Jim Schroder's Travel

Home
Trips

Select Page

Home
Trips

Ethiopia

We left Lake Abbe, Djibouti early in the morning driving all day to the outpost border where Djibouti and Ethiopia meet. Our luggage was searched thoroughly by Ethiopian officials outside the cars. We then transferred to newer vehicles 4 x 4 Toyota Land Cruisers and continue the almost no road trip for 15 hours into the darkness of night. We drove through and on dry river beds. We forded streams in the darkness of night with only the headlights of the vehicles. Finally we arrived in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia exhausted after the long long trip pf 15 hours. The next morning I look out the hotel window to see military everywhere.

Fortunately it was a military meeting in the hotel.

Welcome to the city of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Dire Dawa is a city in Ethiopia divided by the usually dry Dachata River. The colonial quarter, Kezira, features wide streets and a rail station dating from the French development of the railway. Megala, the old town, has Islamic-style architecture and several markets.

Notice all the Tuk Tuks for transportation. The population is over 607,000.

Our Hotel was a nice oasis in the middle of all the city confusion of traffic, Tuk Tuks and pedetrians.

Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley. With archaeological finds dating back more than 3 million years, it’s a place of ancient culture.

You see the 21st century with the 3rd Century alongside the highways.

When we had landed in Ethiopia the country was under a "State of Emergency" whereby over 10,000 had been arrested including 3 journalists, one being killed. There was no internet in or out of the country while we were there. It had been shutdown by the Ethiopian Government.

Ethiopia is Africa's oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Mussolini's Italy, it has never been colonized.

Mattresses anyone?

Ethiopia served as a symbol of African independence throughout the colonial period, and was a founder member of the United Nations and the African base for many international organizations

It has a unique cultural heritage, being the home of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church - one of the oldest Christian churches - and a monarchy that ended only in the coup of 1974

When traveling within Ethiopia you should be vigilant at all times, especially in crowded areas and public places like transport hubs, hotels, restaurants, bars and places of worship and during major gatherings like religious or sporting events. There is a threat of kidnapping in Ethiopia’s Somali region, particularly in the eastern areas to which the FCO advise against all travel.

Petty theft and mugging is common and on the rise. Take particular care when visiting crowded public places, especially at night. There have been incidents of violent assaults in the Bole area at night and in more secluded areas, such as the Entoto Hills, during the day. Don’t travel alone in these areas if possible.

Keep valuables like cameras and passports out of sight. Be aware of the risk of pick-pocketing, and bag and jewellery snatching including from vehicles stopped at traffic lights in Addis Ababa.

These sights that you are views are on the road from Diwa Dawa to the city of Harar

Young school girls walking to school

We are entering the outskirtis of Harar. Harar is a city in eastern Ethiopia. It’s surrounded by a centuries-old defensive wall that has several large gates, including Duke's Gate. The city is known for its maze like alleys and traditional houses decorated inside with flat hanging baskets. It has a population of 130,000. It is a medieval city on the eastern side of the Great Rift Valley not too far from the Somali border. Harar's heritage is almost entirely Muslim and Oriental.

Where we had lunch two days in a row. One of the cleaner nice restaurants in town.

Local ladies going about their daily activities in town.

Our group stopped for lunch at the Fresh Touch Restaurant. It was cooler to eat outside in the afternoon heat.

After lunch we visited the crowded Megalo Gugo Market, a center for baskets of woven grass, decorative wall mats, bright shawls, building supplies, fruits, vegetables, spices, grains all from the local province.

We don't know the word congestion at home in the US. You could barely move within the market areas.

Sort of a swap meet of everything including repairing automobiles, construction, food. You name it .. it was here in one state or another.

Kind of a one stop everything.

I think I see what I am looking for... Not!!!

Anyone need home made coat hangers??

Young girl hard at work in the market. She is literally cooking in front of us and selling her food to go.

Young girl hard at work cleaning up here recent cooking.

A young face in the market.

A door was open on a house just off the market and I stuck my head in the door and shot this photo.

Young mothers looking out the door of their home inside the Market.

One of the holy men of the Muslim religion. Harar was founded between the 7th and the 11th century and emerged as the center of Islamic culture and religion in the Horn of Africa.

