Visiting Kassa's Family

We had the great honor and privilege of meeting our tour guide's family. Kassa works to provide for his father, his mother, and his sisters. Kassa's mother made the best coffee--- the best we had on our entire stay in Ethiopia!

In and around Lalibela, people live in tukuls. The roofs of the tukuls are conical in shape and traditionally thatched with grass. The walls are built of irregular red local stone, scoraceous basalt (the same material out of which the churches of Lalibela are carved), and mud mortar. Sometimes the walls are also plastered both inside and outside with a mixture of mud and straw. The tukuls usually have two levels: the upper floor housed the bedroom or living room; the ground floor is used as a store room and kitchen.