Ethiopia 2011 - Day 1 - Addis Ababa - Mercato

Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia with a population of 3.5 million and is located about 2,500 m above sea level, it is the third highest capital in the world.

Addis Ababa means new flower in Amharic,

Addis Ababa was founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II, the site of Addis Ababa was chosen by his Empress Taytu.

In the early 1880's, Menelik has his place and camp at Mount Entoto which is located 3,200 meters above sea level.

In November 1886, while Menelik was off travelling around the empire, his wife Taytu moved their encampment from the Mount down onto the current site of Addis Ababa to be close to the hot springs at Finfine, on his return Menelik liked the location so much, he started to build his capital city there.

Whilst the family stayed out in the suburbs of Addis Ababa near CMC or Kotebe/CMC to the east of the city centre, also known as civil service area after the Ethiopian Civil Service College located here, the group stayed in the downtown Hilton Hotel.

The Hilton was opened in 1979 by Emperor Haile Selassie and the hotel is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and has a hot-spring swimming pool.

In the morning we trekked around the city followed by a group of tour guides average age 14. They were really friendly kids, telling us the history of the city. Unfortunately we were restricted on taking photos due to the proximity of the Goverment Palaces.

New Building in Central Addis - not Pisa

Words of Wisdom Featuring Halie Gebreselassie

The Addis Blue Bus



The tour was a real short morning stroll, the plan for the afternoon was to visit the Mercato (Market).

The Addis Ababa Mercato is the largest open-air market in all Africa. It is a rabbits warren of narrow alleyways with a mixture of market stalls and stores,

Mercato is located in the narrow streets of the Addis Ketema district.

The main streets are paved and roads are tarmac, lined with modern shop units,

Approaching The Mercato

The outskirts of the Mercato

All Lost in the Mercato

Once you move from the main thoroughfare into the side streets and alleyways, you get a feeling of going back in time in to an olden world of narrow, stall lined streets full of the hustle and bustle of a market with people milling about going about their business. The narrow streets and alleys are not paved and can be extremely muddy in the rainy season even the muddy brings character to the surroundings.

The Narrow and Muddy Streets

Shoe Stuck in the Mud

 It is possible to find and buy anything one needs from fruit to spices, gold to silver, Electronics to traditional wares and souvenirs of course. There is no map available for the Mercato, one's location is based on what is being sold in the street, streets literally steaming with sellers, buyers, tourists all looking and haggling for the  best prices.

The Spice Supermarket

Spice Supermarket

Cardamon

Chilli's

The Mercato's merchants sit on small three legged stools surrounded by their wares.of grains and spice. Some of the fresh produce is grown by small holders. People travel from far and wide to sell their produce or purchase provisions.

Stallholders selling Fruit, Coffee Pots, Frankincense

Vegetable Stalls

People bring their goods by foot, loaded onto the tops of cars, trucks or by the Blue Bus.

The streets are full of people carrying goods by any means possible,

Barrels

Charcoal

Stoves

US Aid being put to good use...