Jews in Africa: the Abayudaya in Uganda 🇺🇬 and Beta Israel in Ethiopia 🇪🇹

Living History in Ethiopia

The chanting of the two boys sitting under the tree reminded me of my Bar Mitzvah class over 60 years ago. The language was different – Amharic, not Hebrew – as was the religion – Ethiopian Orthodox, not Jewish — and the boys bore little resemblance to the pudgy, pasty, pre-adolescent friends of my youth, … Continued

Thursday in Ethiopia

It is Thursday. We are in Ethiopia, a falling-down bearing-up sort of place where every day, it seems, is a story. Even today, when there is nothing for us to do but walk to the main road in search of a mobile card for my cheap borrowed cell phone. We walk through the alley, itself … Continued

Ethiopia: When Travel Goes Bad

While scouting for the first descent of the Baro River in Ethiopia, a tributary of the White Nile, I heard about a Peace Corps volunteer, Bill Olsen, 25, a recent graduate of Cornell, who decided to take a dip in the river at Gambella, a village near the South Sudan border. The locals warned to … Continued

Ethiopia: Open Roads, Open Hearts

I shifted uncomfortable on the straw mat, trying not to disturb the young child with her arm wrapped around me. Her small thin body was warm in the evening wind. I looked across the mat at Oli who similarly had two small Ethiopian children snuggling up to him. We exchanged smiles. This wasn’t the traditional … Continued

Ethiopia: Harar in Chaos

  Harar street scene: Photo by Jack McGory The hyenas circled the perimeter of the alley, audibly gnashing their teeth and giving voice to low, guttural growls.  Their feet padded softly on the dirt, but the animals’ smell overwhelmed even the fetid stink from the narrow alleyway, where night soil from an open sewage canal … Continued

Don’t Plan. Just Do.

Planning. Oh, planning. The bane of many a traveller out there, planning is the thorn in the side of the beauty of exploring new places for so many. Whether or not you’re a person who’s planning is simply booking a flight or bus to their next destination, or a person who likes to have their … Continued

Ethiopia: Bet Giorgis at Lalibela

Photos by Ken and Peg Herring Lalibela is a site that must be seen to be fully appreciated.  The monolithic stone churches, carved from the living rock, date from around the 12th century or so, but debate still exists as to the dates of construction. My favorite is the Church of St. George, or Bet … Continued

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