Addis and the Largest Open Air Market in Africa

Arriving in Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia, after a couple days of travel was all that you might guess.  Thrilling, intriguing, exhausting.  I couldn’t believe I was actually in Africa!  

I stayed at a Best Western with lovely staff and room.  I quickly learned that building codes are not the same in Ethiopia as they are here at home.  There was a gap beneath the stairs that a child could easily walk through and fall a couple of floors straight down.  And the door from the office right at the top of the stairs gave me anxiety just looking at it.

The most disconcerting thing at the Best Western was when I sat on the front entrance stairs to await Yared, my guide for the next two days.  Two security guards immediately flanked me.  They told me to hold my phone and purse tightly.  They were visibly stressed even though it was broad daylight on a busy street at a well reviewed business hotel.  I did what they said and realized I needed to up my awareness, pronto.

Yared picked me up and off we went to experience the Mercato, the largest open air market in Africa.  

Crowds and chaos were my first impression.  The market is huge, from the streets on the outside to the twisty alleys as we went deeper and deeper.  I would have been utterly lost without Yared.  He took me to the areas selling spices, metalwork, grain, butter, coffee, recycled bits, etc.  

Yared’s favorite thing about the Mercado is the recycling.  He said nothing goes to waste.

People did double takes when they saw me, so obviously a foreigner here.  There were calls of “Welcome!”, “Hello!”,  and “Ferenji” (pronounced Fur-EHN-gee) meaning foreigner.  Almost everyone was friendly but at one point that first day, friends of Yared’s whispered in his ear and he told me the “glue sniffers” were watching us and we had to get out of that area.  He hustled me away, his head on a swivel.  A security guard carrying a big stick saw us and walked alongside until we were clear of that area.  Wow.

The second day Yared brought another man along with us.  

We had so many adventures.  I tried coffee beans, local beer, and cardamom that Yared picked up off a tarp on the ground.  He handed me some green leaves and told me to chew them.  I asked what they were and he said I’d like them.  I handed half back to him (the locals cracked up) and put the other half in my cheek.  It was khat, a stimulant, and Yared chewed it throughout the day.  I didn’t feel anything and spit it out after a while.  

I made the locals laugh again when I pet and hugged some donkeys.  I couldn’t help myself.

Yared had me sift grain (teff) in a small tin room, climb a ladder to a hostel rooftop to view the crowded streets below, sit in an alley and have some coffee, and watch him demonstrate the chicken dance (Ethiopians LOVE dancing!).

I learned that Ethiopians love America because so many Ethiopians work in in the U.S. to help their families.  But one woman crossed herself after we exchanged hellos.  I asked Yared why and he told me she felt inferior.  Bummer.

Ethiopians are very proud of having never been colonized.  Because of that their calendar is 7 years behind ours.  It was 2015 there.  

Yared is from the north.  He told me his people are the soul of hospitality.  When you visit, they will wash your feet, invite you in for food, and light incense.  (I noticed that anytime we sat down for coffee or a meal, incense was lit).  Rushes on the ground in doorways are a sign of welcome.  

We went to a restaurant for traditional lunch, injera.  Yared tore off some of the injera bread and rolled it in meat and spice.  He reached towards me and I extended my hand to take the piece.  Nope.  He wanted to place the food directly in my mouth.  Oh, okay.  He said the practice is called gursha and feeding someone by hand is an act of honor.  It takes place three times to be complete.  I went with it, grateful for his kindness.

He believes most Ethiopians have very soft kind hearts.  He said the country is mostly Orthodox Christian, followed by Muslim and Protestants.  Yared told me the Muslims control all the trade, and he hates the small segment that have become all about the money, no longer offering warm greetings or kindness.  

We visited a little restaurant in a home, an empty water bottle on a stick posted outside indicating what kind of beer was served there.  Then Yared dropped me off at an Orthodox museum and left me there as they have their own tour guides.  Would have been great if he’d told me the plan rather than disappearing, but it worked out.  (Geez, Yared!).  The tour guide there, an older man,  was so soft spoken and kind.  Every time I exclaimed over something he showed me or shared, he would smile and bow and say, “Thank you.”  The stories he told me of the Emperor were touching and sweet.  

Yared was waiting the tour was done (thank goodness) and we continued on.  I learned so much from just walking and talking with him.  Ethiopians love raw beef, they love 2008 because Obama was elected (blew their minds!), they love dogs and believe they belong to everyone.  Dogs are called wisha, which sounds like woosha, and tickled me to death. 

We talked family and history, current events and tradition.  I learned he cannot get Advil or cough medicine or antibiotic ointment in Addis.  I left him all that I had.  Spending time with Yared in Addis epitomized the best of travel for me – the honor of making friends and seeing a whole different world.