Travel Day Seven

Friday, February 5th 2010

Today we visited Mount Entoto. This was my favorite part of the whole trip, aside from our meeting Libby of course! What a beautiful mountain. And we were actually breathing clean fresh air for the first time all week! Seriously, the diesel fumes and the charcoal smell coming from cooking fires almost got the best of me in Addis.

On Mount Entoto, we saw the palace of King Menelik and a 700 year old church. We were able to go inside a 120 year old orthodox church which was breathtaking! Our group removed our shoes upon entering and were given a private tour by a priest. There are three circular areas inside the church to represent the Holy Trinity. Inside the center ring is where a replica of the Ark of the Covenant is kept. Only priests or deacons are allowed in this area. The middle ring is where communion and praying take place. Men are separate from the women. There was AMAZING Christian artwork on the walls here. I mean absolutely beautiful pictures portraying the life of Christ along with some Ethiopian history as well. We were allowed to take pictures. In the artwork, it was explained that persons depicted with one eye were evil and that those with two eyes were good. Very neat!

We also had a traditional Ethiopian meal at our guest house today along with a traditional coffee ceremony. Although I'm still not a fan of Ethiopian food, today I had THE BEST coffee and popcorn I've ever tasted. I mean really, I LOVE this popcorn!

We also ventured out for more shopping today. While riding in the van, Libby sings along to all the Ethiopian songs on the radio. Driving around the city today, I noticed a Seventh Day Adventist church, a Baptist church, and a Save the Children office. We've also seen countless men, women, and children sitting on the streets, begging, and sleeping along the roadside. The poverty here is overwhelming. While Libby and I were still in the small store shopping, Charles witnessed a police officer pick someone's pocket. Children begged from us and more than once said "Obama" when they didn't have any other English words to say.