#discoverethiopia

[hulunem]

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[tonreveethiopievoyage]

Dallol,volcanic site in the Danakil depression.The different colors of the landscape and salts,sulfuric acid that results before centuries ago due to volcanic natural activities@Ethiopia. . Dallol,un site volcanique situè dans la vallèe du rift dans la dèpression du Danakil.Les diffèrents couleurs ,de Sels,de l acid sulfurique qui ont donnès le resutat de ces beaux paysages colorès...Les rèsultats des activitès volcaniques dans la vallèe du rift qui avaient pris place depuis des siècles en Èthiopie. . #ethiopie #éthiopie #vallèedurift #siteseeing #dallol #dallolethiopia #travelanddiscover #discovery #discoverearth #discoverethiopia #danakil #danakildepression #landscape #landscapepainting #visiteurs #voyageursdumonde #voyageursautourdumonde #paysagenature #paysages #paysagenaturel #beauxpaysages #paysagemagnifique #voyageusesdumonde #voyageuses #travelstagram #tonrevetourandtravel #ethiopievoyage #toursbylocals #visitnature #landscapephotography (at Afar,Ethiopia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBHRqHMHmFK/?igshid=c2ft54otmzug

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Ethiopia: an Eye-Opening Experience

If I had to describe my experience of journeying through Ethiopia in one word, it would be ‘eye opening’. I believe this is exactly what the curious travellers, the cultural travellers and the adventure seekers of the world hope to achieve when traveling off the beaten path.

During the three weeks of traveling around the vast and diverse country that is Ethiopia, I came across many features of its awe-inspiring culture, history and natural scenery. In my final posting, I’d like to wrap-up by sharing my top 5 essential things to consider if you plan a trip to Ethiopia one day!

The Soraya Itinerary

Addis Ababa: Capital of Ethiopia. Point of your international arrival & departure.

Hawassa: Lake Hawassa, hippopatamus-watching and fresh fish & corn on the cob by the lake.

Axum: Stelae (Obelisk) & Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. Capital of the Axumite Kingdom (100-940 A.D.)

Lalibela: Rock-hewn Churches. Capital of Zegwe Dynasty (12-13th Century).

Gondar: Fasil Ghebbi Fortress.

Bahir Dar: Blue Nile Falls, Lake Tana & Ura Kidane Monastery on the Zege Peninsula.

* Dila: only for volunteering at Mary Help College. Not a tourist destination.

1. Having a Good Guide is Key: No matter how much of an ‘authentic’ or ‘nomadic’ experience you wish to have, having an experienced, knowledgeable, honest and trust-worthy guide can be critical in ensuring you have a seamless experience, in terms of mitigating unforeseen circumstances, arranging good transportation, safety and knowing who to trust, regardless of whether you are traveling individually or in a group.

For example, on our last night enroute to a restaurant for dinner in Addis Ababa, my phone slid out of my pocket in the taxi. I noticed it just as we entered the restaurant and the taxi had already left. I was absolutely devastated and sure that I’ll never see my phone again. It was literally the last night of our 3-week journey and all my photos were gone as well. However, our guide – Allen – took on the mission to find the taxi one way or another, and after an hour of calling different people, arguing on the phone, threatening to report the driver (who was denying he found a phone in his car), he actually succeeded in getting my phone back! Nobody could believe it and I was absolutely ecstatic! Me losing my phone was not Allen’s problem whatsoever, but this shows how committed he is to taking care of his clients. This commitment, in addition to his passion for his job and patriotism towards his country was evident throughout the entire trip.

For these reasons, I can’t recommend enough our guide – Allen Nirayo – especially because he is also quite the entrepreneur aiming to officially register his own travel agency. It is honest and good people like him who deserve to succeed in this world, as opposed to corrupt opportunists who manage to cheat their way up the business ladder. The best way to contact him is via email (allenzwaldba@yahoo.com) or facebook (Allen Abyssinia Tours). Having said this, you can surely find various other Ethiopian travel guides on other travel-related blogs and websites, such as Tripadvisor (where my professor initially came across Allen’s contacts).

2. Coffee (Ceremony!): Coffee is at the core of Ethiopian culture and its high quality beans are globally renown; however, consuming the coffee locally is one thing, partaking in a coffee ceremony is another! 

