Bush Meat, Chat Chewing, Hynea feeding Man, The Mursi and Cow Jumping – Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post No – 61.

The last post (blog post no - 61) got mixed reactions from the readers, some liked it but many found it unpalatable. But as a chronicler of history it is my duty to report facts as they are and not cloud or colour the same in any fashion. Let us discuss some facts, stranger than fiction!

1) Bush Meat: In many African countries, wild animal meat is eaten. It is so common that it is referred to as bush meat. It is the seller’s very polite way of saying "I don't know the animal whose meat I am selling. Buy it, if you want".

2) Chewing Chat Leaves: In Ethiopia Khat (chat) leaves are eaten, rather chewed. The khat plant is known by a variety of names, such as qat and gat in Yemen, qaat and jaad in Somalia, and chat in Ethiopia. It is also known as jimaa in the Oromo language. Khat has been grown for use as a mild stimulant for centuries in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia) and the Arabian Peninsula. Chat leaf is a psychotropic (affecting mental state) leaf that has amphetamine (a potent central nervous system stimulant) like effects.

In Bahirdar, Chat was legal and chat leaves would be sold and bought like vegetables. We could get a small packet of chat leaves for 10 birr and it was quite common to see people slowly chewing chat leaves in public transport. There was also a talk that students also chewed chat during examination times to keep themselves awake.

3) Hyena feeding Man: In eastern Ethiopia a magical city called Harar beckons the visitors. Harar is the walled city of Ethiopia and is the holist of the cities for the Muslims.  Islamic culture and practices are on display in Harar.

Harar also has another name to fame. It is the home town of Hyena feeding man - Abbas Yusuf who feeds the Hyenas right from his mouth. Many of us would recoil in horror! Abbas Yusuf and his family, have fed the hyenas for more than 50 years and this had kept the neighbourhood safe.

Abbas Yusuf has learned to feed the hyenas from his father, Yusuf Mume Salleh, who fed them for 45 years before passing the job to his son 14 years ago. We can say that Hyena feeding is a gimmick that is played out for fawning tourist every night. But there are layers and layers of intrigue in this hyena feeding incident.

First of all, Abbas’s family feeds the hyenas so that they don’t bother anyone in Harar. Secondly, it shows the trust and bondage that Abbas has built with the hyenas, with which he feeds without fear the snarling, fighting wild animals that too animals that are universally disliked and which are generally viewed as demons of death.

Finally, and most importantly of all it shows the intelligence of Hyenas which have adapted to this peculiar feeding pattern and have made peace with the people of Harar. Reportedly the hyenas do not harm anyone and have a quid-pro-quo with the people of Harar – ‘You feed us and we will not harm you’.  

4) The Mun tribe of Ethiopia: The Mursi (or Mun as they call themselves) are a pastoralist ethnic tribe in Ethiopia. They reside in the Debub Omo Zone close to the South Sudan border. There are very few Mursi left (around 7,500).  Surrounded by mountains between the Omo River and its tributary the Mago, the home of the Mursi is one of the most isolated regions of the country.

Visit to the Mun or the Mursi is one that is on the itinerary of all the foreign visitors. All of whom want to sample how life was lived millions of years ago. They all want to see a paradise lost and take a little bit of history along with them when they return back to their mundane materialism fuelled life.

That is where the problem lies. The Mursi live a life that is sadly and savagely buffeted by two worlds. One is their traditional world where they have fixed rules and regulations and another world filled with attractions that they have not experienced before including the lucre of birr! The magical piece of paper that can buy them products that are difficult to find in their own world.

Tribal brewed alcohol is not very potent and it is difficult to prepare. So the Mun would have their tribal alcohol only on select occasions. But the advent of tourism has changed it all. The Mursi have understood that their play acting, dancing, mock fights and their unique face painting and their life styles are a source of attraction to the snaps taking/’record the moment’ crazed tourists. With the money they get from tourists the Mun can have alcohol, whenever they want! Worst case scenario of easy supply of wrong products.

