About a week ago, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrated one of their main holidays: Timkat. Timkat is a day to commemorate Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River. It is celebrated on the 19th of January, but festivities begin the day before and continue until the day after as well. The most important part of the festivities is the journey of the Tabot (a replica of the Ark of the Covenant) from the local church to another area - usually near water which will be blessed. The Tabot is usually kept at the altar of the priest and covered in ornate cloth to keep it out of view. While the tabot is still covered during the Timkat procession, people get a chance to be a little closer to it than usual.
Helen and I walked down to the tiny town of Bate (right outside the Haramaya Campus main gate) to see the celebrations on the eve (the 18th). Everyone was dressed in white netela, but only the women had their heads covered. There were groups of people chanting and some men had sticks which they were lifting into the air. Most of these people would be spending the night outside while the priest prayed til 2 am in the morning. I recognized some of my students and also ran into Solomon and Liambila.
The next day, I biked to Dire Dawa for the second time. It was just as exciting as the first time, but I almost got hit by a car. I should mention that the majority of Ethiopians are crazy drivers. People do not hesitate to pass on blind hills or curves and make the decision to do so at the last moment. Unfortunately, these decisions lead to an abundance of accidents. It's a rarity to not see an accident if you're on the road for more than a few minutes. The road to Dire Dawa is especially notorious because it is mountainous; some people take the curves too fast and roll down the side of the mountain while others pass on blind corners. Well, I was forced to bike off the road at the last minute into rocky terrain to avoid a passing car from hitting me. It was scary, but I will still continue to bike (very carefully)!
The next day, I biked to Dire Dawa for the second time. It was just as exciting as the first time, but I almost got hit by a car. I should mention that the majority of Ethiopians are crazy drivers. People do not hesitate to pass on blind hills or curves and make the decision to do so at the last moment. Unfortunately, these decisions lead to an abundance of accidents. It's a rarity to not see an accident if you're on the road for more than a few minutes. The road to Dire Dawa is especially notorious because it is mountainous; some people take the curves too fast and roll down the side of the mountain while others pass on blind corners. Well, I was forced to bike off the road at the last minute into rocky terrain to avoid a passing car from hitting me. It was scary, but I will still continue to bike (very carefully)!
Once I made it to Dire Dawa, there were more Timkat celebrations. Many of the streets were blocked off and grass was being spread out on the road. On top of the grass, a long red carpet was rolled out as part of the procession. I followed one such carpet for almost a kilometer! It led to a church where I assume the Tabot would be returned to by the priest.
The next weekend, I decided to go on an adventure with Mark and Solomon. We had heard that there were some hot springs west of Dire Dawa about 50 km. We were lucky to find a local bus in Dire Dawa that was headed to Erer. The road the entire way was dirt/gravel. Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride! It was also very hot; the terrain was desert-like without much plant life or shade (and of course the bus did not have air conditioning). It took almost 2 hours to get to Erer. Once we got there, we had to negotiate with a bajaj driver to take us to one of the hot springs. The first hot spring that he took us to was only a couple of kilometers from the town center. Apparently, this hot spring complex was built by the Italians and was also the site of one of Haile Selassie's (many) palaces.
The next weekend, I decided to go on an adventure with Mark and Solomon. We had heard that there were some hot springs west of Dire Dawa about 50 km. We were lucky to find a local bus in Dire Dawa that was headed to Erer. The road the entire way was dirt/gravel. Needless to say, it was a bumpy ride! It was also very hot; the terrain was desert-like without much plant life or shade (and of course the bus did not have air conditioning). It took almost 2 hours to get to Erer. Once we got there, we had to negotiate with a bajaj driver to take us to one of the hot springs. The first hot spring that he took us to was only a couple of kilometers from the town center. Apparently, this hot spring complex was built by the Italians and was also the site of one of Haile Selassie's (many) palaces.
I was under the impression that the hot springs would be outdoors, but that was not the case. There was a little building that had individual rooms with bathtubs. The water that filled up the bathtubs was from the natural hot springs. The facilities were old and grubby, but the water felt wonderful. We opted to just dip our feet in rather than get completely naked and bathe. There was still one more hot spring to see!
The other hot spring was located another kilometer or so outside of the town center, but in a different direction. We walked along the Addis-Djibouti railroad tracks until we found it. Unfortunately, we arrived during the lunch hour, so everything was locked up. We talked to some local kids who were hanging around the area and waited patiently. When the man returned, we each paid 10 birr ($0.55 USD) and headed into the complex. There were individual bathtubs inside like the other hot springs. The water constantly flowed from a pipe in the wall and drained out from a hole in the floor. The holes were supposed to be plugged so that the water could collect, but mine was broken. I enjoyed sitting under the dripping hot water nonetheless!
The other hot spring was located another kilometer or so outside of the town center, but in a different direction. We walked along the Addis-Djibouti railroad tracks until we found it. Unfortunately, we arrived during the lunch hour, so everything was locked up. We talked to some local kids who were hanging around the area and waited patiently. When the man returned, we each paid 10 birr ($0.55 USD) and headed into the complex. There were individual bathtubs inside like the other hot springs. The water constantly flowed from a pipe in the wall and drained out from a hole in the floor. The holes were supposed to be plugged so that the water could collect, but mine was broken. I enjoyed sitting under the dripping hot water nonetheless!
After bathing for 15 minutes or so, we headed back out into the heat. In no time at all, we were all covered in dust again and felt the need for another bath! We headed back to the center of Erer to try and find a bus headed back to Dire Dawa. No such luck! There didn't appear to be any transportation and no sign of when the next bus would arrive. We were feeling a bit demoralized (and hot) at this point. We decided to try hitchhiking and waved down the first truck that we saw go by. The driver stopped, but said that he only had room for two of us. After looking desperate enough, he decided that we could all fit. We were so lucky to have found him. He got us back to Dire Dawa in almost half the time the bus took. He also had a lot of interesting stories to tell us about his life in Ethiopia, Denmark, and England. A very worldly man, indeed.
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