WOW, the last couple of months have really brought my African travels to a surprising yet awesome end. Between Madagascar and Ethiopia I’ve been blown away at how cool these two places are. I’d go so far as to say they are my 2 favorites. When I say this, I am considering the whole of each country and not just specific landmarks or sites within them. Because if I ranked my favorite sites, the list would look a bit different.
Having said that I am feeling guilty that Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa (in no particular order) got bumped down. And of course Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho are feeling like the kid that always got picked last in gym class.
To be fair, Madagascar doesn’t really consider itself part of Africa, and Ethiopia -- as far as sub-Saharan Africa goes -- is so un-African that I can’t really count it in my “favorite African countries” list. Moreover, I honestly didn’t max out my travels throughout Botswana, Lesotho, Zim and Zam like I did the other places so they are naturally going to get the shaft.
I didn’t intend for this blog to be a ranking of any kind, but I’ve obviously started spiraling, so I might as well finish it off. So, yeah, leaving Maddy and Ethio out of it for now, the standouts for me have been, in order of visitation: Rwanda (gorillas, people, history), Tanzania (wildlife, Zanzibar), Malawi (nature, landscapes), Namibia (adventure activities, deserts), South Africa (ease of travel, people, nature), Mozambique (culture, sea-life).
I just realized that I should put South Africa off on it’s own, too. It’s been so heavily colonized and influenced by the West that it doesn’t seem fair to put it in with the others. No offense to SA and I’m not saying you are un-African, but let’s face it, you are a bit of an anomaly within the continent. Of course I am saying this after having been to all the touristified towns along the coast and somewhat inland…
So there. I’ve played favorites. Moving on.
Madagascar. Talk about one of the most amazing places on the planet. Hot damn I would love to spend a couple months on a bicycle riding across its length from North to South and East to West. Upon arrival I was completely shocked as I was transported to some hybrid Africa/Southeast Asia/India type of place. As it turns out, the whole country is incredibly diverse in every sense of the word. The variety of cultures and landscapes as well as the fact that a huge percentage of its flora & fauna (upwards of 80% if I had to guess) are endemic make it one of the most unique places on Earth. It is actually like a mini-Earth smashed into one island. Madagascar is one of maybe (maybe) 3 places I’ve ever been that I’d consider visiting a second time. I like to try new things, but with Maddy, anywhere you go will be completely new. I could go on forever, but I’m in Ethiopia now and must ramble on about that for a while...
Ethiopia. Wow. I am so glad I changed my plans to visit this place. If you asked me my thoughts on Ethiopia before coming here, I’d probably describe it as a famine-wracked desert wasteland. Which could not be farther from the truth.
The first time I thought that this could be a cool place to visit was when I took a flight on Ethiopian Airlines with a layover in Addis Ababa. Although I was a bit unsure about my safety in a place called Addis Ababa (the name alone sounded intimidating but I’ve come to learn it means “new flower” and who can honestly be scared of flowers, new or old?), my impressions were completely changed when I encountered the model-esque stewardesses, quality airplane food, beautiful, mountainous landscape below as we came in for our landing, bright, clean, orderly international airport terminal and some of the most friendly and helpful airport employees.
Ok, fine, how much does 1 airline and 1 airport reflect an entire country? Close to zero, but I figured if they take this much care with regard to their air travel they must be doing some other things right, too. So I thought, “huh. This seems like a it could be a cool place. I might have to look into it someday.” Not until I met a handful of other travelers who visited and raved about Ethiopia did I decide to add it to my destination list.
And what a great decision!
This place is really cool. I have spent about a week in the south and 2 weeks in the north with some time in Addis scattered throughout. All are completely different worlds, I tell you. Southern Ethiopia is home of some of the most ethnically rich African tribal cultures you can imagine. The image you’d conjure up in your mind is exactly what you’d find in the Omo valley. The fact that this region falls within the borders of Ethiopia seems incongruous to the rest of the country being that South Omo is SO very African and the rest of Ethiopia is so very UN-African. Or shall I elaborate by saying sub-Saharan African in both cases.
Then you have Addis Ababa. The city of Addis itself is one of the most advanced, diverse and variety-laden cities I’ve ever visited. Restaurants, cafes, shops, malls, museums, markets etc. There is a lot to do & see and Ethiopian food is delicious. Moreso they even have proper hamburgers and (gasp) Mexican food restaurants! Not only that, but the coffee here is probably the best in the world. Not that I’m in any position to rate coffee as I only became a coffee-drinker since being on this trip, but I can definitely tell the quality of the stuff here is excellent. Mmmm the macchiatos especially. Coffee is a huge deal here.
