Top 5

Flipping through an Ethiopia guidebook, you’re likely to see Lalibela, Harar, the Simiens, Timket, and Gondar in the top 5 attractions.

Simien Mountains – home to Ras Dejen, the highest peak in Ethiopia and full of beautifully striking escarpments like this one

Gondar and Fasil Ghebbi – a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Royal Enclosure is a fortress within the city of Gondar, the former capital of Ethiopia

Timket – the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian holiday celebrating the epiphany. Priests parade from church to church as the town comes out to follow

Lalibela – the UNESCO World Heritage site with 11 rock hewn churches

Benebaba in Lalibela – the restaurant where every visitor must go. The architecture looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, the views are incredible, and the food is an interesting Scottish-Ethiopian blend

Harar – the ancient walled city with a distinctive Harari style house (pictured)

But these are spread across the country, making them difficult to see in one visit. I have had the pleasure and privilege of having friends and family visit me in Ethiopia. I have taken all of them to my town, Addis Kidam. Below are my top 5 attractions in and around Addis Kidam.

1. Lake Tana – though it is in Bahir Dar, not Addis Kidam, most people who visit come through Bahir Dar. Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia. If you’re out at the right time, you may be lucky enough to see the crepuscular hippos or the fishermen in their papyrus boats. It also provides the home for a ridiculous number of bird species.

2) My house – The small, two-room, mud-walled place I’ve made into my home. I’ve tried to offset the alarming blue of the walls, ceiling, and glass of the door with photos, quotes, cards, and art. It is surprisingly comfortable, as long as there aren’t more than two people in there at a time.

My bed room, which is the same room as my living room and entryway

The view from my front door

3) The food – any visitor who comes on a Wednesday or Friday, or during any of the numerous other s’om (fasting – vegan diet) times of the year will be treated to a bayayanet (pictured right), which translates to “many kinds”. It has a legume based “wat” or stew in the middle with different types of vegetables and stews all around. Most of these stews are made of lentils or peas. Another staple of my Ethiopian diet is shiro (pictured left) or tagabino, a stew made of ground peas, onions, garlic, oil, and the every present berbere spice mix, supplemented with vegetables I make at home in the morning. All dishes are served on injera, a fermented, spongy, crepe-like flat bread that serves as the utensil. It is made of teff, a tiny, gluten-free, protein-rich grain.

Shiro with homemade guacalome and a cabbage, carrot, beet mix

Bayayanet – ater wat (pea stew) in the middle. Clockwise from 12 o’clock: gomen (a dark leafy green), kariya (green pepper), derek tagabino (dry ground pea stew), alecha wat (stew without berbere), cabbage and carrots, alecha wat, salsa, beets, cabbage and carrots, all on injera

4) Adgwame, a.k.a. The Hill – a hill on the southern end of town that provides some rare solitude, views of the surrounding farmland, a place to set up a hammock, and a great spread of November wild flowers.

Wildflowers on the hill in November

My reading vantage point

5) Zengena Crater Lake – located about 30 minutes south of Addis Kidam, Zengena is a great place to spend a day, walking around the lake, looking for monkeys, relaxing in a hammock. It is also, as I’ve recently discovered, a great place to camp for the night.

Morning at our lake-side campsite

A colobus monkey chilling in a tree

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge