Our time in Addis Ababa came to an end yesterday morning when we left the country’s capital making our way south. We are currently in Awassa, southern Ethiopia, and we are continuing with our journey towards the Ethiopian-Kenyan border shortly, with a few stops along the way. We have a few big days coming up where we will visit some coffee plantations in southern Ethiopia; this is an experience we all cannot wait for because as you all know, coffee is Ethiopia’s main cash crop and export income earner. Some busy days ahead of us, but in the meantime, here are some highlights of our enjoyable stay in Addis Ababa.
Addis; time to recharge!
We all really enjoyed our journey into Addis Ababa and the one week that we spent there was also very enjoyable. It was our time to recharge our batteries while working at the same time. The city of Addis Ababa is truly charming and calm; it has everything you can possibly need. We enjoyed a few nights of traditional Ethiopian food (Injera) and we even had a taste of the best Pizza in town. Addis has a lot to offer to its visitors and we made sure to make the most of our time there. We spent some time in one of Africa’s busiest markets, called Mercato, and we visited the African Union and a flower farm in the outskirts of Addis as well as saw some Ethiopian runners training; both Khairoon and Shaunna covered these stories to share with the school children back in Canada. One thing is for sure, we learned a lot about the culture and history of Ethiopia just by being in Addis. The hotel we stayed at lies close to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the United Nations compound as well as some national palaces, which belonged to former Emperors of Ethiopia. A lot of us picked up on some Amharic words that we are still using right now as we descend the country. One definitely needs more than a week in Addis to fully absorb all that it has to offer; the city is developing with more and more buildings are mushrooming in many parts of the city. We have all decided that Addis is the most ideal place to live because year round, the temperatures range between 18ºC-22ºC; isn’t that just perfection? Definitely much better than the roaring 40ºC that we had in Egypt and Sudan.
Mercato…the market of markets in Africa!
Addis Ababa is home to Africa’s largest market; imagine that! This market has everything you could possibly want…you name it, it is there! Everything from exotic fruits to jewelry to carved crafts to cheap electronics to traditional and western clothing to all kinds of spices – Mercato has it all. It is so big that they usually say one needs more than an entire day to go around it all. We dedicated a few hours one morning to go there and those two hours felt like a short five minute shopping trip. Mercato is an amazing, crowded place with never-ending hidden pockets to discover. We all managed to pick up a few things here and there; Shaunna and Ish bought a few carved crafts and decorations while Khairoon went crazy with buying jewelry, shoes and shirts. We can all certainly attest to one thing about Mercato; it does have everything you can possibly want from all parts of the world. No one could ever get tired of Mercato because not only is it constantly changing, but more and more things are poured into this market. It is upon you to find exactly what you want; the only condition is that you need to have the time to go from alley to alley. Our shirt visit to Mercato taught us that when it comes to bargaining, you have to do your best to lower the price, even if it all seems an unnecessary effort for a few birrs (Ethiopian currency). Many people say that in Mercato, “you can bargain for anything – even a new soul!” We definitely did not get that far but we were all pretty satisfied with our bargains at the end of our short trip.
The African Union; a stronger Africa. During our stay in Addis Ababa, which means New Flower by the way, we were treated to a complimentary tour of the African Union buildings. The African Union (AU), which is the successor of the Organization of African Unity, aims at the promotion of increased social-economic integration of the African continent based on the common vision of a united and strong Africa through the encouragement of peace, security and stability. Our short lived tour took us from the conference room minutes before the beginning of a session, through to the vast halls horned with a variety of paintings and art crafts donated by a number of African presidents, giving them the appearance of an upscale art gallery. We followed through to inauguration site, and then to a number of offices where we were pleasantly welcomes by different officials and staff members. After a brief history lesson of the AU and their objectives, we were on our way out, but not without feeling for being at the AU site, and for what the African Union represents.
Ethiopian Runners; taking the world by storm! Ethiopian athletes are known around the world for their dominance in the sport of long distance running. Some of the countries proudest moments had come when one of her people won a major competition – take for instance, the Atlanta marathon in 1996 when Fatuma Roba led the race almost unchallenged all the way to the finish line. Then there is Mamo Wolde who ran the race of his life to bring the God medal to his country at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. How about world renowned Haile Gebre Selassie who has been declared by the world press as the best long-distance runner that has ever lived? Watching the long, lean physiques of some of Ethiopia’s marathon runner’s lope past me on Saturday morning made me understand why these men and women bring such pride and unforgettable moments of sportsmanship to the people of their nation. Ethiopian runners are some of the most impressive athletes I have ever come across.
