UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lalibela

The World According to Dennis:
Leaving Woldia, we set our sights on Lalibela, roughly a 4-5 hour drive where we planned to spend the next three days. Lalibela is also the town where our driver/tour guide resides. It seemed Cheru knew everyone in and around the town as well as everything about it.  This is a UNESCO town because the churches are not built on the ground but are chipped out of the rock carved down from ground level to depths of 50 feet or more.

We visited all 11 churches in the area with the final one being the most remarkable in my estimation.  I believe the local guides (you must use a local guide to tour the churches) said it took the work of some 40,000 people, 23 years to chisel out the church with hand held hammers and chisels, a feat almost beyond belief and yet here they are!

Later that evening Cheru took us to the Torpedo Bar where we listened and participated in what I would call “Ethiopian Rap” but Cindy does not agree. It involved only a drum and a mesinko (a horse hair stringed instrument played with a horse hair bow), a man, and a woman throwing insults back and forth. It was kind of like George and Elaine going at it on Seinfeld. I only think that because it was all in Amharic and I laughed when everyone else did.

Cindy’s Note:
I watched the dancing and what happened that allowed the guest to sit down. So once I could no longer refuse to dance I shook my shoulders (not this booty) and stuck a birr bill on my partner’s forehead.  Cheru gave me a thumbs up.  Dennis asked me how I figured it out, not brilliant, just by watching.

One of the group was a drummer who played constantly, no breaks.  As we were leaving I put a bill on his forehead and was rewarded with a big smile from him and another thumbs up from Cheru.

Back to Dennis’s World:
A few male and female dancers circulated through the bar inviting people to dance (shake your shoulders and bum) and then say thanks by plastering a bill on their sweaty foreheads. Who could resist that?  Once Cindy started, Sue, Cindy and I probably spent about $20.00 doing this.  In all modesty, I think the crowd liked my dancing best. When I danced, the crowd laughed even harder than they did when the couple doing the “rap” routine performed.  I took that as a positive.

We drank tej (a local honey wine, orange and sweet) which was served in a beaker. I understand it can be high in alcohol so two was probably enough. We each had four! Just kidding, Sue and Cindy each had a part of one and I being the gentleman, finished theirs for them.  We called it a night and Cheru drove us back to the Top Twelve Hotel.  

Cindy’s Notes:
The next day, Sunday was Sue’s last day in Ethiopia. Cheru had many things planned.  He drove us,  along with Ge’taye our guide from the previous day, to a cliff side monastery. Here we were to climb to the top to visit the church.  Sue began the climb but decided this was not for her, the next heights whe was to conquer would be on an airplane. Dennis really wanted to see what was at the top and Ge’taye insisted that I had “heart” and could do this. Pretty good psychology, right? So up we went and we did make it all the way to the top. Incredible.

Once down, Cheru bundled us into the Toyota and off we went to his sister’s house where he had a surprise for us—doro wat.  Sue really wanted to have this famous Ethiopian chicken stew, served with a hard boiled egg for each guest, while she was in Ethiopia. Good restaurants require 24 hour notice and we hadn’t done that but Cheru had done this especially for Sue and we all reaped the benefits.  It was the best doro wat I’ve ever had.  Then off they went to the airport.

When Cheru came back he took us to the weekend market where we were able to walk around and enjoy all of the sights, spirit, and energy involved in doing business.

Later he took us to his niece’s house where she and others had prepared a huge feast. The sense of community is alive and well in northern Ethiopia. Anyone in the area is welcome to come and eat. A blind man was welcomed to the gathering, a local priest joined in, anyone who knows of the feast is

welcome and fed. Think of that the next time, you plan a barbecue!

Finally, Woldia

The World According to Dennis:
After Adwa we spent one night in Mekelle.  The drive was once again spectacular with thousand feet drop offs on the sides of the road and mountains upon mountains stretching into the distance until they were black shadowy distant shapes.  A night in Mekelle and on to Woldia.

This was the highlight of Ethiopia for Cindy.  She spent two years teaching English to students in and around Woldia. From her tales of life here, I expected a small bucolic town of maybe 1,000 people, somewhat like the town she grew up in, Shell Lake, Wisconsin.  I was wrong! (Bet she loved typing that.) (She did.)  Woldia has 100,000 people and a is a bustling mini metropolis.  Enough said.

