Carambola, pasta, basta
Veni, vidi… but not, vici: the Italians came, saw but conquered not. They did, however, leave tangible traces of their passage in the Horn of Africa. We might call it the carambola, pasta, basta influence of Ethiopia. Mechanics use Italian as a lingua franca to this day –to confuse and overcharge their customers some say, surrounding them in unknown words which tangle them up in a net of limp –but expensive- spaghetti. What would Ethiopia be without a good macchiato? And that most Ethiopian of farewells, ‘chao…’ (A contraction of a polite Venetian dialect sentence signifying ‘I am your slave.’)?
Veni, vidi but not vici. The high ceilings and ornate art-deco inspired buildings of the piazza of Addis Ababa, the Mercato one storey arched shops (now giving way to the no nonsense high rises of the ‘addis’ Addis Ababa), the Italian villas of the suburbs and the National Theatre neighborhood. All of these are as quintessentially Ethiopian as a good bambolino (a type of donut). These architectural gems that make up the new flower’s character are strewn like so many adai ababoch all over town. Campo Asmara, where you can drink an excellent –if somewhat melancholic- macchiato is as good as it gets: a ceiling a giraffe could drink a bucket of coffee under without stooping, last year’s last year’s curtains (imported straight from Milano), prim waiters that make you wait just a little and a cashier parsimoniously counting the cents hidden inside a glass box.
Ethiopia is not the landlocked highland she is often portrayed as (‘Ethiopia (…) forgot the world by whom she was forgotten’ is Gibbon’s famous phrase) and influences have come and gone over the centuries, leaving little treasures as they recede, making Ethiopia the country she is. Without them, Ethiopia would be a bambolino without a hole, an immaculate macchiato.
Read more about Ethiopia at Uthiopia.com.
Two day weekend treks
An overnight in the medieval forest of Menagesha Suba
Ride out over the Ethiopian Highlands above the small town of Holeta, through fields of teff, corn and barley. Stop to chat with peasants plowing and harvesting their crops and have a drink of tella –local brewed beer- or a munch of kollo –roasted barley grain: you’ll discover the passing of the seasons that govern people’s lives at the suitably slow pace of a horse. We’ll be spending the night in one of Ethiopia’s best kept secrets: the forest of Menagesha Suba.
The forest is part commercial plantation –dominated by Eucalyptus- but the core of the forest is made up of century old junipers. It’s Ethiopia’s medieval conservationist, the 15th century emperor Zara Jacob, alarmed at the deforestation of his realm, who planted its first saplings. The forest has an abundant wildlife with Giant African Forest Hog, Vervet monkeys, baboon, leopards and Menelik bushbuck. It also boasts a diverse birdlife with several Ethiopian endemics.
We’ll spend the night here –getting up at the crack of dawn for those who’d like to spot some animals- before setting of over the ridge of an ancient volcano and setting our sights on the church of Menagesha Maryam, where we’ll have a picnic, before reaching the stables in the afternoon.
A canter over the high plateau
Quintessential Ethiopia from the heartlands: we set off towards the north-east over the barley fields of western Showa, soon turning into grass lands and ride with the Entoto Mountain range on our right. These are the sights emperor Menelik could see from his mountain redoubt of Entoto.
Arriving in the plains of Solulta, on the Gojjam road, we spend the night in a beautiful domain, once a national forest nursery but now being transformed into an apple orchard.
Night camping and bonfire in the field. Should expect to hear hyenas as the area is famous for them.
AVAILABILITY:
Available on demand or by program. Please contact us by email or phone.
RIDING LEVEL:
You should be reasonably fit and have some knowledge of horses but we do take beginners for these rides and are happy to organize a quick lesson to cover basics.
© 2009
Yves Stranger