Addis Ababa

Today is the start of a very good day in Ethiopia:  We've got water!

Our friends are residents of Addis Ababa, the capital, for the past 1 1/2 years and are in the  diplomatic corps.  We were rolling on the floor from the their stories about the pain and pleasure of living in this African metropolis - until it hit us where it hurt - the bathroom.

So many people have asked why Ethiopia was such a priority for me.  For starters

Ethiopia has a fascinating and ancient history. In addition, the ancient Ethiopian Church is unique in the world in its Jewish influence, obvious even now in the biblical names of many of the people, streets and stores, as well as rituals, holidays, and Amharic, the national language has many similarities with hebrew.    Rather than bore you with the details, look at the questions below.  If something interests you,  answers can be found at the bottom of this page.

1.  What was the prior name of Ethiopia?

2.  Who was the last Emperor of Ethiopia and from whom did he descend?

3.  What countries border Ethiopia?

4.  Which river has its source in Ethiopia?

5.  What major anthropological discovery was made here in 1974?

6.  How do Ethiopians derive their names?

7.  What sacred object is housed in Axum in the north? (HINT:  Indiana Jones)

8.  What prominent early Hebrew prophet married an Ethiopian worman?

9.  What is the connection with the Caribbean and other Rastafarians?

10.  Was Ethiopia ever colonised?

Two of the crazier things here are the calendar and the clock. Ethiopia did not adopt the Gregorian calendar as did the rest of the Christian world in 1582.  As a consequence, the Julian calendar still rules which means that Ethiopia is seven years and eight months "behind" the rest of the Christian world.  Their calendar consists of 13 months (hence, the country's tourism slogan,"13 months of sunshine"), of which 12 months contain 30 days each, while the 13th month is just 5 days in duration (6 during leap years).   New Year's Day here is September 11.  

Much more confusing is Ethiopian time, which, like neighboring Kenya and Tanzania, measures time in two 12-hour cycles starting at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m, respectively.   So our 7am is their 1pm.    Our 1pm is their 7pm.  Fortunately, when dealing with westerners, most Ethiopians use western time.  Just to be sure though one must always clarify, "Do you mean 5 pm, European time, or do you mean 11?

 Addis (as it is known by the locals) is actually quite civil as compared to other African capitals I've visited.   It is relatively clean.   There are traffic signals and median dividers.   Perhaps most importantly, it seems that there is less desperation here than in many other developing world cities, including those of India.   But one should never be fooled by appearances.

Traffic is a nightmare at rush hour.  It can take more than one hour to go less than just a few miles to the other side of town.  Detours are plentiful.  Oftentimes there is no detour at all and traffic snakes every which way through unfinished road construction slaloming past working bulldozers and around other material and equipment blocking the path like giant boulders left behind by a volcano.  Huge potholes, no signposts, and people, of course, are everywhere.  The pedestrians of this city of 4 million, for some reason, do not look when they cross the street, preferring instead to trust the good will of oncoming cars to swerve around them.  Everything takes 3 times as long as it does in our world.  Ethiopia was ranked last among nations for its telecommunications capability by an international internet watchdog.  True to its reputation, the internet is slow, intermittent and controlled, our friends say, by the government.   Certain news sites are inaccessible.  After 45 minutes shopping for some trip supplies in a local store, we were unable to purchase anything because the credit card machine could not make a connection and we didn't have enough cash on hand,.  Calling in the card number was not an option as landlines are almost nonexistent.  Electricity surges are common.  We have gotten used to eating dinner in a darkened restaurant, and speaking with friends as the lights go on and off indiscriminately for varying lengths of time, usually coming back before the end of a paragraph, or just in time for the punchline of a joke.  Remember the gas lines during the Arab boycott back in the 70's?  We just saw a line three times as long.   Writing this entry is no easy task.  

But the most absurd story is the story about water.  Our friends have two large tanks servicing their house which tanks are replenished at night when the spouts are turned on by the government. Every now and then (about once each month), either the electricity dies and the water can't be pumped to the house or, like yesterday, the nighttime surge doesn't happen for an unexplained reason.  There may not be enough water for the entire city and it must be rationed, or the government sells the supply to Djoubiti, a neighbor, in exchange for much needed foreign currency, or a water pipe is broken somewhere.  No one knows when the water will flow again.  It could be hours or days.  A mad dash is then commenced to find water.  Private haulers promise to come and refill, but never show.  Some haulers can't find the water needed for their customers either.  Others are promised twice or three times the price and go elsewhere.  Our friend, took his car searching the city for any  private water hauler he could find. Once spotted, he raced to block its path,  slamming on the brakes just in front of the truck, forcing the driver to stop.  A large bonus was offered for a delivery.  Although they agreed to come in "10 minutes," they never showed, having probably gotten a better offer from another frantic ex-pat.  There are companies that, for a relatively high premium, will reliably deliver water when needed, (often traveling up to 50 miles outside the city to get it), but they require payment up front.   The problem, he explained, is that oftentimes by the time the private haulers finally arrive to tap off the tanks, the city has opened the spout.   There is no where for the hauler to put the precious commodity because the tanks are now full.  Payment is required anyway.   This has happened so many times that our friends now simply do without and pray for rain.  

