Ethiopian Moments

Ethiopia - the good

I came back from Ethiopia about six months ago and I feel the need for an overall picture for closure. My Ethiopian friends liked this blog because it showed both the good parts and the bad ones, so I'm going to finish the same way.

 

What is good in Ethiopia:

 - The people. I made friends there. Some friends were as close as family. I cried when I left them and I'm still missing them often. People are kind and friendly and warm and they received us with open arms.

 - The weather - They call Ethiopian weather: 13 months of sunshine. The couple of years I was there it was more rainy than ususal, but still it was great to live there for a while.

 - The fruit: I miss the mango, bananas and the little fruit and vegetable stand at the corner of my street.

 - The work and team - we built a wonderful team. Ethiopian software developers are just as bright and dedicated as any other developers. I loved working with them and building applications. 

 - The culture - very rich culture with beautiful art, entertaining dances and tasty food. 

- The nature - Beautiful country. I wish I had more time to see more. will definitely go back to visit.

I could gather so many memories in my time there. I loved writing this post and remembering some wonderful moments. Bye Ethiopia. I hope to see you again some day!

 

Lemur with baby

Donkeys carrying water

The donkeys are carrying water from the lake Shala. This is as much water a family uses in a day. tomorrow... another trip. 

 

 

Meskel (Cross) Square

Probably the largest intersection in Addis Ababa. Also a great place for parades.

 

On the street

Notice the pile of whitish stuff in the middle of the picture: I think it's lard, might be butter, in the heat of the day with hardly any cover for flies. Hey, we survived there for an year and I'm sure some of the stuff we ate in some restaurants was stored like this.

 

Dragofly

This guy was sleeping on our house. It looks like a dragonfly, only less colorful. Our Ethiopian guard told us they are dangerous... dragonflies dangerous? Really? I suspect they are quite scared of everything.

 

Pelicans on Lake Tana

 

Beautiful, curious, shy children

 

It's rainy season

It's rainy season in Ethiopia. It's raining every day and it's quite cold (15-18 C). And I'm having trouble uploading photos. That's one of the reasons why I'm not uploading as many as I'd like to.

For some reason, rainy season seems to come with crappy Internet connections and frequent power failures. Last year, we had at least one day a week with no power. This year it rained a lot and the elections are over and the power failures are just 5 minutes to 1 hour in length. It makes me think these are really just accidents/shorts - yet another indication of the awful infrastructure they have to deal with in here.

Blue Nile in Ethiopia after rain

The Blue Nile unites with the White Nile in Khartoum (Sudan) and it continues as the Nile towards Egypt. Apparently in Khartoum, the river is blue.

In Ethiopia, the hydroelectric power is the main source of electricity. They have a lot of dams and they are planning to build more, some of them on the Blue Nile. This is very controversial with Sudan and Egypt who do not want any resulting reduced input of water.

Also notice the black volcanic rock on the banks.

 

Sunrise on Lake Tana

 

Monastery in Gorgora - north of Lake Tana

 

Free range cows

Cattle is one of the biggest Ethiopian exports. There's cattle everywhere in Ethiopia. If you're looking for free-range beef meat, look foe Ethiopian meat. 

 

The Blue Nile Falls - AKA "the smoking waters"

 

Market Day

On the way to the Blue Nile Falls, the tourists are heading towards the falls and the locals are going to the market with donkeys, sheep, cows and bags of stuff. All the locals are barefoot. And it's a very rocky road.

 

Blue Nile Valley

Pelicans on Lake Tana

 

Injera

The Ethiopian food is very appreciated in US. It's staple is injera: a big pancake with a spongy texture and slightly sour. It's made from teff - a grain that is specific to Ethiopia. It's a very small grain. The teff is grounded into a flour that is then mixed with water and left to sit for 3 days to get the sour taste. The batter is then poured into a big pan usually heated with coal. The pancake is only cooked on one side. 

I  went looking for teff seeds because I found out that it makes a good breakfast poridge. In shops you can only find the flour because nobody is using the seeds. I got to this little shop that was sifting and grinding the teff owned by one of the richest people in Ethiopia. 

 

9/11 Memorial on Mt. Entoto

Dire Dawa: cobblestone streets, walled houses, bright sun and very hot