It was 6:30 in the morning when I was making my way to the breakfast room after a long nights sleep at the National Hotel in downtown Addis. As I turned the corner to walk down the stairs to the restaurant I noticed clusters of people gracefully running by the front entrance of the hotel. I wondered whether a large running race was taking place in the city. To my surprise, I found out later that day that many of the nation’s marathoners pass by our hotel several times a week – their training route finishes one block away from our hotel. Ironically, that same day we were headed to the site where the short, middle, and long distance runners train. As we crossed the street in downtown Addis to the entrance of the training site hundreds of athletes – men and women, young and old – were effortlessly running back and forth along the grounds of a large public square. The athletes specialized in distances varying from 2 miles to 5km and 10km. We watched them run in large teams led by a coach. Interestingly, most teams had a pace maker who would run in front of the group to set the speed.
Like the Sherpa’s of the Himalayas, elite Ethiopian distance runners have unique physical attributes that allow them to excel. For some time now, sport scientists have been trying to identify the key predictors of success that enable the endurance athletes of Ethiopia to succeed at such a high level. The nature vs. nurture debate continues to be had.
Last Friday we were introduced to an important part of Ethiopian cultural life. We were invited by our government official to join him at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant on the outskirts of Addis. It took us about 20 minutes by taxi to arrive at our destination. What we found was a restaurant that was designed in the style of a traditional Ethiopian hut - only a hundred times bigger. There was a group of Ethiopian dancers performing different dances from the various regions of the country. Dressed in their traditional garb, their bodies moved effortlessly to the beat of the music. It was absolutely extraordinary to watch them perform. At one point I really questioned whether their vertebra was actually connected. They moved their shoulders, necks, and backs in a way that I am not familiar with.
The food was laid out in buffet style so we could sample all the traditional dishes. Ethiopian food takes its lead from India - lots of curries and heavily spiced dishes. Way back when, Ethiopia was in the middle of the red sea trade route between the Roman Empire and India. Consequently, the Indian spices became integrated into the Ethiopia cuisine. As a fan of spicy food, the beef curry was hot but yummy. It put a heat in my bully that lasted for two days.
Tradition Ethiopian dancing; this, you need to see!
We plan to be on the Ethiopian-Kenyan border by November 1st and from there, we will drive through to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, in the heart of East Africa. We are slowly saying bye to the cool weather here in Ethiopia as we move closer to the equator but we all know that nothing beats the heat we had in the desert in Sudan! That was brutal! Greetings from the beautiful south region of Ethiopia, where we are enjoying the people and landscape more than you can possibly imagine.
Expedition Africa Team
Ethiopia, October 30, 2006
This journal is written by the entire Expedition Africa Team
During our stay in Addis Ababa, which means New Flower by the way, we were treated to a complimentary tour of the African Union buildings. The African Union (AU), which is the successor of the Organization of African Unity, aims at the promotion of increased social-economic integration of the African continent based on the common vision of a united and strong Africa through the encouragement of peace, security and stability. Our short lived tour took us from the conference room minutes before the beginning of a session, through to the vast halls horned with a variety of paintings and art crafts donated by a number of African presidents, giving them the appearance of an upscale art gallery. We followed through to inauguration site, and then to a number of offices where we were pleasantly welcomes by different officials and staff members. After a brief history lesson of the AU and their objectives, we were on our way out, but not without feeling for being at the AU site, and for what the African Union represents. 
Ethiopian athletes are known around the world for their dominance in the sport of long distance running. Some of the countries proudest moments had come when one of her people won a major competition – take for instance, the Atlanta marathon in 1996 when Fatuma Roba led the race almost unchallenged all the way to the finish line. Then there is Mamo Wolde who ran the race of his life to bring the God medal to his country at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. How about world renowned Haile Gebre Selassie who has been declared by the world press as the best long-distance runner that has ever lived? Watching the long, lean physiques of some of Ethiopia’s marathon runner’s lope past me on Saturday morning made me understand why these men and women bring such pride and unforgettable moments of sportsmanship to the people of their nation. Ethiopian runners are some of the most impressive athletes I have ever come across. 
Last Friday we were introduced to an important part of Ethiopian cultural life. We were invited by our government official to join him at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant on the outskirts of Addis. It took us about 20 minutes by taxi to arrive at our destination. What we found was a restaurant that was designed in the style of a traditional Ethiopian hut - only a hundred times bigger. There was a group of Ethiopian dancers performing different dances from the various regions of the country. Dressed in their traditional garb, their bodies moved effortlessly to the beat of the music. It was absolutely extraordinary to watch them perform. At one point I really questioned whether their vertebra was actually connected. They moved their shoulders, necks, and backs in a way that I am not familiar with.