At the barbers
If the mirrors of the Tsegur Betoch – hairdressers - of Addis Ababa could talk, they would tell of the marvelous anecdotes they had witnessed.
At ‘Tasaw’s salon,’ where Ato Setota the barber works, there are mirrors on either side of the room. These mirrors have seen students, anxious before a first date, stressed office workers in for an after work shave and wheezing traffic policemen, stopping to get a trim after a day of whistle blowing.
Ato Setota the hairdresser is himself meticulously groomed and as reserved as an English butler. His own crown is shiny and in no need of scissors, and when the young men whose hair he cuts move out of the chair, he stands on tiptoe to brush their shoulders.
A snippet from the scissors, a whir from the electric clippers, and worries fall to the ground like so much shorn hair - ‘She is insisting on seeing me’ - ‘The minister only trusts me with this report.’ The customers deliver their tall tales to the men in white, eyes locked on themselves, in the mirror of tall tales.
The hairdressers, in their white smocks, have heard it all before. Their ears are even more dexterous than their fingers, and they never look in the mirror to see the truth –it’s against their work ethic. Ears agog, they egg on and corroborate. The hairdressers of the Tsegur Betoch of Addis Ababa are like mirrors: they reflect and judge not. Ato Setota and his brethren, in countless little parlors over town, keep people’s hair and worries under control. The salons are sometimes little bigger than shoeboxes, but they always have a mirror of tall tales, which expands the tiny salons and make them bigger than life.
Read more about Ethiopia at Uthiopia.com.
About Us
Born from a Guernsey family and decidedly mid-channel in his origins, Yves Stranger grew up in the south of France where he shepherded the family goats on horseback during his childhood. He has been living in Ethiopia for eight years. Lydia Stranger was born in Ethiopia and is a TEFL teacher. Lydia is self-employed and works in Addis Ababa, and is an important behind-the-scenes fixer for Equus.
Yves Stranger is also a writer, with credits in CNN Traveler, African Geographic, The Guardian and a book about horses, Ces Pas Qui Trop Vite S’Effacent, with the publisher L’Archange Minotaure. Yves Stranger runs a website to showcase his writing at Uthiopia.com, where you’ll find articles on all things Abyssinian, from the fame of television character MacGyver on the streets of Addis Ababa to elephant hunting in Harar.
Our main guide is Elias Negussie, who has been with Equus since the beginning and knows both the country and the horses very well. Meheret Tesfa-Michael is Equus's General Manager, about camp responsible for everything and everyone, from hot water bottles to grain for the horses.
HOW TO GET THERE
With your own vehicle
Drive to the Ring Road on the West side of town (From Piassa you can drive direct to Wingate School by way of the Pasteur Institute. From the lower half of town, driving through Mexico Square and on to Lideta Church and Tor Hayloch is the best). Once on the Ring Road, drive down from Wingate (or up from Tor Hayloch) to the Kolfe Roundabout on the Ring Road itself. The so called ‘New Ambo Road,’ built a couple of years ago, leaves directly from this roundabout to the West. Follow the New Ambo Road for about 16 km and just after a police and customs check-point, look out for the Cheshire Services signs on the right side of the road (see map of local area) .
Turn off the main asphalted road to the right and follow these Cheshire Services signs along a little well asphalted road that leads straight up into the hills along a sort of Eucalyptus lined avenue for some 700 meters(Don't take the second, gravel road).
As soon as you enter Cheshire Homes’ main gate at the end of this road, Equus’ stables are the white washed buildings on your left.
All in all, and allowing for traffic, this should take you maximum 45 minutes from Bole or Piassa, 30 minutes from Old Airport. (See map of local area)
By public transport
Not necessarily very challenging, if you have a good hang on Amharic… or sign language!
Take a minibus to Tor Hayloch from Mexico Square (they leave just past the Wabi Shebelle Hotel next to the Mexico Roundabout -Yes, Mexico Square is a roundabout…). At Tor Hayloch get out at the terminus underneath the Ring Road overpass. Here, ask for the minibus to ‘18th’ (or, ‘Asresementegna’) or otherwise ‘Kolfe.’ This minibus will go straight up the Ring Road. Get off at the roundabout from where the New Ambo Road leaves –there is only one roundabout so you can’t get it wrong.
Here, walk over to the beginning of the New Ambo Road next to the Noc petrol station and flag down a white minibus going to either Menagesha. Holeta or Ambo. Do not take a blue minibus as these only go out of town to the furthest suburb. Once in the minibus, as of instructions above (With your own vehicle) look out for the Cheshire Services signs about 15-20 minutes later, just after the customs and police check-point. Walk the last 700 metres (See map of local area) .
This – from say Bole - should take an hour and a half so give yourself ample time in order to arrive at the stables for your ride.
Renting a vehicle
Fairly easy: your hotel will be able to help you with this. A round trip (including gas) to the stables with a standard city car, should not cost more than 400-500 birr. If you require assistance with this, don’t hesitate to call us.
Equus Ethiopia
Yves Stranger
Tel:(251) (0) 9 11 10 26 09
Lydia Fantaye
Tel:(251) (0) 9 11 10 26 18
Meheret Tesfa Michael
Tel:(251) (0) 9 11 46 86 59
PO Box 40927
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
© 2009
Yves Stranger