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Addis Ababa (the name means 'new flower') is of
fairly recent origin - Menelik II founded the city in
1887 but is an important administrative centre not
only for Ethiopia but also for the whole of Africa.
Situated in the foothills of the Entoto Mountains
and standing 2,400 metres above sea level it is the
third highest capital in the world. The city has a
population of about four million. Addis Abeba is a
noisy and chaotic town because of its traffic but
Addis Abeba is a city with hubris, faith, hope, chaos
and vibrancy… having one of the fastest rates of
urban growth in the world…

Ethiopian coffee is
probably the best in the
world and the story of the
discovery of coffee by the
Ethiopian shepherd Kaldi
and his hyperactive goats
should not be left untold…
More than 1,000 years ago,
a goat herd in Ethiopia's
south-western highlands
plucked a few red berries
from some young green
trees growing there in the
forest and tasted them. He
liked the flavour and the
feel-good effect that
followed. Today those self-
same berries, dried,
roasted and ground, have
become the world's second
most popular non-alcoholic
beverage after tea..

The coffee ceremony is the ritualized form of making and drinking
coffee. The coffee ceremony is one of the most recognizable parts of
Arab, Eritrean and Ethiopian culture. Visitors are always impressed
by the ‘tukke’ or ‘bunna’, a coffee ritual. It takes place three times a
day, marking the time for a get-together and small-talk. In this respect
it is no different from the coffee culture of rural (and urban!) areas in
other parts of the world

A distinct feature of the ritual, however, is the fact that the coffee beans
are first roasted in a frying pan over an open fire, to be ground in a
mortar afterwards. The quality of such fresh, usually blackened coffee
must not be overestimated. But being immersed in the fragrance of
fresh coffee, poured out high from a beautiful ‘jebena’ coffeepot, will dull
the sharp journalistic eye of any ‘Tintin in Africa’.

Ethiopia is considered to be the ‘cradle of coffee’. From here pilgrims and
coffee traders started the spread of coffee over the world. Our word ‘coffee’
might well originate from the coffee region ‘Kaffa’.

Coffee is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined then most likely
tea (shai) will be served.
Ethiopians will say the only good thing the Italians brought to the country was the coffee machinery and the resulting
macchiato. Order yours at the front of Tomoca Coffee shop and then pick it up at the back, in front of two whirring espresso
machines.

Tomoca Coffee shop.

Meskal Square

Meskal is the Ge’ez word for “cross,” and Meskal square is
the site for one of the larger celebrations in the city every
year. Meskal Day commemorates the discovery of the ‘true
cross’ by St. Helena. It takes place on the 27th
of
September and also marks the end of the rainy season.
During the celebration, mobs of people flock to Meskal
Square where they light an immense bonfire or Demera,
(the smoke the first fire led Helena to the true cross some
1600 years ago), and people mark themselves with a cross
on their forehead with the ashes of the blaze once it has
burned out.

According to tradition,
Empress Helena lit incense
and prayed for assistance to
guide her. The smoke drifted
towards the direction of the
buried cross. She dug and
found three crosses; one of
them was the True Cross used
to crucify Jesus Christ.
Empress Helena then gave a
piece of the True Cross to all
churches, including the
Ethiopian Church. This piece
was then brought to Ethiopia.
According to the Ethiopian
legend, when people get close
to the piece of the True Cross
it made them naked by its
powerful light. Because of this,
a decision was made to bury it
at the mountain of Gishen
Mariam monastery in Wollo
region. The monastery of
Gishen Mariam holds a
volume of a book which
records the story of the True
Cross of Christ and how it was
acquired.

On the day of the festival, as it is coincides with
the mass blooming of the bright yellow Maskal
daisies, called Adey Ababa (Bidens macroptera),
are tied to fronds, and piled high in town squares.
Colourful processions carrying burning torches
converge on to the square, where a pyre is lit and
the celebrations continue until dawn, symbolically
heralding the advent of a new year after the rainy
season is over

Meskal Square

Meskal Square, the entrance to Exhibition Center

Now another reason one may have heard of Meskal Square is for its running. Apparently a large number of folks use the square as
a training center before 6am, including such phenomenal runners such as Haile Gebrselassie who is like a local deity in Ethiopia.

Meskal Square
Entrance to Exhibition Center from Meskal Square
Ethiopians don't know the name of Hagi or Nadia Comaneci but Romania
means Gabriela Szabo (pronounced Zabo)

Ethiopian music

Villa Alpha is the home and personal museum designed and constructed by Afewerk Tekle
between 1959 and 1973
Afewerk Tekle (1932 –2012) was a
very well known Ethiopian Painter
and this stamps bear his stamp!

Jacaranda tree is very popular all over Africa

Shopping time

Quickly drive through the Mercato (the
largest open market on the continent),

Ethiopia's capital and
Africa's diplomatic capital
has been ranked as the
World's 6th dirtiest city by
Forbes magazine. The
magazine said the city faces
one of the worst sanitation
problems in Africa and the
world. Forbes also added
that the lack of adequate
sanitation programs results
in infant mortality and low
life expectancy.
Addis Ababa Chaotic Merkato

Chaotic, crowded, and stifling
but one of the largest markets
in Africa and a must-see if you
are in Addis.
Expect interesting but not
necessarily enjoyable or
attractive.

Dessalech
Kittfo & Cultural
Music Hall

Addis Ababa Domestic Airport

Text: Internet
Pictures: Sanda Foişoreanu
Sanda Negruţiu
Jean Moldovan
Alin Samochis
Internet
Copyright: All the images belong to their authors
Presentation: Sanda Foi oreanuş
www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda
Sound: Alemayehu Eshete - Ende Amora