All is well and the Timkat Religious Festival is certainly something to be seen and experienced, unlike anything from the western world .
Briefly, Timkat is the most important of nine major Christian Orthodox holidays. It celebrates the baptism of Jesus, Timkat means 'immersion'. In most of Ethiopia it is a two day festival, but in Addis a third day is added.

With the aid of information gathered from an article from the Ethiopian Airlines magazine, and advice from some locals, I'm feeling OK with whatever happens. Timkat in Addis is BIG....there will be tens of thousands joing the celebration, including at least a few farangis. I've been warned of potential pick pockets, but I've adjusted how I carry my belongings and feel 'pick-pocket proof', or at least close. I've even included dental floss for my defense... have you ever tried to break a piece...it's strong. There are small metal eyelets at the bottom of the pockets in my REI travel pants and I was able to fashion a knot and use it as an anchor point. Someone is going to have to tear the pants from my body to get anything.

Day 1-Jan 18

I arrive at St . George Church about 1:00 PM. The 'tabot' (a replica of the covenent of the ark) from this church, along with 43 others located throughtout Addis, will be carried in a procession to Jan Meda, an area just NE of Addis city. At 2:00 the celebration begins. The inital celebration lasts 1 hour, everyone is in a festive mood, there are lots of chants, and la, la las from the crowd, many of the women perodically kneel down and kiss the ground. I am clueless, the only farnagi within the walled area of the church, but I'm getting smiles, no snears, my conclusion is it's OK for me to be here. I might even have been on the local evening Addis TV news....a TV crew was recording the procession as it left St. George Church, spotted my white farangi face, and they swung the camera in my direction.

As the 'tabot' leaves the church, the procesion begins. This is not a solemn celebration, it is joyous and filled with energy. I find myself moving along, in the beginning I'm surrounded by Orthodox priests, right now I'm feeling very safe!
The best way to describe the procession .. feels like I'm in a slow massive human river. Shoulder to shoulder, not much space in front or behind, people chanting, clapping, singing, la,la laing, the scent of incense, drum beats, colors galore, smiling faces....what an absolute total experience for all of my senses. I shuffle along, you can hardly call this walking.
A young lady dressed in traditional clothing says hello, later I learn her name, Kidst. She is 21, a nursing student, and wants to chat with me. Her mother and younger sister are also walking, shuffling along. Kidst has a a US Marine boyfriend of 3 years, and she wants to tell me about him and later asks for my opinion.."is he good for me...maybe to be his wife in the future?"  She really wants my opinion, and I answer yes. He sounds like a stand up guy, is paying for her school, stays with her on every 'leave', knows her family, and, maybe most important, via photos and emails and letters, his family has 'met' her and approves.
We continue to flow along. This is just one of forty-three other processions bound for the same location, Jan-Meda. Procession after procession meet, one follows another, how many people are here? Tens of thousands???   Forward movement now is at the pace of flowing molasses, as we break away and call it a day.
In the evening after dinner I go into a bar close to my hotel. It's occupied by about 50 young Ethiopians, me, and one woman. Everyone is drinking draft beer, having a good time, and all of the men are dancing with one another. This is not a scene you will ever see in the USA.