Even if you are not a big coffee drinker, it is quite likely that you will be welcomed by locals or even upon arrival at your hotel with the performance of a coffee ceremony – a signature of an Ethiopians’ warm hospitality.

3. Monolithic Churches: one of the most wondrous representations of Ethiopian civilization, Lalibela’s monolithic churches are a must-see if you travel to Ethiopia. Monolithic means they have been entirely carved out of one stone. There are numerous churches, which are located in clusters. Collectively known as rock-hewn churches (since the collection also includes some that are made from more than one piece of stone), they have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and definitely worth the visit.

The most prominent of them all is St. George’s Church. If your itinerary allows, try to visit on St. George’s Day and early in the morning to get a glimpse of Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims visiting the site – it is a truly remarkable cultural experience; having said this, make sure to respect the spirituality of the experience for locals, make sure your arms and legs are covered, keep a low profile and only discreetly take photos and videos. In fact, this brings me to my next point about being responsible tourists.

4. Be a Responsible Tourist: Ethiopia is still a largely poor country and it can be very tempting to feel charitable with any locals whom you encounter along your journey, but please be conscious of the corrupting impact such actions may have. What may seem to you like an act of kindness, could send the wrong signal – especially to children – that tourists can be seen as a source of free income. If you wish to be generous or express your gratitude at any point during the trip, it could be much nicer to limit material gifts and rewards with something more thoughtful, soulful and meaningful. Also, bear in mind that Ethiopia’s population is only 20% urban, meaning that the 80% who you may view as ‘poor’ could in fact be quite happy, have a sustainable way of life and a moral state of mind rooted in her traditional and religious teachings. It would be a true shame to destroy this happiness by enticing temptations or mess with the moral compass of youth by way of material handouts. Not to mention future tourists would also be deprived of the authentic experience you get to enjoy today.

Having said this, I believe one should be a responsible tourist regardless of geography; however, I felt the need to emphasize this as an essential point, considering Ethiopia’s amazing people and culture.

If you really wish to contribute materially to Ethiopian development, I suggest donating to Ethiopia-focused NGOs; for example Wuha Sira Foundation, which focuses on supporting education and clean water access in Ethiopian communities.

5. Natural Scenery: While the African continent is famous for its one of a kind flora, fauna and scenic beauty, Ethiopia in particular is not that well known as say, Serengeti in Tanzania or Victoria Falls on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border. I, like many people from other parts of the world, had no clue how beautiful the natural scenery would be in Ethiopia! From viewing entire families of hippopotamus in Lake Hawassa, to the lush and endlessly green valleys of the Highlands, and the Blue Nile Falls, Ethiopia is a gold mine of natural beauty and habitat.

I went to Ethiopia for a volunteering and sight-seeing experience, and I came back home with a whole new perspective on the world. As a self-identified wanderlust and curious traveller, I thought I had seen ‘poverty’ since I had volunteered in Cusco, Peru and travelled extensively around Iran; however, both these countries are considerably more developed than Ethiopia in terms of infrastructure, easy access to clean water and basic goods with an urban population of 70-80%. Perhaps I also had a false impression before I arrived in the country, because as a development economist and aviation enthusiast, I had been very impressed by Ethiopia’s sustained GDP growth of 8-10% over the past decade and the outstanding success of Ethiopian Arilines with its fleet of modern aircraft; however, Ethiopia is still one of the poorest countries in the world despite being one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

I can’t stress enough how refreshing it was to see the sheer bliss and joy of our girls whom we were teaching in Dila as soon as a song came on, while we suffer from over-attachment to material objects and social media; a mother’s relief when she learnt this week’s delivery of clean water will arrive on Saturday, while we suffer from gluttony and can easily take for granted how easily we access the most basic resources; and finally, the warm hospitality and unconditional generosity of the Ethiopian people, while Western governments speak of building walls and shunning immigrants.

Words can only go so far in communicating my eye-opening experience in Ethiopia and the extraordinary destination that it is. We have so much to learn from Ethiopia and grace of her people. I hope to return one day and hopefully, you can experience it soon too!

