With Ati and Ahou Ehui at their house in Addis
Bea's pre-birthday haircut, at the Hilton with Ahou and Ati
Addis' most famous treasure, in the basement of the National Museum
The National Museum's explanation
the bones
a reconstruction
At the entrance of the National Museum - and at many other government offices
Our first dinner in Addis was at the Armenian Club
Outside the Armenian Church
The Bell of the Armenian Church
At the door of the Armenian Church
Socialism's commanding heights
a lunch in Addis: pizza and avocado juice
Quick prayers outside church
Entoto Maryam church
In Ethiopia, livestock are everywhere
the amazing wood carriers of Entoto Hills
Eucalyptus plantations have transformed Ethiopia
We bought two dresses from this shopgirl in Sherameeda; the tailor does all the work, and she charms the customers
sign at Fasika Restaurant
“Fasting food” being served at Fasika
Notice Fasika's fancy striped injera
The dancers at Fasika
Tourist boats at Lake Tana
From Bahir Dar to the Zege Peninsula
Bringing wood to market in a papyrus boat
The flotilla of woodcarriers
The Bahir Dar ferry at Zege Peninsula
The door to Bet Maryam monastery, at Zege Peninsula on Lake Tana
The lives of the saints on the inner walls of Bet Maryam
Leaving Bet Maryam
A pelican on Lake Tana
A nap on Lake Tana
A hippo in Lake Tana
Beatrice at the source of the “Blue” (=brown) Nile
The Nile from the air, just below Lake Tana, carrying Ethiopia's topsoil down to Egypt
Freshly painted for the millennium in Bahir Dar
Coke and Fanta
The road is rarely clear
The market in Bahir Dar
Walking to market
The Blue Nile Falls, with rainbow
Diane at the Blue Nile Falls
the basic kit: umbrella, stick and cloth
The hydro plant that diverts water away from the falls
Diane and Beatrice on the Agam Dildi bridge
Market day in Bahir Dar
Yes, that is a field of sugar cane
Passers-by
a field of Eucalyptus trees in the background
Boy sees girl
Grain seller in Bahir Dar market
Beans of all kinds
cutting bars of salt -- a favored trade good for centuries
another salt seller
Split peas from the WFP
caught in mid-winnow
Stones for hand milling at home
Selling is waiting
the used clothing trade: laborious and colorful
The road from Bahir Dar to Gonder
Outside Gonder we drove into the Simien Mountains and walked with Adesse to find the Gelada baboons
We walked up to about 3500 m.
A Gelada baboon with her baby
the path back from our Gelada sighting
it's easier by road
A farmscape in the Simien mountains
Wow.
A funeral in the Simien Mountains
Trading on the “Falasha” name -- although almost all of them left in 1991
Buying baskets at Wolleka
Gonder church
the walls tell the story, while angels look down from the ceiling
Bea at the entrance to the Holy of Holies
The sheep was a gift to the church
at the outside wall of the Gonder church
tourists!
at Gonder castle
Repair and reconstruction at Gonder
These trees grow on both sides of the wall
Mango, Avocado, Guava and Papaya Juice at Sofa in Gonder
Flying from Gonder to Lalibela: one metal-roofed church, many thatched houses
with our wonderful Lalibela guide, Hailemariam ('Mario') Telake
new roofs protect the churches
Lalibela's iconography includes every kind of cross
Arabic-style windows
The Lalibela churches are in constant use
these gentlemen have brought their own prayer sticks to rest on during the service, and a fly whisk
only tourists wear raincoats
hermits' prayer rooms carved in the rock outside the church
priest removing his shoes
tourists' shoe-carriers wait outside
a chanting room in Lalibela
note the Star of David in the arch, and the armed cross in the window
a fertility pool
this explains my grainy pictures
Bet Giyorgis with Lalibela town in the background
each priest displays his church's crosses, to bless the faithful and impress the tourists
stories of the saints
a traditional Lalibela house
On mules to Asheton Maryam
Asheton Maryam monastery
a manuscript at Asheton Maryam
resting the mules
At Asheton Maryam -- 11,000 ft above sea level
walking back from Asheton Maryam
the mule driver stayed close to Bea
Checking email at an internet cafe -- without the cafe
Ethiopia still uses the Julian calendar, so it's 1999 -- and like the Swahili, they count time from sunrise; clocks are set to midnight at our 6:00 am.
Day workers gather in a field
The rains had started well, so everyone was out plowing
note the cow manure, stacked and protected outside the house, for use as cooking fuel
a newly-built house, ready for thatching -- and a pile of straw from last year's harvest
in Addis, many new buildings have glass walls, but are still built with Eucalyptus scaffolding
a taxi-truck carrying bundles of chat
movies!
a grain store in Addis
the disused but photogenic French train station
Addis has it all: embassies, beer, and even a school for children with autism
taking plastic shoes to the factory for recycling
the Melka Kunture archeological site, with a new greenhouse for roses in the background
inside the new interpretive center at Melka Kunture
the ceiling of a Tukul house built for the interpretive center
the archeologists' camp
the weekly market at Adadi
distributing subsidized fertilizer near the Adadi market
at Adadi Maryam--our last church!
a picnic near Adadi
what's a picnic without Spam?
the stelae at Tiya -- the top of the middle one is at the National Museum in Addis
the row of stelae gravestones
Beatrice photographs our breakdown, driving back from Tiya
our last day in Addis: the amazing seed bank at ILRI
with Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a training session at the new commodities exchange
Eleni explains commodity trading to Beatrice
waiting for the flight home, we watched the Sheraton's synchronized fountain light-and-music show
