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We stopped in this town on our way from Axum to Mekele. There were no other tourists there, so we received a lot of attention -- even more than in other parts of Ethiopia.
We arrived in late June, just before a 'whipping holiday,' as one called it, on July 5th. It was disconcerting to walk and run though the streets as children practiced their whip cracking technique, nearly hitting us at times. It sounded like there were fireworks going off all around us. One man stood on the red cliffs above, cracking his whip and sending an echo through the valley.
We spent two nights in a cheap and friendly pension near the main road. While we'd hoped to do some hiking in the area, we mainly went for some runs around the edges of town, watched the World Cup, and drank tej, a local wine.
&feature=youtu.be&list=PLEvjtUTFZP3Aym0Z1olXFsI9cBITZVzFf">Here is a video that Arthur compiled.
I'll write more later, but I've included plenty of photos below.
