ethiopia: addis ababa part I
after the hot and dusty juba, addis ababa is strikingly different. as the worlds 3rd highest capital (2,400m - nairobi is 1790m), it has a pleasantly cool climate, though the nights can be quite chilly. fortunately we were prepared and had our warm clothing ready.
we had a couple nights in the beautiful bethel, right on a hill overlooking addis. there is also a 2000 seat open air assembly hall at the back of the bethel. the ethiopian brothers as always are warm, friendly and welcoming. and for lunch? injera of course, the local bread with an array of spicy wot or sauces. if you havent tasted it yet, there is a huge hole in your life experience that you must fill at the next opportunity.
apparently the government is very strict - if you hit a pedestrian, you are automatically at fault and get 15 years in jail. so of course, most pedestrians invariably walk on the road...
after bethel, we went to stay with our good friend eyob and his beautiful family. yes, ethiopians have a reputation for being a beautiful people. can you believe sister terhas is the mother of grown up children? now a grandmother?
now usually a hotel is not on the list of tourist attractions, but the addis sheraton is such a beautiful hotel that it is an exception. if you ever in addis, take a few minutes to walk around their carefully tended grounds.
every friday night you can even enjoy a free classical music / water and light show.
coke is in every country in the world probably. except maybe north korea - nah probably there too. actually thats not the point of this picture. the point is that ethiopia has an old, rich and proud culture. (including several mentions in the bible) it has one of the few indigenous alphabets in africa. their alphabet has more than 120 characters, many that look almost identical to each other. they also have their own time system and calendar.
for some reason, cars are very expensive in ethiopia. so there is a large number of older but well preserved vehicles on the road (my car would fit in fine here). volkswagen beetles are especially popular.
i started this blog without realising how much stuff i had to write about addis - we were only there for a few days! so i will have to split this one in two...more coming soon on addis.
we had a couple nights in the beautiful bethel, right on a hill overlooking addis. there is also a 2000 seat open air assembly hall at the back of the bethel. the ethiopian brothers as always are warm, friendly and welcoming. and for lunch? injera of course, the local bread with an array of spicy wot or sauces. if you havent tasted it yet, there is a huge hole in your life experience that you must fill at the next opportunity.
apparently the government is very strict - if you hit a pedestrian, you are automatically at fault and get 15 years in jail. so of course, most pedestrians invariably walk on the road...
after bethel, we went to stay with our good friend eyob and his beautiful family. yes, ethiopians have a reputation for being a beautiful people. can you believe sister terhas is the mother of grown up children? now a grandmother?
now usually a hotel is not on the list of tourist attractions, but the addis sheraton is such a beautiful hotel that it is an exception. if you ever in addis, take a few minutes to walk around their carefully tended grounds.
every friday night you can even enjoy a free classical music / water and light show.
coke is in every country in the world probably. except maybe north korea - nah probably there too. actually thats not the point of this picture. the point is that ethiopia has an old, rich and proud culture. (including several mentions in the bible) it has one of the few indigenous alphabets in africa. their alphabet has more than 120 characters, many that look almost identical to each other. they also have their own time system and calendar.
for some reason, cars are very expensive in ethiopia. so there is a large number of older but well preserved vehicles on the road (my car would fit in fine here). volkswagen beetles are especially popular.
i started this blog without realising how much stuff i had to write about addis - we were only there for a few days! so i will have to split this one in two...more coming soon on addis.
