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Source: UN Women's Association
Welcome to Addis Ababa 1994-1995

EXPLORING THE CITY (Addis Ababa)
 

Addis Ababa was still a city of tents only some 100 years ago. One can see traces of the earlier settlement on the Entoto Mountain range which curves round the city on its northern side and divides the rivers flowing into the Blue Nile beyond it, from those flowing southward and feeding into the Awash. Entoto had been chosen by Emperor Menilek because he believed it had been the site of a capital in the days of Emperor Lebna Dengel, in the sixteenth century, before the invasions of the Muslim conqueror from the lowlands to the East, Ahmed Gragn, the Left-Handed, and before the occupation of the whole region by the Oromo, who subsequently settled it. Probably from this period dates a rock-hewn church near the easternmost end of the Entoto Range, which was not completed and is returning to the state of nature. It is a half hour's walk away from Yeka Mikael church.

Taitu, Menilek's wife, and indeed the court, soon found Entoto too wet and windy. She was attracted to the warmer, more fertile hills and plains below, where springs at Finfine, the Oromo name for the area, provided bathing opportunities in natural hot water. She it was who named the city Addis Ababa, the New Flower. A fifteen minute drive, or a morning's walk will take the visitor to the top of the range, from which there are good views of the city. Two fine churches built at Entoto in the 1880s are dedicated one to the Holy Virgin (Maryam) and the other to Saint Raguel. They hold services early in the morning and can usually be visited at other times. Maryam, Taitu's church, is painted in the traditional style on all four inner walls, and there is a small adjacent museum.

When the court moved down from Entoto (altitude 3,000 m.) the Emperor and his immediate entourage occupied the most prominent hill, his retainers, with their mules and cattle, settling on its slopes. In due course he built the palace and banqueting hall where thousands of his soldiers could feast at one sitting. The area, known as the Old Ghibbe, is now the seat of Government. The chiefs built their houses on other hill tops, and these picturesque structures, with their wooden balconies and occasional turrets, can still be spotted among the more modern buildings of the town.

Two tributaries of the Awash, which have cut deep ravines in the mountainside, divide the city (altitude from 2,300 to 2,500 m.) into three. The whole western hill is occupied by an enormous market, the biggest between Cairo and Johannesburg, where more or less everything is on sale. It is useful to go in the company of local residents who will take the visitor through its crowded streets to see and smell the spice market, to browse through the cloth shops, with their embroidered Ethiopian dresses and shirts and woven shawls with intricately woven borders,and to bargain in the shops selling a large variety of old and new Ethiopian handicrafts.

The middle hill is bisected by Churchill Road, one of the few roads in Addis Ababa popularly known by its official name. It forms the axis of the city, topped at the upper end by the Municipality, behind which, in a glade of fine trees, stands Ghiorgis, the church of St George, one of the main churches of the town. On its inner walls are some modern mosaics by the Ethiopian artist Afework Tekle. In the vicinity is one of the great old houses of the town which had belonged to Ras (literally Head, General) Wube and is now the bustling Addis Ababa Restaurant, serving Ethiopian food. Churchill Road ends at the railway station, known as "La gare". The railway, built with the assistance of French engineers, reached the capital in 1917. It runs via Dire Dawa, a bustling city in the Administrative Region of Harar, to the port of Djbouti. Descending Churchill Road one passes on the left the Lycée Guebré Mariam and the main Post Office, flanked by clusters of tourist booths displaying woven carpets and much bric-a-brac. On the right are the domed building of the Commercial Bank, the National Theatre, the old Ras Hotel, and the Catholic Church. At this end of the road there are newer shops, several again offering local antiques and tourist wares.

To cross over to the hill on the eastern side of the town one has to cross by one of three bridges. The upper one is reached by way of one of the older shopping streets leading to Ras Makonnen Bridge, named after Emperor Haile Sellassie's father. On the far side, near a fountain, are the "arba dereja" or forty steps leading to the old Armenian quarter. The Armenian Club in this area serves good, moderately priced Armenian food.

