Blogs from Ethiopia, Africa - page 8

Nakon dugog vremena provedenog na putu moram priznati da sam se pomalo zasitio i da mi je većina novih mjesta počelo izgledati vrlo slično prethodnom. No to nije bio slučaj s Hararom. Harar je većinski muslimanski grad na istoku Etiopije blizu granice beskrajnim ratom opustošene Somalije. Tim više vrijedi spomenuti da je upravo Harar dobitnik UN-ovog priznanja za mir. Naime Harar je jedan od rijetkih lijepih primjera grada u kojem muslimani, pravoslavci i protestanti žive u miru kroz cijelu 700 godišnju povijest. Stari dio Harara je okružen zidom iza kojeg se skriva beskrajan labirint uličica koje vreve šareno odjevenim ljudima i preko stotinu džamija. No još jedna posebnost koja je Harar dovela i na naslovnice velikih svjetskih medija je unikatan suživot ljudi i hijena. Unutar hararskih zidina živi više od 300 hijena, i može se reći ... read more

I stayed in Mekele with my friend Hannah, a Peace Corps volunteer. It was by far the most comfortable and modern city I've visited in Ethiopia, so it was the perfect place to relax for five days. I'll write much more later, but I've added a few photos below.... read more

It's worth it to stop in Axum for a few hours, though its reputation as a tourist destination is generally disappointing. The entire town seems to be under major construction. After weaving our way through giant trucks, rock breakers, and heavy machinery, we came to the ruins, and one aggressive tout. The monuments were impressive, though many of them have collapsed. The underground section was closed while we were there, though it looked interesting. We spent maybe twenty minutes looking around and then walked toward the bus station for some coffee and lunch. The main road is actually quite nice and peaceful. Once the construction is complete in a couple of years, Axum might be a more pleasant place to spend some time. I'll write more later; there are several photos below.... read more

Traveling from Bahir Dar to Gondar is a shocking change in scenery: we went from a muggy, tropical atmosphere to a mountain town in just three hours. We barely missed the 7AM bus, but after a fist fight or two between bus station touts, we found a minibus and headed to the foothills for 60 birr per person (about $3, and the same price as the bus would have been). I woke up with a bit of a stomach bug, so the winding rode made for a difficult ride. I started to feel more and more ill along the way, and by the time I arrived in Gondar I was running in and out of the bathroom every few minutes at the house of a Peace Corp volunteer friend of Hannah's. But after a day of ... read more

Addis isn't quite terrible, for a capital in the developing world. Though it's loud, dusty, and generally filthy, it has its share of open spaces and entertaining sights, it's generally safe compared to other large east African cities, and it's fairly easy to get around. Probably the best advice I have is how to deal with Ethiopian Airlines. It seems safe enough, and once aboard, the service isn't too bad and the food is better than most. But trying to purchase tickets for internal flights at a reasonable price can be a chore. If you plan on taking some internal flights, consider booking your international flights with Ethiopian Air. If you save your ticket stub, you can present it at the offices (there are several in Addis, and one in each medium-sized city) and get a ... read more