Addis is truly a cosmopolitan city and rivals many cities in the US, even. At least according to me, but I’ve been traveling for a while so my perspective is different. Coming straight off the boat, you’d probably have to work through some culture shock before really appreciating the city through the eyes of someone who’s used to it.
Once again I have found wonderful Couchsurfing hosts in the form of an Ethiopian/Belgian couple who have so graciously let me use their pad in Addis as a home-base as I travel between the South and North. I’ve had a blast hanging out with them and their friends, too, between dinner get-togethers and hilarity-ensuing game nights.
Outside of Addis, the southern region almost seems like a fantastical place. Meaning it’s hard to believe people still live like this in 2011. It’s wild. And inspiring to see that such rich traditions and tribal life have survived all the years of Western conquerization…ahem…colonization.
Overall, there are said to be over 2-dozen tribes in the Omo region, numbering anywhere between tens of thousands to as few as 500 identifying with each. Of these, the main tribes and the ones we visited with are the Hamer, Banna, Mursi and Karo tribes. The Mursi are the most famous by way of their body-adornment in the form of elaborate scarification and eccentric lip-plates. The Karo are known for body-painting and the Hamar and Banna tribes for their colorful fashions and hairstyles. Each tribe’s traditions are striking and unique in their own ways.
We (I traveled to the south with a couple I met through my CS hosts in Addis) also ended up being so lucky to be invited to a bull-jumping ceremony, a rite-of-passage for young Hamer and Banna boys in becoming men. After a ridiculously rough off-the-beaten-path off-any-kind-of-path-whatsoever-and-into-complete-desolate-African-bushland drive including a moderate run-in with an angry bee swarm and picking up a Banna guy we came across to show us the way, we ended up ditching the car and following the sounds of drumbeats, jangling bells and celebratory singing until we came across the location of the ceremony. Being the only 3 faranjis in the general vicinity, we really felt like we were witnessing a special event. Which we were. At one point the group of 20-odd women swallowed me up into their chanting, hollering, jingling, dancing mass in which I had no choice but to happily and awkwardly join in.
They even posed me in a ridiculous photo alongside them holding someone’s un-loaded rifle from who-knows-where. I enjoyed seeing them use me as a novelty item and as their entertainment. At least this way it felt a bit more even-ended since the whole “tribal tourism” thing feels a bit weird to me. On the one hand I feel as though such tourism rots the culture insofar as many tribes will play dress-up for the tourists and the whole demanding money for photos thing leaves a bad taste for both parties…but on the other hand, tourism is a way to sustain such traditional tribal cultures as national and international homogenization come banging down their doors…err…come shaking their huts, rather.
After a mind-boggling week in the south, I popped back into Addis for a bit before shooting up north to hit up the historic and former capital cities of Axum, Lalibela and Gonder.
Axum
Axum was a major player in terms of the world’s most influential ancient kingdoms and was the regional ruler from about 400BC into the 10th century. There’s a ton of history here, but much of it is shrouded in mystery. One of its claims to fame include the Ethiopian Orthodox belief that the Ark of the Covenant resides in one of the town’s churches. There’s a whole story behind how it got there involving the Queen of Sheba’s love tryst with King Solomon and their son Melenik’s transportation of the Ark to Ethiopia with help of divine intervention.
Separately, there are numerous other notable sights including stelae fields indicating the location of ancient tombs housing potential remains of kings and their treasures. Many have yet to be uncovered and excavated.
Lalibela
My favorite place so far in Ethiopia. A very holy place as the population is almost entirely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. King Lalibela ruled in the 13th century and set out through, you guessed it, divine intervention, to make the town into a “new Jerusalem”. Eventually he, with help from angels (and probably a lot of silent human partners), carved 13 churches straight into the ground. Of these, some are monolithic, meaning are detached from the earth on all 4 sides, and some are semi-monolithic, with at least 1 side attached. In all cases, the churches are some of the most impressive historical sites I’ve ever seen. It was humbling to stand in and outside of these works of art knowing what kind of pre-planning, manpower and flawless execution had to have taken place to create such structures.
