Merkkato, Museum, Mead
The weekend was very relaxed with a busy morning @ the mission on Saturday. Saturday afternoon we (Jake, Zev, Berhanu, Ilana, and I) went to the Merkkato. A sprawling complex of stalls, shops, indoor "malls," and with more people than you can shake a stick at, it was a little overwhelming. The size of the area, the number of goods being traded, and the never-ending shouts of "hello" and "faranji" were enough to make one go insane. If I were to try and answer everything shouted at me, my head would surely fall off from the constant snapping side-to-side to answer everyone.
In general, it was less like a market and more like too many stores crammed into pillboxes and stacked together. Two hours there was enough to make me want to go and sit in my hotel room for hours, simply so that no beggars, shoe-shine boys, vendors, or random people could bother me. So that was my saturday (topped off w/dinner in the hotel).
The first item on the agenda for sunday was a visit to the Museum located in Addis Ababa University. It's housed in what used to be the palace of Haile Sellassie; it's not Versaille but it's better than the normal house here. The museum was very well put together and had an excellent old art collection and interesting stories/legends from the many tribal groups in southern Ethiopia.
After the museum, a walk was in order and so we meandered back to the hotel, getting lost in side streets and enjoying the scenery. We stopped for a bit so that I could play soccer with 10 youngsters, and then our parade with children in tow alit to the nearest street stand where I bought them a new rubber ball (to replace their flat, hole-ridden ball).
The walk culminated with us again exploring a new area and being mobbed by 30-40 children. Every one of them begged for $ at one point or another but I think that is simply because they don't know any other english words. After a few pictures, we left them at the gate of our hotel as we scampered inside our island of tranquility. And so my Sunday was spent.
On a side note, friday night after shabbat dinner, Jake, Zev, Adam, and I went to a newly opened traditional restaurant complete with dancers, live music, and homemade tej - essentially a fermented honey (similar to mead i believe). It tastes like white wine going down, and then a sweet, sticky aftertaste, as though you had just drank a cup of honey with water. Interesting indeed.
In general, it was less like a market and more like too many stores crammed into pillboxes and stacked together. Two hours there was enough to make me want to go and sit in my hotel room for hours, simply so that no beggars, shoe-shine boys, vendors, or random people could bother me. So that was my saturday (topped off w/dinner in the hotel).
The first item on the agenda for sunday was a visit to the Museum located in Addis Ababa University. It's housed in what used to be the palace of Haile Sellassie; it's not Versaille but it's better than the normal house here. The museum was very well put together and had an excellent old art collection and interesting stories/legends from the many tribal groups in southern Ethiopia.
After the museum, a walk was in order and so we meandered back to the hotel, getting lost in side streets and enjoying the scenery. We stopped for a bit so that I could play soccer with 10 youngsters, and then our parade with children in tow alit to the nearest street stand where I bought them a new rubber ball (to replace their flat, hole-ridden ball).
The walk culminated with us again exploring a new area and being mobbed by 30-40 children. Every one of them begged for $ at one point or another but I think that is simply because they don't know any other english words. After a few pictures, we left them at the gate of our hotel as we scampered inside our island of tranquility. And so my Sunday was spent.
On a side note, friday night after shabbat dinner, Jake, Zev, Adam, and I went to a newly opened traditional restaurant complete with dancers, live music, and homemade tej - essentially a fermented honey (similar to mead i believe). It tastes like white wine going down, and then a sweet, sticky aftertaste, as though you had just drank a cup of honey with water. Interesting indeed.
Comments