So it is quite jarring to see traditionally dressed Mursi standing cheek in jowl with the trigger happy (snaps/photo clicking) tourists. What is he doing? He is counting the number of clicks. Each click is one birr! So sad to see a million-year-old tribe come down to counting number of camera clicks.

When this was told to me by an Ethiopian, I was shell shocked. But the teacher in me kicked in and I asked “that was fine with traditional cameras which made an audible sound when clicked. What about the digital cameras and mobile phones?”

“Don’t you worry sir” came the answer “The Mursi are very smart. They would stand next to the person and count the number of times the screen of the camera freezes for a micro second. They understood that the micro second freeze meant a snap being taken. Now they count the number of Micros freezes and demand equivalent birrs”. I was left speechless. The Mursi are marketing their unique millions of years old culture. They have turned market savvy! Should we be happy? Oh no, the incident depressed me for a long time.

5) Bull jumping ceremony - Hamer Tribe, Omo, Ethiopia: Seeing my stunned expression, my colleague went on to recite another unbelievable fact. The Hamer tribe of Omo have a ceremony that is blood curdling. The coming of age for the young men of Hamer is the Bull Jumping ceremony.

The youngsters who want to pass the rites of passage to youth hood have to jump over the backs of a line of cattle. That too when he is stark naked. If he manages to run across the backs of a line of cattle, he becomes known as a Maza or the accomplished one and is entitled to take the first of several brides as his wives.  If he fails, he must return to his village and wait a year to try again. 

I have never heard of a stranger way of showing off machismo. In most places growing manly beards or riding Royal Enfield (bullet)/Harley Davidson motorcycle is a show of manliness. But to jump over a line of cattle that too in front of milling, jeering, yelling, cheering crowds is unimaginable. And also waiting with bated anticipation are the young women of the tribe, all awaiting to be the wife of the jumper of jumpers!

Sticky Pongal, Feeding each other, Kitfo and Masai Mara, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post No - 60

Food and eating habits are integral to our personality and culture. So getting used to a country with so much paucity of vegetables, pulses and grains was a huge challenge in itself! Throw an Indian into a tough situation and the jugaad in her, reigns up its head and roars. And presto! we have a solution to the problem.

The broken rice that was available in Ethiopia, when cooked had a somewhat sticky, soggy feel. It would have been lovely to have this rice with sambar, but alas Indian Sambar could not be prepared as toor daal was neither produced nor sold in Bahirdar.

Padma discovered that masoor (red gram) was available and made it her own staple daal. She made Pappu (daal), sambhar and wonder of wonders very tasty and slightly sticky Pongal. The stickiness of the rice and the organically produced masoor dal meant that the Pongal tasted like an offering from the heaven! It was our staple breakfast for our four years stay in Bahirdar.

It was loved by all of us. Once a little bit of Pongal was left over and Sahithi as a lark, offered it to her battery of kittens.

The kittens almost killed each other in their haste to sample this new type of food. They finished the Pongal in a jiffy and we witnessed a yodelling war for a few minutes when they demanded to be given more of this wonderful concoction that they have never tasted before.

So, from that day when ever Padma prepared Pongal we had a patient army of kittens waiting with discipline to partake in the amrut! Their expression and their earnestness were a sight to behold. They would wait with rapt attention as if it was prasad from heaven!

Padma also made excellent rice fryums (vadiyalu) had them dried in the crisp Bahirdar sun and we had excellent side dish that was lip smackingly tasty and readily available. Senaga Pindi (Bengal Gram flour) was available and for Indians it was like manna from the heaven as Indian savouries like Murukulu, bajji, Mysore Pak could be made. 

Our staple snack was Murukulu, which Padma stockpiled! They brought in memories of Hyderabad and of India!

In the afternoon I usually ate in the college Canteen. It was wonderful to eat with the Ethiopians. It was a communal lunch where a single Injira would be ordered and many would eat. They would eat, the Indian style with their fingers. They would break off chunks of Injira, dip it in the variety of curries (or wats) and eat with gusto and appreciation.