We were even lucky enough to witness the celebration of St. George’s Day at, IMO, the most beautiful church in Lalibela, Bet Giyorgis. We woke up at the crack of dawn to join in with hundreds of robed pilgrims (well, local ones, anyway) in their at first silent and then escalating hum, building into a trumpeting, chanting, singing praise. It was so cool to have been there to witness such an event. Now, we all know I’m not religious, but this was definitely moving. Not to the point of moving me any closer to organized religion in any way, shape or form, but I can appreciate the traditions and beauty in something like this.
Gonder
Last up, I stopped into Gonder, the former imperial capital of the 16th-20th centuries. Here I found the ancient ruins of former kings castles. The Royal Enclosure being a highlight in which there are a number of castles, palaces, banquet halls, saunas, lions dens, libraries and churches, all of which were overseen by a series of emperors. Who knew Ethiopia housed such stereotypically European medieval structures. They were, however, heavily influenced by the Portuguese at the outset.
Gonder is also in relatively close proximity to the Simien Mountains to which I popped in for a quick trip. Quick being a relative term in that the road leading there is on annoyingly rough and dusty roads, so any journey feels like it takes forever. The mountains themselves are stunning. Not only that, but they are home to the endemic Gelada baboon, which is an odd creature that looks like it is the product of mixing the DNA of a baboon and lion into a blender. Weirder still is that they are 100% vegetarian and graze on the local grasses by sitting around and ripping out handfuls of the stuff and shoving it into their mouths. Moreover, they make the most appalling girly wheezing noises I’ve ever heard come out of a monkey that size. I was caught off guard and couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it sounded.
Though I wish I could have spent a week’s worth of exploring more of the Simien range, I had to get back to Addis to physically and mentally prep for my departure from Africa.
So here I am, back in the capital with only 2 full days left on this continent before I head to Asia. How CRAZY is THAT???!! I’m already freakin’!!
Sheesh, I've really been going nuts with the long blog entries lately, huh? I’m even sick of hearing myself talk…I can’t imagine what it’s like for whoever is reading this rambling rubbish.
Having said that I am feeling guilty that Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa (in no particular order) got bumped down. And of course Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho are feeling like the kid that always got picked last in gym class.
To be fair, Madagascar doesn’t really consider itself part of Africa, and Ethiopia -- as far as sub-Saharan Africa goes -- is so un-African that I can’t really count it in my “favorite African countries” list. Moreover, I honestly didn’t max out my travels throughout Botswana, Lesotho, Zim and Zam like I did the other places so they are naturally going to get the shaft.
I didn’t intend for this blog to be a ranking of any kind, but I’ve obviously started spiraling, so I might as well finish it off. So, yeah, leaving Maddy and Ethio out of it for now, the standouts for me have been, in order of visitation: Rwanda (gorillas, people, history), Tanzania (wildlife, Zanzibar), Malawi (nature, landscapes), Namibia (adventure activities, deserts), South Africa (ease of travel, people, nature), Mozambique (culture, sea-life).
I just realized that I should put South Africa off on it’s own, too. It’s been so heavily colonized and influenced by the West that it doesn’t seem fair to put it in with the others. No offense to SA and I’m not saying you are un-African, but let’s face it, you are a bit of an anomaly within the continent. Of course I am saying this after having been to all the touristified towns along the coast and somewhat inland…
So there. I’ve played favorites. Moving on.
Madagascar. Talk about one of the most amazing places on the planet. Hot damn I would love to spend a couple months on a bicycle riding across its length from North to South and East to West. Upon arrival I was completely shocked as I was transported to some hybrid Africa/Southeast Asia/India type of place. As it turns out, the whole country is incredibly diverse in every sense of the word. The variety of cultures and landscapes as well as the fact that a huge percentage of its flora & fauna (upwards of 80% if I had to guess) are endemic make it one of the most unique places on Earth. It is actually like a mini-Earth smashed into one island. Madagascar is one of maybe (maybe) 3 places I’ve ever been that I’d consider visiting a second time. I like to try new things, but with Maddy, anywhere you go will be completely new. I could go on forever, but I’m in Ethiopia now and must ramble on about that for a while...
Ethiopia. Wow. I am so glad I changed my plans to visit this place. If you asked me my thoughts on Ethiopia before coming here, I’d probably describe it as a famine-wracked desert wasteland. Which could not be farther from the truth.
