Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Summary

Airport Rating ****
Reception of locals *****
Cost: £

• One of the largest cities in sub-Saharan Africa and capital of Ethiopia
  
• Huge wealth disparity with skyscrapers and high-end neighbourhoods next to huge amounts of temporary shelters
• No issues in the city or surrounding areas as a Sikh
• Main Sights: National Museum of Ethiopia, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Unity Park and Zoo, Mercato, Leather Market, Jubilee Palace and Museum, Abrehot Library, Shola Market

The home of civilisation (and coffee)

Ethiopia is a country that I've heard about for as long as I can remember. The majority of my childhood had images of famine and poverty, but as I grew up I began to learn about the culture and history of the country and it began to fascinate me in a huge way. The religious history blows my mind, it was the second country in the world to have Christianity as the state religion, it had the oldest Muslim community outside the Arabian peninsula, and it's Emperors trace their lineage to ancient Jewish bloodlines.

The fight against colonialism is something else that stands out. In 1896, Ethiopian forces defeated Italy at the Battle of Adwa, preserving Ethiopian sovereignty and making the country one of the few African states to resist long-term European colonisation. The victory later became an important anti-colonial symbol throughout Africa and the wider Black diaspora. It's the reason that Ethiopia (and Addis Ababa in particular) is the home of the African Union.

It's also considered one of the cradle points of civilisation with some of the earliest bipedal hominins being found in the region (including the famous "Lucy" which I'll cover later). If that's not enough, Ethiopia is also widely considered the home and birthplace of coffee. Not many countries in the world can claim to have the type of history that Ethiopia does.

Addis Ababa is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia and has been the political and administrative centre of the country since the late nineteenth century. At 2,300 metres, it is one of the highest capital cities in the world (not too dissimilar to Thimphu, Bhutan which you can read about here), and when you're climbing stairs or going for a run you can feel it. The city was founded in 1886 by Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul during a period of imperial expansion and political consolidation. 

Before Addis Ababa became the permanent capital, Ethiopian rulers traditionally governed through mobile royal courts. Emperor Menelik II selected the site because of its strategic position in the highlands and the presence of nearby hot springs. Over time, the settlement developed into the centre of imperial government and diplomacy. 

During the early twentieth century, Addis Ababa expanded steadily. The railway linking the city with Djibouti improved access to international trade routes and strengthened its position as Ethiopia’s economic centre. Under Emperor Haile Selassie, who ruled for much of the period between 1930 and 1974, the city saw further centralisation and modernisation, including the growth of ministries, schools, hospitals and diplomatic institutions.

Addis Ababa was occupied by Italy between 1936 and 1941 during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Italian authorities introduced roads and urban planning projects but also imposed harsh colonial rule and racial segregation policies. After the defeat of Italian forces during the Second World War, Haile Selassie returned and Ethiopia regained independence.

In 1974 there was a revolution which ended with the rise of the Marxist Derg government, Addis Ababa remained the country’s administrative centre during years of political violence, economic difficulty and civil conflict. After the fall of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopia adopted a federal political system organised largely along ethnic and regional lines.

Today, Addis Ababa has around 5.5 million people in the wider metropolitan area and it's by far the largest city in Ethiopia and accounts for a significant share of the country’s formal economic activity. Ethiopia isn't small - it has a population of more than 125 million people, making it the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria and roughly the size of the UK and France combined.

Arriving into Addis

Ethiopian Airlines is currently the largest in Africa and Addis airport is a real hub, connecting travellers across the continent. My experience flying with them was a mixed one. The planes are relatively new and the food is excellent (more on this later) but I also found the seats to be slightly small, and the planes were a little dirty in parts. Not a bad experience at all, but certainly a level below even many European carriers.

The airport is similarly mixed. It is large and modern, very much deserving of its title as the hub of Africa but there are also a lot of frictions. Given its proximity to active warzones and ongoing insurgencies, security is - as you can imagine - extremely tight. I needed to go through several security and customs lines before I could leave the airport, and it was much worse coming back in. Security is there for a good reason and I would rather safety over comfort, but it is something to bare in mind, especially if you are connecting through the airport for onward travel.