A building with many different uses. Business, Residential and retail

Just outside in the street near one of the 5 gate entrances to the Harar Jugol

Just inside one of the the 5 gates is Harar Jugol a walled Muslim city with 368 narrow alleyways, said to be the fourth holiest city of Islam, with 82 mosques and 102 shrines dating back to the 10th century. The ± 3,5km almost 4m high fortified city wall was completed in the 16th century after the conquest of the Christian highlands, and it served as capital of the Harari Kingdom from 1520 to 1568, becoming an independent emirate in the 17th century. The old walled city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in recognition of its cultural and architectonic heritage. It is sometimes known in Arabic as "the City of Saints".

Amazing all the commerce trade that was going on. Walking through the market I felt like I had gone back 1,000 years in history and I was walking the cobbled streets.

A young mother and her baby.

Chile's anyone?

Young teenager getting the eye of a beautiful young lady.

Chat, Khat, several names used is a slow-growing shrub endemic to the highlands of the Horn of Africa, where it has been cultivated as a stimulant for millennia. The plant’s edible leaf is a legal stimulant in most parts of Arabia and the Horn, where it is popular with Muslims, whose religion forbids them from drinking alcohol. Classified as a drug of abuse by the World Health Organization, it is nevertheless regarded as less harmful and less addictive than either tobacco or alcohol.

The hills around Harar produce what is widely claimed to be the world’s finest khat, much of which is exported to neighboring Somaliland. But it is also consumed abundantly in Harar.

Khat is an acquired taste. The leaves are very bitter, even when supplemented with a spoonful of sugar, or a sweet soft drink. And the reward for all that rumination is slim: a light (some say almost imperceptible) buzz, no more potent, albeit different in quality, to the after-effects of a beer or a couple of strong espressos. The effects are many young teenagers to 30 plus somethings are losing all their teeth due to the high concentration of sugar and numerous cokes consumed daily. You see large groups of young people late morning already consuming huge amounts of this Chat or Khat.

I found out from talking to locals that huge amounts of Chat are shipped weekly aboard Ethiopian Airlines planes legally to Canada for consumption by Ethiopians living abroad.

You can see this is a fascinating market to walk through.

Spices, beans, you name it, It is here somewhere in the market.

Inside the market itself it is so congested

Wheelbarrows anyone?

This is one of the five gates in Jugol - Buda Gate

I call this wheelbarrow square. Notice the people sitting in the shade of a van in the background due to the heat of the day. It is just outside of the Buda Gate.

Local 7 -11. Well sort of.

I have to tell you everyone works. These is no welfiar.

Quite a market for foul and other meats. Notice the head of the foul hanging over the bar at the top of the photo. Natures air conditioning for the products. Yikes.

Counting his money. Looks like it was good day at the market.

Hand made baskets for sale.

Handsome little guy that walked behind me for a while checking out the tourist. He smiled when I showed him his photo. Many kids I don't think have seen themselves in a mirror or photo.

I thought this was an interesting photo two mothers looking at something very important with a baby asleep on the back of one with the little girl looking on too.

Tailors working on their sewing machines on the cobbled street..

Old sewing machines with foot peddled operation.

Near the middle of the walled city, and often mistakenly called Rimbaud’s House, is this museum dedicated to French poet Arthur Rimbaud with a series of illustrated wall panels about his life. It’s in an attractive Indian merchant house built on the site of an earlier house where it’s said Rimbaud lived. There’s an excellent photographic exhibition of turn-of-the-20th-century Harar – with several of the photos taken by Rimbaud – that show some similarities to the city of today but also significant differences

Looking from above the second floor to the main floor of the Rimbaud house.

In the middle of everything and congestion you can find a volleyball game in progress

Wooden balconies on the streets of Harar.

Catholic Church in Harar. One of just two churches in Old Harar, St Mary Catholic Church is a haven of peace and a good spot if you need to unwind. It’s a French Catholic mission dating from 1889. The carved wooden door is particularly attractive

The closest that I have ever been to a wild hyena.

Feeding wild Hyenas outside of Harar. We literally are only miles from the Somali Border and Ethiopia border.

I had he opportunity to feed several wild Hyenas. What a rush that was. .One quick movement and you are attacked.

The animals are very skidish. One quick movement and you could be dinner.

Unfortunately we stayed at this hotel in Harar one night. We were supposed to stay two nights. It was probably one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in anywhere in the world. Almost the worst. It was so bad that we returned to Dire Dawa and the Hotel Sumrat for the second night. I had a king bed in my room. It had only a twin sheet on a small portion of the filthy mattress. Filthy could not describe. There was a small kitchen in a separate room. The water in the sink was green. The shower had so much mold around it, You almost did not want to take a shower. The only towel in the bathroom for a shower you would not have washed your car with it. Full of holes and tiny in size. Our tour escort Victor Romagnoli arranged for us to return to Dire Dawa. .