[simien-image]

#discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #gönder #proudfamily #travel #tour #hospitality #luxurylifestyle #luxurylife #photography #ethiopia #omo #omovalley #omovalleyethiopia #omovalleytribes #simienimagetour #simien #simienmountainsnationalpark #danakildepression #ertale (at Simien Image Tour, Travel & Car Rent - Ethiopia)

[sorayaadventures-blog]

At the Source of the Blue Nile

After Gondar, we drove south to Bahir Dar, which is one of Ethiopia’s most touristic cities located on the southern coast of Lake Tana. As we approached the city, we could feel the warmer climate and increased humidity in the air. 

We saw many modern developments, including an impressive exhibition centre. Allen mentioned the city has seen increased commercial and hospitality developments recently. This has been especially as a result of hosting an important conference on the fate of the Nile river, attended by all African heads of states that share the river or the “Nile Riparian States,” which include: Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania & Uganda. 

We stayed at Delano Hotel, which was a modern 4-star hotel with clean bathrooms, nice hot showers, satellite TV, good wifi connection and a decent breakfast, restaurant and bar in the lobby. Few friends even used the laundry service and they were quite happy with it!

That afternoon, we went to visit the Blue Nile Waterfalls, which is the source of the River Nile - the world's longest river that ultimately pours into the Mediterranean. The hike was straight forward but at times challenging due to the mud. A group of local boys offered to help us make it through the entire path from the base to the waterfall, which was very helpful. They knew exactly where we should step to avoid the mud, at one point they even picked up and carried a couple of the girls through the mud! Once we reached the waterfall, we were awe-struck. It was beautiful.

The next day, we embarked on a boat journey to explore Lake Tana, jetting by its islands and landing on the Zege peninsula to visit Ura Kidane Mihret Monastery. We disembarked the boat and in the walk up to the monastery I witnessed a beautiful scene of a girl collecting water from the lake in her large jerrycan and strapping it to her back for carrying it home; I was taken aback firstly by the scenic imagery and beautiful sights, but more so by an inevitable feeling of gratitude for how easily we access water back home, and how much people tend to take that for granted. Having said this, that girl seemed to be having a great time, playfully throwing the jerry can up and down. If I knew any better, I’d say it was almost like she was putting on a show for us!

We then passed what seemed like a residential complex prior to reaching the monastery itself. This was where most of the community resided.

The 14th century monastery was truly remarkable, because of its round-shaped structure and epic floor-to-ceiling church art. Allen explained to us that the imagery was historically used for biblical story-telling, in order to cater to the majority illiterate public back in the day. 

As we stepped inside, a local guide took us through the full story-telling journey around the church, which he presented very well. Personally, this was where I truly understood and appreciated the Ethiopian Orthodox church art. There was something different about Ura Kidane; I was awe-struck!

On the way out, the guide took us to a spot on the outer circle of the church, where there were two closed wooden windows. He explained that the paintings inside have been restored, however the artwork behind these wooden window doors have never been touched; they are the originals from the 14th century. 

As our church visit came to an end, we made our way back to Bahir Dar and got ready for dinner. Allen had planned us a “local night experience” at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant and dance house with live entertainment called Che Che Ido - and boy was it an entertaining experience! 

The dancers were moving every part of their body to the psychedelic music - similar to what we saw in Axum, but more fun and intense at the same time as we had gotten a little used to the psychedelic music and they came into the crowd! They took one guy from our group to perform with them on stage, and came down in the crowd to teach us “tourists” how to do their shoulder dance, which was a HILARIOUS experience! It was truly a great way to wind down, celebrate our group and the trip coming to an end.

Finally the next morning, it was time to fly back to Addis Ababa for one last night before we take our international flights back home. We used our half-day in Addis to visit the National Museum of Ethiopia, which held the fossil of Lucy - the world’s oldest human from 3.2 million years ago.

Tune in next week for our wrap-up of Ethiopia’s 5 best take-aways for anyone who is thinking to visit the wondrous civilization in the near future or far! 

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Ethiopian Highlands, Utopia & Gondar’s Afro Angels

Following our mystical experiences in Lalibela, it was time to drive West, crossing the Ethiopian Highlands towards Gondar, Ethiopia’s last historic capital prior to Addis Ababa, most known for its medieval palaces and castles.