My first impressions of Addis were overwhelmingly positive. It's a modern metropolis with everything you'd expect in a large city. The journey from the airport to the hotel about 20-30 minutes away was without issue and unlike many countries in Asia and South America, traffic is fairly orderly with none of the free-for-all that I saw in Vietnam or Peru, for example. The city didn't feel as green as neighbouring Nairobi (which you can read about here) but it definitely had some character. In terms of tourists, outside the hotel during my travels I barely and rarely saw any - Addis is not quite yet drawing visitors in large numbers but as the economy grows I am sure things will change.

Mercato and other Markets

To get to Merkato I walked about an hour from my hotel. The roads are heavily polluted, especially during days when the air is still, and the fumes from the cars lifted the temperature around me by what felt like a good few degrees Celsius. I never felt unsafe walking through the city, but you do get stares, and every so often homeless people will approach you for money or just start rambling and shouting. In many ways, the homeless with mental health problems reminded me of the United States. The roads were solid and smooth, if not unevenly, paved, and even as I passed through different neighbourhoods in the city, the general vibe was fairly similar.

Addis is a huge commercial city and you've got everything from large department stores, smaller shops, markets, and people just laying sheets on the ground and selling things - particularly outside of churches. During my trip I visited three of the larger markets - the Leather Market, Shola Market, and Merkato.

Merkato is one of the largest open-air market districts in Africa and it was developed during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia between 1936 and 1941, when colonial authorities reorganised trade areas and moved many Ethiopian merchants away from the older central district known as Piazza. Over time, the area expanded into a large network of streets, alleys and trading compounds covering several square kilometres. Today, Merkato hosts thousands of traders selling a wide range of goods including spices, coffee, grains, clothing, electronics, metal goods, household items and imported products. 

Merkato is an interesting place. It's designed for locals and not tourists, so it was an intense experience. While I was there, I didn't see a single other foreigner and it all felt a little sketch, but nothing beyond that. Most of the stalls were nothing more than corrugated metal sheets and some cloth. The market, which is very large, stretches through very small alleyways and corridors and sells pretty much everything, from clothes, to pots and pans, food, and a lot of spices. I enjoyed the sight and the smells but it's not a place I would recommend everyone to attend, especially alone.

Shola Market is another well-known market and while smaller and less internationally known than Merkato, it's still got a lot to see and do, especially in terms of clothing. I bought a scarf and haggling is expected. Goods in Ethiopia for those from outside the country are relatively cheap and so if you find yourself in the city, it's a great place to do some shopping.

Ethiopia has a long-established leather industry supported by one of the largest livestock populations in Africa. Sheep, goat and cattle hides have historically been important export products, and Ethiopian leather is often valued for its softness and fine grain, especially goat and sheep leather. It's therefore no surprise that Addis has a large Leather Market selling everything from jackets to bags and belts. There are many small shops all located next to each other, many selling the exact same products for the exact same prices - and as they aren't labelled with fashion brands they are significantly cheaper than similar products outside the country. I visited a couple of times during the evening and day and while there were a few people going through the shops it was never too busy.

National Museum of Ethiopia

Addis has a few really cool museums, although the buildings which house the artefacts and exhibits range from beautiful to crumbling. The National Museum of Ethiopia is somewhere in the middle. ​The museum is best known internationally for housing some of the country’s most important archaeological and historical artefacts, including the fossil remains of early hominins discovered in Ethiopia. 

The museum dates back to the 1930s, although the institution developed gradually over several decades. Early collections were initially associated with archaeological discoveries and objects linked to the Ethiopian monarchy but it's grown to be a lot broader than that. It's a fairly small building split over a couple of floors, but the exhibits are worth seeing.

The most widely recognised exhibit is the fossil skeleton known as “Lucy”, one of the most famous hominin discoveries in the world. Lucy belongs to the species Australopithecus afarensis and was discovered in 1974 in the Afar region of Ethiopia. The fossil is estimated to be around 3.2 million years old and provided important evidence about early human evolution, particularly relating to upright walking. The original fossils are preserved under controlled conditions, while replicas are commonly displayed to the public. I remember reading about Lucy when I was in school, so to be in the same museum that houses her fossilised remains was incredible.

Ethiopia has played a major role in the study of human origins because so many important hominin fossils have been discovered within the country. and there are a lot more artefacts from the period before human evolution brought us to where we are now.

