Ethiopia, Pt. 2

On Tuesday (6/26), the manager of our guest house, Yonas, took us for a tour of Addis.

It was awesome. We learned so much about Ethiopia & its history & culture.

First, we just drove around the city and visited different squares and historic locations.

Then we drove up Entoto Mountain for an incredible view of Addis.

At some points, you couldn't even see the city - it just looked like jungle.

We visited the palace of Emperor Menelik and Empress Titu...

which was far more humble than other palaces I've seen! 

"The lofty ceilings were an indication of wealth."

Outside the palace...

Below is the church in front of the palace.

Fun fact - 

Emperor Menelik built his palace on a mountain to be higher than all the people he ruled,

but he had the church built even higher than his palace, indicating that he was below God.

Couple of "ferengis" (white people) loitering outside the church.

On our way down the mountain, we stopped at the Former Women Fuel Wood Carriers Project.

I didn't take any pictures, but you can read a brief article about the women here. 

They made the most beautiful scarves - just rows & rows of gorgeous colors!

Then we went to the National Museum, where we saw "Lucy". She's a hottie.

Next, we went to the Holy Trinity Church, where Haile Selassie and his wife are entombed.

Inside. The woman pictured below was praying in the aisle, and I thought it was simply beautiful.

Our last stop for the day was the Red Terror Martyrs' Memorial Museum.

This museum commemorates those who were killed during the Derg (an estimated 500,000).

My favorite part was the artwork depictions - gripping. 

We walked out of the museum to the sun setting over the city.

Wednesday (6/27), while I was getting ready in the morning, 

Doug called to me rather urgently from the other room... so I could witness this scene.

A man walking a sheep down the sidewalk... on its hind legs. 

Probably one of the funniest/weirdest things I have ever seen.

I told Doug I will be trying this with Zooey. I don't anticipate it going well.

Pictured below is neighboring roof that we could see from the window in the stairs of our guest house.

We walked to lunch to meet Lois, a woman who supervises four schools in Ethiopia.

I had these delicious little lentil... pouches. I think they were called sambusas? Delish.

After lunch, we went for a little walk.

That evening after dinner, we watched the Spain v. Portugal game with some locals.

We didn't finish watching the game because we wanted to get to bed early.

So we could prepare to wake up and meet our son!