It is too soon to say much. We arrived at 2 a.m. their time, found our AirBnB, slept a bit and are just now emerging.
The morning started with asking “Momma Gennett” to make us coffee. Levi and I wanted to cut out of this small apartment and find some wi-fi so I can connect with my people here by email (phones not working yet), and wanted some caffeine first. But in Ethiopia, coffee means a ceremony, a ritual, and “let’s kick back and take forever and roast and brew coffee for a long time and then drink it” mentality. Continue reading “1st and 3rd worlds (day 1 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
During our flight tonight, Levi could have been getting his first experience with Ethiopia. I’ve flown Ethiopian airlines several times, once or twice overseas. Great airline. Great people. Great experience.
Our last chance for an egg mcmuffin and mclatte before Turkish and Ethiopian cuisine.
But tonight we are on Turkish Airlines. It’s Turks for Levi, and our assessment for this cultural experience will have to come in a later post.
It’s been a stormy road with the Turks over the centuries. Our great Orthodox Byzantine empire fell after 1000 years of Roman greatness when the Ottoman Turks sacked Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1453.
Martyrs at the fall of Byzantium
We have a lot of saints who are honored for being martyrs, for being tortured and impaled for the cause of Christ. Perhaps the greatest cathedral ever built, Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia, was taken over and turned into a mosque.
Hagia Sophia
Today, things aren’t so swell with the Turks either. They used to be a solid NATO ally, but their leader has been dancing too much lately with the Russians. Then an attempted coup happened there about a year ago and President Erdogan blamed it on U.S. intelligence operatives. He purged the place of Western intelligence, and American did something bad back in return. I can’t remember what it was, but now Turkey doesn’t honor U.S. passports.
Putin and Turkey’s Erdogan
Too bad, because Levi and I have an eight hour layover in Istanbul on the way back (it’s one of the reasons we booked this particular flight and accepted the idea of a Turkish cultural experience). We had hoped to visit the Hagia Sophia, which has now been turned into a museum, some of the Christian icons recovered from being painted over centuries ago, and available for tourists to visit.
However … just a few weeks ago there was some news about Trump and Erdogan having some nice nice talk. I’ve been watching the Turkish and U.S. state department sites like a hawk, hoping something thaws for us just in time.
Yes, tomorrow Levi and I fly out of Dulles airport in D.C. toward Ethiopia. We leave Monday night but don’t arrive until early Wednesday morning. So it’s pre-day one for leaving but still three days from actually arriving. Whatever. I’ll try to get you a blog every day regardless. Maybe I’ll start using fractions.
It’s only a 20 hour flight. But when you add in the time zones, it takes over 48 hours by the clock. The good news is, it will take about one hour by the clock on the way back. I wonder if you just flew that direction non-stop, could you defy time and never age? Continue reading “The time is now (pre-day 1 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
My last trip to Ethiopia, several “angels” crossed my path.
Firstly, on my way to Axum, the Northern ancient capital (where the Ark of the Covenant is preserved), I was going by myself, with no translator or guide, with no place booked to stay that night.
Today’s blog post will focus on the average Ethiopian.
In terms of appearance: – They are beautiful people. Truly striking. – They are generally tall and thin, with sharp features. – They are a bit lighter skinned, more resembling their Egyptian neighbors. – They have large families – They wear western clothing (actually Chinese made), although in church they are more traditional. Old people in the country may sometimes wear traditional garb—something you are likely to see in Western reporting, because what’s so interesting about a guy in jeans and a polo shirt?Continue reading “Ethiopians are beautiful people (pre-day 4 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
Ethiopians believe they have been doing civilization without electricity since Adam and Eve. (I took this pic of Ethiopian Eden on a church wall.)
One goal for this trip next week—and I don’t know if I’ll pull it off—is to spend a half a day or so at a town in Ethiopia that has no electricity and no cell phone coverage, and never has had it. In the small and large cities, power and Western amenities are generally available. But I’m told there are many of these unplugged towns, easy to find and access. We’ll see.
Such was my experience the day I decided to visit a small church and laid my eyes on a cool walking stick-like cane the men use to help stay standing for hours during the services.
They were of course stunned that a “farange” (white man) even walked in to their humble church. The building only held 30 people or so. About 100 were outside. Unfortunately I could not capture the service on video (didn’t want to be disrespectful having not met anyone yet), but it was by far my best worship experience. No microphones, and the singing was loud, powerful, and quite melodic. They invited me up right near the priests next to the action.Continue reading “The Great Council to approve my cane (pre-day 6 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
In Ethiopia, you don’t wear shoes in church. Period.
You take them off just outside the building. Why? I haven’t had that actual discussion yet, but I assume it is part of the package of Old Testament regulations Ethiopians still practice, which includes eating no shellfish and pork.
The Israelites took off their shoes for the same reason they didn’t eat animals “with the pads on their feet.” They would eat cows and goats and other hoofed creatures, because the “dust of the ground” which had been cursed by God in Genesis 3 didn’t come in to direct contact with those animals. They were separated from the cursed ground by their hooves.Continue reading “Bare feet in church (pre-day 7 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
In a travel-oriented blog, people like to talk about food.
The food in Ethiopia is interesting. It’s okay. I wouldn’t call it great. I don’t go to Ethiopia for the food.
If I was going somewhere for the food, I’d head back to Italy, where I’ve already been twice. The food there is beyond compare. And yet, as Jesus reminds us, “there is more to life than food.” And so my money and effort has been focused on Ethiopia, where things are happening spiritually that are more important than food. Continue reading “Miracle food (pre-day 8 – Dean in Ethiopia)”
