On with the adventures of yesterday! The Red Terror Martyrs Museum, situated
ironically on Moscow Square, a huge square right in the center of the city
named after the Russians because they supported Ethiopia after Salassie fell,
is right next to the Addis Ababa Museum. We went there next, climbing a big
flight of stairs. This Museum traces the
history of the city, founded by the wife of Emperor Menelik in 1847. It is
situated on the highest point in the city, and right in the center. The
building was at one time the villa of a government minister. It is, by
Ethiopians standards, a huge house, all built of wood, including wood
floors. Terribly in need of repairs,
from the peeling paint to the dirty unfinished wood floors, to dust all over,
you almost wondered whether it was worth going in. But inside there were
costumes of the Emperor and his coterie from the late 1800s, as well as
marvelous photos from that era of the way of life of the elite. We saw a costume worn by the emperor which
was lion hair and silver, with a big ruff around the neck and lots of wooly
animal hair as a wig. Made to look scary and mighty, it seemed. A photo showed the emperor wearing that
costume, seated on a bench, with his feet resting on the head of a lion which
had been made into a rug. The museum also had old crafts, like large baskets
used as tables, and many stretched animal skins with pictures painted on them.
Then we went for lunch at Finfinie, a restaurant and hotel
nearby which had been built and operated by the Italians in the 1930s. A
wonderful buffet of Ethiopian food was set out in an open-air pavilion. It was
a great place to sit in the warm shady midday and eat good food.
Had to go back to teach another English class that
afternoon. I should say, though, that if
you thought Italian drivers were crazy, Ethiopians have even more bravado. We
haven’t seen a single traffic light in this city of 3 million, though there are
traffic circles and squares. In Moscow Square, cars drive diagonally across it
in any direction, so there is no traffic flow in a single direction. Literally,
cars are going every which way, and busses, and minibuses, even carts and
wagons. You would be a fool as a
pedestrian to think that you can cross in a pedestrian zone with the cars
stopping for you. They may stop for cows
or goats, but not for people!
Today we awoke to the absence of electricity and the sound
of a couple thousand young people coming here for the weekend for a conference.
These are 20 to 30 year olds coming from all over Ethiopia. Tents are set up on
campus, rented chairs are everywhere. We understand they are sleeping in the
tents and in classrooms and in local homes. There are 2500 extra people here
for Friday through Sunday. I haven’t
seen any port-a-potties, so I am really wondering how that aspect is being
handled. I did not that the faculty bathrooms are locked today. As we walked
the ¼ mile from our house to the office and classroom area, we met hundreds of
young men, mostly, and some women, going to the direction, past our house, to
the huge tent where the conference will take place. We’ll take a stroll down
there later and see what is going on. Tonight we agreed to go to a fundraiser
at a local hotel which is for additional support for this conference. I guess
the money ran short.
Tomorrow our dear Belete is coming back to get us and
continue our tour of Addis Ababa. That’ll be great. Right now the campus internet server is
down, so we hope that doesn’t last for
too long so I can post this, and photos, before too long! Love to all.
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