Ethiopia

Visited: December 2004

Duration of visit: 37 days

Capital city: Addis Ababa

Population: 75 million (2005)

Estimated reading time: 24 minutes

• Surviving North Ethiopia with unique historical landmarks on a budget.
• Discovering medieval monolithic churches carved out of rock in Lalibela.
• The New Year celebration and access to more luxury in the capital – Addis Ababa.
• Meeting the most famous Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie – two-time Olympic champion and four World Championship titles holder.
• Visiting Omo Valley without a tourist agency and exploring local tribes.
• Meeting with Mursi tribe was a unique experience that lasted only 20 minutes, but I will remember it forever.

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a landlocked country, surrounded by Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Sudan in the Horn of Africa. The 2^nd most populous in Africa, after Nigeria, originally founded in 980 BC, Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation on the continent, where the remains of some of the oldest human beings on earth, dating back millions of years, are found.

Ethiopia is famous for its incredible coffee, unique Orthodox Christian traditions, breathtaking natural landscapes, unique tribes and ethnic groups, famous long-distance athletes and 13 months calendar.

It is also the country that offers the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa (nine), some of the most linguistically diverse places on earth, where over 80 languages are spoken.

Ethiopia is the sole African nation to never have been colonized. In the 1930s, Italians attempted to colonize Ethiopia and even partially occupied the country for five years, but they never managed to properly control and govern the full territory. Ethiopia had to defeat two Italian efforts to colonize the country to remain independent.

Today Ethiopia is the diplomatic capital of the African continent, hosting the headquarters of African and international organizations such as the African Union, UN Economic Commission for Africa, UNESCO and UNDP.

Rather unconventional border crossing from Sudan was done in informal circumstances. Customs formalities at the border crossing were completed in refreshing shadow under a tree in an open space, while migration formalities took place in a hut made of mud.

I can confirm that Ethiopia has also brought quite a few changes and pleasant surprises compared to (Muslim) northern neighboring countries that I visited during the same trip.

If GNP per capita in Sudan is low at 256.00US$ per capita, in Ethiopia reflects miserable 125.00US$ per capita (2004). In contrast, I did not have the impression that Ethiopians were the laziest people on the planet. I did not witness men lying in the shadows, passively awaiting a brighter tomorrow. Nevertheless, it is true that there are many Ethiopians experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Ethiopia was the cheapest country on my Middle East and Northern Africa trip so far. Considering the fact that hotels are not as terrible as in neighboring Sudan, I was able to receive more quality for the same price.

When I was searching for a hotel in Muslim countries, I always had to be careful that there was no mosque nearby (due to loud prayers 5 times a day). When looking for a hotel in Ethiopia, I had to pay attention to night bars or brothels nearby, otherwise there would be noisy night.

Northern part of Ethiopia is a mix of frustration and partially disappointment, but on the other side full of surprises and unique historical landmarks. Historic Northern Circuit offers an extraordinary trove of historic and cultural treasures, from beautifully preserved ancient monasteries to monolithic churches and vast, mysterious obelisks: Gondar, Aksum, Lalibela and Bahir Dar with Lake Tana were the main stops along the route after crossing the border from Sudan at Metema.

Ethiopia was part of my overland trip from Europe, through the Middle East and East Africa – the Big African Tour. I was experienced and knowledgeable about Africa by the time I reached Ethiopia.

Relaxed in liberal environment and tasting delicious, even though simple, spaghetti with tomato sauce after weeks of ful medames (mashed seasoned beans) with bread in Sudan, I enjoyed the first moments after a simple and smooth border crossing in Metema village.

Delighted for visiting the only non-colonized country in Africa, I expected to meet proud, self-confident people full of courage. Unfortunately, the majority of Ethiopians approaching me, were asking for money and support. It is true that some of them were poor, handicapped and even malnourished, but many extended their hands, when seeing a white man, without real need for money.

This scene was completely new to me, since in Sudan, I was meeting upright and self-confident people who, despite their poverty, never directly asked for help.

My personal highlight of northern part was the town of Lalibela, but many other areas with rather uninteresting, mostly orthodox remnants in no way justify the arduous journey.

Waking up in the dark early in the morning to catch local transport, traveling long distances in unhuman conditions, eating the same food in unhygienic restaurants, and sleeping in basic guesthouses was challenging.

It would have probably been wiser to take a flight or search for private transport options and avoid visiting some of the areas completely. Even less in such a way and in such numbers.

There is a huge cultural change, when crossing the border from Sudan, which is most obvious on female participation in public life.

