Addis Ababa - Part I: The Mercado

In late May, I spent about ten days in Addis for a conference on HIV/AIDs. While the conference was a mixture of information and politics, another part of my education came from the time I spent in Addis. I arrived on a Friday evening at Bole International airport with colleagues also attending the conference and their family members. I was initially struck by how cool the weather was and realized that – like Kigali – Addis is also at an elevation.

I could not see much of the city as the hotel shuttle whizzed through darkened streets. But, from what I could see of it, I knew that Addis was a much bigger town than Kigali and, like my colleagues, I was excited to be in a new place. Ado Solomon, who greeted us at the airport, and drove us to the hotel pointed out shadowy buildings and would indicate whether it was a palace or a church. I asked him about the recent elections and he said that it would take many days to know the results of the election. I also asked him about the Mercado since I had heard that it was an amazing market – not to be missed – and my colleagues and I wanted to plan a trip there. He let me know the hours and, before I knew it, we arrived at the hotel.

Early the next day after breakfast, my colleagues and I set out for the Mercado, which is the largest open air market in Africa (or so I was told repeatedly). We rented a taxi and were dropped off at in an area that didn’t much look like a large open air market. We started to walk around and saw a lot of goats just sitting in the middle of a busy street. But, still, we could not figure out where the fabric stores were or all the other types of shops we were told about. However, as we were walking around a little lost, we were approached by a few guys who offered to serve as guides through the market. My colleague picked one who didn’t use a hard sell approach and Fikadou became our guide.

Fikadou really knew his way around the Mercado. But, he walked quickly and it was difficult for one of my colleagues and his wife to keep up since they had their baby with them. Within a few minutes, we entered an area that looked like an open air market and started to pass stall after stall with all kinds of goods – arts, crafts, antiques, appliances, house hold goods, gold, silver, and food stores with colorful red chilies and spices. We wove our way through a maze of shops –crossing a couple of busy streets, ducking out of the way of traffic, donkeys and goats -- headingtowards the section called shemawat (hope I got this right) with Ethiopian fabric stores. Two of us wanted to buy shawls, and we did find stores that sold beautiful shawls.

Although I have never really been much of a shopper, the Mercado brought out the shawlaholic in me, and I ended up buying more than a few shawls. After the first set of purchases, we headed towards the section of the Mercado that sold the antiques and crafts. Along the way, one of my colleagues, his wife and child decided to head to another part of town to get coffee because they were tired of running around.

So, Fikadou was left with two of us. He took us to a shop and, since I did not have much interest in the antiques, I started to walk around and look at nearby stalls. But, within a few minutes, I was pulled back into the stall and given a stool to sit on while my colleague negotiated for some antiques that she wanted to buy. During the negotiations, we were given macchiatos (a very good and potent local coffee drink). I ended up looking around the store and found one item that I really liked. So, I too started to negotiate on a price and, before long, the shopkeeper and I found a price that we both agreed on. My colleague eventually got the items she wanted and traded a digital camera for a portion of the asking price.

While sitting on the stool, I realized that I needed dishware and cutlery in Kigali since I would not have those things when I returned. So, while my colleague finished up her deal, I left with Fikadou and went out to another part of the Mercado. I ended up getting everything I needed including dishware, glasses, coffee cups, and cutlery for the unheard of price of $30. Yes, you can find some of the most amazing bargins at this market! By the time I got back to the antique shop, my colleague had returned to the hotel because the shopkeeper had offered her a ride. So, I took the opportunity to set out to yet another part of the Mercado to buy a few more things. It started to rain and became really muddy. But, after an hour, I came back to the antique shop where I had been allowed to leave my dishware and other purchases. Just as I got there, the shop keeper showed up and insisted on also giving me a ride back to the hotel since I was ‘his customer' too. I paid Fikadou for his work as our guide and headed out with the shop keeper.

Again, I'm not sure why i'm amazed by unexpected generosity but i was touched. I tried to pay the shop keeper for the ride, but he would not let me. It was something he wanted to do, he told me. The ride back was a little scary since there was no seat belt in the car and the traffic there does not always follow the rules of the road. But, I got back to the hotel and even learned a little about Ethiopian music on the ride back. I enjoyed immensely my adventure in the Mercado, and I’d recommend a visit there to anyone who makes it to Addis in the near or distant future! It’s truly an amazing community of shop keepers, guides, and a mish mosh of humanity.