The second or the third time we were having our lunch, one of my lady Ethiopian colleague broke off a Injira bit, dipped it in wat and offered it to me. It was not offered to me like we share among Indians. That bit of food was not given to me in the hand. She fed me just like a mother feeds her baby! I was totally taken aback! It was a shock of a life time.

Two or three iterations later, I realized what was happening. Offering Injira was showing love and affection. It was a badge of honour. It was a custom that was practised among close friends or relatives.

It was extremely rare that a foreigner would be offered a bite! I was so happy and humbled that Ethiopians accepted me as a close friend and as a loved relative. It was such a nice but a startling experience. 

Sometime later our Vice President invited all the faculty including the expatriate faculty with their families for a dinner at the university. It was a typical Ethiopian feast. There was Injira and dabbo (freshly baked bread). Also available were many varieties of wats. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian wats were on display. Ethiopians use chilly, salt, ginger and garlic in their dishes but are bland by Indian standards. Ethiopians do not use spices and that means that their dishes do not have the flavour and the aroma that Indian dishes give out in abundance.

Most of the Indian teachers were suffering. There was hardly anything that they could eat. They had to eat bread with veg wat and that was that! Padma who was a vegetarian was happily eating Injira with masoor dal wat and vegetables. Suddenly she turned to me and whispered “what is that smell” And she discovered the item that was giving out the smell/aroma. “Don’t ask me now “I whispered “I will tell you later”.

Later that night I explained to her “The dish that you were referring to is Kitfo. Kitfo is freshly minced beef (like our Kheema which is finely chopped mutton). In India the Kheema is pressure cooked and then made into meat balls which are deep fried. But in Ethiopia Kitfo is eaten raw without cooking. Kitfo is freshly minced beef that is eaten with butter”

Seeing Padma’s pained expression, I added “Please remember, it is an Ethiopian culture and we are nobody to pass judgement about peoples’ food habits. Neither Ethiopian Christians nor Ethiopian Muslims worship cows and most of the beef that is available in Ethiopia is cow meat. Kitfo is a delicacy and no one has forced us to eat it. So when they eat, it is their choice and we should not be objecting to their food habits”.

I went on “Food is a personal choice. For example, in Kenya the Masai Mara tribe have a very different breakfast. They would catch one of their cows and draw out a liberal dose of blood from its neck. Then the cow is released and strangely the cow is not affected by the ordeal. Infact the Masai Mara insist that the blood letting is good for the cows. The freshly drawn blood is mixed with cow milk and the mixture is consumed by the Masai Mara. For most of us this might be an extreme case of food choice”.

Padma was shell shocked. Her goose bumps were clearly visible. She was dumb struck. It was uncomprehendable! How can someone drink cow’s blood and that too freshly drawn?  

Just to tease her I added “The blood and the cow milk when mixed have the texture and colour of very strong Coffee! The fact of the matter is, the Masai Mara are the most fit individuals in the world with the least body fat and the least incidence of hypertension, diabetes and life threatening diseases.

There is research that is being conducted on Masai Mara to find out reasons for their low body fat and how they are able to run many kilometres without breaking into a sweat or getting exhausted. Many Kenyans are excellent athletes and win many gold medals in middle and long distance running! So let us not be judgemental and judge people from our limited perspective”.

Padma was thoroughly impressed and also slightly bored with the lengthy explanation. I was sure that the next time she sees something strange she would keep it to herself. If she asks, she would be hammered with a long lecture. Talk of risks of being married to an articulate management teacher! It was a marriage induced hazard of monumental proportion.

Love Lorn Love Birds and Action Unlimited, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post no – 59

Love birds:  Life in Ethiopia moves at an idyllic pace of its own (if it moves at all!).  It is like seeing a cricket test match being played for days without a break after getting used to the hectic hustle and bustle of the 20/20 internationals. Many, happily adjust and adapt. But sparks of excitement happen and these sparks can become raging fires in a place, starved for news and gossip.

