UNION-TRIBUNE
Cultures intermingle along University in City Heights
By Kristen Green
One recent night, Shimeles Kibret sat in the bar of his Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant with his friend Osman Fatah, a Somali. The pair looked over the crowded restaurant and counted the number of cultures represented.
Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Somalis, Sudanese and Anglos were sampling Kibret's vegetarian and meat dishes and sipping Ethiopian beer.
"This place is international," Fatah said.
Another night, a white couple preparing for their wedding fed each other, a gesture of affection Ethiopians refer to as giving "gursha." Eager to introduce Ethiopia's culture to others, Kibret and his wife, Yeshume Beru, have hung portraits of Ethiopian kings on the walls and curtains from home on the windows. They printed yellow and green place mats decorated with maps of the country and facts about its culture and people.
But the couple had no way of knowing how wide the restaurant's appeal would be.
When Kibret opened the restaurant eight years ago, he held two celebrations. The first was for his Ethiopian friends; all the other people he knew were invited to the second.
On more than one occasion, East Africans have walked through the door of the restaurant to see it filled with white patrons and have turned to leave, thinking they are in the wrong restaurant.
But Kibret would run after them and ask them to stay, and the Red Sea became a gathering place for East Africans. They come by to pick up a week's supply of "injera," a spongy Ethiopian bread, or to mingle with others from their continent over a leisurely pot of coffee.
This is no quick cup of joe. During the Ethiopian coffee ceremony, they inhale smoke from the freshly roasted coffee beans and say a blessing. The beans are ground and then boiled. The coffee pot, known as a "gebana," is presented on a platter with wafting incense, and the coffee is shared with friends. The whole process takes nearly an hour, and Kibret will politely decline to serve it when the restaurant is busy.
One recent afternoon, sisters Leyla and Sava Araya sat at the bar waiting for the spicy meat dishes, or "wat," they had ordered to be prepared.
The Ethiopian teenagers, who grew up in City Heights but now live in Lemon Grove, return to the neighborhood often to visit the markets that carry the spices they use to cook traditional food. Sometimes they like to eat Ethiopian food without having to prepare it. They also enjoy taking in the ethnic mix of the neighborhood, said Leyla Araya, 17.
"When you're able to rub shoulders with people from all walks of life," she said, "that's beautiful." >> more
excellent ethiopian cuisine
from the outside, this looked like a dinky umimpressive little spot, but the world changes when you step inside this restaurant and your nose is greeted with wonderful warm smells wafting about, your ears open up to etheopian music helping to set the scene, and your eyes let you know how nice the scene and the people are at Red Sea. there is a vegetarian section of the menu, i opted for a number one platter, that came with a basket of injera bread, this is the best place i've eaten at in years. very economically priced, fast freindly service, and good good food. >>more
The projected population for the year 2000 was 62,242,000 people.
Ethiopia = Texas+ Oklahoma + New Mexico
Ethiopia= 2 X France Topography Much of Ethiopia Consists of rugged mountains and high fertile central plateau. The plateau covers 2/3 of the country, elevated between 2, 000 and 3, 000 meters above the sea level. Climate Ethiopia has two identifiable seasons-- the rainy season during the months of June, July, and August ( and a bit of rain in February and March) and the dry season from mid September through May) Language
Although there are at least seventy separate languages, Amharic is the official language. The ancient language of Ge'ez is still used in church services and in scholarly writings. Religion Ethiopia has three major world religions--- Christian (Orthodox Church), Islam and Judaism. >>more
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