Ron and Sally Jo Blog

On to Slavonice. Our visit stopped in Ceske Budejovice to tour the Budweiser Budvar Brewery (no connection to the US Budweiser brand). The history of brewing here dates back to the 13th century and Budweiser Budvar was founded here in 1895. We saw the whole process from the artisan wells where the water is drawn, to the adding of malt, heating and cooling, adding hops and yeast, to bottling and packing. The mechanization was fascinating. Beer is considered Czech’s national drink; they drink 300 gallons/person/year, including children in the count. What we have observed makes this fact seem accurate! (Apparently, beer is high in vitamin B.)

We stopped in Trebon, an ancient walled village with fish “ponds” (small man-made lakes). Fish farming has been going on here since the middle ages. We had a fish lunch here; after we ate, we learned we had actually eaten eel! Jindrichuv Hradec is a 13th-century town where we visited the castle museum which features the world’s largest working mechanical Nativity scene. It was completed in 1756 by a burgher after 60 years of labor. There are 1398 human and animal figures, of which 133 are movable. The figurines are made of wood and laminate materials. It was very interesting, but unfortunately photos of the large Nativity were not allowed. We also visited the Gobelin tapestry museum. Two women were repairing a 300-year-old tapestry which will take them and others about 1 ½ years to complete.

We spent the next two nights in Slavonice, a small village of about 20,000. Our group filled the family-run hotel which also has an extensive wine cellar. During supper at a nearby restaurant, a music group of 4 men played traditional Moravian music as well as Irish, blues, U.S. folk, and more. It was great fun.

Slavonice sgraffito

Slavonice’s peak history was the 14th-16th century. The town is known for its “sgraffito” exterior wall designs. Dark stucco is applied first, then white stucco over it. Designs are then scratched through the white layer.

We visited Mariz, a small arts village near Slavonice. In 1945, a 10 km-wide area along the borders with Austria, Germany, and Poland were “forbidden” areas and everyone was moved out. In the mid-60’s the area was again opened up but no one came until 1989. (For history buffs, there is fascinating history, but I’ll leave it for now.) Mariz ceramics are famous as each piece is original—no two are alike. We were given a chance to decorate our own mugs.

We explored the 13th-century ruins of Landstejn Fortress, climbing to the top where we were told we could see Austria 5 km away. We visited concrete bunkers built in 1935-38. They were meant to guard the Czech border against an invasion by Hitler but it didn’t help. In the Cold War, they were used to prevent Czech citizens from escaping to the West. We stopped to see part of the barbed wire fence built by the Russians to “keep the capitalists out.”

In the evening we were invited to a local home where we were shown how potato dumplings are made and were served a traditional meal of pork, sauerkraut, and dumplings. Our host also showed us around her herb and vegetable garden.

We were able to visit a small kindergarten in Slavonice and the village cemetery before departing for Bratislava.

On our route to Ceský Krumlov we visited the Vojna Memorial near Pribram. This former prison camp was set up in 1947-49 for German war prisoners, later it served as a labor camp in 1949-1951, and then converted to a prison for political opponents of the Communist regime in 1951-1961. Inmates were forced to work in the uranium mines. In 1950, 530 people were working here but by 1956 there were 1517 prisoners. It is sobering to see the inhumane treatment during that period while at the same time realizing that today humans still treat others in the most barbaric way.

We stopped for lunch in the small town of Pisek. It was the last day of the town festival featuring sand sculptures. (Pisek means sand in the Czech language.)
Ceský Krumlov is a picturesque town nestled inside a narrow loop of the Vltava River with a hilltop castle. Celts first settled here a century before Christ. Then German tribes, and then Slavic tribes in the ninth century. The Rozmberks ran the city from 1302 to 1602. The Habsburgs followed bringing in the Germanic period until 1945 when the Germans were expelled. The town is a mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque buildings. After settling into our hotel on the town square, we enjoyed dinner and an introduction to traditional Czech dances.

Street view of castle tower

The Krumlov Castle is immense and includes bear pits, a rare Baroque theater (which we could not visit), and groomed gardens. The Round Tower marks the location of the first castle; Sally Jo climbed its 162 steps to see the town from the top.. The Castle Gardens are large with the lower part geometrical and the upper part rougher. There is a modern outdoor theater with a rotating seating area. The Museum has many exhibits of the life of nobility.

In the afternoon we took a rafting excursion along the Vltava River. We paddled about three miles along the gentle waters and through three weirs that went around shallow rapids.

