Harar is an ancient walled city, some say as old as Ethiopia itself. The most important trading center on the horn of Africa until the mid-nineteenth century, Harar is a distinctly Muslim city in a country known for its Christianity, which in and of itself makes it worth the trip. Wandering the streets felt a little like wandering through North Africa not Ethiopia. Architecturally similar to traditional swahili homes like we saw in Lamu, the homes are brightly painted with a specific blue indicating the owner has gone to the hajj. Surrounded by a 5m wall, the city feels crossed between old and new (spitting camels and all), lacking the traditional charm of Lamu, but …

You would be right to be angry with us if our first Ethiopian foodie Friday wasn’t injera. Like most of Africa, Ethiopian’s traditionally eat with their hands, which presents a problem when eating… well many things. In the tradition of n’sima and chapati, the Ethiopians developed their own method of getting that stew down the hatch- injera.
Pancake like, soft and spongy, injera is made from sograham or teff. It’s texture is not unlike a crepe, but more spongy on one side. Unlike n’sima or chapati, injera has its own flavor, which is rather sour. It compliments well with traditional berbere spiced food such as dole wat (a chicken stew) and tibs (meat cooked with onions …

I wish I could say that its uncommon for foreigners or tourists to be charged differently. All over the world people seem willing to take advantage of the newcomer, to see what boundary can be pushed, but never have we seen a tourist price so institutionalized.
Faranji pricing in Ethiopia is a way of business. While gringo pricing is common in Latin America, is generally understood that its a “starting” price from which to negotiate and almost no one will admit to a separate gringo price. That is just not the case in Ethiopia and often we’ve been presented with a bill that is different from what we expected. “Faranji price,” we’re told, as a matter of …

This is probably the most African city in Africa. It is big and loud. Sidewalks run incomplete into beautiful buildings. It is among the 5 largest cities on the continent yet there is a donkey that eats grass out of the road median near our hotel and today we had to walk around a flock of sheep being herded the opposite direction. It is where the Africa of old meets the Africa of new.
Addis is unique in Africa for the same reason Ethiopia is unique in Africa. Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to have been conquered or colonized. Every other country we’ve been to on this trip, including our own USA, is …