The road from Lalibela to Gondar was perhaps one of the most beautiful I had ever seen, ranking right after the Vancouver-Whistler route in Canada and the Chalous road from Tehran to the Caspian coast. The endless lush green valleys, hills and the variety of flora and fauna, combined with sunny blue skies in the second half (to our luck!) was quite impressive. 

We saw monkies on the road and Allen had us stop at certain points along the road with stunning views for lunch, breather breaks and scenic photography.

Prior to reaching Gondar, we visited the special Awra Amba village known for its  utopian governance and sustainable way of life; yes, here all ~500 members of the community contributed in their own means and benefited from communal resources as a society. It was founded in 1980 with the goal of solving socio-economic problems through helping one another in an environment of egalitarianism — in marked contrast to the traditional norms of Amhara society. We received a well-translated talk by the village chief, who was wearing what seemed to be his signature bright green Rastafarian hat, about their values, regulations and practices, which provided thorough cultural insight into their way of life.

There was a poster on the wall, which I found quite interesting; it had extracted quotes from prophets or holy books of most world religions to delineate how they all preach at least one common value: "treat others as you'd like to be treated", which is also the core philosophy of the Awra Amba village. Around the world, we are often subject to the abuse of religion in politics as those in a position of religious authority focus on an endless list of do's and don'ts; however, it is without question that we would quite easily live in a better world if we all stayed true to this one very simple philosophy.

Islam: “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself” - The Prophet Mohammad Hadith

Christianity: “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the law of the prophets” - Jesus, Matthew 7:12

Judaism: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah: all the rest is commentary” - Hillel, Talmun, Shabbat 31a

Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you” - Mahabharata 5:1517

Baha’i Faith: “Lay not on any soul a load that you would not wish to be laid upon you, and desire not for anyone the things you would not desire for yourself” - Baha’ullah, Gleanings

Janism: “One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated” - Mahavira, Sutrakritanga

Zoroastrianism: “Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself” - Shayast-na-Shayast 13.29

Native Spirituality: “We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive” - Chief Dan George

Unitarianism: “We affirm and promote respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part” - Unitarian Principle

Buddhism: “Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful” - Udana-Varga 5.18

Sikhism: “I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all” - Guru Granth Sahib, pg. 1299

Taoism: “Regard your neighbors’ gain as your own gain, and your neighbors’ loss as your own loss” - T’ai Shank Kan Ying P’ien, 213-218

Confucianism: “One word which sums up the basis of all good conduct... Loving kindness. Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself” - Confucius, Analects 15.23

We reached Gondar and visited the medieval fortress-city of Fasil Ghebbi, which was built as the residence of the Ethiopian emperor Fasilides and his successors in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, it is one of Ethiopia’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Unfortunately, some of its structures which have been damaged under British bombardment in the last century. Architecturally, it has Hindu and Arab influences, subsequently transformed by the Baroque style brought to Gondar by the Jesuit missionaries. Notably, I have to say that perhaps this was one of the least impressive site visits of the trip thus far, but still of good educational value in terms of understanding the sequence of affairs in Ethiopian history.

On the way back we visited the Debre Berhan Selassie Church, which Lonely Planet refers to as “one of Ethiopia’s most beautiful churches” reknown for its  splendid Ethiopian church art, with hundreds of angels covering its roof. I was blown away by the sheer beauty of not just the vivacious red and orange colours, but also the beauty behind depicting angels as coloured women with afro hair. Personally, I found it very refreshing to finally see Christian art in harmony with its surroundings, portraying ideals of beauty from its locality and not having succumbed to colonial, Euro-centric and exclusively 'white' ideals of beauty imported from the West. A truly unique feature to Ethiopia, arguably due to the long history of her civilisation and being the only country in Africa that has never been colonised.

The name of this church ‘Debre Birhan’ means ‘Mountain of Light’ and it is the only Gondarian church of its era (18th century) that has survived foreign demolition; according to local legend, when the Mahdist soldiers approached the church, a swarm of bees decended on the compound of the church and kept the soldiers back. 

