First Day in Addis Ababa, at Ethiopian Hotel - 8th November 2002 - Ethiopian Journey - Part 12.

Ethiopian Christians going to the Church for Prayers 

I got up early in the morning. I peeped out of the window. There was a lot of fog and it had enveloped the city in a tight unforgiving hug. There was a nip in the air. I was shivering in the cold. I went up to the terrace of the hotel. The view was breath taking. There were rolling hills all around. It was picture post card perfect! I shot the scenes on my video camera.

Gingerly I stepped out of the hotel but stayed under the watchful eye of the hotel security. I could see hordes of Ethiopians silently moving in their long white flowing dresses. They had the most solemn and serious faces I had ever seen. I was puzzled. They were shuffling along slowly. It looks as if a holy procession was moving along. It was so surreal. The effect was accentuated by the nip in the air and the cold weather. I had to pinch myself to get out of the feeling of awe. 

I enquired “where are they going?”. The guard replied in halting English “They go, Church”. Then it struck me, Ethiopia is a Christian country surrounded by Muslim nations in the horn of Africa.  Readers might be wondering as why this area is called as the horn? If you were to look at the African map the eastern part of Africa has a part jutting out. This part looks like a horn of Rhinoceros and that is why it is called the horn of Africa.  Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, are the countries that constitute the horn of Africa.

Ethiopians are devout Christians. Three  out of four Ethiopians are Christians and follow the orthodox form of Christianity. Ethiopia still uses the old Julian calendar. They celebrate Christmas on January 7th, and not on December 25th! The Christmas celebration in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is called Ganna. “Malkam, Malkam Addis Ganna” they  would greet each other. It means welcome welcome new Christmas!

Western and European depiction of Jesus Christ 

Ethiopian Depiction of Jesus Christ 

The depiction of Jesus Christ is what we had been taught by the Europeans and the westerners. As Ethiopians have never been colonized their depiction of the same biblical epic and Jesus Christ is refreshingly different. I was coming to terms with one of the most ancient civilization in the world. Ethiopia is one of the few countries mentioned in the Bible, the Koran, Homer’s Odyssey, and many other ancient books.

Smiling Ethiopian Boy 

The name “Ethiopia” comes from the Greek words aitho and ops, which together mean “Sun burnt face.” This was how the ancient Greeks referred to the dark-skinned people of Eastern Africa. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, having been founded in 980 B.C. Axum, in Ethiopia, is famous as a claimant to the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the ten commandments God gave to Moses. It is of tremendous pride to the Ethiopians that the final resting place of the Ark of Covenant is amongst them!

Breakfast done, all the men and the contract holders assembled in the reception area. It was almost ten in the morning and there was no action. The clock struck twelve and still no one came from the Ministry of Education. We were getting bored. We dispersed for lunch. After the experience with the last night dinner, we had bread and jam for lunch. But Indians being Indians we were not liking the bland and sweet taste. We wanted our tongues to get tickled and the palate to be satiated with the hot and spicy Indian curies and dals. But alas we were thousands of kilometres from India!

The representative from the ministry arrived at 3.00 p.m. We accosted him anxiously. He was unflustered. He appeared as cool as a cucumber. We were slowly getting used to the ways of the Ethiopians. He had this almost Zen like calmness. He drawled “How are you all, how is Ethiopia treating you?” One of us responded with a little irritation and lot of anxiety “We are here for the entire day. We would like to go our respective stations. We would be losing our salary too!” The practicality of people whose main reason to come to Ethiopia – to save money and send it back to India was kicking in. We were rearing to work and earn our pay! Itching for action. May be the result of living life in a fast lane.

The Ethiopian was genuinely surprised. Then his face brightened up “oh aha” he exclaimed “that is your major worry. Don’t you worry about your salary. Salary would be given from Today.” We came to know that our tickets to Bahirdar would take some more time. He promised to come back in a day or two.         

I birr Note (front Side)

We felt lost. Now the excuse of going early to our universities was snatched from our hands. We were resigned to our fate. There were many rumours floating about. We heard stories of how tourists being robbed and assaulted. But staying in the hotel was not an option. I took a 100 dollars note and went out to an authorized exchange centre and got around 855 birr. A back of envelope calculation showed that one birr was worth approximately six Indian rupees. That was the mantra that we chanted for the next four years. We would buy in birr and immediately multiply it with 5 (a 5 factor being more convenient than a 6 factor).