Ethiopian cuisine - local dish. This meal consisting of injera and several kinds of wat (stew) is typical of Ethiopian cuisine. Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wat, a thick stew, served atop injera, a large .... It is often served as a side dish to soften the effect of very spicy food. Injera is a sourdough-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia a Type, Flatbread ... The injera is then ready to be baked into large, flat pancakes.

Our group out to dinner in a local restaurant.

Our driver... one of 4 cars

Corn growing at the top of the plant and not lower.

Pick up from the hotel is earlier than usual at 8.30 am, since it is about 100 km to Babile or about 1 hour drive from Harar. There is spectacular hill and valley scenery en route. We should aim to get to the market before it gets hot

Along the highway you see all kinds of animals going to market in Babile.

Animals rule the highway

Babile has hosted one of Ethiopia's largest cattle and camel markets bi weekly for years.

Markets are not only about buying and selling, but are major social occasions, where people meet and exchange information. Once the business is done, the socializing begins.

Babile camel and cattle market is a place that brings together different ethnic groups: the Afar (with their camels and distinctive knives), the Oromo, the Amhara, Gurage and Argoba.

A new friend curious about this big camera I am carrying. They love seeing a photos of themselves. Many times for the first time seeing themselves.

Ladies selling Khat to chew.

Entrance up the dirt road to the Babile Market

The market is bi weekly and draws large crowds each meet.

The beauty of the moment is seeing so many colorful garments warn by the women of the different tribes.

Lots of goats for sale.

A goat herder very proud of his herd.

They wanted their photos taken. Once I showed them the photos crowds gathered to have more photos taken of everyone. You had to move on or you were mobbed by the numbers.

Amazing how they kept their herds tight together.

Notice the wall. This wall separated the Camels from all other animals being sold.

Lots and lots of camels were being negotiated for purchase..

Here we have a California Camel herder looking for a buyer.

Well Fred this looks like the last time we will see each other!

She just didn't look too happy to have a dude walking around in shorts.

Heavy negotiations taking place.

Adios guys.. this is it!!!!

I really never liked you..

Amazing what you can do with a smile and a Camera. Then you show them their photo and you have made a new friend.

Photo of the market showing both sides of the wall

There is an ongoing vibrant camel trade in Ethiopia involving some twenty or more chain markets with a trade volume of about 3,000 camels per week in the peak seasons. The volume of this trade alone could challenge camel population estimates in Ethiopia

This trade engages various actors composed of mixed ethnic groups with overlapping roles: pastoralists, who are the primary producers but also double as trekkers; agro-pastoralists, who play various roles as primary producers, conditioners, and/or trekkers; and farmers, who, contrary to past traditions, are increasingly emerging as camel conditioners, trekkers, and traders.

The trade route runs from the central eastern parts to northern Ethiopia and Sudan. Main destination markets are the salt mines in northeastern Ethiopia and the cross-border trade to Sudan, with numerous staging and conditioning points in between that lie across the twenty or so chain markets en-route.

This market chain generates a transaction of some two to three million U.S. dollars per month for an average of nine months per year and involves a forty-day trekking route from the primary markets in the central east to the crossing point into Sudan.

Reminds you of a new car lot trying to pick out the best one.

One of my new found friends that followed me from the goat market side to the camel side.

Serious negotiating.

A light moment among friends

Interesting colors worn by different tribes.

Interesting color of the beard

Young girl in the heat

Groups of goats looking for buys

I asked the young through a translator of he would like to go to America to play basketball. He had to be almost 7 feet tall. Answer Yes.

New Friends made in the crowd of the camel and goat market.

Women buying and selling goats.

Take it or leave it.. The sellers are serious and the buyers just an intent.

Serious business

A friend I had met earlier in the morning

Woman selling Khat and a buyer. Local drug of choice.

Don't ever complain about your job.

I think there is room for a few more 5 gallon containers on top.

Not the best drivers in the world. One more accident we saw along the journey.

Returning to Harar

We came across a school in Harar while walking across the city. We completely destroyed the class for 20 minutes. Americans.... woo hoo

Question of the day.. Are you Americans? Rarely seen in this part of the world

Kids having fun

I did not want to leave the class but it was time to move on.