Women in Ethiopia do not have their heads covered (as in Muslim countries), as they are mostly of the Ethiopian Orthodox religion. Liberality actually goes to extreme, comparing to the neighboring Sudan. Almost every town or village that I visited in Ethiopia was full of brothels, night clubs, bars.

Open sex within family members, friends and neighbors seems a norm, HIV/AIDS is widely spread disease.

According to some data, in Ethiopia, about 15% of adults are infected with HIV or have AIDS. This is not surprising considering optional relation or marriage with various women at the same time (polygamy) and fearless young people without prejudice.

Even though it is possible to buy as many as 225 condoms for 1.00US$, it obviously doesn’t help to reduce mortality due to HIV disease. On every corner of the country advertisements to fight AIDS, being faithful and practicing safe sex as part of national campaign, are well visible on huge billboards. Some villages have more brothels than restaurants and hotels combined.

While curly long hair, full lips and elegant bodies give women self-confidence, beauty and strong presence, men are tinny and small with short hair. Ethiopian girls remind on Latinas in beauty and color of their skin: chocolate tone that is not as dark black as in neighboring Sudan or Kenya.

Due to their natural beauty, Ethiopian women rank among the most attractive women in the world.

All of them have long hair braided into beautiful tendrils, as also used by American rappers or dark-skinned athletes. It is surprising how inferior Ethiopian men are in beauty and attractiveness: small, even rickets, with curly hair. A retired Ethiopian long-distance athlete Haile Gebrselassie is a typical representative of Ethiopian race.

Ethiopia is one of the countries with the biggest percentage of cultivated land. I didn’t notice any land that would not be fertile, desert or barren in the northern part. Green hills and mountains are covered with forest, fields or lawns, where predominantly cows and sheep are grazing; the countryside reminded me a lot on Ecuador in South America.

On the first sight it is not so obvious, why malnutrition is a big issue and why so many Ethiopians died of hunger in the recent past.

Most of the northern part of Ethiopia lies at the altitude of 1,500m to 2,500m above sea level, where daily temperatures are around 20C while at night it cools down to 10C. Somehow ideal to survive the summer without air conditions and cool nights without heating.

Italy occupied Ethiopia for only six years before the World War II, but the legacy is very unique and authentic: if there are only two dishes on the menu of a basic restaurant, they would be injera and spaghetti. Old industrial espresso coffee machines, which brew fresh Italian espresso, cappuccino or macchiato, are mandatory part of equipment of any cafeteria.

The food is solid, though not a big variety is available for non-meat eaters. Since Ethiopia is a landlocked country, fish is not very often on the menu, and the most secure vegetarian choice is spaghetti with tomato sauce. I ate spaghetti 5 times a week.

The average travel speed by bus in the north of the country was as low as 20 kilometers per hour; the official record was a local bus that spent the whole day for 150 kilometers distance on a miserable road. Of course, I was upset many times, but when the engine overheated, I immediately calmed down and realized that it could be much worse, if we had got stuck in the middle of nowhere along the road.

It is funny, sarcastic and absolutely illogical that most of the buses to certain destination leave in a range of 30 minutes very early in the morning, usually around 6:00am.

It happened several times that approaching a bus station at dawn, I was surrounded by intermediaries, who were trying to get me aboard their buses, pulling and convincing that they will leave/arrive first.

At the end, all buses were leaving at the same time, offering similar comfort and costed the same amount of money. For the rest of the day there was no other public transport to that particular destination.

From the first day, Ethiopia has been very intense and challenging to deal with, primarily due to the large population and the numerous people seeking specific favors from foreigners. In Lalibela, the level of human pressure was even more pronounced. It seemed as on every corner there was somebody running after me, begging for money, food or just bothering me for the sake of being a rich white visitor.

Even after politely explaining that I cannot help everyone, I was persistently harassed and not afforded a single moment of privacy.

The village of Lalibela reminded me on a military camp full of war veterans, cripples, vagrants, beggars, malnourished and seriously ill people.

At first site, I couldn’t find a lot of charm in the so-called African Petra.

The first hotel did not meet expectations; when I started to wander around to find a better solution, the situation became even worse. I was tired, hungry and harassed by so many locals, that I completely lost control in search of a better place. A fruitless search brought me back to the original location after an hour of wandering. I deposited my luggage and completed the check-in process.

“If there is no appropriate accommodation, I would like at least eat some good food,” were my wishes, when I left my luggage in the corner of a shabby hotel room. I ended up in the best restaurant around, where unfortunately tasteless pizza was a complete disaster. I had never eaten worse pizza in my life.