The weather is getting warmer as we continue our journey further south. Next week, we’ll be heading to the metropolitan city of Bahir Dar on the southern shore of Lake Tana, which is the source of the River Nile.

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Lalibela & the Rock-Hewn Churches of New Jerusalem

No trip to Ethiopia is complete without visiting the mystical village of Lalibela, which is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of its rock-hewn churches. 

Allow me to give you a bit of historical context before sharing my experience here: Lalibela flourished after the decline of the Kingdom of Axum (suggestively, Allen - our tour guide - mentioned he had carefully crafted our itinerary to follow the same chronology of Ethiopian dynasties, so that we could quite literally ‘walk through’ Ethiopian history). The then-emperor of Lalibela built these churches in the 12th century following his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Upon his return, he aspired to recreate the Holy Land in his homeland; hence, it was given the nickname “New Jerusalem”.

You could tell this is the country’s hottest tourist destination as the airport terminal had working wifi, albeit still being a tiny rural terminal building. As in Axum, Allen conveniently had another van and driver ready for us outside and off we went. As we navigated the hilly roads from the airport to the mountain village, one could not help but to be absolutely stunned by how green it was and the endless sight of beautiful green valleys. 

We made a pitstop at a scenic point of the mountain roads for taking photos. The cool breeze, lush greenery and peaceful silence were incredibly refreshing, and gave me an inexplicable feeling of blissful liberation; I guess I could describe it as the feeling you get from being disconnected from the world, breaking free from the shackles of technology- and information-overload that we succumb to as Millennials in the age of social media. On that green hilltop, I had the luxury of being fully in the moment, appreciating nature’s blessings - or ‘baraka’ - as I breathed in the fresh, clean and cool mountain air.

The most prominent sight in Lalibela are its rock-hewn churches, meaning they are churches carved entirely out of a single (monolithic) piece of rock in the mountains. There are multiple rock-hewn churches located next to each other, the most awe-inspiring of which is perhaps the Church of Saint George. This one is quite literally carved straight down into the ground and is in the shape of a St. George’s cross when you look at it from above.

We were lucky to have a clear sunny day as we visited the church that afternoon. Allen enthusiastically suggested doing a photoshoot while we were hanging around and sitting near the edge of the carved-in wall. His enthusiasm and demeanor resembling a professional magazine photographer was hilarious, he cracked us up and we ended up having a great time in the sun!

Down below, you could sense the wondrous aspects of the church even more. It was truly remarkable to imagine a civilization flawlessly carving an entire church out of the ground in the late 12th century, complete with symmetrical windows high up in its walls.

To watch the sunset, we drove to a restaurant called Ben Abeba Bungalow, which was located on a hilltop next to another large and lush valley. It was an interestingly shaped building with viewing points, which stretched out into the air where it felt like one had the entire valley underneath. The views were once again breathtaking.

We ordered tea, drinks and snacks as we watched the sun set behind the mountain range in the distance. The rays of light beamed through the hilltops and scattered clouds into the sapphire sky. We sat there in silence, reflecting, soaking in and cherishing nature’s beauty. Awe-struck.

The next day, Allen told us it is the Day of St. George when pilgrims come to the Church of St. George from all over the region. We had a full day of hiking planned, but we went back to the church for a quick pitstop in order to observe the church once again - this time in action amongst a sea of pilgrims dressed in white. It was a magical, better said very mystical sight to observe.

Hiking day was awesome. We did a 3-hour hike up a mountain, which supposedly had an entire village on the very top. Enroute, we came across groups of villagers heading down to the city to trade their agricultural produce and trade basic goods. This was no easy hike; we had to make our way through rocks, rivers, lots of mud, steep paths, and even path-less stretches of mud. However, these villagers made the commute down to the city and back up almost on a daily basis. Once we reached the top of the mountain, there was a door. It seemed somewhat surreal to be nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, you reach a mountain peak and all you see is a metal door - slightly Wizard of Oz-ish if you ask me. We rang the buzzer, the door opened, and there was a huge flat lot of grassland, beautiful bungalows, flora and fauna - an entire ecosystem behind a single metal door touching the sky. It was very foggy, so we didn’t get the full view of the valleys surrounding us, but it was incredible nonetheless.

