Just over a century ago, Empress Taitu asked her husband, Menelik II for a house beyond the walls of his mountain fortress in a verdant valley with natural hot springs and a comfortable climate. She called this abode "Addis Ababa", meaning, “New Flower”. It wasn't long before Menelik himself moved his court to the serene setting, and Ethiopia’s chief city was born. Addis Ababa may be the only world capital designed not for commercial, political, or strategic value, but for pleasure…and so far, I’ve had nothing but a pleasurable experience here myself.
India left me with a going-away gift of the dreaded “Delhi Belly”, and violent diarrhea keeping me awake was not the way I wanted to spend the night before a 12-hour trek. But, as I’ve mentioned before, the tickets are non-refundable, and thankfully I managed to board my first flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Connecting through Riyadh, most of my fellow passenger were pilgrims on their way to Mecca. Because making a trip to the holy Kaabah at least once is one of the “Five Pillars of Islam”, I could only presume that for many on board, it was their first time on a plane. Therefore, they were unaware of airline protocol, which made it difficult for the flight attendants, as they didn’t understand why they should remain in their seats during takeoff or landing. I also had the honor of sitting directly in front of a screaming baby, who was never fatigued despite incessant howling. Still, I managed to notice a few interesting things on our journey. Before each leg of the flight, right after the safety announcements, a travelling prayer prescribed by Muhammad (Peace Be Unto Him) was broadcast. As we flew over Mecca, the pilot got on the loudspeaker to inform us, and asked that Allah accept our good deeds. Ironically, part of the in-flight entertainment was an episode of How I Met Your Mother, but the word “beer” had been bleeped out whilst they wetted their whistles at McLaren’s Pub. Arriving in Jeddah, I was delayed by disconcerting Arabian officials, reluctant to let me board my flight to Addis without a visa in my passport. Having done my homework long ago, I tried to explain to them that I could purchase an Ethiopian visa when I got there. After a tenuous wait and many phone calls, they finally let me into the passenger lounge…which was a relief, because I could not get (nor would I want) a Saudi visa on arrival. To their credit, however, they did apologize for the delay and gave me a complimentary rotisserie chicken dinner.
It wasn’t until 3AM that I walked into my hotel, and as I expected, access to the internet was all but non-existent, and of course, my phone had zero service. But at that point, I was just happy to have a bed, and the drastic departure from the triple-digit temperatures in Delhi (it’s “jacket weather” here) made for the most restful sleep I’ve had in a while. The following morning, I was ready to start my day with my first cuppa Joe in the birthplace of coffee. My asked my driver, Awal, to take me to Addis’ most famous café, Tomoca. I paid for a Macchiato (which is the same thing as a Cappucino as far as I can tell), handed a little tile to the barista, and watched a woman roasting beans over an open stove while I waited. I was not disappointed. You know, I’m reluctant to sing the praises of certain foreign foods, because I’m aware that the environment can make things taste better than they are. For example, I was a harsh critic when it came to Indian food, because in some cases, I’d eaten better Indian in Nashville. But when it comes to coffee, Ethiopia is no joke. I think I can honestly say it’s the best coffee I’ve ever had, regardless of atmosphere. And at 39 cents a cup, I’ve had no trouble waking up in the morning.
Initially, I’d planned on having Awal take me to Tomoca and nothing more. But, as with Babi in Agra, I’ve learned that when you find a cool, trustworthy driver, it’s best to hang on to him. So, after my caffeine fix, I asked Awal to take me to the Ethnological Museum, in order to get a taste of the culture I was about to dive into. Set in the old palace of the great Ras Tafari, later known as Emperor Haile Selassie, the museum is not the fanciest I’ve seen, but had an interesting way of guiding you through the exhibits, with three main sections representing the primary phases of Ethiopian existence, Childhood, Adulthood, and the Afterlife. It didn’t take long for me to realize that like India, Ethiopia is full of many different languages and cultures, and that there’s so much more to the country than I expected. With respect to its former function as a palace, the bedroom and bathroom of Haile Selassie have been preserved as an annex of the museum. I really enjoyed seeing the Emperor’s Quarters, and even found them somewhat plain considering his stature. A particular plus was his dressing mirror, punctured with a bullet-hole from a 1960 coup attempt.
In an effort to get an insider’s view of Addis, I offered to buy Awal a kitfo lunch at a place of his choosing. Kitfo is made from raw beef mixed with spices, a farmer-style soft cheese, and cooked cabbage. It was one of the dishes I wanted to make sure to try here, as Ethiopian restaurants in the states can’t legally serve it without cooking it rare. Awal took me to his favorite Kitfo Bet, where butchers in white lab coats shave the meat fresh from a hanging cow carcass a la Rocky Balboa. We enjoyed our meal with a plate of injera bread, which is like a spongy sourdough, and washed it down with a couple of Ambo seltzers. With a solid protein base in my stomach, I was now ready to ask Awal to join me for another authentic Abyssinian experience, tej.
Tej is a wine made from fermented honey. Awal took me to his favorite Tej Bet, where they serve only pure tej, unadulterated by water. Tej Bets don’t have signs and don’t advertise, so it’s best to have a native point you in the right direction. We sat in a little round gojo hut, surrounded by local men making business deals over the potent potable, and enjoyed a one small bottle apiece. From the first sip, you know it’s not a lightweight’s quaff…and although the servers presented us with follow-up flasks, both Awal and I were quite buzzed and had to turn them down. Unable to plough through to a late night, I went to bed early upon returning to my hotel.
The next morning, I cleared my cranial cobwebs with another macchiato at Tomoca. From there, I covered a lot of ground on foot, and saw two more attractions, St. George’s Cathedral and the National Museum. Dedicated to the dragon-slaying patron saint of Ethiopia, St. George’s is still a very important place for the faithful to come and pray. I paid a guide for a private tour of the inside, and though I was not allowed in the Holy of Holies (where a replica of the Ark of the Covenant is kept), I did stand in the spot of Haile Selassie’s coronation. Overall I was satisfied, and began making the long walk towards the National Museum. On the way, I heard rumbles of thunder, and soon the bottom dropped out, leaving me to take shelter outside of a small shop on the street. I stood there for about 30 minutes, and what would’ve been a boring wait was broken up by little kids running by me in the rain and high-fiving me. They were so excited after slapping hands that I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face.
The National Museum was not very impressive, and the only real reason to go is to see bone casts of “Lucy”, my great-grandma to the gazillionth power, and the oldest human archaeologists have dug up so far. The most memorable thing about Lucy is how small in stature she was, only three and a half feet tall. Besides that, there wasn’t much else to see.
In fact, in two days I’ve already seen most of the points of interest in Addis Ababa. From here on, my stay in the capital will be devoted to what Addis does best, and that’s food and drink. But, at the moment, I’m actually hundreds of miles away, looking from my hotel room upon a UNESCO world heritage site that is truly a wonder of construction, the ancient rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.
