Getting cultured (and fed)

That's entertainment, Ethiopian-style

It's been taking some time getting used to Ethiopia again following our visit to Cape Town. Physically, I'm finding myself wheezing once more going up stairs after a week spent closer to sea level (even atop the 1085 meter/3558 foot Table Mountain we were still lower than the 2290 meter/7513 foot-high elevation our townhouse occupies in Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ). And mentally, well...South Africa has its share of serious problems, but Cape Town for us was a city of convenient shopping centers, paved roads and sanitary restaurants, so we find ourselves having to readjust to Ethiopia's developing nation conditions.

We've also returned to a much more tense political situation in this country. The news that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ዐቢይ አህመድ አሊ has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize broke while we were in Cape Town, and is certainly cause for celebration. But this past week saw reminders of the ethnic conflicts that present a serious challenge to Abiy's efforts at reforming his country (see here and here). Surprisingly, the events of last week in Addis didn't affect me much, as our residence is a safe distance away. However, we aren't allowed to leave the capital city by car until further notice, and additional areas of the country have been closed off for both official and personal travel.

But that doesn't mean we can't find ways to amuse ourselves. On Saturday evening Amber, Shu-E and I had dinner at the Yod Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant ዮድ አቢሲኒያ የባህል ምግብ ቤት. There are two branches in town, with the more well-known one that's featured in the guidebooks being located in the Bole area. The other one, which the three of us went to last night, is only six-minute taxi ride from our house.

There are a number of these kinds of restaurants scattered around Addis, combining traditional Ethiopian food with dancing and singing shows. It sounds touristy, but surprisingly the majority of the customers are Ethiopians. Our reserved table had a good view of the stage:

 

It was the first time for my wife and I to sample Bedele Beer. We ended up downing three bottles each:

Daughter and mother waiting for the show to begin:

We arrived at 1830 hours, but the restaurant would soon fill up with customers:

I'm not yet familiar enough with Ethiopian food to identify individual dishes, but our dinner was a combination of meat and vegetarian options that was both filling and tasty:

The performances began after 1900 hours and continued almost non-stop for the rest of the time we were there:

 Coffee and popcorn followed the meal:

The most energetic performance of the evening was given by one of the women below. She twirled her head and hair around in a whiplash-inducing frenzy that I should've caught on video, but I was too mesmerized to do anything other than watch. Which is how it should be...:

These two dancers were especially well-received by the crowd, earning a lot in tips:

At one point, an enthusiastic member of the audience got up onstage to bust a move:

My favorite was this group:

  

We left after the above act was finished, having stayed for nearly three hours. A good time was had by Shu-E and me, though the music wasn't really Amber's style:

If anyone can find the time and/or work up the courage to come and visit us in Ethiopia, this place will definitely be on the sightseeing itinerary!

The rest of the time since coming back from South Africa has been pretty quiet and uneventful (for us personally, not for Ethiopia as a whole). We've been blessed with some fine weather:

My wife checks her phone in front of a modern-style tukul:

A modern-style house (not ours) in a relatively upscale neighborhood (also not ours):

A Protestant church not far from our residence. These churches have made inroads into Ethiopian society in recent years, at the expense of the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church የኢትዮጵያ:ኦርቶዶክስ:ተዋሕዶ:ቤተ:ክርስቲያን. This one is well-attended by an affluent, middle-class congregation:

The grounds of my workplace are home to at least two large tortoises. This one is the less skittish of the pair, in that it doesn't retreat into its shell whenever people pass it by:

And, finally, the sunrises are becoming more impressive now that the rain has gone away:

Shu-E will be leaving next weekend for a month-long stay in Taiwan, meaning Amber and I will be fending for ourselves for the next few weeks. Hopefully our car will be showing up soon, so we can do some more exploring around Addis Ababa. Until political tensions die down somewhat, that will be all we can do for now. It isn't considered a hardship post for nothing...

Cape Town, Days 6 and 7: Hoping for the best

Bottom o' Africa, Ma!

Friday - our last full day in South Africa. Also, our last day to make full use of our rented Toyota Yaris. This was the day to visit the "Cape" in Cape Town, namely the Cape of Good Hope, a 90-minute drive from the city. The road leading to the cape ran parallel to False Bay for much of the way:

Entering the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, we passed by some local fauna:

At the actual Cape of Good Hope. It's not actually the southernmost point in Africa (that would be Cape Agulhas, 150 kilometers/90 miles to the east-southeast), nor is it the spot where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. The Cape of Good Hope, however, is the point where ships begin to travel more eastward than westward. The first Europeans to round the cape were the Portuguese in 1488:

Climbing up to get a better look:

Driving from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Point, we passed some more local wildlife:

At Cape Point, overlooking the waters of False Bay:

My wife didn't feel like walking, so we took the Flying Dutchman Funicular up the 1859 old lighthouse:

My daughter may be going through puberty, but she still doesn't care much about her hair, except that she refuses to have it cut:

Some natives taking advantage of the fine weather to take in the fine views:

From Cape Point, we began the drive back to Cape Town, but not before stopping in Simon's Town to have lunch at Fran's Place:

Afterward, Amber and I took a walk along St. George's Street, while Shu-E rested in the car. The local mosque is hidden away down a side street:

We stepped into a secondhand clothing shop, and I walked out with a rugby jersey, that of the Golden Lions. At least I think it is, as the woman who rang up my purchase wasn't sure:

One of Simon's Town's most popular attractions is the Boulders Penguin Colony, home to some 3000 African penguins. Visitors can get up close and personal with the aquatic birds via a boardwalk that also serves to protect the penguins from getting too close to the tourists:

We also encountered some dassies while walking along the boardwalk:

The penguins apparently were once known as jackass penguins - this short video clip should answer the question as to how that name came about:

A bit of browsing in a local shop before heading back to Cape Town:

Our final dinner in Cape Town on Friday evening included some Peking Duck at an Asian fusion restaurant called Haiku:

Our last breakfast on Saturday morning at the Dutch Manor Antique Hotel:

Posing in front of the tackiest representation of Nelson Mandela I saw during our stay. Kitschiness aside, my one regret from our trip was not having the time to visit the Robben Island prison site where Mandela was imprisoned during the worst years of apartheid:

A Soweto Cherry Ale while waiting to board our Ethiopian Airlines flight to Addis Ababa - "Ohh so childishly delicious":

Farewell South Africa:

What my wife bought while we were in Cape Town:

Same continent, but different worlds - being in Cape Town was much like being back in the U.S. or U.K., with its infrastructure and standard of living. Throughout these blog posts, I've purposefully avoided the subject of politics. I'm old enough to remember the protests against apartheid, and the campaigns to disinvest from South Africa and to free Mandela from imprisonment. I can also recall when Mandela was finally released, apartheid collapsed and majority rule was introduced to South Africa. The country today still has a long way to go in becoming a more equal society, but few would argue it was better off during the days of segregation.

Cry freedom, cry the beloved country. Wishing a brighter future for all its citizens...