After getting seriously stuck in the mud twice, we headed up the valley again, retracing our tracks because the road was washed away. We soon reached two flattish but very muddy sections, the first of which we traversed with no trouble. The second was however about 40 metres long, slightly uphill, with deep, muddy pools filling old vehicle tracks. By Karin Theron Continue reading Heading for south-west Ethiopia
Category Archives: Cape to the Carmine C
In search of the origin of coffee on the Western Highlands
Legend has it that a young herdsman from Ethiopia first observed the properties of wild coffee when his goats became hyperactive after eating the leaves and berries. He ate some himself and finding that he too became abnormally excited, ran to the nearby monastery to share his discovery.
To his dismay the monks chastised him for his evil stimulants and threw the berries into a fire, only to be encouraged to try them because of their aroma. Finding that they were unusually alert during nightly prayers, it became practise throughout Christian Ethiopia to chew coffee beans before lengthy prayer sessions. Later it was discovered that the roasted berries could be pounded to a powder to produce what we know as coffee. By Karin Theron Continue reading In search of the origin of coffee on the Western Highlands
The historical Tigray region
Heading north from Mekele we drove further into the Tigray region which, along with Eritrea, is regarded as the cradle of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. By Karin Theron
We were again treated to quaint, orderly countryside views of terraced hillsides and houses and their surrounding walls, often perched on hilltops, built up from rectangular blocks of yellow sandstone. Continue reading The historical Tigray region