Young student saying goodbye to us

Interesting sign painted on the wall inside the school telling the students that they received US Aid from the American People.

Another US Aid painted inside the school on a wall outside the classrooms.

I think Coca Cola has the market cornered here

A young lady going to the market. Guys just hanging around.

Local Jugal Hospital

Bus stop just outside the hospital

Inside the Harar Museum. Great collection of old rifles.

Inside the Harar Museum

Everyone works. There is no welfare in Ethiopia

Returning back to Dire Dawa and the local traffic..

Kefira is a traditional market place, located in Dire Dawa, where one can see the colorful presentation of all people of the region in their cultural dresses.

The presence of camels, donkeys, and the inevitable Gharris, two wheeled carts drown by a horse or a mule, gives it an aura of going back to medieval times.

Selling Khat to buyers to chew.

Many selling and buying are members of the Oromo aqnd Afar tribes.

Narrow walk ways

Younger people gathered to buy and chew the Khat. It is an epidemic. So many have lost all their teeth due to needing to combine the Khat with Coca Cola and sugar. No teeth at age 21.

Sugar cane is used to chew for something sweet along with the Khat.

It is also the meeting place for social interaction.

These photos are the supermarkets of Ethiopia where everyone shops daily.

Narrow walkways leading to and out of the market for nearby residents.

A group of ladies getting ready to celebrate a local holiday.

Young boys see a camera and come running.

Singing a song to celebrate the religious holiday gathered on a street corner.

Friends on the trip pausing for a photo

Victor our guide being interviewed by a local TV station. Right after he was interviewed I was interviewed as a tourist visiting the area. Our local guide translated for both of us.

Mattresses for sale in the background

Young girls walking home from school in their pink uniforms.. hijibs.

Latest transportation waiting

You feel like you have gone back into history hundreds of years if not more looking around.

This is every day life in Dire Dawa.

Young boy selling firewood

Animals roam around the food they are trying to sell

Recycling is big business here too..

She is delivering food to someone.

The women are working hard to sell at the market and the guys sit around on their behinds talking. Unemployment is tremendously high in Ethiopia.

It was some kind of friend dough.

This is a hard life especially for the women. When I hear complaining in my country of conditions people are enduring I want to yell and tell them to visit a country like Ethiopia and see what real repression is.

You have to see this life first hand to appreciate what we have in the western world.

Life goes on daily among all this

Grains and spices

Used clothing.. probably several times over.

Selling vegetables. Notice the old scale for weighing the items.

Every day life at the market.

In these photos do you notice it is the women you see selling the merchandise and not the men?

Cooking utensils for sale

In the midst of all this confusion I saw this beautiful young lady

You can find almost anything for sale at this large market.

This is a dry riverbed alongside the market. When it rains it is a raging torrent to the sea.

On closer examination it is also the bathroom for the market and area

It is a wonder there is not a Cholera problem.

Yet they are selling vegetables and food items next to the public field that is a bathroom

Local transportation - Taxi

Addis Ababa - Views of the city from the hotel room

The site of Addis Ababa was chosen by Empress Taytu Betul and the city was founded in 1886. Addis Ababa lies at an elevation of 2,300 metres (7,500 ft).

Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. It is where the African Union is and its predecessor the OAU was based. It also hosts the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and numerous other continental and international organizations. Addis Ababa is therefore often referred to as "the political capital of Africa" for its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent.[6] The city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia. It is home to Addis Ababa University.

A bride and groom just married at the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral , is the highest ranking Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Cathedral is the final resting place of Emperor Haile Selassie.

Interior of the cathedral

In the Cathedral, there are gorgeous spiritual glass stained pictures mirroring the history of the old and the new Testaments. The pictures of the old Testament covers from Adam and Eve to Kind Solomon and Queen Sheba. On the contrary, the New Testament covers from the Nativity to the Pentecost on the other, there are historical pictures showing Emperor Hailessilasie hoisting the Ethiopian flag after victory and addressing the league of Nations in Geneva.

The cupola or inside the dome of the Cathedral

Each side of the inside of the cupola are depictions of Christ.

In the most inner part of the Cathedral there are two Tombs one of which is the Emperor Hailessillasie and the other one is the Empress, Menen

The cathedral’s exterior, with its large copper dome, spindly pinnacles, numerous statues and flamboyant mixture of international styles, provides an interesting and sometimes poignant glimpse into many episodes of Ethiopia’s history.