The second crossing passes Enrico's, of old the best cake shop in the town, but now having to struggle with a host of successful upstarts. The third road winds down towards the stream in an area formerly known as "erri be kintu" or "[if you cry] 'erri' [it will be] in vain".

The eastern hill is the site of administrative buildings and is graced with wide tree-lined avenues in its lower reaches. Coming down from Entoto on this side one passes the American Embassy, and several palaces formerly the home of members of the imperial family. The garden of one of these, on the left, is now open to the public and is the site of many wedding festivities. Some of these, notably the former palace of the Emperor, are now part of Addis Ababa University. It is known as Siddist (six) Kilo campus, because the square in front of the main gate was formerly the convergence of six streets. It is not known how and why streets came to be identified with kilometres. The main campus leads through a well established garden to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. Its Museum, on the first and second floors, is well worth a visit. The lower floor is devoted to Ethiopian ethnological artifacts and the upper to traditional Ethiopian painting. The Library has world-renowned collections of printed books, manuscripts and archives relating to Ethiopia and is open to Friends of the Institute, as well as to members of the University.

Some sleepy lions occupy a small zoo on the left as one descends, past one of the large secondary schools of the city, the Menilek School. From this vantage point there is a view of the formerly golden dome of Ba'ata Church on the hill to the left. It is the mausoleum of Menilek and his spouse, which can be visited. In the far distance one glimpses the majestic contours of Mount Zuquala, which dominates the landscape to the south. (A half day's journey with a four-wheel drive vehicle takes one to the top of the Mountain, where monks were already living in the fourteenth century. The crater lake at the top is surrounded by a grove of ancient trees and pilgrims assemble there twice a year to celebrate Saint Abba, an Ethiopian saint who lived there.) On the right is the National Museum, where the bones of the prehistoric Lucy, or Dinknesh, as she is locally known, have found their last resting place. An Art Gallery of modern paintings forms part of the Museum.

Next we come to Arat (four) Kilo, a crossroads with the science campus of the University on the left and the Ministry of Education facing the square on the right. Further down on the left Trinity Cathedral can be seen, and visited. In its graveyard Sylvia Pankhurst, the English suffragette and subsequently a long-time friend and defender of Ethiopian independence, is buried among Ethiopian patriots. Beyond it is the old Parliament building, now replaced by a newer structure further away from the main road.

The road next skirts the Old Ghibbe and descends past the honey-comb front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the right and, across a jacaranda park, the Hilton Hotel, built in Aksumite style, on the left. Below it is the complex of The Economic Commission for Africa, with its new conference facility. It has at the back of the rotunda three large stained glass windows representing African aspirations, by Afework Tekle, who was awarded a national prize for this work.

Passing a modern church, St Stephen's, the road leads to Meskel Square, so named because it is the site of the annual celebration of Meskel (the Cross) when Ethiopians light a bonfire and dance around it in celebration of a piece of the True Cross having reached Ethiopia. At the time of the Revolution the square was much enlarged and became for a while the site of military parades.

Overlooking the Square is the imposing house of Ras Birru, which has been turned into the Addis Ababa Museum. Next to it is a complex of newer halls used for trade fairs and occasional exhibitions. Bole Road leads from the Square to the airport, through a well laid out residential area with spacious villas and a number of embassies.

Although Addis Ababa is well situated, with mountains on the horizon, the scenery in its immediate vicinity is not spectacular, by Ethiopian standards. However, within a radius of 150 km. in every direction there are scenes more typical of highland Ethiopia. Over Entoto, there is the Blue Nile gorge in all its grandeur, and on a smaller scale, nearer by, the gorge of its tributary the Muger. An equally impressive gorge meets the traveller taking the Jimma Road, southwestwards to the coffee lands, crossing the canyon of the Ghibbe River. Going east the ground rises to some 3000 m. before descending on a winding road deep into the lowlands. Westwards the road leads past the intended capital, Addis Alem, with its palace which was turned into a church, painted with murals on the outside, to the resort of Ambo, with its hot spring swimming pool and beyond it the vineyards and waterfall of Guder. Southwards lies the Rift Valley with its string of lakes including the resort of Langano, where swimming and bird watching are but some of the attractions.