There is also a (relatively) more modern historical section of the museum which contains artefacts connected to different periods of Ethiopian history, including objects linked to the early Christian Aksumite civilisation, imperial Ethiopia and the twentieth century. Religious crosses, crowns, ceremonial objects and royal artefacts form part of the collection. Some exhibits relate to the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia for much of the twentieth century before being overthrown in 1974. I though the exhibits were well put together, told an easy to follow story, and had some very interesting details.

If you're in the city, it's definitely worth a visit - for Lucy alone - but also to get a better appreciation of the story of Ethiopia and the wider region.

Jubilee Palace and Museum

Another impressive museum is the one house on the grounds of the Jubilee Palace. Over the years, the palace has been an imperial residence, government complex and symbol of state authority during different periods of modern Ethiopia history. In recent years, parts of the palace grounds have been opened to the public as a museum.

It's a beautiful complex, very green, very large, and completely different to the city that surrounds it. The architecture of the palace is a mixture of Ethiopian and international influences and includes reception halls, residential quarters, ceremonial rooms and administrative offices. Large landscaped grounds surround the main complex and historically included gardens, fountains, security facilities and supporting buildings linked to palace operations. There's even a small enclosure of animals at the back of the palace, including lions.

The palace was built during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie and was completed in the mid-1950s. It was built to commemorate the emperor’s Silver Jubilee, marking twenty-five years since his coronation in 1930, which is why it became known as Jubilee Palace. 

During the imperial period, Jubilee Palace was the centre of political authority and diplomacy. Foreign dignitaries, ambassadors and heads of state were received there, and important state ceremonies took place within the complex. It was central to Ethiopian political life until the 1974 revolution, when Haile Selassie was overthrown by the military government known as the Derg. Following the revolution, the imperial system was abolished and the palace was taken over by the new authorities. The complex continued to serve state functions under subsequent governments, although access remained highly restricted for many years.

One of the most controversial stories of the palace concerns the final years of Haile Selassie’s rule. After the emperor was deposed, he was reportedly held under house arrest within the palace grounds. He died there in 1975 under circumstances that remained politically sensitive and controversial for many years. His remains were later reburied at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa.

In 2019, sections of the palace and surrounding grounds were formally opened to the public as part of Unity Park, a large redevelopment initiative launched by the Ethiopian government. Today it's one of the most visited landmarks in the city.

​For me, the thing that really stood out within the museum complex was the collection of historic vehicles associated with the Ethiopian imperial government. These include luxury vehicles used by Haile Selassie and members of the imperial court, including Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac models imported during the imperial period. There we all sorts, even a car that had propellors so it could travel under water, and train carriages. Watching it made me realise how a country's wealth can be squandered on pointless luxuries.

The rest of the museum had historical displays, restored rooms and exhibitions related to Ethiopian state history. Some sections recreate aspects of imperial life, including reception areas, meeting halls and ceremonial rooms used during the reign of Haile Selassie. Furniture, photographs, official gifts and state artefacts are displayed to provide historical context about the imperial period and twentieth-century Ethiopian governance.

Unity Park and Zoo

Nearby is ​Unity Park which is a large park and zoo in the centre of the city. Before the creation of Unity Park, much of the area had been inaccessible to the public because it formed part of a secured government zone associated with the imperial palace and later state administration. Today the park is situated within the grounds of Jubilee Palace and is openly accessible to all.

The park contains botanical and landscaped areas which contain native and ornamental plant species. It has walking paths, water features and gardens and it's beautiful to walk through. The park has some important buildings the Throne Hall which was used for imperial ceremonies and state functions. The architecture is quite distinct from European royal palaces because it blends Ethiopian imperial styles with late-19th and early-20th century influences. Inside, you can see royal regalia, portraits, ceremonial objects and the old imperial throne setup.

The Banquet Hall is another major structure. Emperor Menelik II used it for diplomatic receptions and official gatherings. It’s one of the more elegant parts of the compound and gives a sense of how Ethiopia’s rulers presented themselves to foreign diplomats and visiting dignitaries during the imperial era.

Today, these rooms contain exhibits and stories about the past of the palace complex, the old royal family, and the culture of the country. During my visit, there was an exhibit on the link from the Queen of Sheba (an ancient Ethiopian queen that allegedly had an affair with King Solomon of Israel) to the rulers of Ethiopia in the 20th century.

