... When we arrived in Addis Ababa I got the shakes from the altitude (over 2,000 metres) but soon acclimatised. The altitude gives the capital city a very mild climate.
The hotel we stayed in was called the Gedera and was surprisingly comfortable for the $15US a night we paid. The room was ... Read review
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Advantages: Not touristy, inexpensive, interesting history, safe Disadvantages: Poverty
...history. When we arrived in Addis Ababa I got the shakes from the altitude (over 2,000 metres) but soon acclimatised. The altitude gives the capital city a very mild climate.
The hotel we stayed in was called the Gedera and was surprisingly comfortable for the $15US a night we paid. The room was tidy with hot water and cable tv, and breakfast was included. Staff were friendly and helpful. There are a number of other hotels in the ... ...Its easy to get around Addis Abeba. We had a taxi for the whole day at $2US per hour. He took us to the some of the main tourist attractions.
Although there is a significant Muslim presence in the capital, people are mainly Ethiopian Orthodox, and St Georges church is a busy place of worship. There is an interesting museum attached to it, containing many items from the coronation of Haile Selassie which took place in the church. It ... more
If you are interested in a totally different experience, why not Ethiopia? We went to Ethiopia because it is an unusual destination, not many tourists, and has some unique history. When we arrived in Addis Ababa I got the shakes from the altitude (over 2,000 metres) but soon acclimatised. The altitude gives the capital city a very mild climate.
The hotel we stayed in was called the Gedera and was surprisingly comfortable for the $15US a night we paid. The room was tidy with hot water and cable tv, and breakfast was included. Staff were friendly and helpful. There are a number of other hotels in the same price range, but if you want to spend more then you could stay at the lushous Sheraton Hotel. But the hotel looks like an oasis of luxury surrounded by the poverty of shanty towns.
Its easy to get around Addis Abeba. We had a taxi for the whole day at $2US per hour. He took us to the some of the main tourist attractions.
Although there is a significant Muslim presence in the capital, people are mainly Ethiopian Orthodox, and St Georges church is a busy place of worship. There is an interesting museum attached to it, containing many items from the coronation of Haile Selassie which took place in the church. It holds precious and ancient bibles and other religious relics including beautiful Ethiopian crosses. The church itself is octagonal and the interior walls are covered with spectacular murals.
We visited the National Museum which looks like a 1960's communist style building, but holds many artifacts of Ethiopian history, as well as famous art works and also Lucy, the hominid discovered in the 1970's and found to be 3.5 million years old. However, the skeleton we saw was a replica, the original being kept safe elsewhere in the museum.
The Holy Trinity church is worth visiting. It is large and magnificent with beautiful stained glass windows. Haile Selassie had it build to commerorate the end of the Italian occupation. His throne is still there and his remains were recently placed in a tomb that had been prepared for him there.
Another place not to be missed is one of the biggest markets in Africa. It has everything that you would desire. But you have to be careful of people approaching you to be your guide for the day. We did finally accept the assistance of one to get the others off our back. As a guide he was well spoken, informative and not imposing. When we parted we gave him a few dollars for his trouble.
There is lots more to see in and around Addis Ababa, too much to go into here.
Ethiopian cuisine is a wonderful experience. Meat, vegetable and sauce dishes (some spicier then others) are served on a large round platter covered in a sour dough made from the daf grain called injera. A very good restaurant to try for Ethiopian food, is the Finfine Adarash Hotel. It is very traditional and beautiful decorated in an Ethiopian style. Another good restaurant is the Blue Tops, this one is Italian. It has fantastic Italian food, we were especially impressed with the ice cream, vodka flavoured. They served dinner with a lovely Ethiopian red wine. The hardest thing to deal with Addis Ababa (and the rest of Ethiopia) is the poverty. Beggars are constantly approaching you and are very persistant.
Overall, Addis Ababa is an interesting destination, with relaxed and friendly people, and a nice atmosphere. We also went to other parts of Ethiopia on our trip and on a whole found Ethiopia a wonderful place to visit.