Addis Ababa University is a state university in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The university was originally called the University College of Addis Ababa in 1950 and was later renamed Haile Selassie I University in 1962 after the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I. The institution received its current name in 1975 Addis Ababa University.

Entrance to the National Museum of Ethiopia. The Museum is located on the campus of Addis Ababa University

In 1936, the concept of a museum was first introduced in Ethiopia when an exhibition was opened, displaying ceremonial costumes donated by the Solomonic dynasty and their close associates. The current NME grew from the establishment of the Institute of Archaeology, which was founded in 1958. The institute was founded to promote and facilitate the archaeological research mission in the northern part of Ethiopia by French archaeologists.

The National Museum diversified its activities and organized into three working department, i.e. the conservation department, the documentation department and the exhibition and research department

The museum houses the nation's artistic treasures as well as many of the most precious archaeological finds

The most precious archaeological finds such as the fossilized remains of early hominids, the most famous of which is "Lucy," the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis. It is estimated to be 3.3 million years old, This Afarensis specimen is considered to be the earliest child. Unfortunately no photos are allowed.

The National Museum of Ethiopia at present has four main exhibition sections. The basement is dedicated to archaeological and paleoanthropological sections. The first floor contains objects from ancient and medieval periods, as well as regalia and memorabilia from former rulers, who include Emperor Haile Selassie.

The second floor shows art work in a chronological order, from traditional to contemporary works. Afewerk Tekle's massive African Heritage is one of the most notable pieces

The second floor contains a collection of secular arts and crafts, including traditional weapons, jewellery, utensils, clothing and musical instruments.

Finally, the third floor has an ethnographic display. Here, the museum tries to give an overview of the cultural richness and variety of the peoples of Ethiopia.

While were at the University and the Museum we witnessed a graduation of students in the field of Medicine. Parents and friends were on hand to witness the graduation.

Graduation in the field of Medicine. Future Doctors

Outside the city of Addis Ababa

Sale on bananas

Interesting how they display women's clothes on the mannequins.

Bringing grass down to the city to sell by donkey

Looking across the city of Addis Ababa from the local hills.

She is carrying fire wood to sell in the city

Returning to Addis Ababa from the hills surrounding the city.

Entrance to Addis Ababa University

We had lunch here on our last day in Addis Ababa.

The restaurant was an Oasis in the middle of all the local congestion.

Map of Ethiopia

Meet Lucy the most precious archaeological finds such as the fossilized remains of early hominids, the most famous of which is "Lucy," the partial skeleton of a specimen of Australopithecus afarensis. It is estimated to be 3.3 million years old, This Afarensis specimen is considered to be the earliest child.

Lucy is the most complete skeleton of an early human ancestor ever discovered.

Students from Addis Ababa University looking at Lucy in the National Museum of Ethiopia. Lucy was found by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray on November 24, 1974, at the site of Hadar in Ethiopia. They had taken a Land Rover out that day to map in another locality. After a long, hot morning of mapping and surveying for fossils, they decided to head back to the vehicle. Johanson suggested taking an alternate route back to the Land Rover, through a nearby gully. Within moments, he spotted a right proximal ulna (forearm bone) and quickly identified it as a hominid. Shortly thereafter, he saw an occipital (skull) bone, then a femur, some ribs, a pelvis, and the lower jaw. Two weeks later, after many hours of excavation, screening, and sorting, several hundred fragments of bone had been recovered, representing 40 percent of a single hominid skeleton

How did Lucy get her name? Later in the night of November 24, there was much celebration and excitement over the discovery of what looked like a fairly complete hominid skeleton. There was drinking, dancing, and singing; the Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was playing over and over. At some point during that night, no one remembers when or by whom, the skeleton was given the name “Lucy.” The name has stuck.

Head Rests from different Ethnic groups.

The last evening at our hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. This has been an incredible adventure through Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia. Never in my dreams as a teenager would I have imagined one day visiting these 3 countries. I have seen, visited, witnessed, tried foods that I had no idea existed. It a part of the world that is basically forgotten by the main stream. It has been and still is, in certain areas, ravaged by wars. Yet the people and friendships that I made during this journey have been very friendly and as inquisitive as I have been. Thank you for the journey.

[Show thumbnails]

© 2025 Jim Schroder