The first time I thought that this could be a cool place to visit was when I took a flight on Ethiopian Airlines with a layover in Addis Ababa. Although I was a bit unsure about my safety in a place called Addis Ababa (the name alone sounded intimidating but I’ve come to learn it means “new flower” and who can honestly be scared of flowers, new or old?), my impressions were completely changed when I encountered the model-esque stewardesses, quality airplane food, beautiful, mountainous landscape below as we came in for our landing, bright, clean, orderly international airport terminal and some of the most friendly and helpful airport employees.
Ok, fine, how much does 1 airline and 1 airport reflect an entire country? Close to zero, but I figured if they take this much care with regard to their air travel they must be doing some other things right, too. So I thought, “huh. This seems like a it could be a cool place. I might have to look into it someday.” Not until I met a handful of other travelers who visited and raved about Ethiopia did I decide to add it to my destination list.
And what a great decision!
This place is really cool. I have spent about a week in the south and 2 weeks in the north with some time in Addis scattered throughout. All are completely different worlds, I tell you. Southern Ethiopia is home of some of the most ethnically rich African tribal cultures you can imagine. The image you’d conjure up in your mind is exactly what you’d find in the Omo valley. The fact that this region falls within the borders of Ethiopia seems incongruous to the rest of the country being that South Omo is SO very African and the rest of Ethiopia is so very UN-African. Or shall I elaborate by saying sub-Saharan African in both cases.
Then you have Addis Ababa. The city of Addis itself is one of the most advanced, diverse and variety-laden cities I’ve ever visited. Restaurants, cafes, shops, malls, museums, markets etc. There is a lot to do & see and Ethiopian food is delicious. Moreso they even have proper hamburgers and (gasp) Mexican food restaurants! Not only that, but the coffee here is probably the best in the world. Not that I’m in any position to rate coffee as I only became a coffee-drinker since being on this trip, but I can definitely tell the quality of the stuff here is excellent. Mmmm the macchiatos especially. Coffee is a huge deal here.
Addis is truly a cosmopolitan city and rivals many cities in the US, even. At least according to me, but I’ve been traveling for a while so my perspective is different. Coming straight off the boat, you’d probably have to work through some culture shock before really appreciating the city through the eyes of someone who’s used to it.
Once again I have found wonderful Couchsurfing hosts in the form of an Ethiopian/Belgian couple who have so graciously let me use their pad in Addis as a home-base as I travel between the South and North. I’ve had a blast hanging out with them and their friends, too, between dinner get-togethers and hilarity-ensuing game nights.
Outside of Addis, the southern region almost seems like a fantastical place. Meaning it’s hard to believe people still live like this in 2011. It’s wild. And inspiring to see that such rich traditions and tribal life have survived all the years of Western conquerization…ahem…colonization.
Overall, there are said to be over 2-dozen tribes in the Omo region, numbering anywhere between tens of thousands to as few as 500 identifying with each. Of these, the main tribes and the ones we visited with are the Hamer, Banna, Mursi and Karo tribes. The Mursi are the most famous by way of their body-adornment in the form of elaborate scarification and eccentric lip-plates. The Karo are known for body-painting and the Hamar and Banna tribes for their colorful fashions and hairstyles. Each tribe’s traditions are striking and unique in their own ways.
We (I traveled to the south with a couple I met through my CS hosts in Addis) also ended up being so lucky to be invited to a bull-jumping ceremony, a rite-of-passage for young Hamer and Banna boys in becoming men. After a ridiculously rough off-the-beaten-path off-any-kind-of-path-whatsoever-and-into-complete-desolate-African-bushland drive including a moderate run-in with an angry bee swarm and picking up a Banna guy we came across to show us the way, we ended up ditching the car and following the sounds of drumbeats, jangling bells and celebratory singing until we came across the location of the ceremony. Being the only 3 faranjis in the general vicinity, we really felt like we were witnessing a special event. Which we were. At one point the group of 20-odd women swallowed me up into their chanting, hollering, jingling, dancing mass in which I had no choice but to happily and awkwardly join in.
They even posed me in a ridiculous photo alongside them holding someone’s un-loaded rifle from who-knows-where. I enjoyed seeing them use me as a novelty item and as their entertainment. At least this way it felt a bit more even-ended since the whole “tribal tourism” thing feels a bit weird to me. On the one hand I feel as though such tourism rots the culture insofar as many tribes will play dress-up for the tourists and the whole demanding money for photos thing leaves a bad taste for both parties…but on the other hand, tourism is a way to sustain such traditional tribal cultures as national and international homogenization come banging down their doors…err…come shaking their huts, rather.
