Ethiopia: Addis Ababa (Day 2)
Our second day, we returned to Arat Kilo because we wanted to check out the Ethiopian Ethnographic museum at Addis Ababa University. However, it was our bad luck, because as a result of the holiday, it was closed. We then tried the nearby Lion Zoo, to see the black Abyssinian lions, but it, too, was closed.
The Bradt recommended three churches in the area, but the description was misleading and we weren't able to correlate it with the map. We ended up going to Kiddist Maryam instead, which gave a wonderful feeling with the sunbeams pouring in through the cupola windows, and the distinctively vivid Ethiopian-style murals inside.
Next we spent some time just touring the nearby neighborhoods to the northwest. Once again, it was pleasantly laid back, and we enjoyed simply stretching our legs and looking about. We eventually came by accident to Selassie Church (actually a cathedral), which we spotted along Adwa Avenue. This was one of the three recommended churches, and now our luck changed, as we came just as another tour group was getting a private tour, and so we got the benefit of detailed explanations of the building and its collection of art. I found the outside to be a bit much, but the stained glass windows inside were beautiful. We were surprised to see the Star of David decorating the inside, but this turned out to be quite common across the country. We then continued on to the adjoining Selassie Museum, where we saw ecclesiastical and royal regalia, as well as many ancient crosses and manuscripts.
We took lunch at a rather shady looking bar and restaurant, which actually served quite decent food, though we were becoming well acquainted with the varieties of kai wat. This time, it was served with a hard-boiled egg.
In the afternoon we decided to visit the Mercato. We had a bit of an adventure on that front -- we negotiated a rate on the minibus, but halfway there we were shuffled onto a different minibus. It seemed like we were driving awfully far, and I was starting to get a bit nervous, so we queried our fellow passengers and they unfortunately pointed behind us! So we stopped the bus immediately and turned around to walk back the way we had come.
We couldn't tell exactly where we were from the map, but the whole area seemed to be commercial and shopping, and we never did find the kind of market we were imagining. It later turned out that this, too, may have been due to the holiday, but we had perhaps a more singular adventure just looking for the Mercato. We cut off the main road into the side streets, where we thought the map suggested it should be. Instead, we ended up walking through the slums. It's a testament to the city that in spite of the gross wealth differential, the only threat we felt was an overly friendly drunkard, who was quickly shooed away, albeit discreetly, by other citizens.
The plight of the people there struck us both in the heart. The streets were cobbled in the good spots, and dirt in the worse ones, and the huts were simply packed mud with a bit of corrugated metal on top for a roof, sometimes held on only with stones. We were astounded by the number of children everywhere; we had read that the average age in Ethiopia is but twenty. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures; it seemed rude, both to treat peoples' lives as a novelty, and to flash around my obviously modern camera. Julien's Leica, concealed in its leather case, actually attracted much less attention.
Soon we decided we'd seen enough, and we caught a minibus to Mexico Square. This was one of the better minibus rides -- a guy with a goat hailed us down, and the crier cheerfully helped him heave the poor goat, all four hooves bound, into the bus. I was surprised by its docility. We debarked for the long walk back toward Meskel. We went astray, and accidentally took Ras Adebe Aregay northeast instead of going due east, but after a bit we pulled out Julien's compass, and were soon on track again at Adinet Square.
We stopped for a welcome coffee and cake, which was rather diminished by the hawkers who'd come directly to our table (street side of the cafe) to pawn there newspapers and burned CD's. Our waiter did his best to shoo them along, but it was distinctly awkward to be eating a 2 birr cake with an ancient, shoeless begger holding his hand out for a 10 cent piece.
Eventually we returned to our hotel to freshen up, and we later caught a cab to the Karamara Restaurant. It was decorated in a traditional style, and unsurprisingly empty in retrospect, considering our watches were off an hour. We had an enormous feast of a variety of wats, and were gradually joined by well-to-do Ethiopians, apparent ex-pats (from their Amheric), and, at the very end, tourists. We also tried tej, an Ethiopian honey-based mead, which I found tasty, but strong. As the evening progressed, we were treated to live music -- a variety of appealingly dressed up singers accompanied by a synthesizer. It was all very upbeat and extremely relaxing.