So it was quite a sensation when an E-mail reached the Indian engineering faculty at POLY. The subject of the e-mail was a stunner. It said “help us in uniting love-lorn Indian Couple”. That itself was quite tacky but the matter in the e-mail was even more tackier.

That evening Bala brought the e-mail print out. It was sent by Indian teachers from another Ethiopian University. This is what had happened. Our Love lorn male bird (hence forth called LLMB), incidentally an engineering faculty from India had recently joined one of the premier Ethiopian Universities.

Like many over cautious Indians, he did not allow his newly wed wife to accompany him. After coming over to Ethiopia the reality socked him in the solar plexus. He could not bear the separation. So what did he do to relieve his pain and anxiety?

What he did became folklore among NRI community of Ethiopia and is one of the compulsory lessons in acculturation. Our LLMB started calling his wife from his Ethiopian land line phone. You may ask, so what’s the big deal?

Oh yes, It was a colossal deal way back in 2002. Each minute of tele-calling costed 72 rupees or 14 birr, which was a whopping sum for a talk time of one minute. So whenever some body in India said “wait for a minute” their relatives in Ethiopia on the other end of the phone had to be revived to a conscious state with the use of Smelling salts!

So without any care in the world LLMB talked away merrily with his wife and the telephone bills came in thick and fast. The initial sums were innocuous but quickly this piled up and then the shit hit the roof!

Ethiopian Telecommunication department had a shock of its life. LLMB had rustled up bills worth 2,40,000 birr. Brace yourself for the shock, that means 12,00,000 Indian rupees. Exactly the total sum that LLMB would receive in his entire two year contract!

An intense enquiry followed. LLMB gave a jaw breaking explanation. He said that he would talk with his wife continuously for hours together. He would ask her to wait and take a bath and in many cases both wife and husband slipped off to sleep without disconnecting the phone!

The entire incident was in extreme bad taste. Where was the responsibility of LLMB and his wife? What were his in-laws doing? Why were they not monitoring their daughter’s marathon tele conversations? And Ethiopian Telecom department also had a responsibility. They should have disconnected the line but choose not to do so.

The E-mail received was an appeal to the Indian teaching community to pitch in, donate some money so that LLMB could go back to India and get united with his wife. I for one, squashed the entire idea as preposterous. Why should we pay for somebody else’s idiotic behaviour? That was the stand we took and no one from BDU supported the crazy concept of condoning a stupid action of a person who did not think about the consequences of his ridiculous behaviour.

Later we came to know that his poor Father-in-law pitched in and paid 50% of the amount due and the Ministry of education was forced to renew LLMB’s contract so that he could pay back his dues and exit the country honorably. I am sure the Ethiopian Telecommunications department would have given him a non-functional land line phone as a memento for his contribution to the revenues of their department!

The standing joke after that in Ethiopia was that, all that you have to do to get an extension is to talk with your wife in India for hours, nay days together! That would take care of an extension of contract!

ACTION PACKED: Mansoor and I had entered into an agreement. We would take VCDs on rent and share the monthly rental among the two of us. One evening we went to the VCD rental shop. There were very few Telugu and Hindi movies on offer but had fair smattering of English movies. As we patiently waited for our turn there was a furious argument going on between two male customers and a very pretty lass (lady) who was manning the shop.

The argument was fast and furious. It was in Amharic and there was lot of shouting and finger pointing. The customers were insisting that they would not pay. We could only understand two words “No action, no action, no pay, no pay”. Rest was rapid fire Amharic.

Mansoor turned to me and said “apparently they were given a family sentiment movie when they wanted an action packed racy thriller”. With a face that was full of disgust, the pretty lass snatched the VCD and thrust it into VCD player and turned TV on.

What unfolded in front of us still brings goose bumps. It was not a normal masala family film. It was what is politely called an erotic movie or what in India is referred to a double X movie. These movies have lots of frontal nudity and fair amount of skin show.

The girl showed the four of us snippets of the movie and kept on fast forwarding. It was glaringly apparent that the movie had LOTS OF ACTION! The girl got up, aggressively thrust her jaw forward made eye contact and announced grandly ‘SEE LOTS OF ACTION, LOTS of ACTION, GIVE MONEY!”.

