house of god

This morning we took a "bajaj" (auto rick-shaw) to the base of the Tabeur Mountain. This mountain overlooks the city of Awassa with the lake forming a horseshoe around the hill. In typical tourist style, we made a bee line for the top of the hill. This vertical climb through eucalyptus and thorny bushes would have been made easier if we had followed the locals along the road. Instead we slipped, scrambled and pulled our way up to the top of the plauteu.

Once we reached the top of the mountain, we realized the spiritual importance of the hill. There was an enthusiastic man preaching to a gathering of approximately 30 people. Everyone was either sitting on the grass or bowing to the sun, praying. We quietly watched for a moment, found our own spot to sit, and took in the experience and view from the top of the hill.

This was our first opportunity to see the landscape of an Ethiopian city. The city was well organized in a grid pattern. We could see soccer fields, gated communities and instituitions (schools and hospitals), posh hotels situated right next to traditional grass huts, and the marshy edges of the lake.

While we were sitting, there were a few people lingering behind us (by this time, we are quite used to being "watched"). After a while, three young guys came to introduce themselves. They were very curious about where we were from and why we had come to Ethiopia. There were a few men who were praying alone, shouting, jumping, and screaming towards the sky. We were scared for a moment to see someone pray so passionately, but after we learned that they were praying for rain, it seemed appropriate considering the importance of rain to the livelihoods of the people here. we met another young man who gestured with his arms towards the hill and surroundings and described this as "the house of god."

Alexis, Melissa, Dani, Michelle, Amanda, Jenn