On the way down, I saw a local couple coming towards us through the fog from the opposite side. They looked like an old couple. The fog surrounding them, which made it a mesmerizing scene. I couldn’t help but to feel slightly shocked to see them all the way up here, on slanted rocks edging precipice on either side. They seemed equally shocked to see us there, as they stopped and stared, wondering who are these people with colorful clothes, where do they come from and why are they here. We both stood there and gazed at each other for a good few minutes, letting our thoughts process the mild shock and numerous questions that popped into our heads. I had two conclusions: shame on my acquaintances (including myself), young and old, if we ever complain about any of life’s “hardships” and the second... Respect for the inhabitants of this village.

On our last day in Lalibela, we visited a different set of rock-hewn churches carved into pink monolithic mountain sides and partially covered in green moss in certain areas.

Inside one of the churches, a monk was stationed, guarding the church and serving as caretaker. The room was decorated in Ethiopian biblical drawings, a thin carpet on the floor and a couple of musical instruments e.g. a drum that were used on special occasions.

Conclusively, it had been an amazing 3 days in Lalibela. Tune in next week as we drive through the Ethiopian Highlands and visit the historic cities of Gondar and Bahir Dar, and sail on Lake Tana. We're also heading to the Blue Nile falls, which is the source of the Nile River! 

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Axum: Obelisks & Wedding Crashing!

After 2 weeks of volunteering in Southern Ethiopia, it was time to head north and explore Ethiopia’s historic treasures; first stop: Axum, which was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Axum (100-940 AD) and one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa.

From Dila we had a long drive back to Addis Ababa, mostly on unpaved roads, which meant a lot of being thrown up and down while seated a.k.a. “the African massage!” After spending the night in Addis, we took an early morning flight to Axum.

The flight from Addis to Axum was about an hour and 20 minutes, quiet and comfortable. The aircraft was one of Ethiopian Airlines’ modern turboprop fleet of Dash 8-400s from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. Once landed, we got off the aircraft on the tarmac right in front of the terminal building, which was shaped like the obelisks of Axum, an icon symbolizing the city’s ancient history (see below).

Our tour guide Allen had a large van waiting for us outside, which took us directly to our hotel. We dropped our bags and went for a quick Ethiopian lunch to start the tour and make the most of our day. Axum’s streets were beautifully cobble-stoned – a big change from the dirt roads down south in Dila! When we expressed our amazement, Allen quickly highlighted how Axum had received a lot funding from UNESCO to preserve and beautify the city.

Axum and the wider Tigray region are Allen’s home town, so we could see the passion, pride and the spark in his eye when he started telling us about the history of the Axumite Kingdom in the van. His personal story was also incredible. He’s never met his dad, his mom passed away when he was 6, and a year later his sister and only sibling died after being bitten by a snake. He then started living with his Aunt, and as a teenager, he voluntarily decided to enrol in the 1st grade class of the only local school near his home. He quickly learnt to read and write, moved to Addis Ababa for university, and taught himself English while working part-time (he speaks very good English today).

Our first stop was the Obelisk of Axum (or Stele), which is a 4th century AD, 24-meter tall granite obelisk, weighing 160 tonnes. It is ornamented with two false doors at the base and features decorations resembling windows on all sides. The obelisk ends in a semi-circular top part, which used to be enclosed by metal frames. The tallest of the obelisks, the Great Stele (33 meters in height), had fallen due to either structural collapse or earthquakes, since Axum is in a seismic zone.

That night, we went to a traditional Ethiopian dinner with live entertainment. The dancers and how they moved to psychedelic beats was truly impressive – it really felt like we were experiencing the raw roots of today’s hip hop dances in the West, think Beyonce and Crazy in Love.

As we walked out the restaurant, we came across a wedding party right in the middle of the street! The bride and groom were in the middle, music was blasting out of speakers, and the guests were dancing and jumping around in a circle around the newlyweds. Allen spontaneously ran towards them to join them and invited us to join in as well. Yes, we were officially Ethiopian wedding crashers! It was an incredibly memorable experience and we had so much fun celebrating with our new Ethiopian crew, who were so welcoming!

