Some more Ethiopia fotos

Hands down, absolutely my favorite hair product label EVER.  My hair barely survived 4 weeks of a 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner in Morocco, but after a week in Ethiopia, my hair was so dry, it was shocking me multiple times a day!  I was worried this conditioner was a bit thin and watery to do much, but today has been my first static-shock-free day!  Thank you, Kenya, for producing such a fine product.

 One of a pair of hippos in Lake Tana...they were very difficult to capture on my camera (when I had my camera) because they'd be up for a few seconds and then pop under for several minutes at a time.  It was so cool to see them in the wild!!

One of the drums used in Mass and other religious ceremonies in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  They're heavy!!

The very photogenic priest at Debre Maryam Monastery holding up a Bible containing Ge'ez scripture on goatskin pages.

The oldest pizza brick oven I've ever seen!  (in Queen of Sheba's palace outside of Axum, Ethiopia;  legend claims 11th-10th century B.C.).

Building within the Cathedral of Tsion Maryam in Axum that purportedly houses the Ark of the Covenant (no independent witnesses exist outside of the high church officials).

In the Stelae field in Axum; I've sometimes felt like this woman appears after visiting one too many monasteries in a day (  :-)  ).  Behind her is a giant granite obelisk that collapsed immediately after being erected in the 3rd century by King Remhai, probably because the base was too small to support it.  Weight:  500 tons.  Height:  over 33 meters.