We visited Zlata Koruna (Golden Crown) Monastery, a former abbey founded in 1263 and is Czech Republic’s best preserved Cistercian monastery located a short distance from Ceský Krumlov. At one point it was used as a factory but has been/is being restored. Beautiful frescos, gold images, Rococo paintings. We continued on to see where there had been a Celtic settlement in the 6th century. And from there we hiked about 2 ½ mile round trip to explore Hrad Divci Kamen, a ruined 13th century castle.

One afternoon we went on an hour horseback ride through the forest and meadows surrounding Klet Moutain, the tallest mountain nearby. We ended the ride with a picnic, roasting sausages over a bonfire.

We ended our time in Ceský Krumlov by visiting a home where the family is trying to live simply. They have no TV or radio and use very little electricity. They have a wood stove in the kitchen and use wood for heating their living space. They are slowly renovating their 1614 property which had originally been a mill. They grow much of their food.

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

From a youth hostel in Istanbul to a 5 –star hotel in Prague was quite a jump. Both places were good but very different!

The city of Prague is dominated by the Prague Castle, set on a hill overlooking the city and considered one of the biggest castles in Europe. It was begun in the 12th century and added to throughout the following centuries. It has been used as the seat of government almost ever since. It is vast; it is beautiful; it is full of tourists. The St. Vitus Cathedral, on the castle grounds, is seen towering above the castle walls. The windows were especially beautiful. We walked around a number of the buildings and heard outdoor music groups.

We visited the Jewish Quarter. The first Jews came to this area in the 10th century. During the 12th century the pope declared that Jews and Christians should not live together so their quarter was walled in and became a ghetto. In the 1780’s the Jews were given more freedom and the walls came down. Of the 120,000 Jews living in the area in 1939, just 10,000 survived the Holocaust. The various sites were quite moving and educational. One former synagogue had the names of 77,297 Czech Jews sent from here to the gas chambers. There was an exhibition of art drawn by Jewish children who were imprisoned at a concentration camp and later perished. Several other former synagogues had exhibits on Jewish traditions of death, religious practices, festivals, etc. We were not allowed to take photos in any of these synagogues. We did take photos at the Cemetery. We wandered through 12,000 tombstones. This area was the only burial ground allowed for the Jews of Prague. It is said that tombs are layered 7 or 8 deep.

One evening we attended an organ and trumpet concert in Church of St Nicholas in Old Town Square. We heard beautiful music of Purcell, Buxtehude, Bach, Telemann, Franck, and Handel. Afterwards we got some soup at a local pub where cartoons by a local artist are displayed on the wall.

We had several walking tours of different sections of the town, including walking across the Charles Bridge built in the 14th century. We had an hour boat ride under the Charles Bridge. We had an hour lecture on the history of Czech Republic; we won’t bore you with the details but for us, it helped us understand what we saw and what we heard.

We watched the Astronomical Clock strike on the hour. This clock was built in the 1400s. The clock shows both 24-hour time and modern time; it indicates times of sunrise and sunset; it shows the signs of the zodiac. At the top of the hour, two statues move, 12 apostles parade by, the rooster crows, and finally the hour is rung. We then enjoyed the traditional sausage, mustard, and bread for a lunch in the rain.

We took a tour outside of Prague to the Skoda Auto Museum and to the Sychrov Castle. Skoda cars, symbol of Czech pride, have been produced since 1895. The historic autos were quite interesting. The company reminded us of Ford in that it was begun to build cars cheap enough for the average person. They also produce/d bicycles, including fancy electric ones. Again they wanted the average person to be able to afford one so in the early years, they provided an option for the buyer to have the bicycle delivered to a pawn shop where the seller could get his money and the buyer could pay for it over time.

Sychrov Castle is a Neo-gothic manor owned for 125 years by the Rohans, a family of aristocrats who fled the French Revolution. It was confiscated by the Russians when they took over the country in 1948. We heard a lovely organ recital of Handel, Bach, and Dvorak in the manor chapel. Dvorak was a friend of the family and often came and played on this organ. We toured the lavish manor and ended with a good dinner in a restaurant on the grounds.

At the Blue Mosque

City of minarets, narrow streets, and good food. These are our impressions of Old Istanbul. We visited the two most famous mosques—Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia—as well as a smaller mosque.

Sultanahmet Cami (Blue Mosque) was built in early 1600’s with 6 minarets and wonderful symmetry of design. It is commonly referred to as the Blue Mosque because of its over 20,000 small blue tiles forming geometric and floral designs. It is beautiful.

