This morning before we went to breakfast it rained lightly. At breakfast I had tea, strawberries, breakfast potatoes, and sausage. After that, Mikhel came to pick us up and take us out to be tourists. We first stopped at the statue of a big black lion. I couldn't tell you what he resembled or meant, but I am guessing it had to do with a past king.
Next, we stopped at the Tiglachin Memorial. This memorial was from the Somalian & Cuban war. There were pictures of the cubans who fought for the Ethiopians and two large walls that depicted the issues before and the good after.
On our way up to the St. Mary church (wayyy up in the Northern part of Addis) we had passed the the United States Embassy. Hannah wanted me to take a picture and I didn't even think about it so I tried to get a picture. Well I had forgot that you can't take pictures of government buildings. So, a security guard waved down Mikhel and made his boss come and delete the picture (although, it just went into my recently deleted album). This security guard came and checked my passport too. It was quite embarrassing but I suppose I learned my lesson. He apologized for the inconvenience but he was just doing his job. It was about 25 minutes later when we finally got to the church and museum.
The elevation was over 9,000 ft whereas Addis Ababa is only 7,726 ft. We paid for the tickets and we went into the museum. It was small but still cool. The 'guide' only spoke Amharic so Mikhel translated to us what he had said about each item. The museum was a dedication to the King Menelik II who ruled from 1889-1913. Mikhel said he was a very wise man and many thought he was a good king. After going through the museum, we walked up to the St. Mary Church. It was also very cold in the high elevation as well! We were not able to go into the church but there were many women especially but a few men all at their knees praying at the church doors. We walked down to where Menelik and his wife had lived. Their 'palace' was not comparable to what we think when we hear palace. It was a large house made from rocks, mud, straw, wood, etc. At the time, I'm sure it was grand. We walked through it and to our surprise, they used cattle horns as hooks! I didn't get a picture of that unfortunately. We walked back out and went to the truck. I took pictures of the scenery on the way up and down. It was very beautiful but also interesting to see how these people lived so high in the hills compared to those in the city.
This evening, the ILRI Ethiopia Director is taking us to a traditional Ethiopian dinner. I hope it's good! Then tomorrow, Tigist is taking Hannah and I to church in the morning. I really enjoy that church so I am definitely looking forward to it!
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