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  • Writer's pictureReno Stephens

7 Years Ago in the land of Abyssinia

Imagine being able to go back in time about 7-8 years ago and relive life as we know it. Only a time-machine would allow that to happen. Or maybe not? Enter into Ethiopia and that reality sets in. You are taken back into what today would be considered February 13, 2015 in the official Ethiopian calendar. In fact, modern day Ethiopia to this day embraces its ancient calendar. Ethiopia's calendar takes its inspiration from the idea that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden for seven years before they were expelled for their sins. After they repented, the Bible says that God promised to save them after 5,500 years. This country calculates the birth year of Jesus Christ differently. When the Catholic Church amended its calculation in 500 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not. In addition, the Ethiopian calendar has 13 months in a year, 12 of which have 30 days and the 13th month having either five or six days depending on whether it's a leap year or not. Therefore, the beginning of the new year actually falls on either September 11th or 12th. While the vast majority of the world has adopted and follows the Gregorian calendar, there are four countries which have not (Afghanistan, Iran, Ethiopia, and Nepal). This also means that Ethiopia has many public holidays that fall on different days than we're traditionally accustomed to, which fares well if you work for an American organization in Ethiopia for example. It's possible one could have up to 24 public holidays between the two countries and separate calendars used.


Back in August, I had the opportunity to attend site monitoring and evaluation visits at several health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for work. It was a place I had always wanted to visit due to the unique history, food, culture, and pride the people of Ethiopia collectively share.


old-style taxi in the streets of Addis Ababa


It stood out from the rest of Africa in many ways, but in particular because it is one of only two countries in all of the continent to never have been colonized (Liberia being the other). This is something that Ethiopians definitely take immense pride and joy in, and for good reason. It is also the only country in Africa to have its own unique alphabet and script with the national language, Amharic (the second largest native language in Africa next to Swahili).


As someone coming from Malawi, I was really looking forward to finally having some spice back in my life and to experience the aromatic and vastly diverse cuisine that Ethiopia had to offer.


One of the most colorful plates of food I've ever had


One thing to know is that the majority religion in the country is Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. That being said, nearly half the year consists of fasting (restricted to a vegan diet that can only be consumed after 3 PM). Ethiopian Orthodox Christians fast every Wednesday in remembrance of the betrayal of Jesus Christ and on Fridays in remembrance of His crucifixion and death. When I was visiting, there just happened to be a two-week fasting period, which limited the availability of meat options in many restaurants and shops. Therefore, many of the meals consisted of Yetsom Beyaynetu, which is a vegan meal consisting of several veggie dishes from red lentil stew, collard greens, chickpea mash (shiro wat), cabbage and carrots mixed with berbere spices, and more all served on top of a bed of soft, sour injera bread. Many African countries have a staple starch or bread that is served as a base for each meal. While most of East and Southern Africa have a dough made of maize flour or chapatis, Ethiopia has injera bread. It is a sour, fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of the extremely nutritious teff flour.


Yetsom Beyaynetu


Needless to say, meat options like the national dish, doro wat, and beef tibs were still available at some places. However, what I really wanted to try was a delicacy meat called kitfo, that I had heard about from a YouTube video. It is raw minced beef mixed with a range of delicious spices that isn't commonly found outside of the country. The butcher shop seen in the video unfortunately was closed during the two-week fasting period. Therefore, the staff from the local office arranged to have it for our last day in country at a restaurant called Yod Abyssinia, which included a traditional dance performance as well. Not sure how it would taste, given that it was raw beef, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how delicious and smooth it was. It’s one of the most praised foods in Ethiopia, and it is stunning on the taste buds.


Kitfo in the center



The first day I arrived, I was fortunate to meet two guys who were willing to show me around town. We started by visiting an ancient orthodox church to marvel at the stunning design and structure of it.



We then proceeded to visit the national history museum, home to Lucy and Ardi, two of the oldest human fossils ever discovered on planet earth. Displayed at the museum, one can observe parts of the skeleton of Ardi (~4.4 million years old) and Lucy (~3.2 million years old). The display illustrates how humans and chimps evolved from a common ancestor nearly 10 million years ago.


Skeleton of Ardi


Skeleton of Lucy



We also got to visit a local market to buy some souvenirs and clothing as well as enter a coffee house to experience a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.


Traditional Ethiopian men's shirt


The ceremony consists of sitting on small wooden benches in a circle around an open flame. A woman in the middle brews the coffee by first roasting the green coffee beans over an open flame in a pan. This is followed by the grinding of the beans, traditionally in a wooden mortar and pestle. The coffee grounds are then put into a special vessel which contains boiling water and is then left on an open flame for a couple of minutes until it is well mixed with the hot water. When the coffee is finished, the lady burns some traditional incense and then pours the coffee into a cup for each guest. People typically mix sugar, salt, or a local butter into their drink. The beverage is also accompanied by a small snack such as popcorn or peanuts. Ethiopia is where the coffee bean originated. As someone who doesn't typically drink coffee, even I enjoyed the strong aromatic flavors it contained.


Traditional coffee ceremony display


Ethiopia was a fascinating country with so much to offer. It's so integral that China has taken full advantage of making its presence known in the country. Given its strategic geographic position as a trading point between East Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, Ethiopia (formerly known as Abyssinia) turned into the central hub for China's Belt and Road initiative, an evolving program to expand Chinese influence by financing and building infrastructure throughout the developing world. Much of Ethiopia's air, road, and rail infrastructure is financed and built on loans to the Chinese government. In fact, China built the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa in 2012.


Africa Union Headquarter building


While ties between the two nations are strong, Ethiopia is indebted to China in over $14 billion, second only to Angola in Africa. Meanwhile to the north of the country in the Tigray region and much of the borders, tensions remain high as civil war carries on between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other. Additionally, there is the constant threat of the terrorist group, Al -Shabab to the east from Somalia. Therefore, as we conducted our site visits, we were mandated to stay within a 100 km radius of Addis Ababa due to safety concerns. It is a tragedy to see the repercussions war and bloodshed can have on the health and humanity of people. Many of the projects related to reducing the burden of HIV and the transportation and supply of life-saving medications for various diseases were completely hindered due to not being allowed to travel in those border regions of the country.


Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous country with over 120 million people (Nigeria is number one). It has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, but unfortunately its growth and advancement have taken a setback more recently due to human rights and humanitarian crises in parts of the country. Despite two attempts by the Italians to colonize the nation, Ethiopia stood its ground and managed to stay liberated. Admittedly, when hearing of Ethiopia, many people think of dust and famine, starving children with bloated bellies, and despair so awful you don't even want to think about it anymore. However, its a place you'll definitely want to see for yourself with a rich culture and a sense of pride rooted in its deep history. It will both confirm and confound expectations.


Final day with the whole Ethiopia team


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