Cindy’s Notes:

We checked into the hotel in Woldia, deposited our luggage and got back into Cheru’s Toyota. He drove straight to Itegue Taitu Secondary School which is no longer a secondary school but starts with Kindergarten, has 2,000 students as compared to about 200 when I was there. Now students go half day only. We parked in the compound where our arrival was announced to the Director.  Within minutes I was being hugged by a young teacher.  His welcome was so spontaneous I started crying and for much of the day I had tears in my eyes.

Meeting the Director 

The Director and his assistant director brought us into his office.  I showed them the small album of photos I brought of the Woldia of 50 years ago. Cheru explained that I wanted to get something for school in memory of my friend Lynne who had passed away.  I had been thinking exercise books, pens, sports equipment.  They had something else in mind and before I knew it I was standing in a classroom of the Kindergarten wing which is planned for 250 students with a lunch room.  Each classroom is to have sleeping mats so that the children can have naps.  They need sleeping mats for the little ones, so out went the soccer balls and we’re off to the market to buy mattresses.

One of the empty Kindergarten classrooms 

We could get ten mattresses for 9,000 birr.  I had 7,000 birr but Sue and Dennis each added 1,000 so we were good to go. They were loaded into the Toyota and back we went to the school.

Brush, brush, brush! 

Woldia is no longer the sleepy little town where a bus form Dessie and one from Mekelle stop each day. It is much larger than Bloomington where we live, even if we count the IU students.  The little shops have been replaced with a large market where you can get anything you need. As evidenced by Dennis who hates shopping but who none the less made a purchase in the market. A boy came up to him with a bundle of olive tree branches. He convinced him to buy a tool for cleaning his teeth.  The boy cut off a branch about 3-4 inches long, stripped the leaves off and gave it to Dennis. It was 5 birr but Dennis only had 10 (less than 50 cents)  so he bought two. Now what was he do with them? The boy mimed how to use the tool. Cheru took one for himself and showed Dennis how to properly clean his teeth.  I wish I could have gotten a photo of the young men standing behind Dennis.  Their grins and eye rolls were hilarious!

Back at Itegue Taitu the mattresses were unloaded with the help of the students and stored. We were shown my old classroom by the science teacher who now taught there. He was very proud of his botany and agriculture classes. The students had planted small gardens around the school and in front of the row of classrooms. He showed us all of the ways he had invented to bring hands-on science experiences to the students. Dennis, Sue and I are working with Cheru to get at least a couple of microscopes and slides for his classroom.

Dennis & Sue with the science teacher

My Old Classroom 

We showed him the pictures of my Woldia.  He knew Ato Fantew and that he had passed away but he also told us that his widow is still living in our old house and before I knew it we were knocking on the door of the compound.

We entered to much explanation and many welcomes.  Woizero’s daughter Hanna from Germany was there and between her excellent English and the Amharic translations and the photos we were able to have a very sweet chat with more tears. Woizero is 90 years old and very hard of hearing but sharp as ever. She and Ato Fantew educated their children and they are now living not only in Ethiopia but also Germany and other places in the world.  They were able to travel and to enjoy life with their family. Hanna showed us photos of their travels and of their children and grandchildren.

With Woizero, Cheru, & Hanna

The house Woizero is living in now was the house Lynne and I lived in our first year and when Roger and Susan came, they lived there, their first year. Our second year house was down the road but after Haile Selassie it was taken over by the state. They are trying to restore the title but this is not easy. Woizero insisted that we stay for the coffee ceremony which was beautifully prepared and served by family.

A little footnote to our Woldia Adventure—that night after an emotional day, followed by dinner and a bottle of wine (shared I assure you) we decided to go for a walk to see if we could find the bar Lynne, Susan, Roger, Carl, and I used to go too. Not many street lights in Woldia.  I was sure I had seen it earlier but we walked for quite awhile, past the school, past other businesses, past others out looking for a bit of fun. Dennis (a cooler head) finally said, ok we’re going back.  So back we went and when we were a half a block from our hotel, there it was—still pretty grungy looking and the purple hotel behind it was falling in on itself. The two characters sitting in front didn’t look like they wanted company so we quietly tiptoed past and went to our hotel.

This bar used to have its own generator as the town didn’t have electricity 50 years ago.  We always asked to sit in the room without it, candle light only.  We were so romantic plus the Tibs (Friday night special)  often had small pieces of hide still attached.  We preferred to eat without really seeing what it was we were munching on, washing it all down with Chianti probably left over from WWII. We loved it!

Many thanks to Dennis for his cool head and all of the photos!