Addis Ababa - It's a Different Animal

From Kenya I pick up a travel companion, Mark, the husband of the founder of Asante Africa. Ethiopia had been on both of our lists, so it was natural that we continue north following our business in Kenya.

Reaching Ethiopia from Kenya overland is supposedly a grand adventure through harsh desert, long distances, few transport options, and even banditry. But, in the interest of time, we decided to take the quick flight from Nairobi to Addis Ababa; the couple hour flight saved us about 4 or 5 days of rough travel. I keep telling myself that next time, I will tackle the overland route.

Ethiopia, to most, probably doesn’t evoke too many good associations; a country plagued by repeated famines, oppressive governments, and war. Ethiopia is the poster child for the skinny, starving African child. It seems however, that for the most part, this is a thing of the past for Ethiopia. It has developed at an incredible rate and is now a powerhouse in the region with a mighty military.

It was a stunningly beautiful flight into Addis Ababa. The capital city, at over 7,500 feet, sits amongst broad mountain peaks and fertile land dotted with circular huts. Even from the air, the city itself looks quite beautiful spread out across hills with forests encroaching all around and within. Looks are apparently deceiving though. Addis Ababa is dirty, decrepit, chaotic, polluted, and mind-blowing. I guess that would be expected for one of Africa’s largest cities; at least it is surrounded by beauty. 

Addis Ababa is an important city in the African context; it is the seat of the African Union, home of the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa, and is of course home to a plethora of non-profit and non-secular organizations. At this very moment, the two warring factions of South Sudan are in town trying to negotiate a peace deal. History has been made in Addis Ababa and will probably continue to be made here. And in Ethiopia as a whole, human history pretty much starts here and hasn’t stopped being made ever since.

Prior to coming here I really didn’t know exactly what to expect. What I did expect was for it to be entirely different from anything I had ever experienced before; not quite African and not quite Middle Eastern. Ethiopia is truly a whole other animal. To me, the people have characteristics and mannerisms similar to North African countries with a little bit of Bantu mixed in. The main language, Amharic, has its own script and has zero influence from the Bantu languages that I am more familiar with; in fact, Amharic is supposedly closely related to the language of Christ. And the food…so long stiff porridge and boiled greens and hello injera (fermented spongy bread) and spice, lots of spice. Oh yeah, and Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee drinking, so there is lots of that, with a consistency more resembling Mrs. Butterworth’s than the watered down coffee we are used to. I have never been much of a coffee drinker, but I am finding myself having no problem indulging in this rich and bitter drink.  Everything about Ethiopia is new to me with few similarities I can draw from anywhere else I have been in the world.

This post is obviously getting long and I am barely scratching the surface of what has only been three days in this country. I think if I tried to scratch deeper, I could be accused of having verbal diarrhea. Obviously there is too much to share about this unique and wild country, and I haven’t even left the capital. So from here, I will just let the photos do the talking.

Walking around in Addis Ababa is no easy task; streets and sidewalks are a mess, traffic is crazy, and in general, there is an edge. It is fascinating though.

 

Addis Ababa even has a river running through it, albeit probably toxic.

 

There is a sense of old here, not only in the old buildings and narrow streets, but in the way people speak and act.

 

Ethiopia’s history is dominated by regality and Orthodox Christianity. The history of this country over the last couple centuries is fascinating. The Holy Trinity Cathedral is the final resting place of the revered Haile Selassie, a descendent of King Solomon and the Messiah to Rastafarians. Eventually overthrown in a military coup, Haile Selassie lived a lavish life, building elaborate palaces across the entire country while the majority of the population suffered. Nonetheless, he is still highly regarded in Ethiopia.

 

Couldn’t tell you what this saintly figure with a machine gun is all about, but in a way it seems representative of Ethiopia’s curious history.

 

Meskel Square is an iconic location in the middle of the city. When visiting the nearby “Red Terror” museum you see the pictures of what the square used to be; a place of large military parades hosted by a brutal communist regime and place for public executions. The museum is on par with Rwanda’s genocide museum, depicting the violent “Derg” that committed a little-known genocide over the course of 2 years in the late 70’s, murdering up to a half million people.

 

You don’t have to go far out of Addis Ababa to reach dense Eucalyptus forests and full views of this massive city.

 

When you kind of get out of the thick of things, Addis Ababa is actually a very beautiful city.