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 TheronContinue reading In search of the origin of coffee on the Western Highlands→
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
A women in typical Tigray wear.
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→
The journey to the Erta Ale Volcano started from Abaala as an easy drive on the newly tarred road leading to the Djibouti border. We stopped in Erepti to pick up two armed policemen and shortly after passing several road blocks we began to realise that it would be virtually impossible for independent travellers to visit this volcano, at least without being fleeced. By Karin TheronContinue reading Danakil Depression Part Two→
