Lucy

Ethiopia

Click here to find out what KUHF had to say about the Greater Houston Partnership bringing Lucy to town.

View images from the Lucy reception on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Sunday, March 18

Minister Dalacho began her day with brunch at the Omni Houston Hotel and was accompanied by the Texas Secretary of State, Roger Williams, Jeff, Mrs. Moseley, and Ms. Saba Abashawl.  Right after brunch, she traveled directly to George Bush Airport for her flight back home.

It was surely a pleasure and honor for the Greater Houston Partnership to host our Ethiopian friends as they took the time to visit our city.  In April, we look forward to another visit from an Ethiopian official, Mohamoud Dirir, State Minister of Culture and Tourism!

Saturday, March 17

Her Excellency Tadelech Dalacho had a very eventful day as she witnessed a Houston tradition, the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show, was given a private tour and lunch in the Directors Club, and enjoyed a Rodeo/Brooks & Dunn performance.  The Honorable Ada Edwards also hosted a concert that evening at the George R. Brown Convention Center for Minister Dalacho.

Friday, March 16

The Partnership was honored once again with the visit of Her Excellency Tadelech Dalacho, State Minister of Culture and Tourism, and Mr. Matewos G. Mariam, Head of Standardization & Licensing.  Upon Minister Dalacho’s arrival in Houston she was welcomed by our friends at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and city council members Ada Edwards and Ronald C. Green.  Her Excellency attended a guided tour and luncheon at the Houston Museum of Natural Science hosted by their President, Joel Bartsch.  After lunch, Minister Dalacho joined a meeting with the Greater Houston Partnership and Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau at City Hall.  She ended her evening having dinner with City of Houston officials.

Wednesday, March 7

Today marked history as His Excellency Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of Ethiopia and Girma Wake, President of Ethiopian Airlines, visited the Greater Houston Partnership.  Shortly after arriving in our beautiful city, arrangements were made by the U.S. Secret Service and Consul General Kebede to pick up our special guests at the airport.  Their first trip was to the Houston Club where Mr. Girma Wake met with Mr. Mark Erwin, Continental Airlines and President Wolde-Giorgis attended the Greater Houston Partnership board meeting.  At the board meeting, the President delivered his remarks sharing his enthusiasm and plans for coffee, tourism, and Lucy’s visit to Houston in August.  (Click here for President Wolde-Giorgis’ remarks)

After the board meeting, His Excellency attended a luncheon and tour hosted by the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where Lucy will be publicly displayed for the first time.  It is a huge honor for the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the city of Houston to host Lucy, the “crown jewel” of Ethiopia’s treasures.  The Partnership is excited and counting the days until she is here. 

Following the museum tour and luncheon, Jeff had another opportunity to be honored by His Excellency’s presence in his office at the Greater Houston Partnership.  Here the President was also able to meet with coffee processors from Maximus Coffee Group and Cadeco Industries to explore increased trade of coffee from his country.  Afterwards, the President attended a press conference in the Partnership’s Boardroom where media witnessed and recorded history in the making. 

The President also had the opportunity to meet with another important Houston official that day.  Mayor Bill White welcomed the President in a courtesy visit at Houston’s City Hall.

Girma Wolde Giorgis

Girma Wolde Giorgis served under three opposing regimes in Ethiopia before the Federal Parliamentary Assembly elected him president of the country on October 8, 2001. A businessman and independent member of the Assembly, he was unknown to most Ethiopians until he replaced former President Negasso Gidada for a six-year term. The Ethiopian legislature, not the public, elects the country's president.

Wolde Giorgis was born in December 1924 in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, where he studied at an Italian school. He later attended schools in Sweden, Canada, and the Netherlands. Extraordinarily multilingual, he speaks three native and three foreign languages-Orominga, Amharic, Tigrinya, Italian, English, and French. Wolde Giorgis is a member of the Oromo ethnic group-the country's largest, making up 40% of the population-and some political analysts speculate that the ethnic Tigrean-led government appointed him president to appease the Oromo people.

An unlikely candidate by most experts' estimates, Wolde Giorgis has been criticized for serving first under Emperor Haile Selassie, then joining the military regime of Marxist leader Mengistu Haile Mariam, who overthrew Selassie in a 1974 coup. When the current ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) overthrew Mengistu in 1991, Wolde Giorgis left the government to pursue a private business, but he later returned as a member of the legislature.