I managed to calm down in the evening. I decided to give Lalibela another chance and planned a visit to the key historical landmarks for the next day.

King Lalibela decided to re-create Jerusalem in Ethiopia in the 12^th century.

The system of building was replaced by carving from the volcanic rock beneath his feet, perhaps eager for God to join him.

A unique technic was used, where the material is hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks, further chiseled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs etc.

Extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages completed the infrastructure that has allowed the churches to survive until today without main damages or renovations. Eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are part of UNESCO World Heritage today.

To Ortodox Christians, Lalibela is one of Ethiopia’s holiest cities, and a center of pilgrimage – New Jerusalem. For centuries people would make the pilgrimage by crossing Muslim lands, mostly walking and travelling for a very long time.

Today it is not easy to distinguish among pilgrims and beggars. They are all dressed similarly and covered with traditional white dress. Nevertheless, the scenery of hundreds of people dressed in white, siting or walking around the churches that are hewn bellow their feet, is unique.

Arriving to Addis Ababa after days and days of constant test of my patience on public transport in the north, was a real relief. Still one of the less developed capitals in East Africa, but at least with more variety of dishes on a menu, wider accommodation and entertainment options as combined in the previous two weeks in the north.

I arrived on 31^st of December 2004, ready for a New Year Celebration. I joined forces together with some backpackers and found one of the most rundown bars in the city. We enjoyed cold an inexpensive drink, had some great conversation and danced with locals after midnight.

Ethiopian ladies were mostly on duty, looking for boys that could buy them expensive drinks and pay for sexual service, while local men were dancing like crazy. Their super flexible bodies were moving like chewing gums in harmony with the beats of popular music.

Eskista is a traditional cultural dance from the Amhara ethnic group, where the emphasis is on rolling shoulder blades, bouncing the shoulders and jilting the chest. Eskista dance is performed by children, men and women, mostly in groups. It is popular way of entertainment at parties, family gatherings, celebrations and weddings.

The highlight of my stay in Addis Ababa was meeting the most famous Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrselassie – two-time Olympic champion and four World Championship titles holder.

Accompanied by a group of three Dutch friends, I found out that he owned a cafeteria in the southern area of the city and drove there with a simple plan:

“Let’s have a coffee in Haile’s cafeteria and wait until he shows up!”

In January 2005, Haile was still one of the best athletes in the world, switching from long distance runner to marathon and probably training full time, so our plan seemed to be pretty naïve. After sitting in the Olympic café for an hour we realized that Haile might not show up that day, but I asked the bartender, when was the best time to catch up with the owner. He directed me to Haile’s brother, who was supervising the staff and kindly attended us.

“No problem, Haile will be here again tomorrow at 11:00am, after he will finish the morning training. If you come by, he will be happy to attend you!”

The following day, we arrived promptly at 10:30am to ensure that we would not be late for our meeting with Ethiopia’s most prominent celebrity.

Haile Gebrselassie parked his black Mercedes in the parking lot exactly at 11:00am.

“Hello my friends. My brother told me that you wanted to meet me. Here I am!”

It is astonishing that he made an appearance just to greet five backpackers visiting his café.

Humble, with smile on his face and dressed in a tracksuit, he talked with us for 15 minutes, signed autographs and posed for a photo. I was thoroughly impressed by his genuine simplicity and integrity.

One of the most memorable moments in the context of encountering celebrities.

If the northern highlands of Ethiopia represent the historic heartland, the south lowlands valleys are inhabited by ethnic groups, who still adhere to ancient traditional rituals, while surviving by basic agriculture and livestock-herding. Due to this very long history and an unmatched diversity of people and cultures, the Omo Valley has often been described as a museum of people.

After 10 days in Addis Ababa and the start of 2005, it was time to explore south Ethiopia, where the highlight should be visiting Omo Valley, known for its unique tribes that still live a very elementary way of life in connection with the nature. This part of the country has very little public transport, bad road system and difficult access.

Most tourists and travelers rent a jeep with a driver and pay a few hundred dollars per day for comfort and luxury. Of course, as a passionate, independent traveler, I firmly reject the sale of my reputation as a backpacker and unnecessary spending of my resources. I politely denied comfortable (though expensive) agencies proposals and against all recommendations decided to visit the south with local means of transport.

In addition to the challenges posed by a crowded public bus and a half-century-old Fiat truck, the most striking experience was riding in the trunk of an Isuzu pick-up truck.

