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What's in Store
The Addis Ababa Mercato is the largest open-air market in
all Africa. Within the labyrinthian alleyways it is possible
to purchase anything you desire from cheap electronics to
exotic fruits. Let the products be your landmark, for there
is no map for getting around the miles wide trading centre.
The only way to distinguish your location is to notice the
product being sold. Spices, papayas, mangos, lemons, oranges,
pomegranates and passion fruits, lamb, beef, carved crafts,
jewellery and over one hundred coffee merchants, hawking their
region's variety, are crammed into the narrow streets of the
Addis Ketema district.
Half a mile east of the present day Mercato is the Arada
district, where the market used to be located. During the
Italian occupation the traditional location in front of St.
George's Church was reserved strictly for Italians, driving
the Amhara and Tigray further afield. The native Ethiopians
joined the Arab trading centre in the Addis Ketema district,
subsuming it completely by the 1960's. Today, Arada's streets
are adorned with upmarket shops.
People Watching
The Mercato's merchants sit on small three legged stools
or burlap mats within the mountainous piles of grains and
spice. The fresh produce of the market is usually grown in
small lots just outside or even inside Addis Ababa and tended
by city residents. It is carried to the market by foot or
loaded onto the tops of cars and trucks. Children carry the
goods from wagon to stall in large baskets on their head.
Foreigners are typically charged more than natives in the
market, as is true for accommodation and transportation in
the city. |