Under Selassie, Wolde Giorgis was an air force lieutenant, and later became head of the Civil Aviation Authority while simultaneously serving on the board of Ethiopian Airlines. He also joined the Federal Parliamentary Assembly, eventually becoming president of the lower chamber, the Council of People's Representatives, and establishing the country's first international parliamentary committee.

When Mengistu came to power, Wolde Giorgis served in various jobs, including president of the Red Cross in Eritrea, then a province of Ethiopia. After the overthrow of Mengistu's government, Wolde Giorgis used the international skills he had developed to begin his own business ventures. He founded a timber processing company, represented the Australian trade mission to Ethiopia, and became a board member for the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce. He also founded the Environment and Development Society of Ethiopia and the Ghibe Agricultural Association.

Wolde Giorgis returned to government in May 2000, when he was again elected to the lower chamber of the Assembly as an independent candidate representing the western Shoa region of Ethiopia. Two-and-a-half years later, the EPRDF tapped him as president for the next six years. References:

Bhalla, Nita, "'Unknown' Elected Ethiopian President," BBC News, October 8, 2001 (http://news.bbc.co.uk); Ethiopian Embassy, UK (www.ethioembassy.org.uk); "Lieutenant Girma Wolde Giorgis Elected State President," allAfrica.com, October 8, 2001 (http://allafrica.com); USAfrica.com (http://us-africa.tripod.com).

Monday, Feb. 12

After a 3 hour delay we took off from Bole Airport on Lufthansa 440 around 1 a.m. By 2:30 we were pulling up to a gate in Khartoum to pick up the rest of our fares. The best news is that by this time exhaustion had set in and I slept through the 90 minute loading. Well over three fourths of our Airbus 380 came out of the capital city of Sudan.

On take off, the city lights spread for miles. Khartoum is a boom town because of a tremendous oil exploration in the south region of the country. Incidentally, Sudan is the largest geographic country on the African continent. How large? It is the same size as all of the U.S. east of the Mississippi.

Sen. Ellis, Amb. Nagy, Joel Bartsch and I are now transit passengers in Frankfurt.

Friday, Feb. 9

By all accounts, today has been a smashing day of meetings related to Lucy's historic journey to Houston.

Our first meeting was with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at his residence. Sen. Ellis led our delegation which also included, Tibor Nagy, former U.S. Amb. to Ethiopia, Joel Bartsch, Pres. of HMNS and Gezhagen Kebede member of the Ethiopia Trade & Investment Council. Sen.
Ellis spoke about the huge reservoir of goodwill that we, Americans, have towards Ethiopia for its willingness to stand in the gap and take out the terrorists in Somalia. Amb. Nagy has always been a proponent of breaking old stereotypes about the country, and confirmed that this exhibit will not only be a tremendous invitation for a wide audience to see Lucy, but also a chance to learn more about the people, culture and history of Ethiopia. Joel expressed deep gratitude to the government for working to make Lucy's historic journey possible, and touched on some of the final punch list items before the containers are packed for shipping. Joel also confirmed HMNS' commitment to coordinate security with the city and all appropriate authorities. My comments were related to our business community's support and willingness to work with HMNS to assist in finding funds that could come back to the museums of Ethiopia.

The Prime Minister was in a warm, relaxed mood, extremely pleased that "Ethiopia's best known ambassador will be getting her temporary visa and traveling to Houston this year." He went on to say that he is fully supportive.

President Girma Wolde-Giorgis invited us to join him for tea at the ornate palace, that not too many years ago was home to Haile Selassie. The President was very engaged as he talked about the value of Lucy traveling throughout the U.S., not only raising the awareness of tourism opportunities in Ethiopia, but also working to shatter false impressions and stereotypes about the nation. In a few weeks, the President will be in Texas on other business, but the doors to his office are open for further involvement in assisting Lucy's final travel arrangements.

Both the Prime Minister and President are extremely interested in having a business to business relationship with Houston businesses – one that will continue well beyond Lucy's visit. Our trained economic development professionals at the Partnership will be able to assist both parties, and at the same time help us meet our Strategic Plan goals for world trade and direct foreign investment.

Although the meetings took place one day later than we had earlier anticipated they were very productive. Now, it is really time to go to work.

We board Lufthansa flight 440 in a few hours and arrive in Houston Tuesday afternoon!

Sen. Ellis, Amb. Nagy, Joel, Gezhagen and I can't wait to get back to share more details of this historic Ethiopia/Houston mission – one that will bring jobs and tourism to our city and one that will bring jobs and tourism to Ethiopia.

