THINGS TO DO IN ADDIS ABABA

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and is strategically located in the Ethiopian highlands, with pleasant weather favorable for tourists and visitors. Significantly, the city is known for its unique array of international as well as local food with the best indigenous coffee worth drinking. Moreover, there are numerous places to visit once you are in the city ranging from ancient churches, magnificent museums to the famous

The Red Terror Martyrs Memorial Museum

• The museum is one of the fascinating places to visit in Addis Ababa. It is a modern museum located in the city and holds one of the most significant histories of Ethiopian people.
• It tends to explain a period in Ethiopian history when many people suffered due to mass killings in 1976 to 1978 after Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a military coup.
• To enter the museum is free, and you won’t be charged anything.

Meskel Square

• It’s one of the places worth visiting, and it is a central place in the city where people gather, especially during festivities and political rallies.

Merkato

• Merkato is an Italian word meaning market, and it has been ranked as the largest open-air market in the whole of Africa.
• It’s one of the most exciting places to visit in the city, and you can buy different items ranging from Ethiopian cultural attire, food, and souvenirs.
• However much it can be crowded and noisy; it is incredibly amazing and entertaining to walk around observing people and various items being loaded and unloaded.

The National Museum of Ethiopia

• The museum is one of the best in Addis Ababa with fantastic archaeological items such as the skeletal remains of early hominids and prestigious statues from Axum.
• Furthermore, the museum holds beautiful pieces of artwork with a significant collection of memorabilia from royal families of former emperors that ruled Ethiopia.

Monuments and statues

• Ethiopia prides itself in its ancient history and religious beliefs and is full of sculptures and monuments in remembrance of their struggle against colonial invasion.
• These monuments are worth stopping at as they have been carefully crafted and are found at almost every public square and in the large roundabouts.
• Derg monument is strategically situated in Churchill Avenue and significantly represents the presence of North Korean people in the country.
• Moreover, a beautiful statue of the Lion of Judah is situated in Addis Ababa in front of the old railway station and also in the National Theatre.
• The magnificent statue made of black stone represents the Ethiopian emperor, who is the pride of the nation.

Delicious Ethiopian food and coffee

• Eating Ethiopian food is one of the best things to do in Addis Ababa.
• Ethiopian cuisine has mouth-licking spices filled with curries with vegetables and lots of meat alongside injera, a staple food in the country.
• Injera is a spongy pancake-like food that has been fermented and is made from teff grain flour. It is enjoyable to eat injera with your hands.
• Ethiopian coffee is a real treat for tourists and visitors.
• Once you’re in Ethiopia, you will realize that there are two types of coffee to choose; the traditional Ethiopian coffee that is roasted and grounded using a mortar and a pestle and is brewed in a clay coffee pot.
• Moreover, the second type of Ethiopian coffee is one in Espresso machines that beautifully bust out sweet and creamy macchiato.

Edna Mall and Bole Medhane Alem Cathedral

• Bole Medhane Alem Cathedral Church is just across the street of Bole sub-city in Addis Ababa.
• It is the largest Ethiopian Orthodox church in the capital and has been ranked the second largest church in Africa.
• It is a magnificent church built with lots of pride and is worth visiting.
• Edna Mall, on the other hand, is also found in Bole and has plenty of beautiful items and cinemas worth visiting.

Mount Entoto

• To enjoy the best scenery of Addis Ababa, Mount Entoto is the most appropriate place to visit.
• Importantly, it is in the mountain that the two oldest Ethiopian orthodox churches are found; the St. Raguel and the St. Mary’s Orthodox Churches.
• Moreover, the churches hold very vital places in people’s lives and have a beautiful museum and an incredible palace of Emperor Menelik II.
• The mountain is also the most suitable place to hike in the beautiful eucalyptus tree forest.

Shiro Meda Market

• This is a market found in Addis Ababa, where locals in the city do their shopping.
• To get to the market, head to the stalls in Entoto Avenue to the north of Botswana and Spanish embassies.
• If you are interested in Ethiopian clothing, the market has the best and unique blankets, shawls, wedding attires, and traditional Ethiopian clothing.

Ethnological Museum

• The museum is one of the finest in Africa worth your time.
• It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and water fountains and holds enthralling Ethiopian cultural and social histories in two significant floors.
• It is situated in the Ethiopian University Campus in Haile Selassie’s former palace in Addis Ababa.
• To get to the museum, it costs 100 Ethiopian Birr for adults and 50 Ethiopian Birr for students.
• Consequently, Addis Ababa is a pleasant city that offers an array of activities to do and experience. The Ethiopian Orthodox churches, historical museums, and markets are excellent places to explore.