Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral

January 20, 2025

With an 8+ hour layover at Addis Ababa, the airline offer a free hotel room and transit visa. I had planned to visit Lucy (1) at the National Museum, but it is closed for renovations. 

A ten minute walk away from the hotel is the Medhane Alem Cathedral (2) of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (3). Finished in 1931, the style is unlike other churches I have seen, featuring a square design with porticos all around. While the interior was closed, the exterior has brilliant blue mosaics ensconsed in niches under the porticos. I sat and enjoyed the fresh air, breeze and relative quiet (4) while the faithful came, knelt, crossed themselves 3 times (in the Orthodox way), and kissed the icons.

Turning to leave before dark (5), music suddenly was broadcast through speakers in the church. I lingered to listen to the music and the birdsong from the trees nearby.

(1) Lucy's skelton are the oldest hominid remains ever found; her DNA is in all humans alive today. A sign at the airport says "Welcome to your motherland."

(2) Transliterated from the Amharic (a) መድኃኔዓለም ካቴድራል meaning "Savior of the World."

(a) Like Hebrew and Arabic, Amharic is a Semetic language.

(3) Western Ethiopia is mainly Christian, dating from the Christianization of the Kingdom of Akzum in 331, C.E. Eastern Ethiopia is predominantly Muslim.

(4) Relative to Mumbai, the skies were clear and cars honked their horns only when they needed to!

(5) I wanted to return in the daylight mostly to avoid falling in a hole in the sidewalk.

The Cathedral

Unlike Eastern Orthodox depictions, there is no lower bar on the cross

St George slaying the dragon

St Mark the Evangelist, judging by the lion

Madonna

The wise men arrive on Epiphany, when the Orthodox celebrate Christmas

Richly carved doors

Birds have nested in the swaying chandeliers under the portico

The Northwest portico

The east side

Sparrow of some sort

Weaver bird tending the nest

Panorama Point, Matheran

January 19, 2025

About 600 feet below Matheran Hill top, a salient extends north to the (aptly named) Panorama Point. The trail goes past Amman Lodge, the last point cars can go towards Matheran, and from which shuttle trains run to the Hill Station (1) We were glad to quickly pass the cacophony at the parking lot and rejoin the trail on the far side. 

As with our hike yesterday, almost no one was on the trail north of Amman Lodge; we encountered a total of 5 people on the 3 miles (round trip) to the point along the slightly overgrown path. The point offers sweeping 270° views to the surrounding hills and countryside. Below the point, the rail line makes a sweeping curve below the salient, with the location of the ascending train readily discernable by the noise of the straining engine. The hike back up to the hotel completed the 6 mile hike, with 600 feet of down and up.

For the descent back to the main line at Neral, we opted for a 20 minute taxi ride, rather than the 2+ hours on the train (2). Buying a ticket at Neral for Mumbai, the ticket seller remembered my friend; I think he was impressed by her victory in the ticket-purchase skirmish yesterday.

The increasing crowds and noise reflected the Sunday "mega block," which we were unaware of. The mega block is a mass cancellation/delay of trains on Sundays. After more than an hour, a jammed train came, which people shoved onto before it even stopped. I'm surprised people didn't fall out the other side of the open-door cars. After some fruitless haggling with the local taxis about a ride to Mumbai (3), we returned to the station, where the nearly-empty 2:11 train came at 3:15, a half hour after the mobbed 2:30 train.

After a hectic day, we opted for a nice hotel near the airport, a short Metro ride from Ghatkopar station (4), well north of the Mumbai Central area.

(1) The same process used in Zermatt, Switzerland, where cars drive to the penultimate station on the line, with frequent shuttle trains to car-free Zermatt.

(2) While always enjoying a narrow-guage train ride, it was a bit long yesterday, and we would have arrived back to Mumbai much later.

(3) Mumbai traffic is apparently monumental, and the local taxis prefer just to go to and from Matheran.

(4) The Mumbai metro is fairly new (and air-conditioned) and people actually line up in a reasonably organized manner to get on.