Unfortunately, thousands of other tourists think so too. Even though it is a “working” mosque it was hard to feel the reverence we usually feel in a religious building. We also visited a much smaller working mosque—Rusten Pasha Mosque. This also has beautiful blue tiles and a much more reverent feel.

Several old remains stand in the Hippodrome near the Blue Mosque. One is the Obelisk of Theodosius brought from Luxor, Egypt in 390 A.D. The hieroglyphics and carvings are still in excellent condition. Another is the Walled Obelisk which looks just like a very tall tower of bricks. It was once covered in bronze plaques which were pillaged like many things in the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) was completed as the world’s largest cathedral under Emperor Justinian in A.D. 537. It has gone through a tumultuous history. Its mosaics were removed in the 720’s when worship of graven images was banned by Emperor Leo III but mostly returned several decades later by Empress Irene. It partially survived earthquakes and economic mismanagement. During the Christian crusades gold leaf and silver artifacts were plundered as loot and relics shipped off to churches across Europe. During the Ottoman conquest it was converted to a mosque. The mosaics were covered but the minarets were built to match the architectural style. It is now a museum and was (and is) being renovated.

The Basilica Cistern is an awesome sight. It is a huge subterranean space constructed at the same time as a Hagia Sophia and could hold 100,000 tons of water. A wooden walkway winds among the pillars—some plain and some ornate. Carp swim in the water. At the one end are two large Medusa heads carved out of stone—one upside down and one sideways. Various stories explain these heads.

We took a two hour tour on the Bosphorus where we viewed several bridges which cross the straight between Europe and Asia. We saw ruins as well as new buildings.

We visited both the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is one of the world’s oldest shopping centers being constructed from 1461. It is a massive covered area with over 3500 shops which are sort of grouped together geographically in neighborhoods such as jewelry, carpets, clothing, antiques, leather, fabric, and souvenirs. We spent 45 minutes to an hour with two different carpet vendors learning about Turkish carpets and enjoying Turkish hospitality (coffee)—but buying no carpet! The Spice Market was constructed later in the 1660s and is a spot to find piles of spices, herbs, medicinal mixes, Turkish Delight, dried fruits, teas, and much else.

One evening we attended a Mevlevi Sema religious ceremony known for its whirling dances and dervishes accompanied by haunting music. The ceremony represents the mystical journey of man’s spiritual ascent through mind and love to perfection. It was performed in a restored 550 years old Turkish bath with a high dome and cut stone. We were amazed to see the whirling dervishes spin for 10 minutes at a time in perfect symmetry.

We sampled many of the local fares, including the Turkish Delight, apple tea, balik ekmek (hot, seared mackerel in a loaf of fluffy bread and topped with handful of onions and lettuce), kebabs, meze (mixed plate of small portions of foods eaten with pita), fresh fish, lentil soup, and more.

Probably our greatest delight was ambling along the narrow streets or just sitting and watching people.

travels

After travelling to the north and the south of Addis with the tour (note the map), we wanted to explore more of Addis Ababa itself.  We finished our work archiving MCC files several days early so we spent the last couple days of visiting sites in Addis.

We started our exploration by walking around the neighborhood.  The house is located down a small rocky road on the side of a hill.  At the top of the hill (about a 20-25 minute walk) is an Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

One afternoon we walked from the office to Meskel Square and on to the “Red Terror” museum.  Meskel Square was important in the days of the Derg for that is where there were large military review parades.  It is now a big bus/taxi station.  The Derg (1974-91) was the socialist-inspired Military Coordinating Committee that ruled the country after the arrest of Emperor Haile Selassie.  During Selassie’s time and during the Derg there were thousands of people killed.  The “Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum” is in honor of all those killed.  It was a sobering visit.

African Union (AU)

A highlight visit was to the new buildings for the African Union which were completed in 2012.  What an impressive building!  We were able to visit the grand hall which holds 2500 people and some of the smaller meeting halls. Ethiopia has been a center for the promotion of pan-Africanism since the early 1960’s.

We visited Addis Ababa Museum and Museum of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies.  Both quite interesting.  Addis Ababa Museum is housed in a former royal residence.  There was a collection of old ceremonial and official clothes, documents, photos, artifacts.  Imposing paintings of Emperor Menelik II and his wife Empress Taitu greeted us upon entering.  Menelik II is considered the founder of modern day Addis. 

