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| Addis School children |
All my inoculations are up to date - hepatitis A, diphtheria,
tetanus, typhoid, polio and yellow fever, and I've been taking the malarial
tablets for a week. I'm ready to leave for
Ethiopia "in search of the
Ark
of the Covenant" along with the other 13 in this party of pilgrims
organised by
McCabe Pilgrimages. So it is that after a busy Sunday in our local
church I find myself at the airport in the early evening for the overnight
flight to
Addis Ababa, the world's third highest capital city - sprawling
across the southern slopes of central Ethiopia's
Entoto hills and reaching an
altitude of more than 2600m at its highest point.
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detail of the roof in Holy Trinity Cathedral
Addis |
As we start the descent into
Addis Ababa after a fairly sleepless night - why do airlines turn up the lights again and serve breakfast just as you are beginning to nod off from sheer exhaustion? - the
scenery below us is stunning - the rock formations are incredible, and the
mountains appear to be cut into huge slices of cake with precipitous drops from
huge plateaus. I fear I see a little air pollution hanging at the base of the
hills in the near distance though.
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| Addis street view on way to hotel |
We arrive into a chilly dawn, staggering bleary eyed into an
airport which is much quieter than I imagined. We are very soon being whisked
off to our small coach and introduced to our driver and our wonderful guide
Johannes who will accompany us throughout the trip. Although the air is brisk,
the sky is a clear pale blue, tinged with the various hues of a pink dawn and
promising a pleasantly warm day ahead. Already the streets are very busy with
people scurrying to work, if they are lucky enough to have a job to go to. It
is soon apparent that unemployment is a problem here, as we see scores of young
men poring over the huge notice boards which we are told list work vacancies.
The contrasts everywhere are stark: modern buildings tower over mud and
corrugated iron roofed huts, beggars plead on street corners as children in their neat
uniforms stride purposefully to their schools, bundles of books under their arms, and there are small flocks of
sheep standing around for sale awaiting their fate - these are destined for
private homes where they will be slaughtered by the family, skinned and
butchered for the next few meals.
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| City of Refuge Church sign |
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| bustling Addis early morning |
We are glad to arrive at our hotel where we have a welcome
breakfast. Eggs will be cooked however you like them as you watch - I
particularly like the omelettes which incorporate finely chopped onions,
tomatoes, peppers and chillies - very tasty. We have time for a few hours rest
before we are taken on an orientation tour of the city.
The National Ethiopian
Football Team is staying in the hotel - there seem to be presentations going on
and much noise in the room next to mine! I am reluctantly forced to ask a maid
if they could please be quieter. Once we are suitably refreshed we will visit
the
National Museum of Ethiopia, a must to see on everyone's visit to
Addis Ababa, and the
Trinity Cathedral where
Emperor Haile Selassie and his wife are buried, with
its wonderful stained glass windows and wall paintings.More about that in the next post...
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