I birr Note (back Side)

I would buy 5 kgs of rice and Padma would ask “how much”. I would reply “10 Birr”. She would immediately say 50 rupees and that meant price of rice is Rs 10 per kg. Talk of the NRI ways of living and surviving in faraway places! 

The New Flower beckons (763) – Ethiopian Journey – Part 11

Our air travel took us five hours and we covered 3837 kilometers. The time difference between India and Ethiopia is 2.5 hours and this time difference was to create lot of confusion but more of that later.  

There were tin roofs everywhere. Somehow the movie Fiddler on the roof came to my mind. Addis Ababa at the first look looked very much like the landscape that we see when we take off from Mumbai International airport.

Map showing the size of Africa 

Most of us have very limited and sketchy information about Africa. Africa is the cradle of the world civilizations. It has the most diverse bio diversity in the world. Diverse in races, people, languages, flora and fauna. Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent. Africa’s land mass is 30.3 million kilometers² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands.

Africa covers 6% of earth’s total surface area and 20.4% of its total land area. From the most northerly point, Ras Ben Sakka in Tunisia, to the most southern point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, the distance is approximately 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). And from Cap Vert, Senegal, the western most point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, the eastern most point, the distance is approximately 7,400 kilometres (4,600 miles).

We need to travel 10 hours continuous from the northern tip to the southern tip and nine hours from western tip to eastern tip by an aeroplane before we leave the continent and see the sea. That is how big Africa is! When it is 3.45 a.m in Cape Verde, the western most point in Africa it is already 8.45 a.m in Seychelles the eastern most point.

Africa consists 57 countries and Algeria at 23,81,741 square Kilometres is the biggest country and at 55 square Kilometres French Southern and Antarctic Lands is the smallest.

Street View of Addis Ababa, 2002 

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, my home for the next four years is more than three (3) million years old. Ethiopia shares borders with Eritrea to the north and to the northeast is Djibouti which is the nearest sea link for Ethiopia, Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. After Eritrea got independence, Ethiopia got completely landlocked. Ethiopia is the most populous land locked country in the world.

Ethiopia has a land size of 11,04,300 square Kilometres which is almost one third of India's land size. India’s land size is 32,87,263 square Kilometres. But whereas India’s population stood at 107.1 crores in 2001, Ethiopia’s population is tiny at only 6.85 crores. That is mind boggling, I/3 of India's  size but having only 1/16 of India’s population.

Ethiopia is not small by any standards.  It is the 26^th biggest country in the world by size and 10^th biggest in Africa. It is the 2^nd most populous country in Africa. Only Nigeria had more people than Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia has a land size of 527 square kilometers. It is 3rd highest capital in the world at an altitude of 2355 metres. The average highest temperature in Addis Ababa is 23 degrees centigrade and the lowest is 6 degrees centigrade. According to the October 1994 census the population was 21 lakh people.

Old Airport, Bole, Addis Ababa, 2002, within one year of our arrival a swanky new airport was opened 

It was almost 10.00 p.m. by the time we finished our inward formalities and stepped into the lobby of the airport which was old was very quaint in its looks. There were traditional Ethiopian Motifs everywhere – Huge murals depicting the coffee ceremony and of smiling Ethiopian faces. 

Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa, at Arat Kilo. 

But we were all tense and tired. Waiting to receive us was a representative from the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia. He was very polite and dropped us at the Ethiopia hotel which was at the intersection of Sudan Street and Yohanis Street and parallel to the Churchill Avenue.

Ethiopian Hotel, Near Churchill Avenue, Addis Ababa

We went to the restaurant and ordered the food. The first shock was on us. There was very little choice for vegetarians and no Indian food at all on offer. We ordered some chicken and some bread. The bread tasted different and the even the chicken was prepared differently. It had deep roasted in oil and there was no spice chilly or salt at all! Coming from a country that drowns all its dishes in ample salt, chilly, liberal doses of masala and spice that was the last straw. 

We had to leave the food almost untouched. Okay, we learnt the first lesson; eating food outside our own home is going to be a culinary adventure in itself! Addis Ababa was cold but the hotel room was cosy and comfortable. We got into our woolens and settled down.