I climbed a mountain on Saturday. Literally, not figuratively. This mountain is called Jebel. It was not a very large mountain, but a mountain nonetheless. Jebel means mountain in Arabic.
The morning could not have been more perfect for climbing. It was cloudy, cool and there was a lovely breeze to keep us from sweating excessively. I climbed with about 15 UN staff, all of which are in better shape than me, but I made it. It is not that intense of a climb.
You start the hike near Rock City, passing women crushing rocks, children playing and men sitting drinking tea. At the base of the mountain there are tukkels where I assume the people crushing rock live. All the children call out “Morning! Morning!” The grass gets taller and taller the higher up you climb. It was at least 6 feet tall in some areas. Certainly tall enough that you could get lost if you took the wrong path. Closer to the top it becomes very steep and very rocky. Not nice rocks that will give you a good foothold but smooth rocks that make you fear slipping. The last stretch of the climb is a nice break from the steep incline you previously climbed. Flat rock on the top of the mountain, which you eventually have to scale up to reach the very top. I was quite impressed with myself that I did not fall on the way up.
The view from the top was beautiful. On one side of the mountain you have Juba, with blue, red and brown roofs looking back at you. On the other side you have tukkels and more blue and red roofs looking back at you. An entirely different perspective of Juba and the surrounding area. The clouds overhead were numerous and lovely. There were dozens of hawks flying up and down and along the mountainside.
It was a wonderful Saturday morning in Juba.
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