Lake Tana is Ethiopia’s largest, covering over 3,500 square kilometers, and its waters are the source of the Blue Nile, which flows 5, 223 kilometers north to the Mediterranean Sea. Lounging lakeside and watching squadrons of pelicans skirting the surface might be the most relaxing way to pass the time here, but your editor gets … Continue reading
At least for some watching a submarine-launched Polaris nuclear warhead, such as this one, descend upon them in their final seconds: This particular warhead has been decommissioned, but there are plenty out there that have not been. When visiting this site, I was struck by being next to a relatively small device with such immense … Continue reading
Driving to Kunduz from Pul-i-Kumri: Of all of the NGOs at work in Afghanistan, I saw the H.A.L.O. Trust in the most places doing the most work. After the H.A.L.O. Trust has cleared a space of land mines, they paint their logo on a feature in the area to indicate that the area is now … Continue reading
Placed in one of the more modern sections of Addis Ababa, Meskal Square has a number of streets pouring into it – Bole Road, Ras Desta Damtew Street, Jomo Kenyetta Avenue, Menelik II Avenue, Ras Mekonen Avenue, Ras Biru Wolde Gebriel Street, etc. And those are just the main streets! Views of Meskal Square: One … Continue reading
The Taitu is the hotel my Italian and I stayed in while we were in Addis Ababa. We both really liked it and I would recommend it to others of you that might visit Addis Ababa someday. Built at the whim of Empress Taitu in 1907, it is the oldest hotel in Addis, and the … Continue reading
I took this on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan: For more of the story, click here. Continue reading
Addis Ababa, as Africa’s fourth-largest city, is massive and incoherent. It’s probably easiest when broken down into districts and neighborhoods and I have divided some posts up by district – such as the Merkato or Meskal Square – to reflect this reality. However, this post is about the areas of Addis Ababa that can’t be … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 