Getting to Know Gonder

This week our students have exams so we are not in the classroom. We've been exploring Gonder and arranging new volunteer projects in the area. Slowly, we're getting settled in and figuring out a routine. We know the little stand near the Piazza where we always buy our bananas and oranges; the supermarket where we can get fresh eggs and milk, in a bag; and the hotels with the best wifi, food, or combination thereof.

Clockwise from top left: the entrance to Gondar University,
the Post Office and Telecommunications Office, the Piazza,
and a minibus with an "Obama" sticker 

Hotel Lammergeyer
It's located right by our school so we often stop by for coffee
or lunch and use the wifi.

Macchiato and buna (coffee) 
Each cost 5 Birr, or roughly US$0.30.

Over the weekend, we spent an afternoon at the Goha Hotel. The hotel is located to the north of the city and perched high atop a hill. The garden around the restaurant terrace is bright and well-manicured, and the view of Gonder and the countryside is unrivaled.

View of the city

View of the countryside

Birds soaring above the hotel

The birds appeared to be circling for prey

We also traveled north to the village of Wolleka. The road from Gonder to Wolleka is under construction by the Chinese. It is currently a bumpy, winding dirt road that slowly snakes its way into the highlands. Our first stop was the Project Ploughshare Women's Crafts Training Center. The center, which has been open for 17 years, helps disadvantaged women learn skilled crafts such as pottery and weaving.

Clockwise from left: two women hard at work around a
pottery wheel, additional pottery wheels, an electric kiln,
and finished, lacquered products ready for sale

Pots we bought to make shiro (a roasted chickpea dish) in

After buying two small pots, we made our way into the heart of the village to see the synagogue. Historically, northern and northwestern Ethiopia, including Wolleka, was home to a thriving Jewish population. Most of the Jewish residents were airlifted to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s through rescue missions like Operation Moses and Operation Solomon.

Village of Wolleka

Synagogue