Perhaps, just as importantly, Lucy will break stereotypes about Ethiopia as well as stereotypes about Houston!

Thursday, Feb. 8

Baher Dar, located on the southern shores of Lake Tana, is the source of the visibly pure Blue Nile. Upon his arrival, Jeff checked in at the Baher Dar Tana Hotel, and had a boat ride on Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia. More than thirty islands and peninsulas and the Tissisal Falls, which are the most spectacular waterfalls in the country, could be seen on this boat excursion. Most of the islands and peninsulas seen on the boat ride are shielded by ancient monasteries that are decorated with amazing wall paintings from the twelfth to twentieth centuries. Among Baher Dar's multitude of monasteries, some can only be visited by men.

Wednesday, Feb. 7

Yesterday we lifted off from Aksum International Airport and headed through high, beautiful mountain ranges to Ethiopia's other holy city, Lalibela. The most amazing thing about Lalibela is that the churches, built during Medievel times, have been in CONTINUOUS use since they were open some 900 years ago! History tells us that Jerusalem was in the control of Islam, so the ruling monarch of Ethiopia decided to build a new Jerusalem. The River Jordan is even here. We climbed down into the subterrainean, rock hewn churches and had our minds expanded beyond anything we had contemplated encountering.

Lalibela staggers the imagination! There are ancient structures and remnants of civilizations throughout the continents. I challenge you to tell me of structures built 900+ years ago that have been in continuous and original use - Lalibela is exactly that. Even the Pantheon of Rome, while built in one century, was designed as a temple to the gods and is now a Catholic church. Our Houston version would be seeing Lakewood Church taking a sports facility (Compac Center) and making it a world class house of worship.

Lalibela churches, by contrast, were designed to be the foundation for a New Jerusalem. The logic was simple. Jerusalem, in those days, was under control of the Moslems. King Lalibela set out to give pilgrims a new home - and so he did. Eleven churches were designed, carved out of the solid rock mountain side. Lore describes how angels came out at night to join King Lalibela and his craftsmen. There must have been divine intervention - the churches were all up and running in twenty-three short years!

It has been tremendous having the Ministry of Tourism advancing this visit. As we come into the church complex compound, forty priests, dressed in traditional white tunics, lined up to welcome us. The High Priest was extremely gracious in his remarks and he led the delegation in a song of praise. It was powerful!

So here we are, walking down catwalks, tunnels and an assortment of stairs as we descend to the entrances that are thirty feet below ground level. Shoes are removed and stacked like cord wood in front of ancient heavy wood planked doors. Centuries of pilgrims' feet have burnished the floors into a lacquered finish. Musky smells by hundreds of thousands of pounds of incense are hung in the interior. And yes, these are living, breathing houses of worship that King Lalibela built and consecrated to God some 900 years ago. I think you would agree with me that these churches rank as a "Wonder of the World".

Tuesday, Feb. 6

Last time we heard from Jeff he was off to visit Haile Selassie's National Palace, which was once also home of the emperor known for his great efforts to modernize Ethiopia. During his visit at the National Palace, Jeff had the honor of meeting with His Excellency President Girma Wolde Giorgis of FDRE. After his warm welcome from the President, he then made his way to the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa where an evening reception was held and hosted by Amb. Donaldy Yamamoto, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia.

Early Tuesday morning began with another grand series of adventures for Jeff! He started his day off by heading to Bole Airport for his next destination to Axum, one of the most archaeological sites of Ethiopia! Historical sites that Jeff encountered included the Axum Museum, the 1700-year-old Axum Obelisk, and the St. Mary of Zion Church.

One of the interesting mysteries Axum is well known for are its ruins of the legendary Queen Sheba's palace who reigned long ago, around 1000 BC. An even greater mystery involves her son, Menelik I, who is believed to have brought the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple of Jerusalem to Axum, which many believe is being kept in the St. Mary of Zion Church that Jeff visited.

After his historical journeys through Axum, Jeff closed the evening with dinner at Yeha Hotel, which actually overlooks Queen Sheba's bathing spot!

We all wish Jeff a safe and fulfilling experience as he continues through his travels, basking in the rich culture of Ethiopia!

Later Tuesday, we received this message from Jeff:

Technology is miraculous when it works; maddening when it won't. Yesterday my Blackberry crashed cutting off my already substantially reduced capability to communicate electronically. Ethiopia's communication grid will not allow my Blackberry to receive or send email BUT she will let me text message. This is a rather new craft for me, but here it goes.

