From Upon Mt. Ntoto...

It's a marvellous experience, to go up Mt. Ntoto in the evening to catch the sunsetting over the city. Beautiful, simply beautiful...

Capturing the Event...

Another shot from the Timket festival. This guy was all over the place, doing his thing...

Looking out for any more passengers...

A Peaceful Walk...

African Pride...

Everywhere you walk in Addis Ababa, you see the national colours of Ethiopia proudly displayed; not just as flags, but shop window displays, taxi cab stickers, particularly attire (writstbands etc...). I don't think it just for the tourist. I am, somehow, led to believe that there is a level of unrivalled patriotism and national pride when it comes to this nation.

The folk talk about their country in cafes, in the cars etc...with such passion and endearment, it's quite moving. I am now looking forward to visiting other African nations and tasting some more of this "African Pride".

Nigeria Street...

Yup, that's a poster of my country, Nigeria on the bottom right of this shot. This road is in the Churchill Street district of Tikkur Ambessa, not too far from the Ethiopian Telecoms Commission.

I will be taking more shots along this road on my next trip. I'm not too sure why it has been named so, but there has been speculation that it's part of a government move to dedicate a number of streets to various African countries, or that it was part of a ceremony to welcome the Nigerian president Obasanjo on his last official visit.

Of course, I stand to be corrected.

In the Shade...

January is a gloriously warm time to visit Addis Ababa. I loved every minute of my stay there..! I so wanna go again...

"Fly Ethiopian..."

Waiting After School...

Timket 2007

Timket 2007

Timket 2007

Really sorry I haven't posted for a few days...been busy celebrating Easter. But here a couple more images from the Timket Festival.

I must say, the security detail (police, soldiers etc) were quite accommodating and helpful towards us, despite having the huge task of maintaining an orderly crowd.

There were the usual brightly coloured umbrellas all over the place...

Timket 2007

Timket 2007

The procession begins...

...arriving at Jal Meda...

Delicious Kitfo...

This dish must be tried out when you visit Addis. It took a while for me to get interested in it as all the other popular treats kept me distracted whenever we eat out; zil zil tibs, beg tibs, awaze tibs (did I mention that I love tibs!?!). But one day, we paid a visit to a very well known kitfo-bet in town. Can't remember the name, but it comes VERY highly recommended as do loads of others. And boy! What a dish! It's kind of like minced meat, cooked with Ethiopian butter and spices. It's delicious...I love this dish, really I do.

I promise, I promise, I promise (and I hardly promise): Food shots are on the agenda during my next trip. I admit I should've taken loads of food pictures, but I mainly got carried away with streetlife and the people doing different things. Next time, it'll be different.

Still, I'll try and dig up some more from the last trip later...

Priests walking by...

This was taken on another one of those days at the Swiss Cafe, behind the big Medhanialem church. I miss that place. You can't go wrong with their butter crossaints and a cup o' ginger tea...

Back in Addis...

Oh, the smell of livestock! There were usually various herds of livestock roaming certain roads in Addis, of course with their respective herders. Pockets like these, mainly ram/goats were paraded for sale in certain parts of town.

Another reminder of my childhood in Nigeria. I guess the various herds become more apparent as celebrations approach. Actually, on one occasion, I do vaguely remember haggling for one as an intended gift (much to the seller's amazement that I could actually speak/calculate a little in Amharic...that's always a joy to see). The prices were amazingly low!

Back in Addis....

We got back to witness another beautiful sunset in town, I had capture this while I had the chance.

On the Way Back to Addis...4

There are alot of cyclists in the town of Debre Zeyt. I enjoyed mingling with the people and the atmosphere is quite calm compared to the busy-ness one finds in Addis Ababa. I enjoyed my stay there and hope to visit again soon. Would be cool to do it all again. I bet the other proposed facilities at the resort'd be ready then as well.

Coming up: Back in Addis - everyone's preparing for the very much anticipated Timket Festival.

On the Way Back to Addis...3

On the Way Back to Addis...2

Seemed to me to be alot more horse-drawn carriages outside Addis, like it was a very popular form of transport. I actually wanted to get on one, ran out of time...

Another excuse to go back there.

On the Way Back to Addis...

Yep, our four day weekend spoiling ourselves at the Kuriftu Resort had to end sometime, and so we reluctantly dragged ourselves back to the jeep and made our way through the calm town of Debre Zeyt once more and made our way to Addis Ababa.

Yup, that's me, kayaking in the lake - what an enormous amount of fun that was!

(ERROR ALERT!! I went into the town on the Saturday morning with a guide, actually we cycled into the town, loads of people and kids were all over the place playing chatting, some running with us, we stopped to rest, I got to see lake Hora, met some wonderful Oromo people gathered in a meeting, they were really welcoming, offering me some wine etc. I played table tennis, saw one of the oldest trees alive. Where's all this leading? Er... I forgot to take my camera with me! Big mistake!! Now I have to go all the way back and do it all again!!! Ha ha!!!)

Remember what I mentioned earlier about the warmth of Ethiopians...I really wished I could get down from the car and really snap away at these two friends/brothers/colleagues...still, I'm glad I could still capture the embrace between them.

So genuine, so real...

Kuriftu Resort & Spa...

Now, this was the main reason for the trip to Debre Zeyt - The Kuriftu Resort & Spa, what a place! Situated in a very peaceful location, right by the Kuriftu lake, the resort comprises of a beauty parlour, spa, swimming pool, fully loaded cinema, the meals are served either at the dining area or brought to you in your room.

All in all, its very serene, calm, very scenic with magnificient views. A place I'd definitely recommend anytime you visit Ethiopia - it's worth it!

For more info on the resort, visit: www.kuriftu.com

On the Way to Debre Zeyt....5

Another beautiful church building going up...

I shall definitely be looking forward to seeing what it finally looks like. The church buildings here are always a sight to see, be it ancient or modern.

On the Way to Debre Zeyt....4

No, we didn't travel up there by train. We were stuck in traffic and I happened to spot this scene from my side of the jeep. And since we were moving quite slowly, I decided to go ahead and capture. Didn't turn out too badly, did it?

On the Way to Debre Zeyt...3

On the Way to Debre Zeyt...2

On the Way to Debre Zeyt...

We took a very memorable trip to Debret Zeyt on the outskirts of Addis Ababa (about 40km away), the following images were taken along the road we travelled. My advice: check out the sky!