February 2007 Archives

There's a lot of friendly people in the world. Last month I wrote that the Sudanese were the friendliest - well, if they are, the Ethiopians come a very close second. I have been travelling through this wonderful country since the end of January, and have received nothing but the warmest of welcomes. Before we got here, some people warned of a country of greedy, grasping people who would throw stones if they didn't get the gift that they asked for. I haven't found that at all, through there are, of course, the constant demands from small children for '1 pen' or 'give me caramelo' that any traveller is used to. Ethiopia came up with a new one for me: 'Give me plastic' though quite what this alludes to, no one is sure. Not my creditcard - such an item is unknown to most small children here. Just plastic in general? Plastic containers, maybe? It remains a mystery.

I enjoyed Sudan very much, but it has also been great to travel through Ethiopia. It was one of those countries that I had very few pre-conceptions about, apart from memories of those harrowing scenes from the famine in 1984-5 that we all watched on the BBC. I had also heard that Ethiopia was hilly in places, but there my knowledge ended. The first surprise was crossing the border from Sudan. We left behind a parched country with huge fields of failed crops, and entered a densely forested area, with occasional small villages, or isolated huts with conical straw roofs. People cook on wood for sure, but they manage their forest much better than Sudan seems to do. As we drove along, I kept thinking of the Garden of Eden, so unspoilt did the countryside appear to be. The big problem is, of course, water: if there was more of it, much more would be possible, though it is very interesting to see the different ways that the tiniest of resources are utilised to keep the vegetable gardens irrigated.

Ethiopian highlands

We spent a couple of days exploring the Royal city of Gonder, in the north of the country. It has a quite astonishing seventeenth century Royal Enclosure, including castles, palaces, a banqueting hall, stables, a library, three churches, and even a lion enclosure with room for 14 lions (now empty!). Besides the nearby royal baths, there is the beautifully decorated Debre Berhan Selassie Church, with the most incredible paintings in the Ethiopian Christian style. Photos to follow later, when I have plenty of internet-time! Downtown Gondar shows the influence of the Italian occupation of the late 1930s, with the post office the most obvious example of fascist architecture - though the Italians are long gone, their influence seems to remain - I found what was possibly the nicest pizza anywhere outside Italy.

Royal Palace, Gonder

Any vegetarians out there? If you are planning a trip to Ethiopia, then don't get too excited about the food you might encounter. Although the people here are quite poor, they still eat lots of meat, and in many restaurants eggs are the only vegetarian choice. Sudan had lots of small restaurants serving red and white beans in a tasty local sauce - what a pity the same doesn't apply here too. Even in the markets, vegetables are few and far between, with only the more obvious potatoes, tomatoes, onions and carrots available in small quantities. Fruit is limited to bananas and a few poor oranges. Lots of meat though, and lots of eggs, which are now at a better price than in the Sudan, where typically an egg sold for USD 0.50cents each!! Carrots are sometimes sold at the side of the road - the only item I have noticed. We will round a corner and see 3 small boys clutching bunches of carrots. We bought some for dinner one evening - they were very tasty.

One nice surprise here, though, is that according to the Ethiopian calendar (which is different from the one used in the rest of the world), it is currently Lent in the year 1999 here in Ethiopia, and that means that 'Fasting Food' is available in most restaurants. 'Fasting Food' is a mix of vegetable dishes served with bread and lentils - in other words, its ideal for vegetarians! If you are a vegetarian visiting Ethiopia, make sure you come during Lent!

Into the Simien mountains

Leaving Gonder, we headed into the hills, spending a few days in the Simien Mountains National Park, and driving to heights of over 12,000 feet. Once there, some people trekked even higher than that, but my ankle, though better than it was, still doesn't allow such strenuous activity. I was quite satisfied, though, to spend time enjoying the superb views of the mountains and the surrounding countryside. Also spent time with my binoculars spotting the local Walia Ibex which rush up and down the sheer rock faces looking for food or fighting with each other, and the more inquisitive Gelada Baboons, who wandered through our camp a few times and examined our tents! Though sunny and warm during the day, the weather in the mountains was quite cold at night, and I was glad of my thermal long-johns to sleep in, and my two sleeping bags. Outside the tents, the milk froze in its plastic bottles. I could have used the thermometer on my watch to check the outside temperature at night, but didn't want it stolen by a passing baboon!

Stelae at Axum

Leaving the highest of the hills, we descended to 7,000 feet and the UNESCO World Heritage city of Aksum. With its amazing stelae, and the St Mary of Zion church, built in 1665 and said to contain the Ark of the Covenant in which lies the Tablets of Law upon which the Ten Commandments are inscribed ('Raiders of The Lost Ark' fans take note!). This marked the start of a very interesting period of exploration and history for us - something quite unexpected for me. Over the last few weeks we have explored the incredible rock-hewn churches of Tigray around the city of Mekelle, and the more famous ones in the town of Lalibela. From there we moved to Lake Tana, which has a number of monasteries on the islands in the lake, including some with quite stunning religious paintings in the Ethiopian Christian style.

On Lake Tana I saw my first hippo, which we circled for a while as, whale-like, it dived and surfaced at different places near the boat, always in a place the camera WASN'T pointing. Also saw my first Ibis, which for me was more special than seeing the hippo. I had encountered carvings of the Egyptian god 'Thoth', who has the head of an Ibis, many times throughout Egypt, but until now I was never lucky enough to see the bird itself: in Egypt they tend to live in the north, near to the city of Alexandria.

Well, now I have arrived in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. As you might have guessed, the title of this blog refers to this city, misquoting the title of one of my favourite films, "A Town like Alice". There the similarity ends - there are no obvious Japanese prisoner-of-war camps here - instead I find a pleasant city set in the Ethiopian highlands with, consequently, a very pleasant climate. The drive here from Lake Tana went through most picturesque scenery, which in this part of Ethiopia means open pasture and arable land, gently rolling hills covered with Eucalyptus trees, many circular huts covered with thatch roofs, and lots of people waving. Addis is set in a bowl in those hills, and the altitude of 7600 feet helps to keep the temperature just right - I even had to put on my fleece jacket last night!

Lake Tana monastery

We've only been here one day, so I haven't had a chance to explore very much, but hope to see the National Museum, and the Ethnographic Museum shortly. I have already been to the Post Office to see if any letters or packets were waiting for me, but there were none. If you sent anything to me here, it has either been lost or didn't arrive in time. There's always another chance though - I next pick up mail in Nairobi. See this page for that or subsequent addresses you can use to send me mail.