We recoiled as if we were hit by a speeding truck. As we hastily beat a retreat, Mansoor wiped the sweat off his brow and said “Thank god sir, we did not get our wives to the shop. I am not sure of your wife’s reactions but my wife would have nagged me for a life time”.

What was galling to say the least was the casual way, the girl handled the situation and won the argument with a demonstration that left us with no doubts about the veracity or the genuineness of the type of action the movie contained!

Salient Sales Girl, Ray Ban Donning Priests And Talla Tasting Tracy – Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post no - 58

Lining the path way to the summit of the island were many small impromptu shops selling souvenirs of quite dubious lineage. Spotting a small girl with a handmade leather painting, I asked “Sintenum (how much?)”. She responded “100 US dollars (850 Birr)”. I said no but the dye was cast. The girl attached herself to me just like a barnacle attaches itself to the hapless whale.

The islands were a sight to behold. The islands all sloped upwards and typically a rough and ready path would be present leading upto the highest point. The highest point would always house the church. The churches were very humble circular structures.

They looked like huts but housed magnificent bibles, crosses and leather paintings. Some of the churches had spectacular mural and paintings that were unique in themselves. Most of the churches were 700 to 800 years old and are quite sacred for the faithful. Legend says that these churches actually housed the Auk of the covenant before it was shifted to its safe haven in Axum, Northern Ethoipia.

Entry for some of the churches was only for men. The priests were monks who follow a very strict regime. The women in our party cooled their heels at the waterfront whereas all the men climbed up the rock hewn rocky path and reached the summit. Similarly in the women only islands we men folk cooled our heals and the women in our party went up to the church.

The monasteries were living villages and had a healthy population of Ethiopians who survived on growing teff (the smallest grain in the world), maize, very delicious coffee and obviously on tourism. 

For any health related emergency they had to go over to Bahirdar. They led simple lives and some of the islands had very basic solar powered electric power. It was a quaint old way of living. It was like being thrown back into the eighteen century!

The imagery in the churches was refreshingly different and even Jesus as depicted in Orthodox Ethoipia Christianity  appears very different from the typical fair skinned Anglo Saxon and the western Jesus that we often have been brought up on. Ethiopian Jesus is dark and has very distinct African Asian features. 

Even the crosses look very different from the crosses that we are familiar with.

The priests are a smiling cheerful lot. They took lot of pride in their work. They would explain in Amharic about their church. They could read, write and speak Geez, the ancient language of the Ethiopians. Geez is considered sacred just like Sanskrit. Geez is the language of the gods and it is a Semitic language and has very close linkage with Hebrew the official language of the Jews (Hebrew is the official language of Israel).

With very little encouragement the centuries old bibles and the artifacts would be displayed to the thunder struck tourists. The simple yet very dignified priests would be beaming with pride and inevitable there would be requests for snaps. We looked on in astonishment as the priests took out their Ray ban eye glasses, wore them jauntily and posed with their precious crosses and age old bibles.

The scene was little too much to bear! Simple and very dignified priests wearing Ray ban glasses! Common sense kicked me in the shins like an indignant donkey. “You Idiot” my inner voice implored “Look at it with common sense. The blinding light of the cameras would temporary blind the priest who live in churches that are quite dim lit. So to protect their eyes the priests wear Ray ban glasses and it is not to look fashionable”. Even with all the reasoning the simple priests with their hep and fashionable Ray ban glasses made an inedible impression in my mind. That is one sight that I can never erase from my mind!

We were admiring scenery and the sales girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gave out an earth shattering cry “Mister, 75 dollars”. I jumped out of my skin when it happened for the first time.

The sales girl hounded me just like Shylock hounded Antonio in the Shakespearean drama The Merchant of Venice. I was continuously trying to ignore her but the process was wearing me down. She had the most disgusted expression as we were boarding the boat. Her expression said it all, “you too, Brutus!” It was the ultimate betrayal. “Mister” she challenged me “your price, your price” she was wailing like a demented banshee.