A Lonely Planet tour guide states, "Axum is to sub-Saharan Africa what the pyramids are to North Africa." That was most certainly our impression as we got close up looks at the mysterious, marvelously carved, massive, solid granite oblisks. The tallest standing one measures 7 stories. Before the year ends, Ethiopia will burst with joy when an oblisk that was stolen in 1937 by the Italians will be rebuilt.

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe that the Ark of the Covenant is here in Axum! St. Mary of Zion Church house, a monastery, cathedral and a high security building holds Moses' Ark of the Covenant, according to the faithful. Graham Hancock, in his book The Sign and the Seal puts together circumstantial evidence backing this very claim. Draw your own conclusions. I have never met the Dali Lama, but we were literally blessed by the monk whose lifetime and only experience is to be caretaker of the Ark.

Tomorrow we move from ancient BC sites to Africa's Petra-Lalibela to see 12th century medieval rock hewn churches that are below ground.

The hyenas are whooping and dogs are barking at the whooping hyenas-that means its bed time.

More to come from Jeff’s trip to Ethiopia tomorrow!

Monday, Feb. 5

Ethiopian Airlines had an on-time arrival last night and boy were we glad. Our 767 rolled up to the sparkling, newly-opened Bole International Airport! Gezahgen Kebede’s smiling face greeted us at the gate. Gezahgen heads up the Houston-based Ethiopian Trade and Investment Council and serves at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. He was an early advocate of Houston showcasing Lucy to the world and came over one week early to advance our trip.

Joining Gezahgen was Deputy Minister Mohammed Gaas, who was in Houston about eight months ago leading the final round of negotiations for Lucy. Some might remember that the Partnership hosted Minister Gaas and his delegation at the Hunting Art Prize Competition during his visit. He was so pleased to see our delegation and made arrangements for us to relax in a VIP lounge before heading off to the Sheraton.

This morning we had a full delegation meeting with the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Amb. Mohamoud Dirir. Sen. Rodney Ellis led our delegation in opening remarks and Amb. Dirir was pleased that we were in the closing phase of finalizing Lucy’s historic, transcontinental visit to the United States.

We were pleased to tour the Addis Ababa Museum of Culture and ran into fellow Texan and former U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, Bob Kruegar! He was able to join us for a tour of the museum and then Mamite, the director, gave us a royal treat: We were escorted to an adjacent building and taken behind a series of secure doors, into a vault room. An onsite anthropologist opened the cabinet and pulled out two drawers and introduced us all personally to Lucy!

Got to run. We are off to visit Haile Selassie's palace!

Onward,

Jeff

Sunday, Feb. 4

Greetings from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport. We were wheels up from Dulles at 7:30 p.m. CST and rolled in here at 4:30 a.m. CST. Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) lands here to change crews, let a cleaning crew run through and take on a few thousand pounds of fuel. All of this will take place in an hour. We don’t have gate privileges, but today that’s OK – it’s a glorious Sunday morning, 54° F and the fresh air is blowing through the cabin.

This year EAL is celebrating its 60th anniversary with one of the best safety and performance records in aviation history. TWA was brought in by former Emperor Haile Selassie to set up the carrier and today its fleet of Boeings is one of the most modern in the sky.

Don’t tell anybody, but Alitalia sends their pilots to Addis for simulator training on EAL's equipment. In 2008 EAL will begin flying the next generation composite 787.

All that to say in a few minutes we lift off for the final leg of our 17-hour flight. Now we know the difference between “direct” and “nonstop”.

One of the meetings I will have in Addis is with EAL officials to follow up on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to pursue a connection between Houston’s Bush Intercontinental and Bole airports. There are many details to be covered before this becomes a reality, but the route could connect our petrochemical cluster to a stop in Nigeria before going on to Addis.

These notes are going to be brief. Everything I am forwarding comes off my Blackberry. That’s another way of saying my thumbs wear out pretty fast trying to hunt and peck on a rather tight keyboard. That said, it is amazing how far the technology has advanced in just a few years. The fact that I can sit on an Italian runway and communicate via email in real-time is truly amazing.

Speaking of technology, our board member and co-traveler, Gerald Smith, is already wondering if we can find a live broadcast of the Super Bowl. Standby for the answer to that. . .

Only five more hours to Addis!

Onward,

Jeff