Uzbekistan - Samarkand Registan Square
Foto: The Dorze tribe in Ethiopia (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Ethiopia - Makonnen enters the bus. A young man just thirty years old with large rasta dreadlocks. A striking appearance. He is the leader of the Dorze village. He accompanies us to Chencha for the weekly market. Chencha is another seven kilometers further. When I arrive, I see it is busy at the market. Against a hillside, everyone tries to sell something. The goods usually lie on a plastic sheet on the ground. Makonnen has told me that general photos are allowed, but if I take a specific photo of someone, they expect one Birr as compensation. I walk among the people. At a table tennis table, a girl asks if I want to play. I take the paddle. Just like in Debakr, I lose badly here. Many children crowd around me, hoping for one Birr. I try to photograph the market over their heads. At an herb seller, I make an exception. I take a photo and pay her one Birr, about four cents. The market is fun and special to see, but there is a very begging atmosphere because everyone asks for that one Birr. Sometimes I am literally harassed. After half an hour, I have seen enough of the market. Makonnen takes me to his village. He shows the traditional houses of the Dorze tribe. Bamboo is woven into tall houses. The houses can be twelve meters high. Because the bamboo at the bottom is eaten by termites, the house gets lower and lower every year. It is hardly imaginable that the house of barely two meters was once twelve meters high. I enter a tall house. Inside is space to live, store, sleep, and for the livestock. Makonnen shows how the enset (false banana) is processed. The dough is buried underground for several months to ferment. Then it can be baked over a fire into a kind of pancake. I get to taste it together with the Arak drink. The visit to the village ends with a traditional dance. I estimate about sixty children and villagers have come out to sing, dance, and play music. I say goodbye to Makonnen.
Fasil Ghebbi fort of Emperor Fasilides
Ethiopia - Until 1855, Gondar was the capital of Ethiopia. Emperor Fasiladas had his palace built within the walled Fasil Ghebbi. He broke with the tradition of emperors wandering nomadically through the empire. His son, after taking power, had a second palace built ...
Gelada baboons in the Simien Mountains
Ethiopia - In the afternoon, I go to the Semien Mountains for a nature walk. For this, the guide Ababa accompanies me. She explains that the nature park has the highest mountains in Ethiopia. The highest peak is over four thousand meters. For safety, two armed soldiers ...
The Rock Churches of Lalibela
Ethiopia - Lalibela is famous for its eleven rock-hewn churches, carved from stone by order of King Lalibela. He intended these churches to be a representation of Jerusalem. The churches are grouped into two clusters. Today, I am visiting the first group. First, ...
The Stelae of Axum
Ethiopia - Back in the center of Axum, Mook shows me the stelae. Tall pillars that served as grave monuments. The tallest stele is 24 meters high. There once was a stele of 33 meters, but it fell down. You can walk under the rubble. I am amazed by the colossal blocks ...