The pick-up truck cabin was full, I jumped up in the trunk to stand beside a strong guy of Hamer tribe.

I had to hold strong in a company of other middle-aged guys dressed in short skirts and a cloth over their shoulders, with particular hairstyle in a form of cap with clay and plaster.

They were singing and screaming like crazy, probably consequences of drinking too much alcohol or sniffing hallucinating substances earlier that day.

We didn’t stop to pick up any other hitchhikers on the way. Later, I was told that one of the Hamer guys had killed a representative of neighboring tribe two years before and hid the victim’s body in the woods. He had a status of a hero, being one of the most respected people in the community.  His particular hairstyle is actually allowed only for those, who had killed an enemy or a dangerous animal.

Another unique experience travelling around Omo Valley using local transportation was the brave attempt to board a cargo truck full of goods from the local market. I was hitchhiking along an empty road.

We were three backpackers, joining a dozen of locals, while climbing up to the trunk. In no more than a minute, approximately 200 people came out of nowhere and started jumping up, climbing and conquering all parts of the truck; literally trampling us.

I rigorously removed the two most aggressive boys off the truck, but the pressure from others didn’t stop. Overwhelmed by the relentless pressure from all directions, I ultimately gave up and jumped off the truck. It was simply too dangerous and unhuman multitude of passengers for a safe ride.

The highlight of Omo Valley was a visit to the Mursi tribe, who live approximately 70 kilometers from the nearest town, in the far southwest, one of the most isolated regions of the country.

There are still around 10,000 members of the Mursi community residing in isolated areas, with very little exposure to modern influences. I had my doubts about visiting them, since the impact of constant flow of visitors can cause change of their lifestyle on one side and the disbelief of the pristine experience with them.

Female members of the Mursi tribe are renowned for the practice of inserting a plate that can measure up to 12 centimeters in diameter into their lower lips.

In principle, a lip plate is linked with fertility and eligibility for marriage, a sign of beauty and identity, but according to some sources it can also be a sign of ugliness, as men left women at home during inter-tribal conflicts and they didn’t want them to show the beauty around.

Historians believe that this tradition originated as a protective measure against the dangers of the slave trade, as the mutilation of their lips would decrease their value and make them less likely to be targeted by slave traders.

Women’s lips are usually cut at the age of 15, when a small wooden stick is inserted. Through the years the lips are stretched out with larger sticks and eventually replaced with plates. Plates are used for special occasions: weddings, dwellings, serving food, dances and tourist visits.

For the rest of the time extremely stretched lips hang unattractively as an ornament to the edge of the chin and can look terrifying. I have noticed that in some cases the lower lips can also tear, perhaps due to a decrease in elasticity or excessive insertion of oversized plates.

Men have always walked around completely naked. Their skin is painted by clay and natural minerals colors. Body painting is used rather as symbolic and protective, than decoration. The clay acts as a protection from strong sun, the white limestone acts as an insect repellent.  The most colorful decoration usually stands out on their XL size private parts.

Mursi grow sorghum, corn, beans, chickpeas and tobacco. The basis of their diet is a kind of porridge, prepared from sorghum and corn, usually mixed with milk and blood, taken directly from a wound on the neck of a cow. Cattle are a vital element of their diet, trade and wealth, also used for barter with grain during the dry periods.

We hired a pick-up car, a local guide a driver and a security guard with a rifle. From Jinka, we spent three hours driving to arrive at the Mursi territory. Upon arrival to the village, the security guard was watching over the car and the driver protected us with a special-long stick. The Mursi are characterized by their aggressive approach to commerce offering any item for sale and inviting visitors to photograph them for a specific charge.

We spent about 20 minutes arguing, negotiating and groping. I took photos of women, who were notably attractive featuring lip plates in their lower lips.

The situation was tense, communication impossible, interaction based on primitive exchange of signs or words. No smiles or nice expressions.

Suddenly an older woman became so angry that she threw a lip plate at our guide and started to scream. She was probably offended, since I didn’t want to take a photo of her and therefore, she wouldn’t receive the payment as her colleagues did. I knew it was time to leave, before the situation would become too tense. Since we were only three foreigners and their daily income was not going to be as expected, they wanted us to pay extra money for services we didn’t use.

Men and women gathered around our vehicle and did not want to leave us without paying extra fee for visiting their village. Extremely aggressive negotiations took place. We were willing to pay 30 birrs, while they wanted at least 40 birrs. Although the difference was only 1.00 US$, I chose not to agree out of principle. (Looking back at the situation I cannot understand, how stupid I behaved!).