There is a lively cultural life in the capital. Several theatres offer contemporary and classical plays for those who have mastered Amharic. The New Theatre Club puts on play readings, plays and cabaret evenings. Friends of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies organize lecture series, as does the Interest Group, an informal grouping of women who organize Friday morning lectures on topics of general Ethiopian interest. The International Women's Club also has a regular programme of shows, classes and welfare activities, as does the United Nations Women's Club. There are two Rotary Clubs and the Toastmasters carry on their regular debates. The cultural institutes of France, Germany and Italy have regular shows of paintings by a galaxy of talented Ethiopian painters, some of whom also exhibit at the Municipality and Hilton Hotel. The St George Gallery, which opened recently in a refurbished old-style Addis Ababa house, exhibits not only paintings but also modern furniture, sculpture and fabrics all designed by the owner, Woizero Saba Elene, using traditional motifs. The foreign cultural institutes also have film shows, festivals and video lending libraries. The French Institute, known as the Alliance Ethio-Française, has weekly exhibitions of works by Ethiopian artists and also runs a friendly, inexpensive restaurant which specializes in French food on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The British Council has an excellent subscription library. The Motley singers practice on Mondays and give two concerts of choral music a year. There are also ad hoc chamber music ensembles and several amateur jazz bands.

Eating out need not be expensive in Addis Ababa. There are numerous restaurants serving Ethiopian food in the traditional basket-tables (masob). In addition to the afore-mentioned Addis Ababa Restaurant there is the Finfine, in one of the old hotels, which has rooms with attached bathrooms where mineral hot water gushes into enormous tiled baths; the Kara Mara on the Bole Road in clusters of round thatched huts; and many in private houses whose owners have become restaurateurs. Pizzerias, indoor, outdoor, and car-service, of which there are some half dozen at least, offer the usual fare, plus some Ethiopian spicing. To watch the sun setting over Addis Ababa the best place is perhaps the Kokeb restaurant and bar terrace, at the top of an apartment block beside Africa Hall.

There are three Chinese restaurants, one Indian, the already mentioned Armenian, one Polish and a number serving Italian food; at the top end of the price range are the well established Italian restaurant, Castelli, and a newer French one named Petit Paris, as well as the several restaurants of the Hilton Hotel. For a quiet lunch outdoors the Ghion offers Ethiopian and European style food on the terrace of its round house and the Unity House terrace, overlooking the spacious hotel gardens. The Afrique has a good Ethiopian restaurant in the basement, where coffee is served in the traditional way, and the Ethiopia offers live classical piano music at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Saturday evening. The Taitu Hotel in the centre of the old town serves clean, quiet and quick meals at moderate prices. Cafés also overlook the Hilton and Ghion warm spring water swimming pools, the former in the shape of a cross, the latter of Olympic dimensions.

For walkers and wildlife enthusiasts there is the Wildlife and Natural History Society, which arranges climbs of the mountains round the town at least once a year, and informal walks on Sunday mornings, as well as bus trips to more distant places. The Hashers run or walk on Saturday afternoons. In addition to swimming, sportspeople can find opportunities for tennis and table tennis, squash and golf.

Many foreign residents become involved in work to assist the underprivileged sections of Ethiopian society. There are numerous charities which welcome volunteers, particularly those who have handicraft, design or managerial skills. On the last Tuesday of every month a combined charities bazaar is held at the Hilton Hotel, where all manner of handicrafts can be inspected and purchased, including handwoven and knotted carpets, bamboo furniture, embroidery, crochet and leather work, clothes and toys. Of special interest is the traditional black pottery produced in the Kechene area of the town by women potters, who can be seen at work in their locality.

All in all Addis Ababa is a challenging and interesting place to be, with a wonderful climate. It is never very cold and seldom too hot, but when the rains start in earnest towards the beginning of July, and until the end of September, do not venture out without an umbrella!

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