Tomorrow we leave for 3 weeks, traveling overland to the north of the country.  We'll be back in Addis on the 23rd for a 3-night pit stop before we begin our journey south.   There's so much more to write.   Thankfully I will have the time on the long drive north.  Hopefully, I will find an internet connection that stays on long enough to make the post.

ANSWERS:

1.  Abyssinia

2.  Haile Selassie was the last of 237 Ethiopian emperors, all of whom claimed to be direct descendants of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon.  It is a dynasty that ruled the country for 3,000 years.  When the Queen returned to Ethiopia from Jerusalem and her liason with the King, she converted to Judaism and gave birth to Menelik, the progeny of the two monarchs.  Menelik, (which derives from the hebrew "Ben Melek," or "Son of the King"), returned to Jerusalem when he was 22 years old to visit his father.  He was greeted with a joyous reception and stayed for 3 years, learning the law of Moses.  As Solomon's eldest son, he was offered the throne of Jerusalem, which he declined.  Solomon accepted his decision and told all of his high commissioners to send their eldest sons and ordered that 1,000 people from each of the 12 tribes of Israel accompany Menelik home.  Upon his return, Menelik's mother abdicated the throne in his favor and the Somonic dynasty ruled Ethiopia, almost unbroken until 1974 when the 237th monarch, Haile Selassie, was overthrown in the revolution.   This is the short answer.

3. Landlocked Ethiopia is bordered by Somalia in the east (and Somaliland, an as yet unrecognised state), Eritrea and Djibouti in the north, Kenya in the south and Sudan to the west.

4.  The NIle river has two sources:   The White Nile is sourced in Uganda and the Blue Nile is found here in Ethiopia.   We will be visiting the source and the Grand Canyon-like gorge where it is found tomorrow, on our trip up north.

5.  In 1974 the almost complete 3.5 million year-old hominid skeleton, nicknamed "Lucy" (the song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" was playing the camp shortly after the and discovery), was found in western Ethiopia and demonstrated that bipedal hominids had evolved much earlier than had been previously assumed.  She is the likely candidate for the common ancestry of the human chain of evolution.  Ethiopia hence claims to be the cradle of civilisation.

6.  The first name of any Ethiopian is given by their parents.   But the "family" name is their father's given name.    Therefore, a man may be known as Djenie Tadese, not of the "Tadese" family, but rather, the "son of Tadese,"  His wife may be Guerne Belai, the daughter of Belai."   Their children's "family" name would be the first name of their father, "Djenie."

7.   The Bradt Guide describes it best:  In Axum's Maryam Tsion Church (in the country's north) lies an artefact which, were it proved to be genuine, would add immense substance to Ethiopian legendeering.  Unfortunately, only one person alive has ever seen this artefact.  The Ark of the Covenant, is, according to Ethiopian Christians, kept under lock and key in the Church and only the official guardian is allowed to enter.  The Ark was built by the Children of Israel to hold the Tablets of Law given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai.  According to the Bible, God gave Moses precise instructions on its design and embellishments.   It was thus vested with a deadly power that was particularly devastating in time of battle.  After the Jews settled in Jerusalem, the Ark was enshrined in a temple built by Solomon in the 10th century BC, where it remained until the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BC.  While in Jerusalem, it was the most treasured artefact of the Jewish people, virtually the personification of God.  There is strong evidence that Menelik, took the Ark back to Ethiopia when he left Jerusalem, with the blessing of his father, King Solomon. The Ark has remained in Ethiopia ever since, locked away in the "Holy of Holies," the inner sanctum of the Church.   The history of the Jewish influence in Ethiopia and on the Ethiopian Church is fascinating and if you are so inclined, I would highly recommend the seminal book on the topic, The Sign and the Seal, by Graham Hancock.  

8.  Moses married an Ethiopian woman.  There is a strong historical connection between Ethiopia, Egypt and Yemen.

9.  Haile Selassie, the Last Emperor to rule Ethiopia, was known as "Ras Tefari," Chief of the Tefari tribe.  He offered land and other incentives to the descendants of former African slaves in the new world if they returned to Ethiopia.   It was the beginning of the Black Pride movement.   That's about all I can find on the topic.  Clearly not enough. 

10.  Ethiopia is the only country in Africa to never have been colonised by Europe, except for a brief period from 1936-1941, when Italy invaded and Haile Selassie went into exile.

There's so much more to write.   But I have to stop here.  Addis is calling.