The Museum of Ethiopian Studies is housed in the former palace of Emperor Haile Selassie on the grounds of the University of Addis Ababa.  The first floor is dedicated to artifacts of the daily life of Ethiopian peoples from birth to death.  The second floor is a selection of Ethiopian crosses and icons dating back to the Middle Ages. 

We ended our exploring by eating a samosa from a street vendor, visiting the nearby leprosy and TB hospital gift shop, and riding in the ever-popular bajaj.

The travel home was tiring  with little sleep during the 44 hours from Saturday morning until late Sunday night (with 7 hour time change).  And we arrived to snow after experiencing perfect weather for 2 months—warm and sunny.  But its good to be home!

Our work here in Ethiopia has been much the same as Uganda and Tanzania—except that we started with more!  We had been told there was a shipping container of files which was the reason we planned on three weeks here.  There were actually 48 boxes and very well organized.  We were able to go through the material quicker than we expected.  We ended up with only 4 boxes to be sent to Akron archives.

We lived with the country reps.  They had a lovely garden with a resident tortoise and two friendly dogs.  We very much enjoyed learning to know them and the local office staff.  We laughed together and learned from each other.  Every day we had morning tea together.  We also had lunch together at noon and went to a nearby small café for coffee afterwards.  Ethiopian coffee is excellent!  At the café we saw the various spices being dried that are used to make berbere which is used in Ethiopian cooking.  We were also invited to one of the staff’s home for a meal.  We ate injera every Tuesday at the office and had several other opportunities to eat traditional Ethiopian food when we were out and about.  Excellent!

We were able to visit two MCC projects.  We visited a nursery/kindergarten school in Nazaret.   It was fun to be in a school again; however, we would have liked to correct some of the English which was painted on the walls.  We visited a tutoring project with students affected by HIV Aids.  They provide tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and Saturdays for 200 children ranging from 4-20 years of age.

Most evenings we relaxed and played games with our hosts and others who happened to be staying at their house.

Our tour spent several days in the capital, Addis Ababa.  We visited the former Good Shepherd School.  This had been the Mennonite school in Addis for missionary children for many years.  The daughters of the missionary couple with us on this tour had attended here.  They were excited to be able to visit the site 40 years later; though disappointed in the absence of manicured lawns and many flower beds that they had remembered from their time.  The school was taken over by the government and is now being used for military training.

We also visited the headquarters of the Meserete Kristos (Mennonite) Church located in the former Addis Mennonite Guest House.  The offices are in the midst of a big building project.  We climbed to the top where we could look out and see the first Mennonite church nearby, now part of a school.  It is interesting to be up close to a construction project and see methods used here.  We saw other building projects all over Addis.

We visited Sabahar Enterprise which is a silk weaving project.  Worms are imported from India; local farmers raise them and bring the cocoons to the project.  The silk is spun, dyed, and woven.

Lunch one day was at Selam Children’s Village, an orphanage which has grown quite large.  They have occupational training for the older students.  One aspect is learning to cook, wait tables, and run a restaurant.  Every noon they serve a 6-course meal which they have prepared with products from their own gardens.  The delicious meal consisted of

            Appetizer – chopped eggs on toast

            Soup – cream of chicken

            Salad – lettuce, etc

            Entre – cooked vegetables, rice, and meat stew

            Dessert – a cream pudding

            Coffee

painting

Another excursion was up Entoto mountain which overlooks the city.  When the capital first moved to Addis in the 1880’s, Menelik II built his palace here.  We toured the remains of the palace and saw the outside of the church where he was crowned.  We were not allowed inside.  We did visit the inside of Raguel’s Orthodox Church nearby which has beautiful paintings.

We enjoyed an evening at a restaurant with a wide variety of Ethiopian foods and music and dance.  We spent a short time in the National Museum where we saw bone replicas of “Lucy” – 3.2 million years old fossil.  There were also displays of everyday items from Ethiopian culture.  On the lawn outside the museum were a number of sculptures, including ones of Haile Selassie and an Orthodox bishop killed by the Derg (communist government) but now considered a martyr. 

Orthodox church inside

Early Sunday morning we attended part of a service at the large Medhane Alem Orthodox Church.  The service was, of course, all in Amharic but it was good to be there.  Men and women sit separately and nearly everyone wears a white shawl.  Women must cover their heads.  Later that morning we attended the large Mennonite Church in Addis.  We ended our tour with a light supper at the MCC house, hearing about their program in Ethiopia.  Sally Jo also celebrated her birthday with the group.

