East Africa

The Lion Kings and Queens

We did a safari at the amazing Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The whole trip lasted 5 days, with visits to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Ndutu, and the great Serengeti plain. There were many migration animals, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, and wildebeests that we have spotted, but no beast (except the mighty elephants) can generate the kind of […]

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Epiphany in Ethiopia, Year II

Yesterday was the eve before Orthodox Church’s Epiphany, or Timket Katera, as known here in Ethiopia. I went to the Timket celebration in Jan Meda in Addis Ababa last year, and it was amazing. This time, I went to the evening ceremony.

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Fire meets gasoline

In my first week in Addis Ababa, I visited the Itegue Taitu Hotel in Piazza District. It is the first hotel in Ethiopia, built by Ethiopian Emperor Menelek II and named after his queen, Taitu Betul. The emperor and queen spent their honeymoon there together. It was a truly lovely place, old but only increased […]

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Epiphany in Ethiopia

On January 19 Ethiopia is lit up by Epiphany, or Timkat in Amharic, meaning “the baptism”. Timkat celebrates the baptism of Jesus, and is one of the holiest festivals of the year. Starting from around 4 PM on Sunday, the holiday goes on until Tuesday. Since I almost missed Christmas entirely about two weeks ago, […]

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