- 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.