Meanwhile Jim Carrey had a glum expression on his face. “What happened?” I enquired “No trace of Tracy, she simply disappeared”. A hunt to find the missing Tracy was launched. After some time the entire island was buzzing with activity. All were searching merrily. I was damn sure that most of the urchins did not have a clue as to what they were searching. But there was boisterous activity and lots of shouting going on! It was a scene out of the movie “gods must be crazy!”

We gave a sign of relief as we spotted Tracy. She was hale and healthy. Apparently she had gone to taste Talla the locally brewed, mildly intoxicating Ethiopian drink. Apparently she did not like it and gave it to our boat driver. “It tasted like hot beer” was her crisp answer when queried about Talla’s taste.

To be honest I was scared of the leather parchment sales girl. I was sure that she would appear that night in our bedroom and scream into my ear “Mister, your final price”. My defenses were shattered. Just to put an end to her continuously badgering, I said “20 birr!” with a quivering voice and a silent prayer. She exploded into a scornful laugh “give me 20 dollars”. As the boat revved up, I gained some guts and became brave “20 birr, 20 birr, Bukka, Bukka (enough, enough)”.

In sheer disgust she threw the leather painting on my face and said “Give, give”. She looked just like a short tempered queen dolling out some largesse to her humble pheasants and countrymen. I thrust the 20 birr into her hand. She gave me a withering look and ran away muttering something ominously under her breath.

I slumped into the seat. The exchange was energy sapping. Addis had a good laugh when I showed her the leather painting. It was worth 10 birr at the maximum! The small kid took me for a ride but I am sure that the cute kids made much more money out of fair skinned foreigners who were not as stone hearted as me.

Lake Tana monasteries, Tracing the elusive Tracy, Pesky kids, Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post - 57

The next big event was the visit to the Island Monasteries. We were eager to visit, but the price quoted was quite exorbitant. Tourism in Ethiopia was in a very nascent stage and there were huge disparities between what was charged for the locals and the foreigners. In many cases the difference could be shocking. For a museum entry, the locals were charged 2 Birr but the foreigners would be charged 30 or even 50 birr!

Similarly the local Ethiopians paid birr 250 (Rs 1250) for an air ticket from Addis Ababa to Bahirdar but the foreigners paid birr 650 (Rs 3750) for the same ticket. If the same ticket is bought outside Ethiopia it would cost something like 1200 birr (Rs 6000). Foreigners were fair game for over charging in most countries!

The boats that are used for Monastery visits were speed boats which could seat around 10-12 people. They had quite rudimentary seating facility and had a tarpaulin to protect the passengers from the fierce African sun. Life jackets were provided but water and refreshments have to be brought by the passengers’ themselves. The charge for a day’s visit was 900 birr (Rs 4500/-).There was an Australian volunteer worker by name Tracy who was also interested to come along.

Our family (4 of us; me, Padma, Pranav and Sahithi), Tasneem and her daughter Namira, Dr. Neelima Ramakuru, Dr. T. N. Murthy and Dr. Srinivas Inguva were the members of the touring party. The cost came to 100 birr per person and it was a reasonable deal. But I suspect that the enterprising boatman had taken half the fare from the shrewd and battle hardened Indians but charged much more from the unsuspecting Australian.

We would be shown four island monasteries that are closest to Bahirdar town and also be shown the starting point of the Nile River. Ground rules were laid out. No playing of loud music, no wearing of foot wear in the churches, covering the entire body with clothes, no arguments about entry (some island monasteries restricted entry only for men and in others the entry was only for women), No touching of any antiques and religious artifacts unless the priest allowed it, etc.

The journey was quite smooth and after some time it looked as if we were travelling in the sea! The water was muddy, brown and turbulent too! Gliding silently alongside us were the very fragile looking Papyrus, weed boats. I told the other members “The boats are made with a wiry weed called papyrus. It is very light but can carry lot of weight”.