The Bradt recommended three churches in the area, but the description was misleading and we weren't able to correlate it with the map. We ended up going to Kiddist Maryam instead, which gave a wonderful feeling with the sunbeams pouring in through the cupola windows, and the distinctively vivid Ethiopian-style murals inside.
Next we spent some time just touring the nearby neighborhoods to the northwest. Once again, it was pleasantly laid back, and we enjoyed simply stretching our legs and looking about. We eventually came by accident to Selassie Church (actually a cathedral), which we spotted along Adwa Avenue. This was one of the three recommended churches, and now our luck changed, as we came just as another tour group was getting a private tour, and so we got the benefit of detailed explanations of the building and its collection of art. I found the outside to be a bit much, but the stained glass windows inside were beautiful. We were surprised to see the Star of David decorating the inside, but this turned out to be quite common across the country. We then continued on to the adjoining Selassie Museum, where we saw ecclesiastical and royal regalia, as well as many ancient crosses and manuscripts.
We took lunch at a rather shady looking bar and restaurant, which actually served quite decent food, though we were becoming well acquainted with the varieties of kai wat. This time, it was served with a hard-boiled egg.
In the afternoon we decided to visit the Mercato. We had a bit of an adventure on that front -- we negotiated a rate on the minibus, but halfway there we were shuffled onto a different minibus. It seemed like we were driving awfully far, and I was starting to get a bit nervous, so we queried our fellow passengers and they unfortunately pointed behind us! So we stopped the bus immediately and turned around to walk back the way we had come.
We couldn't tell exactly where we were from the map, but the whole area seemed to be commercial and shopping, and we never did find the kind of market we were imagining. It later turned out that this, too, may have been due to the holiday, but we had perhaps a more singular adventure just looking for the Mercato. We cut off the main road into the side streets, where we thought the map suggested it should be. Instead, we ended up walking through the slums. It's a testament to the city that in spite of the gross wealth differential, the only threat we felt was an overly friendly drunkard, who was quickly shooed away, albeit discreetly, by other citizens.
The plight of the people there struck us both in the heart. The streets were cobbled in the good spots, and dirt in the worse ones, and the huts were simply packed mud with a bit of corrugated metal on top for a roof, sometimes held on only with stones. We were astounded by the number of children everywhere; we had read that the average age in Ethiopia is but twenty. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures; it seemed rude, both to treat peoples' lives as a novelty, and to flash around my obviously modern camera. Julien's Leica, concealed in its leather case, actually attracted much less attention.
Soon we decided we'd seen enough, and we caught a minibus to Mexico Square. This was one of the better minibus rides -- a guy with a goat hailed us down, and the crier cheerfully helped him heave the poor goat, all four hooves bound, into the bus. I was surprised by its docility. We debarked for the long walk back toward Meskel. We went astray, and accidentally took Ras Adebe Aregay northeast instead of going due east, but after a bit we pulled out Julien's compass, and were soon on track again at Adinet Square.
We stopped for a welcome coffee and cake, which was rather diminished by the hawkers who'd come directly to our table (street side of the cafe) to pawn there newspapers and burned CD's. Our waiter did his best to shoo them along, but it was distinctly awkward to be eating a 2 birr cake with an ancient, shoeless begger holding his hand out for a 10 cent piece.
Eventually we returned to our hotel to freshen up, and we later caught a cab to the Karamara Restaurant. It was decorated in a traditional style, and unsurprisingly empty in retrospect, considering our watches were off an hour. We had an enormous feast of a variety of wats, and were gradually joined by well-to-do Ethiopians, apparent ex-pats (from their Amheric), and, at the very end, tourists. We also tried tej, an Ethiopian honey-based mead, which I found tasty, but strong. As the evening progressed, we were treated to live music -- a variety of appealingly dressed up singers accompanied by a synthesizer. It was all very upbeat and extremely relaxing.