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The name of this sprawling capital city means "New Flower."
Founded by Emperor Menelik in 1887 and with a population of
about 4 million, Addis Ababa is Africa's diplomatic capital
with the headquarters for the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
located here. Impressive monuments of colonial architecture
are scattered among stretches of sun-bleached shacks. Drive
through "Mercato" the largest open market on the continent.
Make interesting stops that include the National Museum, the
Ethnological Museum and the Ba'ata Church known as Menelik
Mausoleum. Enjoy souvenir shopping and visits to special art
galleries. Highlights of the most interesting museums and
monuments in the capital of Ethiopia are:
The National Museum: This is one of the best museums of East
Africa with a large collection of archeological excavations,
historical objects of Ethiopian art, and important fossils
including Lucy, one of the first humans.
The Ethnographic Museum has a wonderful exhibition of the
culture, houses, cloth, objects and traditions of the many
Ethiopian ethnic groups. On the second floor you can see an
impressive exhibition of traditional musical instruments and
religious art from 13th – 20th century.
The Asni gallery houses works of art from modern Ethiopian
artists.
The Churches of Kiddist Maryam, Kidane Mehret and Kiddist
Selassie (Holy Trinity) are within walking distance of each
other and they have beautiful wall paintings and Church
treasures. They are also of historical value having served as
the mausoleums of Emperor Menelik II and Haile Selassie and
their wives. The Giorgis cathedral is famous for its wall
paintings from the famous Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle. It
also has a fine museum.
In the Entoto Mountains you can enjoy the panoramic view over
Addis Abeba, enjoy nature and visit the Entoto Maryam Church
which is the oldest Church of Addis Abeba, founded by Emperor
Menelik II. Next to the Church is the Emperor Menelik and Next
the church is the Emperor Menelik and Empress Taytu.
The national museum also contains some wonderful artifacts
dating to the south Arabian period of the so-called pre-Axumite
civilization of Tigrai. These include a number of large stone
statues of seated female figures, thought to have been
fertility symbols of a pre-Judaic religion. It is interesting
that the figures have plaited hair identical to the style worn
by modern Ethiopians (it has been suggested that the
mythological Medusa of Ancient Greece was simply a dreadlocked
Ethiopian woman). One almost perfectly preserved statue,
thought to be about 2,600 years old and unearthed at a site
near Yeha, is seated in a 2m-high stone cask adorned with
engravings of ibex. Many of the other statues are
headless-probably decapitated by early Christians, who
converted many pagan temples to churches. Other items include
a sphinx from Yeha, once again emphasizing Axumite links with
the classical world, a huge range of artifacts from Axum
itself anda cast of one of the Gragn stones from Tiya.
Continuing straight uphill from Siddist Kilo for perhaps 500m,
a left turn through a tall gateway leads into the main campus
of the University of Addis Ababa and the excellent Museum and
Library of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies. Very different
to the National Museum, but no less absorbing, this is an
exemplary ethnographic museum, housed on the upper floors of a
former palace of Haile Selassie, within the green university
grounds immediately north of Siddist Kilo. The first floor of
the building is dedicated to a wide array of artifacts and
daily objects relating to most ethnic groups in Ethiopia, not
only the monotheistic highlanders, but also the fascinating
animist cultural groups of South Omo and Afar people of the
eastern desserts. On the second floor is a new exhibition on
Ethiopian musical instruments and visual art through the ages,
an impressive selection of Ethiopian crosses, and a unique
collection of icons dating back to the middle Ages. Outside
the museum building, look out for the displaced ‘head’ of the
largest of the Tiya stele in the gardens. On the ground floor
of the building, the IES Library maintains one of the world’s
most comprehensive collections of books and photocopied
articles about Ethiopia; despite the archaic and occasionally
frustrating card indexing system, it is an invaluable resource
for anybody undertaking research on any aspect of Ethiopian
culture and history.
Mercato is the real commercial hub of Addis, a vast grid of
roads lined with stalls, kiosks and small shops, where you can
buy just about anything you might want, such as: the latest
local cassettes; traditional crosses, clothes and other
curios; vegetables, spices and pulses; and custom-made silver
and gold jewelry. Prices are generally negotiable.
TIYA
Tiya is located in Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples
Regional State at 80 26’ North and 380 37’ East longitude and
Latitude. It found 90 kilometers South of Addis Ababa. The
site contains 36 monuments, including 32 curved with symbols.
They are believed to be marks of the large prehistoric burial
complex. The archeological site was listed as world heritage
site in 1980.
An estimated 10,000 stelae (obelisks) are scattered across the
south of Ethiopia, extending in a rough belt form Tiya
southeast to the vicinity of Negele Borena. Little is known
about the origin of these stelae or the societies that erected
them. Local tradition attributes the stelae to the
15th-century Muslim leader Ahmed Gragn, but the formative
findings of Professor Roger Joussaume, the only archaeologist
to have worked the sites, indicates that they were erected
centuries before Gragn was born, over a 400-500-year period
starting in the 9th century.
Approximately 50 stele fields are known in Gedeo zone, and two
broad styles of stele are recognized. The older of these,
probably dating to the 9th century, are the phallic stele,
which are typically cylindrical in shape, and rounded at the
top, with incisions that leave little room for ambiguity about
what they are meant to represent. The steles appear to have
marked graves, and the bodies beneath them were buried in a
fetal position. The two largest stele fields in Gedea are Tutu
Fela and Tututi, both of which lie within 45 minutes’ drive of
Dilla. The Tututi field is made up almost exclusively of
phallic stele, whereas anthropomorphic steles dominate at Tutu
Fela. There are some parallels between the later stele found
around Dilla and the anthropomorphic wooden grave markers of
the Konso-who, interestingly, retain and oral tradition
suggesting that they might have migrated to their present
homeland from the eastern Rift Valley Escarpment.
DEBRE LIBANOS MONASTERY
Drive 110 kms north from Addis over the Entoto Mountains
passing through the Sululta Plains to the Monastery of Debre
Libanos founded in the 13th century by Abune Tekle Haymanot.
Overlooking Jema River Gorge, a tributary of the Blue Nile,
the Monastery owns ecclesiastical, cultural and historical
relics, and boasts a rare grove of trees that have disappeared
from elsewhere in the region. Walk across a 16th Century
Bridge said to have been built by Portuguese to a spectacular
viewpoint overlooking the gorge. Here you may see gelada
monkeys—a unique grass eating primate found only in Ethiopia.
We suggest a weekend trip to Debre Libanos Monastery with an
overnight in the nearby and beautifully situated Ethio-German
lodge. En route you can also visit the Muger gorge with the
Durba Waterfall and Jemma Valley.
MELKA KUNTURE
Melka Kunture is a Palaeolithic site in Ethiopia. It is
located 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa by road, across the
Awash River from the village of Melka Awash. Three waterfalls
lie downstream of the bridge across the Awash here, which
provides access south to Butajira.
WENCHI CRATER LAKE
Drive 35 kms west of Addis to visit the Addis Alem Mariam
Church. Proceed driving to Ambo and then to the village of
Wonchi where you will enjoy a trek down to the shore of the
Crater Lake. By boat, reach an interesting church found on the
island.
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