Almost on cue we came across a boat that had as many as 10 to 12 Ethiopians standing nonchalantly, as if they were standing on rock solid hard ground.  And the papyrus boat looked old and dilapidated and wonder of wonders was bound together with the flimsiest of the tree twines.

Also boating on the Lake, were wiry Ethiopians on their grand floating machines– humble thermocol contraceptions that defied all rules of gravity. But the bright eyed fishermen were all smiles and proudly displayed their wares – freshly caught fish!

Eyeing all this with a very expectant look were scores of Pelicans, opportunistic cunning rascals who would scoop in,  take a fish or two in their enormous bills and fly away, caring a hoot to the indignant shouts of the fisherman.

The Jim Carrey in our group, Dr. T. N. Murthy was in his elements. Dr. T. N. Murthy resembled Jim Carrey and had the same amusing way of talking just like him! He would start off in his own peculiar nasal style “Good morning to the Indian, Ethiopian and Australian tourists. We are right now approaching, Nega Island. I request you all to care of your belongings. And, HERE IS the welcome party, waiting for the arrival of the service no 527 approaching the waterway (run way for the island)”. Meanwhile the rag-tag welcome party was full of excitement.

The welcome party had kids of all ages from 2 to 18. They would all be waiting for the tamasha of monumental epic proportion that would unfold the minute the boat approached the landing area. The kids would be jumping and some adventurous ones would even try to jump onto the boat itself.

Some kids would offer to hold hands. The smiling kids had an agenda of their own. They would help the unsuspecting visitors set their feet on solid ground and disarmingly demand “Und Birr (one birr)”.

We were swamped by kids. They wanted to touch Sahithi and Pranav. Piercing shouts of “Mito, Mito (Baby, baby)” would ring out. They wanted to touch, pinch and give a playful slap too. The attention that foreigners get in Ethiopia would get overwhelming and the attention is never ending and would come in wave after wave. Unrelenting and unabating!  

Some, more bolder ones would slide upto us and present their visiting cards. Nothing spectacular; they were small cards made out crudely from cartons or even packing material. They would even use the reverse side of cigarette packs. Their names and Island names would be written on the visiting cards. They expect us to pay them at least one dollar for each visiting card presented. They would shout “give money, one dollar (smart kids, they understood that 1 US $ = 8.50 birr!) give me pen, student, give food”. It was a slug fest with unimaginable light and sound effects.

Meanwhile there would be others who would volunteer to act as tour guides. Woe beside anyone who asked them the fee. They would quote 100 US Dollars without batting an eyelid. Once anyone asks, he or she is done. They would be pestered for the entire duration and I have seen kids arguing even after the boat picked up speed and left the island.

Right now it sounds funny but at that time it was frightening and irritating. Tourists were fair game for any scheme and it was almost taken for granted that they were the major show and their presence was for pure entertainment for the children and the local population 

Blessed base, Bahirdar! Ethiopian Journey, Blog Post No – 56.

Ethiopians just like any other country’s people are curious  about foreigners.  When we were in Addis Ababa “where are you going to work?” was  the  most  frequent query. When I  said “Bahirdar”, there would be glances of respect and of envy. They would say “You are lucky, enjoy yourselves”. 

I was puzzled, at that time.  But within fifteen days of reaching Bahirdar, I realized that they were bang on, correct. Bahirdar has many things going in its favour as an excellent place to visit and to stay.  Bahirdar is the capital of the Amhara region and Amharas are the traditional rulers of Ethiopia. The official language Amharic comes from the language spoken by the Amharas. 

Bahirdar or “by the side of the sea” is the place where Lake Tana is situated. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile river and is the largest lake in Ethiopia. Located in Amhara region in the north-western Ethiopian highlands, lake Tana is approximately 84 kilometres long and 66 kilometres wide, with a maximum depth of 15 meters, and is at an elevation of 1,788 meters. Lake Tana is fed by the Lesser Abay, Reb and Gumara rivers. Its surface area ranges from 3,000 to 3,500 km², depending on season and rainfall. There are around 37-40 islands in Lake Tana an around 20 of them have island monasteries. 

