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 Robert La Bua discovers unexpected bliss in Ethiopia’s northern highlands.
Interesting places attract interesting people, and so it is in Ethiopia. Don’t come here desperate to see packs of starving children dressed in rags or swarms of locusts ravaging the landscape to confirm our expectations of poor, old Ethiopia; best leave those undernourished, media-inspired preconceptions to be verified elsewhere. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s clean, spacious, and very safe capital, is the most civilised city in Africa.
The surprises begin at the departure city when boarding a modern Ethiopian Airlines 767. Ethiopian Airlines? Are you kidding me? It calls itself Africa’s link to the world; looking at its routemap, it’s hard to dispute that claim. Onboard service is gracious; the lead flight attendant, if female, will be draped in gold-trimmed cloth. Like Indian women, Ethiopian women can turn a simple piece of cloth into elegant attire with just a few twists and tucks.
The beauty, grace, and pride of carriage of both male and female flight attendants make their Western counterparts seem almost Neanderthal in comparison. The comparison may be made on a grander scale; Ethiopia, despite whatever hardship du jour it is enduring, is a land of courtesy, manners, and consideration for other people.
 Ethiopian cuisine is unique and very tasty, and thanks to the Italian occupation of 1936-41, there is a legacy of Western-style bread and pastries – another surprise, this one a convenient accompaniment to the excellent coffee for which the Ethiopian highlands are justly famous.
As huge countries are prone to do, Ethiopia offers an overwhelming array of travel options. Most first-time travellers opt for the northern historical route to the Orthodox Christian villages such as Axum and Lalibela; it is in this region where pious adherence to traditions lives today as it has lived for thousands of years, where devoted men and women swathed in white cloaks kiss the walls of rock-hewn churches decorated with astonishingly beautiful, 900-year-old paintings.
The majesty of Ethiopia is obvious to anyone standing on the top-of-the-world terrace of Goha Hotel in Gondar (2300m), snaking through the carved passages linking those remarkable rock churches of Lalibela, or visiting serene Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile.
The Bradt Guide has almost everything you need to read about the country’s history, tourist attractions and hotels, and proves itself to be an invaluable companion while in the country (alarmist views of criminal threat notwithstanding). Somehow, though, the sights are secondary to just being there amongst a proud people clamouring for bars of salt in an open-air marketplace, the scents of frankincense and raw meat mingling in the nostrils, knowing soon it will be back to skyscrapers, noise, traffic, meetings, deadlines, and more noise.
Hire a good guide to make the most of your time in each town. In Gondar, especially rich in history and stories, Getachew Sisay (
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) is your man; he personifies young Ethiopia. Spending time with him will infuse you with understanding as conversation flows between tourist trivia and the hopes of young Africa.
Ethiopian Airlines flies from Bangkok and Hong Kong to Addis Ababa; Business Class is appropriately known as Cloud Nine.
tourismethiopia.org | flyethiopian.com ethiopiatravel.com | gondarlink.org.uk selamta.net | bradtguides.com
For more travel destinations and accomodation listings, visit fellowtraveller.com.au.
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