We flew from Lalibela back to Addis with Cheru to begin the last leg of our Ethiopian adventure. Since we had already driven this route north (a full day’s drive) we decided a one hour plane ride for about $50 was more in order. We relaxed in Addis at the KZ Hotel and prepared for a flight east to Dira Dawa and Harar. It felt good to kick back for a day.
After breakfast in the morning, Cheru, Cindy, and I left for the Addis airport around 9 for a 10:30 flight to Dira Dawa. We got in the air around noon and arrived 45 minutes later.
A driver was waiting to take us to lunch and then on to Harar. It took about 1 1/2 hours on good roads. The area is arid, hot at 90 degrees +, and flat. After touring the city a bit, we checked into the Wonderland Hotel and rested for about an hour and then went for a walk with Cheru.
After the walk we met our local guide for the city and got back in the van to head for tonight’s entertainment-- a man feeding raw meat held in his mouth to wild hyenas! We arrived at a spot outside the old city walls at around 7 (dark), along with about 20 other tourists. A man sat on a rock illuminated by the headlights of the vehicles. He had a large basket filled with chunks of raw meat. As he called and whistled, he tossed raw meat in a semi circle around him. After about a half hour of chanting, he managed to call in about 5 hyenas who circled around him, snatching chunks of meat and waiting for more chunks of red meat. Sure enough, he finally put some of the meat in his mouth, and one of the hyenas snatched it away. Our guide in Harar, Noam asked if I would like to join the man for a photo op of me feeding the hyenas. I got all caught up in the moment and said, "Sure!"
While Hyena Man finished feeding the "dogs" I had second thoughts. I remembered stories of tourists in the USA trying to hand feed grizzlies in Alaska and Wyoming. That turned unpleasant when fingers, limbs, and other body parts were lost and those were the lucky ones. The unlucky ones exited as bear shit. So I said to myself, "Do I want to be the first American to lose his face to a wild hyena in Ethiopia?" I don’t think i chickened out, I think I used sound logic, fundamental good sense, and then...I chickened out! Do you see the difference? I remember being bitten by a garter snake when I was 6 years old and it really hurt!! Tomorrow we see more of Harar, then head 50 kilometers to see Dira Dawa. Stay tuned...
More of Harar:
Still Dennis’s World:
After a good night’s sleep, I awoke at 6:30 to have a shower, breakfast and was ready to greet Cheru and our driver, T’lahoun. The water heater in our room was off so started the day with a mighty quick shower. Cindy? As fast as she was, I think she simply held the soap close to her body and “divined” it to be clean. At 8:30, off we went—Cheru, T’lahoun, Cindy, me, and Noum, our city guide. Wherever you go in Africa, you’re required to have a local guide so now we had 5 in our little group. Don’t get me wrong, I’m cheap but I understand I also have to do what’s necessary to help bolster the local economy.
Our first stop was Haile Selassie’s (last emperor of Ethiopia) honeymoon house. Guess what? We needed a museum guide to take us through the house. Now there are 6 of us and Cindy is seething with what I’m writing. (Cindy’s note: how quickly we forget, our Rick Steve’s tour in Italy and going to Pompeii and other places where we had to have a local guide. Or how about Viet Nam? We just left there and guess what? More local guides. Grrr. We’re in Africa so learn to respect that.)
Back to Dennis: okay, okay. I get it.
Harar is a walled city with (I believe) six gates, allowing people in during the day. At night the gates close to all except residents. It’s predominantly Muslim so there are small mosques in every neighborhood with one major mosque. there is a huge market with small tunnels snaking through it where only one or two people can pass at a time, just like you saw in the old movies. Meats, live animals, fruits, vegetables, spices in 100 pound bags (many I’ve never heard of), pottery, cloth and clothes—each gate had a special market, so one was just spices, one was meat, etc.
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| Dennis feeding the kites at the Camel Meat Market |
Another thing that is abundantly available for sale is “chat.” Apparently it’s a weed that is cultivated and legally grown by farmers whose wives then bring it to market. People (especially men) chew it as a stimulant. It’s a problem because it is addictive and some chew it all day, as they age, they lose their teeth, and then mix it with sugar in a cup and continue to chew it but are now unable to work. I’m gonna have to read up on this. And no, we didn’t try it!
Cindy spent some time with a Catholic priest who runs a church, a school, and an orphanage. Very nice man, appointed to serve here by Pope Francis. She made a donation of the money she had in her pocket at the time, so that ends her shopping for today.
We drove up into the foothills to get a view of the city that was awarded a Peace Prize by UNESCO. Then we said good bye to Noam and headed for Dira Dawa and our return flight to Addis tomorrow.
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