Addis, home to the richest African

By Luke Anami

When I got a chance to visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, as part of a team of journalists from Kenya, I was not sure what exactly to expect.

Addis Ababa, which evokes memories of the African unity spirit that the Ethiopian capital is famously known for, is one of the destinations you read about in history books or watch on Television.

However, no amount of reading can adequately prepare one for the real life experience of the place.

Situated on the foothills of the Entoto Mountains and standing 2,400 metres above sea level, Addis Ababa, which means ‘new flower’, is the third highest capital in the world and one of the oldest cities in Africa, having been founded in 1887.

Administrative city

This is the city that is an important administrative centre not only for Ethiopia but also for the whole of Africa. The headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Africa was established here in 1958 and is home to the African Union (AU) secretariat.

It was a cold Thursday night when we arrived aboard Kenya Airways flight. The checking in took longer than usual partly because of the luggage in our possession.

"The video cameras in your bags must be checked and all the permits required must be in order," David Olengenan, a Kenya Airways officer informed us.

Cameras, radio equipment and items imported by visitors require special permits, which must be obtained from the Ministry of Information, Culture, Environmental and Wildlife Protection Authority.

We soon learnt that the Ethiopian law not only strictly prohibits photographing of military installations, police, military personnel but also industrial facilities, government buildings and infrastructure such as roads, bridges, dams, and airfields.

This explained the vetting process our professional equipments had to undergo.

Further, photographing prohibited sites, even though such sites are rarely marked, may result in the confiscation of film and camera. Compared to Kenya where photographing of infrastructure and industries is allowed, we found the rule rather harsh.

"The Ethiopian authorities are also very strict as this is an election month," Olengenan says.

There we were having the taste of strict Ethiopian laws right at the Bole International Airport.

"You should also change your money to the local currency," our guide warned as.

The unit of currency here is the birr (ETB) with an exchange rate of 13.3 birr to one US dollar, far much stronger than ours.

We also learnt that foreign currency should be exchanged in authorised banks, hotels and outlets and proper receipts should be obtained for the transactions.

Corrugated roofs

Exchange receipts are required to convert unused Ethiopian currency back to the original foreign currency. Penalties for exchanging money in unauthorised outlets range from fines to imprisonment. We did not want to take any chances and we adhered to these rules to the latter.

When our entire luggage was cleared, the journey to Sheraton Addis, a luxurious hotel near the palace that houses the current Prime Minster of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, took less than ten minutes.

The driving on the left side of the road perhaps was a sign that I had truly arrived in a foreign city.

Unlike Nairobi where the streets are double-lane, most of the roads in the city here are triple-lane with very few large roundabouts.

Except the surrounding area ,the hotel and the services are excellent. Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi who ranks 64th in Forbes world richest people owns this luxurious hotel.

over 80 tribes

Born in Ethiopia to a Saudi father and Ethiopian mother, Al Amoudi is the richest African black person in the world and the single biggest investor in the country.

At the hotel, English is spoken but with some difficulty. There are more than 80 major language groups in Ethiopia but the national language, Amharic, is spoken throughout the country. Oromiffa and Tigrigna are other widely used Ethiopian languages.

English is the second official language and is understood in most towns and among the educated.

After a hearty room breakfast, we spent most of the morning savouring the city since our next assignment was at 3.00pm.

A peculiar phenomenon however hit me, very few streets have names in Addis Ababa, and if they do, they may not be known by the names on the map, unlike in Nairobi.

There is a large and efficient network of blue and white marked minibuses, which unlike our Kenyan matatus that hoot noisily, change lanes and pick passengers in the middle of the road, are orderly.

Joined by a guide named Faisel, we were able to view the AU headquarters from a distance. We surely wished we could take pictures.

We were later taken through a tour of Bole Airport by Kenyan captain Githuku Gachanja, the KQ 767 Fleet Manager.

Back to the hotel by evening, we were all anxious to sample the Addis night, including the famous beautiful Ethiopian girls. Wanting to explore in a group, the five of us crammed into a taxi meant for only four.

The Taxi driver at first mumbled something like we would be arrested for overloading, but trust Kenyans to sweet-talk their way.

We were headed for the famous Corncode. At the entrance of the club you pay 20 birr, which is about Sh120. Beer cost 20 birr here but we later learnt that it was as cheap as 7 birr in other parts of the city.

The nightclub, equivalent to our Florida is dimly lit with hosts of ladies and gentlemen in attendance. One thing is clear though; there are more women than men. The women are decently dressed, a complete contrast of our sisters on Koinange Street. The notice at the door is clear: Dress decently.

The women are not aggressive like the Nairobians, they wait to be called or approached.

A visit to Ethiopia’s ancient capital is incomplete without a walk to Addis Merkato, their equivalent of Gikomba market.

The name is Amharic for "New Market". Popularly just Merkato or Mercato, from Italian, it is the largest open-air market in Africa, covering several square miles and employing an estimated 13,000 people in 7,100 business entities.

It is, however not as noisy are Gikomba.

Being a huge market, one can buy anything from tobacco to cattle, the primary merchandise being the locally grown agricultural products, notably coffee.

We came across Kenya’s vitenge shirts in one of the shops. Goods from Kenya such as wood carvings, clothes, T-shirts including some labelled our beer brand Tusker, come through Moyale on the Kenya Ethiopia border.

We soon settle for clothes mostly in the Ethiopian flag and Rastafarian colours, carvings and a host of souvenir items.

We soon find our way back to the hotel to prepare for our flight back. It was a short but very interesting and eventful trip.