As the driver accelerated away, around 20 Mursi men commenced running after us; 10 of them with guns. After 100 meters there were only three of them left. The last group of men followed for a few additional kilometers and protected us from other Mursi along the way, who wanted more money. In the end, they accepted our terms and payment, but I still gave them some extra reward.

In conclusion, my encounter with Mursi was an extraordinary experience that lasted only 20 minutes, but I will remember it forever. No other tribes that I had previously visited were as remarkable.

One of the largest tribes in Omo Valley is Hamer people. Hamers are known for their unique custom of jumping over a bull, which initiates a boy into manhood.

Women are dressed in cowhide, smeared on body and hair with a mixture of earth and artificial red dye. Their hair is curled into small tufts, which are sometimes covered with half a pumpkin, very often used for drinking and eating. The upper part of the body is often uncovered, especially in the hot summer weather.

Men are more or less naked (the latest acquisition is underpants), covered only with a short skirt which is used as a money belt and reservoir for bullets. Mandatory equipment of wealthy men is Kalashnikov rifle or a comparable type of firearm, but they are not allowed to carry them in the village.

In Dimeka village, I visited a market, where I had a chance to observe the activities of Hamers. About 500 of them were cluster together, lied in the shadow, talked, drunk and did nothing most of the day. There was very little trade among them; the offer was limited, money was rather saved for a night party.

After spending the majority of the day resting, fatigue set in for everyone by late afternoon, as drinking and loud discussions began. The popular home-made alcoholic beverages are made from corn and honey.

A group of Hamers invited me to a local bar, where a delicious beverage was presented in disposed engine oil containers.

The gathering spot was located in the restaurant of my hotel, and I enjoyed their company throughout the afternoon. Our basic communication was made possible by a 10-year-old boy who understood some English, enabling me to learn fascinating details about Hammers’ way of living. Unfortunately, as they started breaking glasses, shouting and fighting, I had to remove them to the street. They disappeared quietly into the night, displaying a much more serene and easygoing nature compared to Mursi.

Hamer men are known for beating their female family members, when they don’t obey them. It is not uncommon to observe a lot of scars on women bodies. It is not surprising that Hamer women are not very keen on getting married. After the wedding, women are no longer allowed to dance; their main task is to stay at home, give birth to as many kids as possible and raise them.

A man cannot get married without first performing a special ceremony called jumping over a bull.

They line up about 20 to 30 bulls, which the male must pass running without falling off. If he fells, all of his sisters are slapped, while he is sentenced to a single life for a while.

My drinking buddies invited me to join the next ceremony, which usually takes place in October or November.

After two weeks around Omo Valley I was finally on the way to Moyale, the last town before crossing the border to Kenya. A pleasant journey within the cabin of a government pickup truck was guiding us to the first paved road we had encountered leaving the valley.

Our driver suddenly turned around and we were driving back to the last village. A couple of police officers jumped on the back of our vehicle and protected us with machine guns. We formed a small convoy with a police car and overland truck of mostly British tourists. We made a detour and arrive to Moyale late in the evening, finding out that the reason for the panic was a drugged armed assailant, who had attacked the overland truck.

I settled down in a hotel close to the border and lay down after an exiting day. At 8:30pm I was woken up by a strange noise. A group of workers started to weld iron structure, cut and grind the iron bars with noisy angle grinder, making an unbearable noise at this late hour. What have they been doing the whole day?

I got extremely upset, starting to throw stones on the roof until they finally realized that they were not alone. After hard negotiation with a help of local English teacher I managed to convince them to stop working until the next day.

As soon as I returned to my bed, a woman started crying and three drunk men settled down in front of my hotel room. The last situation, showing that I couldn’t win against annoying people in Ethiopia. I was exhausted, trying to ignore the noise and fell asleep. I suppose this was also a part of my overall experience in Ethiopia.

From injera to pasta, poverty, prostitution and beggars to Italian influence; a unique combination of history, culture, stunning landscape in the north, wild animals and distinctive tribes in the south …. converts Ethiopia to one of the most intriguing places on earth.

It is the oldest independent country and the second most populated in Africa, where coffee was first discovered and Rastafarian Movement was adopted by former Ethiopian Emperor – Haile Selassie.

It was very demanding travelling on a budget, but extremely rewarding.

My highlights: meeting some of the most primitive tribes in the world and drinking coffee with the most famous Ethiopian athlete and the Olympic winner, Haile Gebrselassie. All in all, Ethiopia has offered me a great adventure, but also challenging circumstances that are part of the adventures and learning.