Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda on May 31, 2011 and on June 3, 2011 I was off to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for 9 days. This post will be about my time in Addis.

Addis Ababa means “New Flower” and is called Addis for short. Addis is the capital city of Ethiopia. It is considered to be the cradle of civilization and this is common knowledge on the continent of Africa.  This was confirmed by my friends and colleagues in Rwanda and Uganda. Now! I wonder why most Americans are taught that Egypt is the cradle of civilization. In my limited time in Africa from last year and this year, I have seen how Americans knowledge of the world is limited and truly censored – but I digress – this is a topic for another post as I learn more.  Addis is 8,000 feet above sea level so when I first started to explore the city by walking I felt like an old man whose lungs were about to collapse because the air was so thin and Addis has more hills than Georgia. All the dust made me miss and appreciate the red clay hills of Georgia.

In Addis there is 30% unemployment so you always see lots and lots of people walking around. Some are begging and some have items that they are trying to sell. The currency is Birr and the exchange rate to the U.S. dollar is 16:1. The people are very poor but friendly. Once you say no, they do not continue to ask but there are your few exceptions. You also see lots of people with birth defects. 

Coffee Ceremony                                                                                                                      A majority of the social life centers around drinking coffee. Seattle, Washington and Starbucks don’t have anything on Ethiopia when it comes to coffee. They tell me that it is pretty good stuff, but as most of you know I don’t drink the muddy water. The ceremony can last for several hours and is performed by women. There is a section allotted for this ceremony at most restaurants and hotels. The ceremony involves the roasting of coffee beans on a large flat round pan similar to a pizza pan. It takes awhile for the beans to roast over a open flame but it smells good. Once the beans are ready they around in something similar to a pedestal and mortar. Hot water is added an the grounds are strained with a sieve. The ceremony involves incense. They could have kept this part for me, because every time somebody gets coffee they stir up the incense and all that smoke was killing my lungs, me and a couple of colleagues (who are African)  from other countries had to leave the restaurant for some fresh air. The origin of coffee is from Kaffe, Ethiopia. This is where Kaffe Coffee Company gets its name. To learn more about the history of coffee in Ethiopia, do a Goggle search. It is very interesting.       

Religion                                                                                                                                  The predominate religion of Ethiopia is Christian Orthodox. I visited the Church Kiddist Maryam on the grounds of the palace of the Prime Minister in the back; therefore I was not allowed to take any pictures of the church. It is some amazing architecture. The church is a replica of Solomon’s Temple, there is an outer court, inner court and holy of holies. I am told that all of the ancient churches of Ethiopia are constructed this manner. You are allowed to take pictures on the inside of the church however, I just so happen to visit on the Holy Day of the Blessed Mother. This is a day of observance of the Virgin Mother Mary. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of people on the grounds coming and going to pray. There priest on grounds praying for people. There were also lots of people who were blind, had physical deformities and with leprosy asking for alms. For me, it was if I was experiencing biblical times, and I was.   I arrived during the official worship service or the holy day, but it was toward the end of the service; I heard the former President speak and the final prayer. I was still on the outside of the church at this time, all the men were on one side of the church and all the women were on the other side; and this is how they entered the sanctuary. After the service was over and all the dignitaries had left, I was able to go inside the church. I was in the outer court and could see the men in the inner court and the entrance to the holy of holies. People were still coming to pray and it would be this way for the remainder of the day. It was apparent that I was not from Ethiopia (they rarely have tourist at the church)  and one of the officials of the church asked my guide who I was --- the next things I know--- they were removing carpet and there was this door in the floor. They opened it and one of the priest went down and I was asked to come. Since I could not really tour the church they took me down to see the tomb of Emperor Menelik II and his wife Taitu (they founded Addis Ababa in 1887). Their daughter Empress Zawditu is buried there as well. I was allowed to take a few pictures but because of the lighting they did not come out too well. As the priest described everything to me, my guide (Fashid) had to translate.  The visit to this church was truly and awesome experience for me.     

Culture: Food, Dance and Shopping

Fasting Diet (vegetarian), Jumping, neck and shoulder rolling --- this aint’ got nothing on Zumba  --- Mercato market --- the largest in Africa. It is a labyrinth of streets that appears to be about 5-10 squares miles. If I didn’t have a guide, I would have been lost. Americans are suppose to be restricted from this area --- especially without a guide. The embassy wants you to visit the souvenir district for your shopping. However, I thinking I enjoyed the market much better. Make sure brush up on your negotiating skills when you go to this market – nothing has a set price. 

 The Two Highlights of my time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

I had the pleasure of meeting a retired Ethiopian Army officer who is a veteran of the Korean War. The Ethiopians were allies for the Koreans during the war. So on Sunday June 5, 2011 as most of the world was celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the announcement of the disease we now know as HIV/AID, the Ethiopians and Koreans were celebrating the end of the Korean War. It was truly amazing to see all of these 70 and 80 year old men in their uniforms and medals. Some of the uniforms and medals were well preserved but most of them showed the age of all these years. You could see from these elderly gentlemen stature and posture that they were so proud of their service during this war. The majority of the Korean were wearing their traditional dress --- with all the beautiful colors.    Now the most amazing and fantastic part of this trip was meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I actually got to shake his hand. However, I was upset that I had to get back to my meeting and did not have the opportunity to take a picture with him as some of my other colleagues. So they consoled me by sharing with me the two pictures that are posted.