A Side Trip To The East
When the author of the Lonely Planet guidebook on Africa wrote that Harar is a "must see," I think he had been chewing too many chat leaves. The "hyena men" feeding the scavangers outside the town wall was a bit of a show for the tourists as we had to negotiate a fee before hand. Of' course, they sent Your's Truly for some serious Chinese haggleling. As for Harar's old town, if you have been to any old city in the Middle East or Zanzibar in Tanzania, you aren't missing much. Despite being the fourth holiest city of Islam, it's basically a small Arabic town on African soil chalk full of mosques. There's just under a hundred mosques or Islamic shrines in the space of 1 to 1.5 km diameter. The incomplete town wall is puny but the narrow alleyways does have some atmosphere walking through the residential homes and courtyards and around open sewage, while being chased by kids calling you "Faranji!" (foreigner) and asking for money.
Ethiopia is very different from the rest of Africa as it sits between "Arabic Africa" in the north and "Black Africa" to the south and still maintains its' own identity and culture. The Ethiopians are quick to point out they have never been colonized. One local remarked Ethiopia is more aligned with the Jewish culture than an African one. The Lion of Judah and Throne of Solomon are symbols that figure prominently in this country. The Amharic language with its' 72-letter alphabet, though distinct has some letters that are similar to Hebrew. Even some Amharic words are Hebrew like shabat and shoah. The Ethiopians also note that they are linked with the Hebrews biblically through the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel, and traditionally believe their son, Menelik brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Abysinnia (Ethiopia) where it remains in Aksum. The Orthodox Church in Ethiopia plays a significant role in the culture and on Sundays the call to prayers piped over the loud speakers are not for Muslims but for the Christians.
Ethiopia also differs from the the rest of Africa in their food with the semi-fermented crepe bread, injera as their staple and the near absence of rice, corn meize and Indian-influenced dishes. The locals also love to eat meat (except on the fast days of Wednesdays and Fridays), and raw chunks or minced beef with a spicy sauce is very popular. A traditional restaurant will usually have a butcher at the entrance complete with hanging slabs of beef, horse, or goat meat and the sounds of chopping and mincing on the cutting board. Speaking of eating, it is impolite to go for seconds in an Ethiopian celebration like a wedding. Everyone just tends to pile their plate high!
It's not customary for Ethiopians to greet one another if they don't know each other. And when they do, the locals shake hands and acquainted males lean in for their shoulders to touch. Never do this to a woman, I learned that from experience. They also call each other by "you" but in Amharic, there are several forms of "you" addressed to those of higher, similar or lower status, to males and females, and children. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate well to English as you are constantly getting yelled at by the locals with a "You" followed by "Where you go", "Taxi", "Give me money" or other broken English sentence.
Even the time and calender is different, with the Ethiopian midnight starting at 6:00 a.m. and their year is divided in twelve months of equal thirty days and a thirteenth month of five days (six on Leap Year). Want to say you are younger, come to Ethiopia, it's officially the year 1999!
Back to Addis Abba now to rest up a few days before heading to the monuments in the north. The roads are rough and the bus rides long...
Ethiopia is very different from the rest of Africa as it sits between "Arabic Africa" in the north and "Black Africa" to the south and still maintains its' own identity and culture. The Ethiopians are quick to point out they have never been colonized. One local remarked Ethiopia is more aligned with the Jewish culture than an African one. The Lion of Judah and Throne of Solomon are symbols that figure prominently in this country. The Amharic language with its' 72-letter alphabet, though distinct has some letters that are similar to Hebrew. Even some Amharic words are Hebrew like shabat and shoah. The Ethiopians also note that they are linked with the Hebrews biblically through the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon of Israel, and traditionally believe their son, Menelik brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Abysinnia (Ethiopia) where it remains in Aksum. The Orthodox Church in Ethiopia plays a significant role in the culture and on Sundays the call to prayers piped over the loud speakers are not for Muslims but for the Christians.
Ethiopia also differs from the the rest of Africa in their food with the semi-fermented crepe bread, injera as their staple and the near absence of rice, corn meize and Indian-influenced dishes. The locals also love to eat meat (except on the fast days of Wednesdays and Fridays), and raw chunks or minced beef with a spicy sauce is very popular. A traditional restaurant will usually have a butcher at the entrance complete with hanging slabs of beef, horse, or goat meat and the sounds of chopping and mincing on the cutting board. Speaking of eating, it is impolite to go for seconds in an Ethiopian celebration like a wedding. Everyone just tends to pile their plate high!
It's not customary for Ethiopians to greet one another if they don't know each other. And when they do, the locals shake hands and acquainted males lean in for their shoulders to touch. Never do this to a woman, I learned that from experience. They also call each other by "you" but in Amharic, there are several forms of "you" addressed to those of higher, similar or lower status, to males and females, and children. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate well to English as you are constantly getting yelled at by the locals with a "You" followed by "Where you go", "Taxi", "Give me money" or other broken English sentence.
Even the time and calender is different, with the Ethiopian midnight starting at 6:00 a.m. and their year is divided in twelve months of equal thirty days and a thirteenth month of five days (six on Leap Year). Want to say you are younger, come to Ethiopia, it's officially the year 1999!
Back to Addis Abba now to rest up a few days before heading to the monuments in the north. The roads are rough and the bus rides long...
posted by Louis at 3:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home