GoNomad Logo - Travel Articles from Real Travelers, Lowest Airfares, Destination Guides from Around the World. Hotel Rooms, Good Advice
features| destinations| lodgings| transports| tours| alternatives| travel desk| women's travel| family travel flights | hotels|
  Add GoNOMAD.com to your favorites list for easy access to travel guides, original articles by real travelers, destination guides from around the world and the USA, lowest airfares, cheap hotel rooms, and good advice. Contact GoNOMAD.com via email to get help scheduling your next trip, vacation or adventure. Home link for GoNOMAD.com for great inexpensive hotel rooms, travel guides, state tourism directories, exciting articles about exotic places and good help and advice
 

Region:

Country:




GoNOMAD
GOOGLE
Join GoNomad
Join the GoNOMAD NETWORK. Get free newsletters, special offers and help support sustainable and responsible tourism.
enter email address:
Get Listed!
Give your travel business the exposure it deserves. Click here to get listed in GoNOMAD's searchable directory


Travel Deals
Want to go? Search for international airfare specials, hotel bargains, group tours and car rentals. We update them every 10 minutes, so you're guaranteed to find the lowest prices from the top providers.


Caravan/Forums
Ask travel questions, get answers on our new Traveler's Forum Try it Now


Travel Helps
Check out sustainable and responsible tourism projects around the world that you can help support


Marketplace
Shop the world for books, world music, travel accessories, handcrafts and more...


Share your travels!
Click here to submit your stories to us!

Airtrek
Around The World
Airline Tickets

 
RESERVE AIRPORT PARKING IN

*SEATTLE
*PHILLY
*OAKLAND
*LOS ANGELES
*NEWARK
*CHICAGO
*OTHER CITIES

save money, time and support GoNOMAD!



Ethiopian vegetables.
Eating and Drinking in Ethiopia

By Marie Javins,
GoNOMAD Transports Editor

Food

Injera is the staple food of Ethiopia. It's flat,
spongy, bread made from tef, a gluten-free grain found only in the African Horn. It serves as both plate and utensils, and is even shredded into some salads. It's the love-it-or-hate-it part of Ethiopian cuisine as its distinctive sourdough-like taste is not for everyone. Varying grades of tef make different grades of injera.

Pureed spiced vegetables, chicken drumsticks, hard-boiled eggs, and/or fried meats arrive in little piles on a wide pancake of injera.

Trips to Ethiopia

Diners are presented with another piece of injera, which they tear into small pieces (using their right hands only). The small pieces are used to consume the puddles of veggies ("wat") or piles of fried meat (sometimes "wat" or "tibs") on the plate of injera.

Vegetarians do well on Wednesdays and Fridays, when no meat is eaten. But they suffer the rest of the week when chicken, beef, lamb, and goat are standard dishes. Vegetarians will find a great deal to eat during Ethiopian Lent in March and April, unless they travel in southeastern Muslim areas where Lent is not observed (but Ramadan is). Supermarkets in Addis are well supplied for self-caterers.

Kitfo is warmed meat that is raw. Most tourist literature advises against eating it for health reasons, but it is an integral part of Ethiopian cuisine and could be sampled at an upscale, reliable restaurant or hotel or at a US Ethiopian restaurant.

Kolo is a snack food that may be available during long bus journeys. It is roasted barley, often served in a paper cone. It tastes a bit like popcorn kernels, and popcorn is also a common Ethiopian snack.

Ethiiopia--original home of the coffee bean.

Drink

Tej is a honey wine, with a deceptively sweet taste that masksits high alcohol content.
It's available in bars frequented by men, while women drink it at markets and in restaurants.

Ambo is a ubiquitous, fizzy bottled mineral water, named for its source that is near the town of Ambo. Other soft drinks include western standards and freshly squeezed juices. Plain tap water is fine in Ethiopia, but avoid it to play it safe.

Coffee is as important to Ethiopians as it is to Americans. Perhaps more so. Ethiopia holds a credible claim to being the birthplace of coffee and highland-grown coffee is its biggest export. An entire ceremony has grown up around coffee, with beans being roasted and ground in front of the guest. Tea is common in lowland Muslim areas.

