North Ethiopia

Visited: December 2004

Duration of visit: 13 days

Capital city: Addis Ababa

Population: 75 million (2005)

North Ethiopia travel blog reading time: 9 minutes

North Ethiopia travel blog reading time: 9 minutes

• Cultural shock after crossing the border from Sudan.
• Slow and complicated travel with a bizarre public transport system.
• Discovering medieval monolithic churches in Lalibela.
• Respectfully handling the overwhelming mix of beggars, disabled people, and pilgrims.
• Night bars, brothels, promiscuity, HIV, and beautiful women.

Ethiopia was part of my overland trip from Europe, through the Middle East and East Africa – the African Big Tour. Although I was already experienced and familiar with Africa by the time, I reached Ethiopia, the sudden shift from strictly Muslim Sudan to more liberal Ethiopia was a real culture shock.

The particularly aggressive attitude of the locals toward foreign visitors completely ruined my enjoyment of the fascinating landscapes, historical landmarks, and other attractions during the first few days. However, I can confirm that Ethiopia also offered several changes and pleasant surprises compared to the (mostly Muslim) northern neighboring countries I visited on the same trip.

In this article I describe the following topics from the first part of my trip – North Ethiopia:

• Avoiding night bars and brothels
• Frustration, poverty and historical legacy
• Liberalism, beautiful women, HIV prevalence 
• Fertile soil and mild temperatures
• Bizarrely organized transport
• Beggars, pilgrims and rock-hewn churches of Lalibela

More articles about Ethiopia are available here:

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

Sudan’s GNP per capita is low at 256 USD, while in Ethiopia it’s only 125 USD (as of 2004). Still, I didn’t get the impression that Ethiopians were lazy. I didn’t see men lying in the shade, waiting for a better tomorrow. However, it’s true that many people in Ethiopia struggle with homelessness and poverty.

Ethiopia was the cheapest country I had visited so far on my Middle East and North Africa trip. Since the hotels weren’t as bad as those in neighboring Sudan, I was able to get better quality for the same price.

When I looked for hotels in Muslim countries, I always had to make sure there wasn’t a mosque nearby because of the loud prayers five times a day. In Ethiopia, I had to watch out for night bars or brothels in the area; otherwise, the nights could get very noisy.

Northern part of Ethiopia was 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.

Relaxing in a liberal environment and savoring a simple yet delicious plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce after weeks of eating ful medames (mashed seasoned beans) with bread in Sudan felt wonderful. I enjoyed those first peaceful moments following a smooth and uncomplicated border crossing at the village of Metema.

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 often 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.

Women in Ethiopia don’t cover their heads, as most follow the Ethiopian Orthodox faith. Compared to neighboring Sudan, the level of freedom is strikingly different – almost every town or village I visited in Ethiopia was full of brothels, nightclubs, and bars.

Casual sexual relationships among distant family members, friends, and neighbors seem to be common, and HIV/AIDS is a widespread issue in the country.

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.

Thanks to their natural beauty, Ethiopian women are considered among the most attractive in the world. Their long hair, often styled with extensions braided into elegant tendrils, makes them even more beautiful.

It’s surprising how much less attractive Ethiopian men are in comparison: small, even rickets, with curly hair. A retired Ethiopian long-distance athlete Haile Gebrselassie is a typical representative of Ethiopian race.

Ethiopia ranks among the top African countries in total cultivated land. I didn’t see much area in the northern region that wasn’t fertile, desert, or barren. Green hills and mountains are covered with forests, fields, and grasslands, where cows and sheep graze in abundance. This countryside reminded me a lot on Ecuador in South America.

At first glance, it’s not clear why malnutrition is such a serious problem or why so many Ethiopians have died of hunger in recent years.

Most of northern Ethiopia lies at an altitude between 1,500 and 2,500 meters above sea level, where daytime temperatures average around 20°C and drop to about 10°C at night. It’s an ideal climate, warm enough to get through the day without air conditioning and cool enough at night to sleep comfortably without heating.

Italy occupied Ethiopia for only six years before World War II, but the legacy it left behind is unique and lasting. 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 decent, though there isn’t much variety for those who don’t eat meat. 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.

For me, one of the most memorable things to do was to start the day with a macchiato in a small Ethiopian coffee shop.

In the north of the country, the average bus speed was as low as 20 kilometers per hour. The worst case was a local bus that took an entire day to cover just 150 kilometers on a rough, bumpy 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’s funny, ironic, and completely illogical that almost all buses to certain destinations leave within a 30-minute window early in the morning, usually around 6:00am, with no buses running for the rest of the day.

All of them depart at the same time, offer similar comfort, and cost the same price – and after that, there’s no other public transport to that destination for the entire day.

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 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 felt like a military camp filled with war veterans, disabled people, vagrants, beggars, and the malnourished or seriously ill.

At first glance, I couldn’t see much charm in the so-called African Petra.

The first hotel didn’t meet my expectations, and when I started wandering around to find a better option, things only got 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.

By evening, I managed to calm down. I decided to give Lalibela another chance and planned to visit its main historical landmarks the next day.

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

The traditional way of building was replaced by carving directly into the volcanic rock beneath his feet, perhaps driven by a desire to be closer to God.

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

An 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.

The eleven rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are one of Ethiopia’s top highlights and most remarkable places to visit.

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.

For me, it wasn’t easy to distinguish between pilgrims and beggars. They all wore similar traditional white clothing. Still, the sight of hundreds of people dressed in white, sitting or walking around the churches carved into the ground below, was truly unique.