The following morning, it was time to visit the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, which is deemed the most important church in Ethiopia and claims to contain the Ark of the Covenant. The original church is only open to men, therefore in the 1950s Haile Selassie, then emperor of Ethiopia, built a new modern Cathedral open to both men and women next to the old Cathedral.

After an eventful 24 hours, it was time to leave Axum and head to the airport for catching our next flight to Lalibela. Tune in next week as we explore this legendary town in the Amhara region, famous for its rock-hewn churches; a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a centre of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and an exceptional testimony to medieval Ethiopian civilization.

[sorayaadventures-blog]

Welcome to Ethiopia!

Dear Soraya readers, it is a great pleasure to be blogging about my adventures in Ethiopia for you over the coming weeks!

Why Ethiopia? Firstly, my classmates and I came across an opportunity to volunteer for teaching English and doing research on water accessibility over the summer through Wuha Sira Foundation. I immediately signed up, because I had always loved teaching but never got the chance to do it. Furthermore, going door-to-door to survey households’ access to clean water would both contribute to development and give me a deeper insight into how people live, interact, and maintain a certain lifestyle. It was the perfect opportunity to visit this beautiful country with a big group of friends. The foundation introduced us to a trusted tour guide - Allen Nirayo (allenzwaldba@yahoo.com) - who organized all our travel’s accommodation, transportation and sightseeing itinerary. The plan was to spend 2 weeks volunteering at Don Bosco - a catholic complex in Dilla, Southern Ethiopia - followed by a week of leisurely travel in the north.

Secondly, I identify as a curious traveller interested in history and learning about new cultures. Ethiopia is a wonderful destination off the beaten path, located in northeastern Africa. It is the only country in Africa that has never been colonized, with a rich culture and history that dates back millennia. Christianity, Islam & Judaism all have a strong heritage in Ethiopia; however, today two-thirds of the country's 100 million strong population are Christian, and a third Muslim. The majority of Ethiopian Jews were migrated to Israel in the 1980s and a small population still live in Ethiopia today.

Third, I am passionate about aviation and international development, both of which Ethiopia has impressively excelled in over the past decade. Its sustained GDP growth of nearly 8-10% and the success of Ethiopian Airlines as the most profitable airline in Africa with brand new 787 Dreamliner & A350 aircraft, which fly a network spanning 5 continents further intrigued me to personally visit and experience this country.

The first step was to prepare. Since we were headed to rural areas of Ethiopia, we followed the Spanish Ministry of Health’s guidelines on the shots and preventative medicine. At the time, these included yellow fever, typhoid, malaria, meningitis & hepatitis. Next, I filled out the e-visa form online (very easy), then I purchased my flight on Ethiopian Airlines, and I was good to go!

When I landed in Addis Ababa, it was early morning and the luggage arrived relatively quickly. My friends and I were entering on the new e-visa introduced by the Ethiopian government, and the officer asked me for a different number than what I had printed out, which I eventually found in my emails on my phone (thankfully it still had battery! Out I went and met Allen and my other friends who had landed that morning from several different countries. 

First stop was Hawassa Lake, where we enjoyed freshly grilled fish next to the lake, with a beautiful view of the sunset. We spent the night at a standard hotel. In the morning, we took a boat trip on the lake for hippopatamus watching. We got lucky and saw an entire family of hippos! Later that afternoon, we continued our journey to Dila.

For the next two weeks, each pair of volunteers were assigned a class of nearly 50 schoolgirls for teaching English. My friend and I got the smaller girls, ranging from 8-11 year olds. They were a joy to teach and boy did they love singing and dancing! A truly rewarding experience.

Dila the city is a rural capital, which had dirt roads and goats hanging out or casually relaxing almost in every corner of public spaces. I quickly learned that goats play an important role in all of Ethiopia, for both economic and dietary purposes. Similarly, coffee is a huge part of Ethiopian culture. In the final days, our teaching assistant invited us to her house for lunch with her family and a coffee ceremony performed using beans from the coffee trees in their garden. It was very flattering to have been invited to their home and treated as part of the family, even though we'd only met less than 2 weeks before.

