W2T Executive Director Susanne Wilson is visiting our partners and projects in Africa. After several days in Uganda, she has been joined in Ethiopia by W2T supporter and veteran traveler Nancy Lehmann-Carssow.

 

After Nancy arrived this morning, we spent the day exploring the city. Our driver, Mulat, drove us through the labyrinth of streets that make up the Addis Ababa market.  The market offers an explosion of colors and smells and items for sale. The market is arranged in categories such as jewelry, pots and pans, cooking oil, spices, almost any item a person might desire. One whole section of the market is dedicated to recycled items including tires (used for making shoes), jerry cans, electrical parts, car parts..any kind of parts of anything. 

In addition to exploring the market, we witnessed the diversity that exists in Addis Ababa by the churches dotting its skyline; mosques, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Armenian, and Catholic. Ethiopia appears to enjoy a religious tolerance unparalleled in many countries in Africa. 

According to Nancy, the traffic in Addis makes the traffic of Cairo look calm. The horn is the tool of the trade for drivers.  Constant honking and dodging people, other vehicles, and the occasional donkey are all part of the constant movement of vehicles in Addis. 

After a bit of freshening up, we were treated to a traditional Ethiopian dinner and dancers in the style of Ethiopia. The dancers use their necks, shoulders, and heads and the movement is unlike any style of dancing I’ve ever witnessed. It is as though the dancers are void of bones. The buffet dinner offers both fasting and non-fasting goods. The non-fasting items were non-animal products, mostly vegetables and salads, and the injera with shiro (made of chickpeas and spices), which is are traditional foods. The dinner was accompanied by honey wine, which is a sweet, light yellowish colored wine made from the local honey. 

Tomorrow we are traveling to Lalibela, a World Heritage Site that is home to the famous rock-hewn churches.

 

 W2T Executive Director Susanne Wilson is visiting our partners and projects in Africa. After several days in Uganda, she has been joined in Ethiopia by W2T supporter and veteran traveler Nancy Lehmann-Carssow.

 

After Nancy arrived this morning, we spent the day exploring the city. Our driver, Mulat, drove us through the labyrinth of streets that make up the Addis Ababa market.  The market offers an explosion of colors and smells and items for sale. The market is arranged in categories such as jewelry, pots and pans, cooking oil, spices, almost any item a person might desire. One whole section of the market is dedicated to recycled items including tires (used for making shoes), jerry cans, electrical parts, car parts..any kind of parts of anything. 

In addition to exploring the market, we witnessed the diversity that exists in Addis Ababa by the churches dotting its skyline; mosques, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Armenian, and Catholic. Ethiopia appears to enjoy a religious tolerance unparalleled in many countries in Africa. 

According to Nancy, the traffic in Addis makes the traffic of Cairo look calm. The horn is the tool of the trade for drivers.  Constant honking and dodging people, other vehicles, and the occasional donkey are all part of the constant movement of vehicles in Addis. 

After a bit of freshening up, we were treated to a traditional Ethiopian dinner and dancers in the style of Ethiopia. The dancers use their necks, shoulders, and heads and the movement is unlike any style of dancing I’ve ever witnessed. It is as though the dancers are void of bones. The buffet dinner offers both fasting and non-fasting goods. The non-fasting items were non-animal products, mostly vegetables and salads, and the injera with shiro (made of chickpeas and spices), which is are traditional foods. The dinner was accompanied by honey wine, which is a sweet, light yellowish colored wine made from the local honey. 

Tomorrow we are traveling to Lalibela, a World Heritage Site that is home to the famous rock-hewn churches.