Hanging honey hives in southern Ethiopia, near the Omo Valley
We were driving down a rocky road in southern, rural Ethiopia when I asked the driver to stop. “Wait! Are those the beehives from that book about the Ethiopian beekeepers!?” I said to my husband, while the driver answered “Well, I don’t know the book, but they are Ethiopian beehives. They hang in the trees so the insects and animals don’t get the honey.” I knew that I wanted to buy some honey, so at the next market I innocently asked a young man we met if he could show me where to buy some. In my naivety, I imagined buying little jars of honey as souvenirs for my mom and sisters. 
As we zigzagged through the women selling gourds, potatoes, coffee beans, onions, my excitement grew… and then, when the boy swung around holding the open gourd heavy with beautiful, raw, sweet honey, I hope he didn’t see my face drop as I immediately thought of all of the TSA and customs rules I would be breaking taking it as a carry-on (or worse, trying to pack it in my checked bag!). Needless to say, and much to our chagrin, we did not buy the honey in Ethiopia. We still chuckle about my giddiness in the market while walking to the honey section. When we got home I re-read “The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela” while showing my kids pictures of the beehives we saw, and we even made honey bread, albeit with local honey!
The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela is written by award-winning author Cristina Kessler, Continue reading →
