This is a photo of Haile Selassie on horseback and while the photo is awful, it reminded me of Simon Bolivar on horseback which I saw in every town throughout Colombia. Bolivar would be in the central plaza and this just made me smile. My driver said he didn't think Selassie was like this in other towns, which made me sad. Trying to find parallels amongst peoples.
This lion symbolizes Ethiopia's strength and was erected while the Lion of Judah, below, a symbol of King/Emperor Haile Selassies' reign was out of the country.
The Lion of Judah was taken to Italy during the Mussolini occupation and was returned to Ethiopia in the 1960's. Everyone asked if I had seen this statue and there was much pride in the return of this...in fact, while in the National Museum early in my stay, many of the artifacts and records had been returned to Ethiopia...apparently, much had been taken by the British and there is a movement afoot to repatriate the Ethiopian treasures.
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