If you ask me, it is more impressive what Gondar was and not so much what Gondar is today. The city in North West used to be the capitol of Etiopia (from 1632 to 1835) and the Royal Enclosure is still a proof of that, even after earthquakes and British bombings before UNESCO made it...Read More
I know some might be angry at me for posting a recipe for how to get into Lalibela for free, but for the backpackers, students and people like me, who were considering skipping a visit to the churches because of the hefty 50$ entrance fee it might be good, because you HAVE TO visit Lalibela....Read More
Originally my plan was to go straight from Addis to Gondar, but when I was asking the buses at 4 o’clock in the morning, all of them were fully booked, but there was a seat available to Bahir Dar, and I must say I’m glad that I did it that way. Bahir Dar is often...Read More
At the moment I am writing this the time in Ethiopia is 02.11 on April 18th, while it everywhere else is 08.14 on April 26th 2010. Confusing, right? Everything in Ethiopia is different, maybe because they are the only country in Africa which was never colonized. Ethiopia follows a lunar calendar with thirteen months a...Read More
Harar walled old town uses to be the capital of the Harla Kingdom in the 13th century. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site said to be lot alike the Moroccan city of Fez, but except for a few narrow streets near the east gate I found that but to be particularly true. Harar has something...Read More
The train station was a huge building in the middle of nowhere Less than one month before I arrived in Ethiopia, the new Chinese built railway started running a passenger service between Addis Ababa and Djibouti City. The total duration of the train ride is twelve hours with three stops on the way, but I...Read More
Hawassa was the perfect place to break up the nearly 800km trip from Addis Ababa to Omo Valley. The city is on a lake where one can go on boat trips to spot hippos or just relax with a picnic among wild monkeys like we did. Hawassa is also a great base for day trips...Read More
Traveling around Omo Valley is not cheap. In order to go to the villages you need to rent a car with a driver which costs upwards of 50$. As we had already visited a couple of villages we did not feel the need to go to a Mursi village like we first had planned, but...Read More
From our visits in Omo Valley, Konso was maybe not the most tribal, but still one of the most interesting to visit. Konso is the name of the city which the 44 villages are situated around, but it is also the name of the tribe living there. The Konso people typically build their villages on...Read More
It was time for the highlight of our South Omo Valley trip- the wedding ceremony of whipping girls and jumping bulls. We had spent the day at the Turmi marked seeing Hammer handicrafts and people in traditional clothing(just some leather clots, not covering much!) and been prepared of what was to come. The Hammer marriage...Read More
If you are ever planning on visiting Omo Valley, but don’t have an organized tour to take you, your best bet would be to go to Kay Afar and hope that others would come there that you could tag along with. Kay Afar is in the middle of the Valley, and it is just a...Read More
Four cheerful Americans were sitting in the bar of the hostel where I was staying. It was not hard to join in on the conversation, nor to understand the reason for their cheerfulness. The group had already been doing volunteer work in Ethiopia for six months and had come to the capital to celebrate their...Read More
