Farewell to Addis

Our time in Africa is coming to an end, at least our current trip! 

Addis Ababa has been our home between the various excursions exploring other countries and regions of Ethiopia. We have been staying with our eldest son in a small villa in the centre of the city. 

Our villa in the centre of Addis, complete with a watchtower!

18 months ago this was Trudy in search of some garden plants for the new house. What didn't fit inside ended up on the roof!

18 months later the villa's garden has been transformed.

A lot of our furniture from our Berkshire home has found its way to the villa. It really helped to make the place feel more familiar and homely for our son.

...and our son has a new addition to the British antique furniture: this antique Ethiopian chair, that apparently once belonged to a tribal king.

Besides being the home of the many embassies to Ethiopia, Addis is also the headquarters for the African Union and the many NGOs that serve Africa. Consequently, there is a wide and diverse social group and there have been many wonderful embassy-type events for us to enjoy. The people we meet are always interesting: it takes a special type of individual to embark on this lifestyle - some are diplomats, some food aid workers, some promoting education and some are journalists covering the Sudan and Ethiopian civil wars. The conversations are always both enlightening and challenging.

 

Quiz night in the Addis Arms, the pub at the British Embassy.

One of the many giant tortoises that wander around the grounds of the embassy.

Mo Farah drops in for a motivational talk to the local youth running club.

Other famous marathon runners

The ambassador's residence at the British Embassy. 

Our son's birthday surprise party at the embassy...

Eurovision Song Contest night, and birthday celebrations, at the Addis Arms.

Tragically, the horn of Africa is suffering a severe drought again. This fact is hard to grasp as the ‘short rains’ of Ethiopia have not stopped this year and have now just run into the ‘long rains’ season. Basically, it has rained, heavily, on and off since we arrived in March. I put this question to the US Food Aid director “Why is there a drought when there is so much rain falling?”. He explains that drought doesn’t just mean no rain, it is all about water management, capture, storage and distribution. Tragic!

 

The old Djibouti railway station, now used as an art centre and the occasional pop up concert...

...like this one!

Ethiopia is famous for its coffee and there is no shortage of excellent coffee shops in Addis even if they do reserve the best beans for export only. We have our favourite venues and we now feel like locals when we walk in and staff and locals wave, shoulder bump and say “Salam” (Amharic for ‘Greetings’).

 

A quiet moment with a macchiato, a very popular coffee not unlike a cappuccino. 

... or maybe a cocktail or two!

In the centre of the city there is a small museum dedicated to The Red Terror period in Ethiopia’s history. Ironically the building was recently raided and badly damaged in a local riot between different religious groups. In spite of its decrepitude the remaining pictures and artifacts gives one an arresting insight into the country’s harrowing political history in the 1960s and 1970s. The Red Terror was a brutal period of oppression by the Derg, the military junta that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The terror was directed at any political opponent of the Derg, real or apparent, resulting in a horrific genocide of up to one million Ethiopians. It’s hard to stop the tears when one sees the photographs, with their names printed underneath, of hundreds and hundreds of youthful individuals.

Skeleton remains of some of those killed in the genocide.

Faces and names of some of those young people killed in the genocide.

We rack our senses: How can these kind Ethiopians of today be in any way linked to the people who wrought such brutality and death? We are left numb and incredulous knowing that too much barbaric violence is littered throughout history and exists around the world, still. In fact, there are 27 wars around the world right now! Will we ever learn?

 There are a few jazz bars dotted around the city, our favourite is Fendika which has an amazing mix of performing bands and cliental. One needs to be introduced to the venue as no sane person would dream of going into the corrugated tin shack that hides this Aladdin’s Cave. There’s a large, spitting open brazier – no Health and Safety regulations to adhere to here! – that keeps the damp at bay; a makeshift art gallery at the back; and a long bar that serves up a local drink known as a tej, a sort of honey mead served in a chemical flask. It is brewed locally and can be variable in quality and strength. It’s delicious so we promptly get smashed.

African Jazz Village, a good mid-week venue.

Tej, tastes as good as it looks!! Stick to the local beer!

Fendika, our favourite jazz bar.

Walking the streets of Addis is generally safe. Violent crime is very rare.  the only real risk is the odd opportunist pick-pocket gang who you can see coming. One of the gang pretends to sell you tissues or pretends to inadvertently soil your jumper with spit; as you are focusing on him the others try to dip in to your pocket. If you see them coming all you have to do is wave your arms around and tell them to leave you alone – which they do; they don’t want the publicity. If you don’t see them coming, we found that the locals do see them coming! And the locals then shout 'thief!' if the gang goes anywhere near you.

After some sad goodbyes we leave Addis for London, but not before dropping in to visit our lovely friend, Kate, for lunch in Kenya ...as you do!