This past weekend, I traveled with my friends, Solomon and Andarge, to see the "Valley of Marvels". I had read about this site in a guidebook and had talked to other people who had been there; while it's not an amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has its own charm. Mostly, people like to visit to gawk at the large phallic rocks that seemingly come out of nowhere.
To get to the Valley of Marvels, we first took a mini-bus from campus to Harar. In Harar, we switched mini-buses and got on one headed toward the town of Babile (about 30 km east of Harar). We were the first people in the mini-bus so we had to wait a while for the van to fill up and depart. While we were waiting, I decided to try a local toothbrush. I've seen people selling them on the side of the street, but I thought that they were pencils. They are made from a branch, or rather twig. A young boy was selling them for 1 birr (about a nickel) next to our parked mini-bus. I bought one that had a spiral pattern carved into it (purely decorative). Andarge and Solomon informed me that I had to chew on the end of it to make it soft and fiberous. Once the end got "hairy", I would be able to use it as a toothbrush. I can't say whether or not it was effective at removing any grit from my teeth, but the lack of minty toothpaste meant that it did nothing positive for my breath!
To get to the Valley of Marvels, we first took a mini-bus from campus to Harar. In Harar, we switched mini-buses and got on one headed toward the town of Babile (about 30 km east of Harar). We were the first people in the mini-bus so we had to wait a while for the van to fill up and depart. While we were waiting, I decided to try a local toothbrush. I've seen people selling them on the side of the street, but I thought that they were pencils. They are made from a branch, or rather twig. A young boy was selling them for 1 birr (about a nickel) next to our parked mini-bus. I bought one that had a spiral pattern carved into it (purely decorative). Andarge and Solomon informed me that I had to chew on the end of it to make it soft and fiberous. Once the end got "hairy", I would be able to use it as a toothbrush. I can't say whether or not it was effective at removing any grit from my teeth, but the lack of minty toothpaste meant that it did nothing positive for my breath!
Once we arrived in Babile, we hitched a ride the last couple of kilometers to the valley. We were dropped off on the side of the road just before 11 in the morning, but it was already hot and sunny. Even though I wasn't prepared to hike, we decided to climb up to one of the more famous rocks. There is a bottled water company in Ethiopia called Babile and they have a picture of one of the rocks on their logo. This rock is somewhat penis-shaped, but more impressive because of the way the top rock looks like it is balancing on the base.
It didn't take long before we were all sweaty and full of cactus thorns. We followed a trail that was probably made by goats or camels, but had a lot of obstacles to conquer. In one section we had to crawl on our hands and knees to go under some sharp branches. As always, it was an adventure! It was well worth it though. I couldn't believe how large the rock was once we reached it; from the road it didn't seem to be so menacing. We spent some time at the top taking photos and looking at the view below.
It didn't take long before we were all sweaty and full of cactus thorns. We followed a trail that was probably made by goats or camels, but had a lot of obstacles to conquer. In one section we had to crawl on our hands and knees to go under some sharp branches. As always, it was an adventure! It was well worth it though. I couldn't believe how large the rock was once we reached it; from the road it didn't seem to be so menacing. We spent some time at the top taking photos and looking at the view below.
On the way down, we saw some camels grazing. Babile has a large camel market a couple mornings per week. Herders came from as far away as Somalia to sell livestock there. These camels were obviously owned by someone, but they were not tied up or fenced in. Solomon was afraid to touch them, but I went for it; they were neither friendly nor unfriendly. We also ran into some local children at the bottom of the road; we were unable to fully communicate though since they spoke Somali and Afaan Oromoo. Another cool sight at the bottom of the road was a dead hyena. Although the odor was noxious, it was probably as close as I'll ever get to a hyena (unless I do the famous hyena night feeding in Harar).
We took a bajaj (a motorcycle taxi, like a tuk tuk) back to Babile. In Babile, we ran into one of Solomon's friends who was riding a bicycle. Of course, I took advantage of the opportunity to finally ride a bicycle in Ethiopia albeit for only one minute! We also stopped at the local church which was in the process of building another complex. We met the priest who worked there and he was very kind. He told us about some of the difficulties they faced trying to build an Orthodox church in a predominantly Muslim town. He gladly accepted our small donations toward the construction.
We took another mini-bus back to Harar. It was after 2pm by the time we got there, so we were all hungry for lunch. We ate some traditional food and had a couple of beers at the local recreation center. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I ran into two students from my writing class at the recreation center and talked to them for a few minutes as well.
Finally, we headed back to campus around 4pm. Unfortunately, we had to switch mini-buses two times on the way back. All in all, we took seven mini-buses that day - even though we only traveled about 40 miles from Haramaya University.
Click here to see the rest of the photos from this trip!
We took a bajaj (a motorcycle taxi, like a tuk tuk) back to Babile. In Babile, we ran into one of Solomon's friends who was riding a bicycle. Of course, I took advantage of the opportunity to finally ride a bicycle in Ethiopia albeit for only one minute! We also stopped at the local church which was in the process of building another complex. We met the priest who worked there and he was very kind. He told us about some of the difficulties they faced trying to build an Orthodox church in a predominantly Muslim town. He gladly accepted our small donations toward the construction.
We took another mini-bus back to Harar. It was after 2pm by the time we got there, so we were all hungry for lunch. We ate some traditional food and had a couple of beers at the local recreation center. It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. I ran into two students from my writing class at the recreation center and talked to them for a few minutes as well.
Finally, we headed back to campus around 4pm. Unfortunately, we had to switch mini-buses two times on the way back. All in all, we took seven mini-buses that day - even though we only traveled about 40 miles from Haramaya University.
Click here to see the rest of the photos from this trip!