London-based monthly luxury magazine, Country & Town House, features an eight-day whistle-stop tour of Ethiopia, with title “Eight Days in Ethiopia,” on its second week of March 2017 edition.
(Country & Town House Magazine)–High-end luxury has yet to make a big inroad in Ethiopia. Outside of Addis Ababa, you may get patchy Wi-Fi (the government tends to switch the internet off from time to time), bumpy rides and restaurants where many of the choices on the menu are unavailable. But don’t let this deter you. This is perhaps the most intriguing country in Africa. A place of scale, biblical beauty, canyons and chasms. Of historical treasures aplenty. And, above all, of a colourful, gracious and welcoming people. So here are some of the fabulous options for a trip there, many of which are hidden secrets that you won’t find with an internet search, because they don’t have a website.
Days 1 & 2 ― Addis Ababa
STAY: It’s worth beginning and ending your trip here. After the heat, dust and authenticity – not to mention scarcity of culinary ingredients – of traveling in Ethiopia, the Sheraton Addis is a breath of fresh air. (Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Angela Merkel have all stayed here.) One of the best hotels in Africa, it offers acres of marble, deliciously reliable air-con and tea served by a gentleman in white gloves. Plus fantastic contemporary Ethiopian art. It’s also an oasis of calm, with swaying palm trees and singing fountains in the courtyard. You can feast on international cuisine –breakfast is a veritable United Nations spread – or Ethiopian delicacies. Wander afterwards along the shopping arcade to pick up Coptic crosses and antique ethnic silver and gold jewellery at Nani’s. Swim in the ocean-sized pool (with underwater music, natch) or they’ll even deliver an exercise bike to your room. Then try an Ethiopian ‘Wogesha’ massage, for a pummeling the likes of which you’ve never had before. Afterwards you’ll sink your head into that rarity in these parts: a soft pillow.
EAT: Any concierge worth his salt recommends Yod Abyssinia. It’s not just a tourist magnet, it lures locals too. You’re offered a pitcher of water and soap to wash your hands at the low woven straw table. Then you’ll find yourself happily eating with your fingers from a communal vegetarian platter (a palette of ‘fasting’ foods – lentils, spicy chickpeas and the like) served on injera, a traditional flatbread made from teff flour. And knocking it all back with tej (honey wine). You’ll soon be tapping your feet as you sit on the customarily short chair to the traditional live music and dancing… shoulder-shaking, head-gyrating, knee-lifting dances from all over the country. And bottom-wiggling, neck-spinning, hand-clapping ones too. +251 11 372 0607
SHOP: Tip-top tea towels, anyone? Sabahar’s handmade textiles are inspired by the country’s ancient weaving practices. Their artisans create perfectly imperfect handmade accessories and linens for the home – shawls, napkins, kaftans – using locally sourced wild eri silk and cotton. Watch them spinning the thread, weaving on traditional handlooms and dyeing the products using coffee and other natural pigments. Sustainability at its best. And now they also boast a good retail shop in Addis Ababa. And those tea towels? They’re good enough to use as hand towels.
Days 3 & 4 ― Lalibela
Nothing can prepare you for the wondrousness of its churches. Think 11 medieval, rock-hewn churches and chapels excavated by King Lalibela in the 12th and 13th centuries. Built below ground level, some are monolithic, with exceptional carvings and ecclesiastical treasures, and connected and ringed by tunnels, trenches and courtyards. You’ll find white-robed pilgrims and hermits, chanting, eucharistic drumbeats and enough mysticism to power you into space. If you take a hike afterwards, you’ll enjoy the views of rocky escarpments and craggy peaks from the 2,630m town. Little wonder the churches are dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. Stay at the Mountain View Hotel, its architecture based on the aforementioned rock-hewn churches and standing at an altitude of 2,680m at the edge of the Lasta Mountain chains.
Read the complete story “Eight Days in Ethiopia“ at Country & Town House Magazine