A First Glimpse at Africa

Clean, quiet, agreeable – is this what comes into your mind when you think about Africa? Probably not, but arriving from India to Addis Ababa, these were exactly our first impressions. As Ethiopia was the first country in Africa, we had kind of respect and did not know what to expect. In general we were positively surprised.

Addis Ababa is located 2350m above sea level and offers a comfortable climate with about 20 degrees, fresh nights, low humidity, lots of sunshine and little rain. The roads are mainly wide and crowded only in the center, not littered, drivers do not use the horn and the streets have charming names like “Bob Marley Square” or “Haile Gebrselassie Road”. Actually there is nothing really spectacular about the town. There are some communist architectural relicts, a green river valley and many inhabitants live in rusty Quonset huts. However, poverty does not seem as dire as in India because people care for their homes and the constructions offer much more privacy. But Ethiopia’s capital city also hosts what is proudly presented as the biggest market in Africa: the huge “Mercato” area, where you can find all sorts of fruits, traditional cheese, recycled steel, chickens dead or alive, clothes and the typical fascinating market atmosphere. Continue reading