Walking down to the salient 

At Amman Lodge: He's a Good Boy

Overgrown trail, Panorama Point in the distance

Views from Panorama Point

Hindu temple far below

Working on the narrow-guage at Neral

Hanging out railcar doors for the breeze

The Toy Train to Matheran

January 18, 2025

A dear friend lives in Hyderabad, joining me in Mumbai for the weekend. We opted to stay near the station in Mumbai where the trains begin to increase the likelihood of getting a seat on the suburban train to Neral. The doors remain open on the (un-air-conditioned) trains for air flow and for local passengers to hang out the doors as the trains speed along in the Indian way. Indian Railways main lines are broad guage at 5 feet 6 inches, allowing wider cars to accommodate the crowds.

Alighting at Neral, we found the narrow guage ticket window. After a small skirmish with a local woman, we got the last two seats on the toy train to the Matheran Hill Station (1). The 2-foot guage railway was built in 1907, ascending 750 meters over 13 miles in 2 hours and 40 minutes, with speeds limited to 3 miles per hour on some curves. At the Water Pipe station, we grabbed some sandwiches made of spicy potato patties stuffed into a bun sold trackside. At Matheran, we walked by the touts trying to sell us a horse ride (2), missing the man the hotel had sent to fetch me (3).

Marheran is a steep-sided flat-top hill with the hilltop a roughly rectangular shape, with a north-south alignment, about 3 miles long and 1 mile wide. We hiked to the south, enjoying views to the south and east at various vistas along the way. The views to the west (towards the setting sun and Mumbai) were more obscurred by smog. We encountered few other hikers along the way. At one Vista, there is stand selling drinks; the stall owner said he had run the stall for 30 years, currently accompanied by his dogs Rancho and Blackie, who appeared quite healthy. Overall, about 7 1/4 miles with some up and down, with lots of red dust on my shoes.

(1) Hill stations are a name given during the Raj for (relatively) cooler locations in the hills to escape the heat of the city.

(2) Matheran is distinctive in India in forbidding cars, avoiding the constant noise of honking cars. However, the government recently permitted electric tuk-tuks/rickshaws, which insist on tooting their horns incessantly and for no discernable reason.

(3) Saying my name got my attention. We were easy to spot, being the only non-Indians getting off the train. Matheran is a hill station Mumbaians go for the weekend.

CSMT Main Station, Mumbai Fort

The start of the Matheran Railway 

Climbing to Matheran

Views south and east

On the trail

Views west (toward Mumbai) were more obscured by thick smog.

Descending to the lake

Charlotte Lake

Cows wandering the streets of Matheran

Sailing Mumbai Harbor

January 17, 2025

No hurry to get started today as I preferred to avoid the Mumbai trains at rush hour. While planned to eventually reach the Fort Area of Mumbai, the Metro so far goes only to a nearby train station, with a connection to the Commuter trains. 

The Fort area of Mumbai is toward the end of a long penninsula enclosing Mumbai Harbor. The grand train station and many other buildings in the neighborhood date to the British Raj. The  former Victoria Station is now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The Gateway to India was built to commemorate a visit by the Monarch and Queen Mary in 1911. The last troops to leave India in 1948 marched through the gateway before embarking for England. Indians seem to enjoy gathering here on a Friday afternoon.

There are no kayak tours in Mumbai, so I booked a sail leaving from the adjacent Royal Bombay Yacht club, with a launch ride out to the board. Designed for local waters, the 21 foot Seabird was beamy at 7 feet. The wind was a gentle breeze (Force 3 on the Beaufort scale) out of the east (1). Sailing south on a beam/broad reach to a point abreast of Prong's light and the Arabian sea, the captain was a skilled sailor (when not staring at his phone) (2). The return was a little slower, on a beam/close reach. On the ride back, the launch picked up local passengers celebrating a birthday (3), who shared their cake.

(1) A 7 to 10 knot wind described as:

"Large wavelets; crests begin to break; foam of glassy appearance; perhaps scattered white horses." (2) I tried to get his name without success either because he was taciturn, or did not speak English well. (3) Everyone on a sailboat ride this busy Friday was a local celebrating a birthday, wedding, &c., except me.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, formerly Victoria Station

Fravashi Zoroastrian symbol at Iranian Cafe

Maharashtra State Police Headquarters 

Gateway of India 

The Taj Hotel

Heading out

Prong's lighthouse and the Arabian Sea

Sunken rock light

Back North toward the jetty

Friday night crowds at Jetty

Dusk

State Bank of India