stone panels
fill the windows, each decorated with different central crosses. We were
surprised the see the Hindu swastika as one of the crosses in the
decorations here. Obviously there must have been some exposure to each
other's cultures at some point. We also saw the six pointed star of David
in the decoration of one of the churches. Outside one of the churches was
a 'pool' of water. A pool had been excavated and the water level was
about six feet below the edge of the pool. . Fikru said the pool is about
15 ft. deep. This was a fertility pool, still used today. It was filled
with tall reeds. grasses and algae. Fikru said they simply move the reeds
aside, lower the person with a rope tied around their waist and totally
submerse the person into the water. Used to be only women were submersed
but now knowing that men can be infertile, both sexes are submersed.
Within a year, the 'dunkee' will conceive.
I won't describe all the churches but one of my favorites was Beit Maryam,
dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was one of the most highly decorated.
There is a bas relief carving of St George fighting the dragon. St. George
is a very important saint in Ethiopia. The ceilings and walls are painted
in very early frescoes, and the columns, capital and arches are covered in
beautifully carved details such as birds, animals, and foliage, including
a curious two headed eagle and two fighting bulls, one white and one
black, thought to represent good and evil.

My other favorite was Beit Giyorgis (St George) and it is considered a
masterpiece. Standing on the brow of its compound you have little doubt
that it is a real jewel. It is the most visually perfect church of all, a
15m high three tiered plinth in the shape of Greek cross. It is well
preserved and lacks the scaffolding that covers some of the other
churches. Inside the light flows in from the windows and illuminates the
ceilings large carved crosses-beauty in simplicity (Lonely Planet).

Throughout the tour we saw carved cavities in the walls of the rock
surrounding the churches (not in the church's walls but opposite the
walls). These were used for burials at one time or as housing for hermits.
At St. George's there were skeletal remains in one of these cavities. It
is said that St George in full armor visited King Lalibela and was quite
upset that none of the churches had been dedicated to him. King Lalibela
promised to make amends by building the most beautiful church of all.

After seeing six of the 11 churches we returned to our hotel, planning to
see the rest on Sunday before we departed for Addis. Ron went to the room
and I went looking for an artist I had read about in one of our books.
Tegegne Yirdaw is a self taught artist and has a small gallery just up the
road from our hotel. It was easy to find him. I actually ran into on the
street. He asked if I was looking for the gallery. Word travels fast in
these parts where there is so little income. He was a delightful,
articulate young man of 36 years, married with a 7 year old son. His
gallery is a small shed of corrugated metal with a dirt floor. He had
about 12-15 small paintings on the walls. He does lovely sepia and
watercolor paintings of the churches, priests and one of two landscapes. I
chose a small painting of Adam's Gate that I had seen earlier that day at
one of the churches. The cost was $20. He gave me one of his ink drawings
as a gift. He does wonderful drawings and I encouraged him to display them
also. His resources are obviously limited as he was drawing on both sides
of the paper. As we left his gallery he showed me a structure that was
being built next door. It had two concrete floors and a few concrete beams
to support the second floor. Not much else. He told me this was to be his
future gallery and home and that he had been building it for six years.
Again I am reminded of our blessings and wealth by comparison to the rest
of the world.

From a Library of Congress Report: Ethiopia is one of the poorest
countries in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of roughly
US$6 billion, a per capita annual income of about US$100, and chronic
trade deficits in the early 2000s.

We ate at the hotel for dinner and lo and behold our meal was identical to
lunch except there were no lentils. We did have fresh baked white bread
that was delicious. I had a sleepless night, unable to get comfortable in
our bed. The next morning we went to breakfast and right afterwards I
experienced the dreaded traveler's diarrhea. I am blessed because we have
been traveling in developing countries for ten years and I have only had
this problem three times: in Mexico in the late 90's, in Thailand (food
poisoning) in 2005 and then Sunday in Ethiopia. Frankly I can't complain
and am grateful that it has only happened three times. I chewed a couple
of Pepto Bismol tablets, my first line of defense (never leave home
without it is our motto). If the problem persists, we have Immodium,
guaranteed to stop any action for three to seven days! I resist taking it
except in dire cases. We also have Cipro, an antibiotic. That we take if
we use Immodium in case there is a nasty bug still active in the
intestinal track.

I sent Ron off with Fikru to see the remaining churches and I sat on the
balcony with the binoculars watching the fantastic birds in the area. Oh
my, what a treat! I saw red finches, cordon bleus, cliff chats, white
winged cliff chats, a brilliant parrot, and a bright yellow bird that I
can't identify without a book. There were some beautiful doves also.
Another bird whose tail was longer that its body and had a rather smart
looking tufted head. My favorite was a brilliant blue green bird that
looked like a starling with orange eyes. I must get a book on Ethiopian
birds. I read that this country is a favorite with birders and I can see
why.

While I was on the balcony I saw a woman drying some grain on a tarp about
4 x 6 ft. She lives right below our hotel and my balcony overlooks her
yard. I assume they dry grain to prevent mold or mildew but I'm not sure.
She went into her hut and a bird or two started having a feast. Not our
idea of sanitary. After birding from the balcony I rested until Ron
returned before lunch. As soon as I lay down, the church loudspeaker came
on. Every church here has a loudspeaker and they blast the sermon(?) for
all to hear within in miles! Unfortunately after the sermon some woman was
'chanting' and she was one of those people who don't understand
amplification so she screeched into the microphone and to add to my misery
she had no voice for chanting. She would chant for a few seconds then stop
for a few seconds and then start again. This went on for well over 30
minutes. My choices were to listen to this with the doors open as there
were no windows or shut the doors and be hot. I listened. Oy! We declined
lunch fearful it would be more of the same. By the way, breakfast was a
plain omelet with toast and coffee. After my stomach ailments, I decided
to not eat anything until I got off the plane in Addis.

Our plane was late but we had a call via the hotel so we left around 1:30
for the airport. The plane didn't leave until 4:30 so we had a lot of
reading time at the airport. The trip home was quick as it was a direct
flight taking maybe 90 minutes. On the way from the airport we stopped to
have a quick bite of supper so we wouldn't have to go back out. Derge
waited for us while we ate. I was in bed by 9:00 and asleep within
minutes. I slept until 6:00 and felt recovered from my episode. The two
tour books we have say if you see nothing else in Ethiopia see Lalibela.
We are so thankful that we went to the expense to see this most wonderful
sight, a real treasure.