After a mind-boggling week in the south, I popped back into Addis for a bit before shooting up north to hit up the historic and former capital cities of Axum, Lalibela and Gonder.
Axum
Axum was a major player in terms of the world’s most influential ancient kingdoms and was the regional ruler from about 400BC into the 10th century. There’s a ton of history here, but much of it is shrouded in mystery. One of its claims to fame include the Ethiopian Orthodox belief that the Ark of the Covenant resides in one of the town’s churches. There’s a whole story behind how it got there involving the Queen of Sheba’s love tryst with King Solomon and their son Melenik’s transportation of the Ark to Ethiopia with help of divine intervention.
Separately, there are numerous other notable sights including stelae fields indicating the location of ancient tombs housing potential remains of kings and their treasures. Many have yet to be uncovered and excavated.
Lalibela
My favorite place so far in Ethiopia. A very holy place as the population is almost entirely Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. King Lalibela ruled in the 13th century and set out through, you guessed it, divine intervention, to make the town into a “new Jerusalem”. Eventually he, with help from angels (and probably a lot of silent human partners), carved 13 churches straight into the ground. Of these, some are monolithic, meaning are detached from the earth on all 4 sides, and some are semi-monolithic, with at least 1 side attached. In all cases, the churches are some of the most impressive historical sites I’ve ever seen. It was humbling to stand in and outside of these works of art knowing what kind of pre-planning, manpower and flawless execution had to have taken place to create such structures.
We were even lucky enough to witness the celebration of St. George’s Day at, IMO, the most beautiful church in Lalibela, Bet Giyorgis. We woke up at the crack of dawn to join in with hundreds of robed pilgrims (well, local ones, anyway) in their at first silent and then escalating hum, building into a trumpeting, chanting, singing praise. It was so cool to have been there to witness such an event. Now, we all know I’m not religious, but this was definitely moving. Not to the point of moving me any closer to organized religion in any way, shape or form, but I can appreciate the traditions and beauty in something like this.
Gonder
Last up, I stopped into Gonder, the former imperial capital of the 16th-20th centuries. Here I found the ancient ruins of former kings castles. The Royal Enclosure being a highlight in which there are a number of castles, palaces, banquet halls, saunas, lions dens, libraries and churches, all of which were overseen by a series of emperors. Who knew Ethiopia housed such stereotypically European medieval structures. They were, however, heavily influenced by the Portuguese at the outset.
Gonder is also in relatively close proximity to the Simien Mountains to which I popped in for a quick trip. Quick being a relative term in that the road leading there is on annoyingly rough and dusty roads, so any journey feels like it takes forever. The mountains themselves are stunning. Not only that, but they are home to the endemic Gelada baboon, which is an odd creature that looks like it is the product of mixing the DNA of a baboon and lion into a blender. Weirder still is that they are 100% vegetarian and graze on the local grasses by sitting around and ripping out handfuls of the stuff and shoving it into their mouths. Moreover, they make the most appalling girly wheezing noises I’ve ever heard come out of a monkey that size. I was caught off guard and couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd it sounded.
Though I wish I could have spent a week’s worth of exploring more of the Simien range, I had to get back to Addis to physically and mentally prep for my departure from Africa.
So here I am, back in the capital with only 2 full days left on this continent before I head to Asia. How CRAZY is THAT???!! I’m already freakin’!!
Sheesh, I've really been going nuts with the long blog entries lately, huh? I’m even sick of hearing myself talk…I can’t imagine what it’s like for whoever is reading this rambling rubbish.
WOW! I have been following your blog at the suggestion of my exco-workers, Jaime Cohen and Lauren Pendelton and am left with my jaw dropping each time. I have learned so much vicariously and wish I had half your guts and writing skills! Thanks for sharing your journey. Hope when you get back I have a chance to meet you in person!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna!!
ReplyDeleteI just watched an episode of departures tonight and they were in Ethiopia. They visited Axum and the area where the Ark is rumored to be hidden. Then they showed the churches dug into the ground. They also went to the Simien mountains and visited a monastery, accessible only by climbing a rope up a sheer cliff. There they met some monks and had this hilarious conversation.
ReplyDeleteI knew you had been to Ethiopia so I went on here to see what you did and it's pretty neat you described everything I just watched. The guys on the show describe Ethiopia similar to how you do, and how they had no idea beforehand what it was going to be like.