The northernmost city in the unspoilt Tigray region, Adigrat is an ideal stopping point en-route from Axum to Mekele. Although the town itself is nothing special, a new lodge has recently opened on the outskirts of town, which is a comfortable base to explore the rock churches for which the Tigray region is famed.

Addis Ababa
Ethiopia’s capital is located more or less in the dead centre of the country and is the world’s third-highest capital at 2,400 m. Its name means ‘New Flower’ and it is a relatively modern city, founded in 1887 by Emperor Menelik II. In just over a century it has grown from nothing into a modern metropolis of several million people. Its altitude lends it a comfortable climate and throughout the year the weather is temperate with just the occasional downpour.

A Wise Old Owl
There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he observed incidents that occurred around him.
Yesterday, he watched as a young boy helped an old man carry a heavy basket. Today, he saw a young girl shouting at her mother. The more he saw, the less he spoke.
As the days went on, he spoke less but heard more. The old owl heard people talking and telling stories.

He heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence. He heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake.
The old owl had seen and heard what happened to people. There were some who became better, some who became worse. But the old owl in the tree had become wiser, each and every day.
The Moral
Be more observant. Talk less and listen more. This will make us wise.

ኩሩው ሮዝ
በአንድ ወቅት በሩቅ በረሃ ውስጥ በውበቷ የምትኮራ ጽጌረዳ ነበረች።
ቅሬታዋ ከአስቀያሚ ቁልቋል አጠገብ እያደገ ነበር።
በየቀኑ ውቧ ጽጌረዳ ቁልቋልን በመልካቸው ላይ ይሰድባል እና ያፌዝ ነበር፣ ሁሉም ቁልቋል ጸጥ እያለ ነው።
በአቅራቢያው ያሉ ሌሎች ተክሎች ሁሉ ጽጌረዳው ትርጉም ያለው እንዲሆን ለማድረግ ሞክረው ነበር, ነገር ግን በራሷ ገጽታ በጣም ተወዛወዘች.
አንድ የሚያቃጥል በጋ፣ በረሃው ደርቋል፣ እናም ለእጽዋት ምንም ውሃ አልተረፈም።
ጽጌረዳው በፍጥነት ማሽቆልቆል ጀመረ።
ውብ አበባዎቿ ደርቀው ለምለም ቀለማቸውን አጥተዋል።ወደ ቁልቋል ስትመለከት አንዲት ድንቢጥ ትንሽ ውሃ ለመጠጣት ምንቃሩን ወደ ቁልቋል ስትጠልቅ አየች።
ጽጌረዳው ብታፍርም ቁልቋል ውሃ ይኖራት እንደሆነ ጠየቀቻት።
ደግ ቁልቋል በፍጥነት ተስማማ፣ ሁለቱንም በአስቸጋሪው የበጋ ወቅት እንደ ጓደኛ እየረዳቸው።
ሞራል:-ማንንም በመልክ አይፍረዱ።

The Golden Touch.
There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a Satyr. And he was then granted a wish by Dionysus, the god of wine.

For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn to gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that this was a fantastic wish, and so, it was bestowed.

Excited about his newly-earned powers, Midas started touching all kinds of things, turning each item into pure gold.

But soon, Midas became hungry. As he picked up a piece of food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had turned to gold in his hand.

Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve! Perhaps this was not such an excellent wish after all!”
Seeing his dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms around him to comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The golden touch is no blessing,” Midas cried.
The Moral
Greed will always lead to downfall.

What is the source of happiness?
If there is happiness, then there is peace, contentment.
What is the measure of success?
Steve Jobs, the inventor and owner of Apple computer, advised us in the last days of his life.

Steve Jobs’ last words
Jun 7, 2018 ·

He died a billionaire at 56yrs of Pancreatic Cancer and here are his last words on the sick bed:
“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success.
However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.
At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and
wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.
You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.
Material things lost can be found. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost – “Life”.
When a person goes into the operating room, he will realize that there is one book that he has yet to finish reading – “Book of Healthy Life.”
Whichever stage in life we are at right now, with time, we will face the day when the curtain comes down.
Treasure Love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends…
Treat yourself well. Cherish others.
As we grow older, and hence wiser, we slowly realize that —
wearing a $300 or $30 watch – they both tell the same time…
Whether we carry a $300 or $30 wallet/handbag – the amount of money inside is the same;
Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car, the road and distance is the same, and we get to the same destination.
Whether we drink a bottle of $300 or $10 wine – the hangover is the same;
Whether the house we live in is 300 or 3000 sq ft – loneliness is the same.
You will realize, your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world.
Whether you fly first or economy class, if the plane goes down – you go down with it…
Therefore.. I hope you realize, when you have mates, buddies and old friends, brothers and sisters, who you chat with, laugh with, talk with, have sing songs with, talk about north-south-east-west or heaven and earth, …. That is true happiness!!