The trip to Addis was as usual uneventful, picked at Bole airport and to Harmony Hotel. Saturday morning got to the airport early for the flight to Harar, or in actual fact to Dire Dawa which is about 100 km west of Harar. Harar is in eastern Ethiopia, about 90% Muslim and a 1000 year history. Harar is not too far (<100 km) from Somaliland.
We were met at the airport by Binama in an old Peugeot station wagon (nearly all taxis in the region were old Peugeot's). The fact that it had no door or window handles, a bare metal floor, no workable gauges and a windscreen that one had to bend over to see through filled us with expectations. Well driving through the mountains and down to Harar was an interesting sight, through many towns and occasional breath taking scenes.
The hotel in Harar was the Heritage Plaza, a 6 year old hotel, which had somewhat shabby rooms that had not really been maintained. The reception were very nice, and after check in had organised a tour with a recommended guide called Hamdi ( unlicensed but still knew what he was doing). The old city of Harar celebrated about 1000 years in 2010, and judging by pictures and photos from 19th century had not chnage dmuch in the last 100 years. nevertheless wandering around the old city to see churches and mosques was intriguing. Everywhere were street markets and stalls. I wandered through the spice market , a rich aroma of smells. I had the opportunity to visit, the Hailie Selassie, house, Arthur Rimbaud (a famous French poet) house when he lived for a short time at the end of the 19th century. Visits to the only remaining blacksmith and to a coffee making house and to the khat market highlighted a great afternoon of enjoying Harari culture.
Apart from the old city, Harar is also famous for Khat, a mild narcotic containing plant, the inhabitants are constantly chewing on, and the feeding of hyensa at sunset.
The feeding of hyenas take splace just outside the old city walls. The hyenas, numbering about 6, are in fact doemsticated and fed well so that they will not likely attack. There are 2 feeding group shows, one being about 89 years old and the other about 10 years old. There are 1-2 feedings per evening depending on the number of tourists. The feeder entices the hyenas with meat by calling their names. Tourists can also feed the hyenas by holding a stick with meat on the end of it. For 100 birr per person it was interesting and all over in less than 15 min. I must say it was interesting and exciting.
The return trip from Harar to Dire Dawa was almost a non-event, when our car ran out of fuel as it was heading out of Hara. Luckily we rolled backwards into a gas station to fill up. In Dire Dawa we passed by the old railway station of the Addis Ababa - Dijbouti line.
After returning from Harar on Sundat aftrenoon, we had dinner and went to
As the rainy season is coming to an end this month, the Ethiopian highlands are starting to fill with a yellow daisy known as the Meskel flower. The Meskel holiday itself is an annual Ethiopian Orthodox religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross, which occurs on the 17 Meskerem (the first month in the Ethiopian calendar). The Meskel celebration involved burning of a very .large bonfire, which is connected to the belief that it was the smoke from a large fire that led to the discovery of the True Cross. The bonfire celebration took place the evening before the Meskel holiday day (Tuesday, September 27 this year), and we attended the large gathering in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.
On the feast day this year, people from all over the world, but mostly Ethiopians, gathered in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa for festivities. There was singing, dancing and cheering throughout the afternoon and into the evening that day. Singing and dancing was led by Sunday School students from different schools in Addis Ababa who marched into Meskel Sqaure and then preformed various dances . A huge bonfire was lit at sunset. It was also the coldest and wettest day that I've experienced thus far in Ethiopia. Approximately 200,000 people were there that day to celebrate.
Reflecting on the past few weeks - I came to Ethiopia with a project outline and no expectations. Ups and downs of the culture, language barrier and bureacracy have challenged me, but the thing that I enjoy is getting out in the field meeting the people in the health clinic labs that I am supporting. Providing advice because they think I know something as I am not ethiopian and to be thanked is reward in itself. Still, no expectations works for me. The travels to Addis Ababa, to Harar to villages whose names I dont recall makes me see what differences and similarities we have in Australian society and Ethiopian. the blatant poverty and poor people of thiscountry and what they do to make a birr or $ shows we are no different - just trying to survive.
This week I started to learn Tigrinya.
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