After our trip towards the south we spent two nights in Addis Ababa (more later) and then flew north to visit historical sites in Axum, Lalibela, and Gondar.

Axum was the capital of a vast territory that stretched from Sudan across to Yemen for thousands of years (B.C.).  Axum is only 35 km from present-day Eritrea.  According to oral tradition, Ethiopia was settled by Ethiopic, the great-grandson of Noah.  Ethiopic’s son, Aksumai, founded the capital of Axum and also a dynasty of rulers that lasted for between 52 and 97 generations. 

Queen of Sheba palace ruins

The last and greatest of these monarchs was Queen Makeda who lived in the 11^th and 10^th centuries BC.  Today we know Queen Makeda as the Queen of Sheba.  The Ethiopian version of the story is an intriguing tale which suggests that Ethiopian royalty has descended from a union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The Queen returned to Axum and gave birth to their son Menelik.  At the age of 22 Menelik returned to Jerusalem and stayed for 3 years.  There is a more lengthy story but, in short, when he left Jerusalem he “stole” the Ark of the Covenant and took it to Axum where it is now located.  The story of the Ark is very important in Ethiopian Orthodox as it has travelled to several spots in Ethiopia during times of turmoil.  Every Orthodox church has a replica which is brought out in the public during important days—but no one is allowed to see the original ark.  We visited Queen of Sheba’s palace and also her bath located 9 kms from her palace.  Another important person was King Ezana who brought Christianity to Axum in the 4^th century AD from Alexandria.  The Axumite kingdom was also notable for introducing Ge’ez, the first universal written language in Africa.  This language was used in church writing and manuscripts until the 19^th century and spawned the Amharic language.  The dynasty beginning with Menelik continued to Haile Selassie in the 20^th century AD. 

On a hilltop about 2km north of Axum we visited two underground tombs of Emperor Kaleb and his son and successor Gebre Meskel who both ruled in 6th century AD.  We also looked in on the tunnel that these people had dug from Axum to the Red Sea—a length of 294 km with a shaft every 20 metres.

St Mary of Zion church

We visited the Cathedral of Tsion Maryam (St Mary of Zion) in Axum which was built by Haile Selassie in the 1950s.  It is on this compound that supposedly the Tabot or Ark of the Covenant is kept.  The wall frescos were beautiful.  They had an old Bible with beautiful paintings.  Near the Cathedral is the stelae field with enormous stelae, each carved from single blocks of limestone– some up to 25 metres high and up to 500 tons.  One wonders how they ever were erected.  They were built to mark tombs. 

Lalibela is an isolated town high in the mountains and is famed for its rock-hewn churches.  Lalibela was the capital of Ethiopia from the 10^th century to the mid 13^th century.  King Lalibela was inspired to carve these churches in a period of 24 years gathering craftsmen and artisans.  Legend has it that at least one of the churches was built in a day with the help of angels.  Other sources say it would have taken 40,000 people to carve them.  They were carved from the top down and some were quite intricate for stone carvings.

St George church

There is much symbolism in the churches and their placement.  There are three groups of churches—the first group represent the earthly realm, the second group represent heavenly paradise, and the third represents Noah’s Ark and is dedicated to St George.  “Jordan River” runs between the first and second group of churches.  To enter the heavenly group of churches one enters a 50-foot tunnel.  It was completely dark and we felt our way by touching one side of the tunnel.  The story is that one can feel how hard it is to enter heaven! 

 Gondar was the capital of Ethiopia during the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  We visited Fasiledes Castle built by King Fasiledes the founder of Gondar.  The complex contains six castles, some connecting tunnels and raised walkways and several smaller buildings.  Some of the buildings were partially destroyed during World War II and some were partially restored through UNESCO funding.

Fasiledes Castle

Fasilida’s Pool is a sunken bathing pool.  It is referred to as a swimming pool but is dry except during the Timkat or Epiphany Festival (18-20 January).  At that time thousands of white-robed worshippers converge around the pool where they are blessed and swim or are sprinkled with its holy water.  Banyan trees from Cambodia grow along several of the high walls.

There are said to be 44 churches in Gonder but most of the original buildings were destroyed in 1888 when Gonder was attacked by the Dervish of Sudan.  The only Gonderine church that escaped entirely untouched was Debre Birhan Selassie (“Mountain of the Enlightened Trinity”), saved from the Dervish by the intervention of a swarm of bees – so says legend. 