Bahirdar sits right close to Axum (528 kilometres), Gondar (174 kilometres) the Lalibela, (314 Kilometres), the rock hewn churches of Lalibela are considered to be the 8th wonder of the world) and is very close to the Simien mountains. Bahirdar is right on the holy trail. 

Axum or Aksum is a city in the northern part of Ethiopia. Axum is The original capital of the Kingdom of Aksum and it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Africa. In 1980, UNESCO added Axum's archaeological sites to its list of world Heritage sites due to their historic value. The obelisks of Axum are world famous. 

Axum is also supposed to be the place where the ark of the covenant is presently located. The ark of the covenant is the ark where the original ten commandments have supposed to be housed. The ark of covenant is supposed to be at St. Mary of Zion Church.  The Ark is guarded by a select group of celibate Monks. Axum is located 528 kilometres from Bahirdar. 

Gondar or Gonder is a city Located in the Semien of the Amhara region. Gondar is on the north of Lake Tana on the Lesser Angereb river and southwest of the Simien Mountains. It is at an elevation of 2133 meters above sea level. Gondar served as a strong Christian kingdom for many years.

Gondar had previously served as the capital of the Ethiopian Empire. The city holds the remains of several royal castles, including those in Fasil Ghebbi (the Royal Enclosure), for which Gondar has been called the "Camelot of Africa". Fasil Ghebbi is also a UNESCO world heritage.  

The Simien Mountains in northern part of Ethiopia north east of Gondar in Amhara region, are part of the Ethiopian Highlands. They are a UNESCO world heritage site. The mountains consist of plateaus separated by valleys and rising to pinnacles. The tallest peak is Ras Dejen is at 4,550 metres. Other notable mountains include Mount Biuat at 4,437 metres and Kidis Yared at 4,453 metres.

Because of their geological origins, the mountains are unique. They are admiringly called God’s own chess pieces on earth. The mountains uncannily look like giant chess pieces and as the mountains are always clothed in mysterious mists and clouds, it looks as if the chess pieces are floating and it looks as if the gods are actually indulging in a serious game of chess amongst themselves.  Notable animals in the mountains include the Walia Ibex, Gelada or the weeping baboon and the Caracal, and the Simien fox. 

Lalibela is a town in Amhara region in the northern Ethiopia and is famous for monolithic rock hewn (cut) churches. Lalibela offers an exceptional testimony to the medieval and post-medieval civilization of Ethiopia. Lalibela is one of Ethiopia's holiest cities and a centre of Pilgrimage. Lalibela is at 2,500 meters above sea level. The Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978.

This is one of the reason why local Ethiopians considered my posting as lucky. Lalibela is the most holy place for the Ethiopian Christians just as Mecca is for the Muslims and Tirupati is for the Hindus. 

Ethiopia was one of the earliest nations to adopt Christianity in the first half of the fourth century. The churches themselves date from the seventh to thirteenth centuries, and are traditionally dated to the reign of the Zagwe dynasty’s king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela.

So 4 out of 9 world heritage sites in Ethiopia are very close to Bahirdar. I made up my mind to visit them all. I wold not get another chance to see so many world heritage centres at one go! 

Right from our childhood we always have heard the word Nile, in great awe. Nile is the longest river in the world. Egypt which boasts of having one of the most ancient civilizations in the world is called the Gift of the Nile. If there is not Nile River there is no Egypt. And we are staying at the starting point of the Nile River! 

The island monasteries are very old and seeped in history. World over antiques and artefacts are kept at centrally guarded museums which are very convenient to visit. But Uniquely in Ethiopia the island monasteries are maintained in the same way as they have been maintained for hundreds of years. 

The monasteries are humble but house remarkable bibles, crosses and many leather parchments and other religious items of immense religious and cultural value. A monk was once asked “You have so many valuable articles in these monasteries, are you not scared of thieves, who is/are the guard/s?” The priest gave a withering look, softened his furrow, smiled gently and said “why should we worry, GOD is our GUARD”.