The zoo section of the park is home to a selection of animal species native to Ethiopia and the wider African region. It's weird to see large animals in the middle of the city. There are zebras, giraffes, birds, and most impressively, a group of white lions. I'm not sure how I feel seeing these magnificent animals in a small enclosure in the middle of a large modern city, but the zoo does a lot of good in terms of education and conservation too.

Abrehot Library

​One thing I really loved is the Abrehot Library, one of the largest public libraries in Africa. Officially opened in 2022, the library was developed as part of wider efforts to expand educational infrastructure, improve access to public learning spaces and promote reading and research within Ethiopia. 

The library is beautiful. Architecturally, the building has a contemporary and modern contemporary design with large open reading areas, glass-fronted sections and extensive interior study spaces. It's free to get in, and the library is spread over several floors with a large lobby. 

Inside, the place was filled largely with students, but there were people of all ages working on desks and computers throughout the building. The collection of books covered all genres but an interesting thing I noticed was that most were donated, and many were decades old. For example, I found a book on UK exports that had the names and numbers of businesses that no longer exist, and even dialling codes that were changed 30 years ago.

This is the Ethiopia that could become a powerhouse, if the political situation is resolved. I visited on a Saturday night and the place was filled with young people studying hard. They had access to resources that can help turn ideas into real actions and I really enjoyed walking around and spending some time there.

The whole area around the library was redeveloped recently and it stands out when compared to the rest of city. The museum, the park, the palace - all feel green and open, very nicely designed. Outside the area, however, the city feels a lot greyer - compared to Nairobi for example, it felt significantly less green.

Wealth and Poverty

The reason for Addis' more haphazard design could be the size of the country and city. It's a city that has grown quickly as the population has expanded and that brings a lot of opportunities but also the types of problem you might associate with a rapidly expanding metropolis.

You have skyscrapers, high end restaurants and bars, and during the weekend I saw people dressed up looking incredible. Ethiopians are beautiful people. They enjoy life and have the access to places in Addis to relax. I went to a couple of "cultural" restaurants and the I saw all sorts of people, from locals to Arabs, to small groups of European tourists. The entertainment was local music, jazz, and highly expressive dancing - it was incredible. Meanwhile, bars played eclectic music from afrobeats to hip-hop. High-end restaurants sold expensive high-end food with prices similar to those in European cities.

However, unlike Europe where social security can limit the worst excesses of disparity, here poverty is very real. Many parts of the city have temporary shelters and shanty towns that are hidden away behind painted walls and fences. People are begging money from a middle class that doesn't have too much to spare themselves. Merkato was a real eye opener for me, as were some of the neighbourhoods behind the nice buildings. Poverty is real, and it's much deeper than we are used to in many other countries.

There's not an easy answer. Fundamentally, it requires strong political and economic change and that's not an easy thing to do. But things seem to be moving the right way and as the country grows and young people are given a chance to play a role in improving outcomes, I think the future is bright - but there are very real obstacles.

A word on the food. I've heard about Ethiopian food for a long time but I've never tried it. That is until this trip. I ate different types of Ethiopian food pretty much every day for almost two weeks and I absolutely loved it. In fact, when I returned home, the first thing I looked for was a nice Ethiopian restaurant. For me, it's a top five cuisine. And for my vegetarian brothers and sisters, many Ethiopians only eat vegetarian food for about a third of the year (called fasting days) so you have many options in Addis.

Would I recommend visiting Addis Ababa?

It's an experience for sure. In terms of the positives, the food is incredible, the people are generally friendly, and it's not a city that has much tourism so you can get a little bit closer to authentic Ethiopia without trying too hard. The museums are good, the park is a great way to spend the day, and there is good nightlife. If you're willing to go beyond the city - which I hope to do next time - there is a lot more to do and see from nature to historical sites, and rural living. As a Sikh I had no issues, and while it's not cheap to fly to Addis, once you're there the cost of living is low, and you have easy connections to the rest of the continent.

On the negatives, it's still very much a city in development. The reason why there isn't so much tourism is because outside some of the big landmarks, it just because a commercial city, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but something to bear in mind. The wealth disparity is great so if you look foreign, you'll get a lot of people coming to you asking for money - especially children which is particularly heart breaking to see. Pollution isn't great, and parts of the city can be a little run down.

Overall, I enjoyed it. The trip allowed me to explore a country and culture that has long fascinated me, and after my trip I left wanting more, which I think is always a good sign.