When we visited the Selassie Church a funeral was being performed.  Masses of people were chanting on the road (along with the casket) when we arrived.  Then the men went through the gate to the courtyard.  More chanting and a trip around the church carrying the casket.  During this time, a group of men with instruments were in the doorway of the church “singing.”  The

Gondar sunset

bright umbrellas were fascinating.  The church itself is known for the prolific paintings inside.  All walls and ceiling were covered with various scenes from the Life of Christ and of saints. 

Supper was at a hotel in Gondar above the town with a gorgeous sunset to the west and a full moon to the east.  (Sally Jo finds the history of Ethiopia fascinating and has a hard time being succinct!)

We took time out from our work with MCC to join the “Experience Ethiopia Tour.”  There are 12 participants plus 2 couples jointly leading it.  The group is varied.  One couple and two of their adult daughters are with them.  They worked in Ethiopia in the early 1970s and the daughters attended school here during that time.  We have been able to visit the hospital where they worked and the school they attended.  There is a young pastor and his wife from western Canada who have never been to Africa.  There is another woman our age who has worked with MCC in various parts of Africa but had not been to Ethiopia.  And then there is the couple close to our age who were very good friends with Ron’s parents; it has been fun to learn to know them.  

The first half of the tour was a bus trip to areas south of Addis Ababa emphasizing the work of the Meserete Kristos (Mennonite) Church and the history of the Mennonite missionaries in the area. 

entrance to college

We first went to the Bible College about 1 ½ hours south of Addis and stayed two nights.  The college moved to this spot from Addis in 2006.  We met professors and had lunch with students.  We climbed a hill behind the college and took a short walk to a nearby lake where there were hundreds of marabou storks and flamingos.  We had supper in one of the homes of the staff.

We continued traveling south to Awasa in the great Rift Valley and visited several more MK churches, heard about their work, and saw their building projects.  We stopped to see birds at a lake.  We visited an MCC-partnered project in reforestation.  We ate lunch in a small Ethiopian restaurant in a rural village. 

beautiful

In contrast we stayed in a very nice hotel by Lake Awasa.  When we arrived at the hotel we realized that an interfaith conference was being held that included Orthodox, Muslims, and Evangelicals.  During the bus trip we were able to see life in the countryside.  We saw many “hay stacks” of the teff grain, a staple ingredient in enjira, the sourdough crepe-like bread served with most Ethiopian meals. We saw many of the three-wheeled blue and white “taxis.”

Our last day in this southern part of the tour was spent in Nazaret where Mennonite missionaries first began working in Ethiopia in 1945.  We visited the former Mennonite hospital and the former Bible Academy—both of which were taken over by the government during the DERG (communist government, 1974 – 1991) and have not been returned.  We attended church in the first MK church which has greatly expanded since the early days. 

We visited an orphanage run by members of the church where we saw them making ingera over a wood fire and were served coffee in the traditional manner.

On the flight from Kampala to Arusha we flew near Lake Natron, a large salt lake on the border of Kenya and Tanzania.  After the green lush vegetation of Uganda, Arusha seems brown, dry and dusty.  However, it is a much smaller and less crowded city than Kampala—and Mt Meru overlooks the city.  Our accommodation is again in a hotel and again we have a small kitchen so that we can fix our suppers.  The hotel area is more open and we can sit outside our room for afternoon tea.  Breakfast is served on a patio of the hotel.

MCC Tanzania office

Our work itself is very much like the past two weeks in Uganda.  There is not nearly the amount of material to go through and it is much better organized and is less dirty.  We filled a large box 3 ft by 2 ft by 2 ft about 2/3 full with documents to shred, burn, or compost.  We have three boxes to send to headquarters.  And we still found time to play games in the evening!

rice, beans, and accompaniments

We found a nice outdoor restaurant across the street from MCC office where we had lunch twice.  We would have had to wait for ugali (the common cornmeal “base”) so ordered rice dishes instead. 

We actually ended our work early and had time to explore the town.  We were here about three years ago but did not see much of the town then.  Forty years ago we passed through the town several times and remembered it as a “one-street” small town.  It has grown, is busy, and we found interesting places as we walked around.  When we were in Kenya in the late 1960s,  TANU’s (and first president Mwalimu Nyerere’s) Policy on Socialism and Self Reliance, referred to as the Arusha Declaration, was known as Tanzania’s most prominent political statement of African Socialism, ‘Ujamaa’, or brotherhood. The Uhuru (freedom) monument in Arusha continues to mark those national beginnings.