Ethiopia: Saturday, Day 6

Met for breakfast at 8:45. Then departed around 9:30. Solomon (our awesome driver - if you're ever in Addis & need a driver, let me know!!) picked us up along with Galetta (finance manager at Bethany) and one of his friends.

First we drove up to the top of a mountain for a good view of the entire city of Addis Ababa. We went to a museum about the beginnings of the church and monarchial history in Ethiopia. We saw the first emperor’s quarters. There is also an orthodox church there. We did see some men outside signing under an awning-type area. Brad, Ann and I walked over to see what they were doing. Turns out, someone had died and was laying on a bed (table-type thing), dressed in very traditional and elaborate clothing with a decorative umbrella over the body. The men were singing what sounded to be sorrowful songs – and it appeared the women had to stay away from the area, as they were sitting quite far away and were not participating in the songs. I asked if they were mourning, or if it was part of a funeral procedure, or something else. Galetta said it was more traditional things that orthodox Christians believe must be done to kind of plead the deceased’s case for heaven.

After that we drove to what they call the national history museum. We paid and went in, but it turned out to be primarily about evolution, and was not exactly what we'd expected. Plus, we were all getting hungry. So we didn’t stay very long.

We walked next door and met Helena (Sebilu’s wife) at a restaurant. I have to say this was probably my favorite meal and restaurant of the entire trip. It was a beautiful outside setting (much like a few other places we’d been). They served everyone a spicy pepper vegetable soup first and it was great. Then our food arrived and it was outstanding. The portions were huge and we all had a lot of food left over, so we had it all boxed up and were able to give it to a couple of different people around the city later in the day.

We then drove through the Markato – the enormous central market in Addis, considered to be the largest market (or one of the largest) in Africa. Street after street, vendors sell pretty much anything you could want or need.

We finally arrived at a strip of stores that specialize in more souvenir-type items. I bought a number of things, including a coffee pot and some small gifts for the boys.

We returned to the guest house for about an hour & a half. I stayed in the internet room and rested and talked to Zack for a few minutes. The others went walking and encountered some children in the shacks behind our building and decided to take some snacks to them. I gave them a lot of my snacks. I think we’ll likely go over there once more tomorrow and give them the rest of what we have left before leaving.

Solomon picked us up at 6:30 and we went to a restaurant called Top View for dinner. It has a great view of the city. Sebilu and Helena joined us there. We had a great meal, and great conversation. (Bonus: Sebilu just happened to wear a University of Tennesse shirt to dinner!)

We got back to the hotel, talked to family, and then all went back to our rooms to pack. Just one more day.