The water accessibility research was also as interesting as I expected, if not more. It was eye-opening to hear how clean water is delivered to homes in jerrycans just once a week by the municipality in the less affluent neighbourhoods. They even mentioned at times they don't receive the delivery, in which case they would have to buy it off people in other neighbourhoods, or get water from the river and use chemical powders to clean it, or buy it from the well at the catholic complex we were living in. Some of the households in the relatively more affluent areas had pipe access installed or created a reservoir inside their house to store water. I always thought I'd seen what poverty looks like having travelled extensively, volunteered previously in Cusco, Peru and done road trips around my home country of Iran, but the poverty here was a whole other level. Frankly, Peru and especially Iran are highly developed countries in comparison.

All in all, the sporadic access to clean water, lack of asphalt roads, students fighting over a pen, and kids who we noticed changed clothes every 3 days or so, was a truly eye-opening experience which makes you realize the extent to which we tend to take the basic luxuries of life for granted. Tune in next week as we move to Axum, the original capital of the Kingdom of Axum and one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa.

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ጎንደርና ጎጃም ፤ ወሎና ትግራይ ኦሮሞና ተጉለት ሆነን አንድ ላይ ጉራጌና ሃረር ዶርዜ ወላይታ ቤኒሻንጉል ሶማሌ አፋር አሳይታ ግመሌን ላጠጣት እንደ አፋር ተጉዤ ግመሌን ላጠጣት ቀይ ባህር ተጉዤ አንድ ገመድ አጣሁ ልመልሳት ሄጄ 'ያንዲት እናት ልጆች መሆናችን አውቀን ጎሳና ኃይማኖት ሳይነጣጥለን ምን ይሳነን ነበር ብንተባበር አናሳዝንም ወይ ጎንደር ጎንደር የቴዎድሮስ አገር ያንዲት ኢትዮጵያ ፤ ዋልታና ማገር ነፍሱን የሰጣት ፤ ለካ ዓለም ንቆ አገር ሊያቆም ነው ፤ ቴዎድሮስ ወድቆ #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #blackwithattitude #blackhistory #proud🕎 #gonder #gönderin #unitywithdiversity #unity #africaunited #africamustwakeup #history (at Gondar Historical Places)

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፱ እናንተ ግን ከጨለማ ወደሚደነቅ ብርሃኑ የጠራችሁን የእርሱን በጎነት እንድትናገሩ የተመረጠ ትውልድ፥ የንጉስ ካህናት፥ ቅዱስ ሕዝብ፥ ለርስቱ የተለየ ወገን ናችሁ፤ Peter 1 - 2፡9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an Holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; #GOD #truth #faithful #faith🙏 #lifequotes #thetruth #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #simienimagetour #loyalty #ethiopiantakeover #ethiopiastreet #omovalley #wetrustingod (at Beza Baptist Church)

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#football #fasilkenema #jimma #gondarcity #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #gameofthrones #simienimagetour (at Ethiopia,north Gondar, Debark)

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Bring Back the Stolen Mandala Treasures Back to ETHIOPIA #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #blackhistorymonth #ethiopianism💚💛❤️ #proud🕎 #proudethiopian #habeshatakeover🔥 #zionist #revolution #africaunite #ethiopiaunite #unitedkingdom #unitedstates

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Bring The Stolen Mandala Treasures Back to ETHIOPIA #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 (at Simien Image Tour, Travel & Car Rent - Ethiopia)

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CNN AFRICA Cairo, Great Zimbabwe and GONDAR are among these 23 amazing ancient city: #cnn #bbc #travel #ethiopia #simienimagetour #simienimage #simien #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #southethiopia #northethiopia #danakildepression #localguide #tripadvisor #ethiopiantripadvisor #tribes #lalibela #axum #gönder #tripadvisorbali #backpackchallenge #tour (at Gonder, Gonder, Ethiopia)

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#landcruiser #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 #ethiopian #backpack #travellifestyle #travellifelove #omo #gönder #afar #volcano #simien #simienimage #simienimagetour #safari #tour #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanetethiopiaanderitrea #lonelyplanetethiopia #travelethiopia #awashnationalpark #simienmountainsnationalpark #toyota #discoverethiopia🇪🇹 (at Simien Image Tour, Travel & Car Rent - Ethiopia)