Helpful Hints

The meat found in many Ethiopian meals.

Western meals are available in larger towns, and pasta is often available even in rural areas. Addis Ababa features restaurants for all tastes and budgets, including Ristorante Castelli (fine Italian), Sangam (Indian), Tomaca (coffee), Burger Queen (burgers), and La Notre (European-style bakery/cafe). The Sheraton and Hilton feature upscale restaurants and Sunday brunches.

Find an Ethiopian restaurant near you. Recommended restaurants include Merkato in Los Angeles, Addis Ababa in Washington DC, and Meskerem in New York. In traditional Ethiopian restaurants, meals are eaten around a mesob -- or short, colorful, woven table -- and water will be poured over your hands before the food is served. In the U.S., modern tables and chairs are more common in Ethiopian communities.


TRANSPORTATION

Air
Ethiopian Airlines operates inexpensive daily flights between Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Gonder, Axum, and Lalibela.

Bus
Buses leave from a central location when full, with gates opening at 6 a.m. Tourists are considered guests and are allowed on early, thereby avoiding the stampede for seats. Officially, no one is allowed to stand, and buses may not operate after dark. Luggage goes on top of bus; cover it with plastic to avoid dust and rain. Buy your ticket the day before if possible, take snacks, and expect delays. It is local custom to tip the luggage handler.

Tour
To see the countryside and travel with ease, go on a group tour. There are not large buses full of gawking tourists, but are small groups accompanied by expert guides that are trained to deal with Ethiopia's rough roads and surprises.


Marie Javins, GoNOMAD's Transports Editor, is currently writing a graphic novel about her 2001 around the world overland journey. See a sneak preview on
Comiculture.com.

READ MORE ABOUT ETHIOPIA ON GoNOMAD.COM

GoNOMAD-Ethiopia, the Next Big Thing?

GoNOMAD-Ethiopia Photo Gallery

GoNOMAD--A Journey to Bahir Dar

GoNOMAD - MARIE’S WORLD TOUR: Around the World Without A Plane

Guides to Exciting Travel Destinations in Africa GoNOMAD

 

An Eagle Warrior in the Philippines - photo by Mike Smith
Festivals Around the World
A vegetable vendor in Egypt- photo by David Rich
Destination Guides
An artiste in Quebec City - photo by Sony Stark
Feature Articles


GoNOMAD
Travel Checklist:

Passports

Visas

Travel Insurance

Ship Your Luggage

Reserve Airport Parking

What to Pack

Before You Go

Around the World Tickets

Cell Phones Abroad

Find Lowest Airfares

Find Discount Hotels

Airport Shuttles

Visit Our Home Page



A castle in Portugal - photo by Yolanta Barnes
Find Cool Lodgings
Climbing a pyramid in Guatemala - photo by Tim Leffel
Family Travel

A mother and her daughter on a tour or Poland - photo by Yolanta Barnes
Women's Travel


GoNOMAD Photo Gallery: See photos of Ethiopia by the author and others

Find Tours in Ethiopia



GUIDEBOOKS
Ethiopia (Philip Briggs, Bradt, 2002)
Ethiopia, Eritrea & Djibouti (Frances Linzee Gordon, Lonely Planet, 2000)

order now and get free shipping from Amazon



Share this with your friends on facebook and other social networks.

GoNOMAD:
wherever you want to go we can help!


Guaranteed Lowest Airfares

Around the World Airline Tickets

Hotel Search

Family Tours

Permethrin and other travel medical supplies

Airport Hotels

Travel Insurance

Rent a Cellphone Abroad

Car Rentals in Europe

Airport Parking at all Major US Airports

Compare and find the Best Hotel Rates

Find a hostel

Compare prices for major rental car companies




Airtrek
Around The World
Airline Tickets


TravMed Banner- 120x90

rentacar-europe Rent a car in Europe: You'll see more, do more and have a lot more fun!

Take a Tour to Anywhere with this new GoNOMAD tour directory.
Find a tour anywhere in our new Tours Directory from iExplore!


Search for cheap hotels in the US and abroad


Find Cheap Airfare on GoNOMAD.com!
cheap airfare
Search!