Entoto Maryam Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
Entoto Maryam Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
On our trip to the top of Mount Entoto near Addis Ababa our driver stopped at the magnificent Entoto Maryam Church, shown in the photos on today’s post. This Ethiopian Orthodox Church was built in 1876 by Emperor Menelik II. His palace is on the same grounds; I will show photos of the palace and grounds in coming posts on this site.
Also of interest nearby is the Emperor Menelik Museum.
Entoto Maryam Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
Entoto Maryam Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
Kiddus Raguel Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Abba, Ethiopia
Kiddus Raguel Church, Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
During our visit last December to Ethiopia, we employed a driver for the day who took us to Entoto Natural Park, at 3200 metres it’s the highest point near the capital Addis Ababa. On this drive we were taken past the Kiddus Raguel Church near the top of the mountain. It seemed not to be open for visitors so I have no close up photos. There doesn’t seem to be much information online about this church, only that there is a very old rock-hewn church near the newer building shown in the photo above.
As we left this spot we had fine panoramic views across the nearby farming land near the Entoto Natural Park, shown in the photo below.
Near Mount Entoto, Addis Ababa
Entoto Natural Park, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
On the way up to Mount Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia
During our two week stay in Addis Ababa last December, we hired a driver to take us to Mount Entoto Natural Park. Much of the city is at an altitude of about 2500 metres and is ringed by a chain of mountains reaching up to about 3100 metres.
When we left the school campus where our daughter was teaching last year it was a pleasantly mild day, probably about 20C with a clear sky. As we drove to the top of the mountain over the next hour, the temperature progressively dropped and was quite chilly at the top.
Along the way we drove through a dense eucalyptus forest. It was a bizarre feeling, almost as if we were driving through the Adelaide Hills here in South Australia – yet we were in Ethiopia. These trees were planted in the late 1800s as firewood became scarcer in the surrounding hills. More were planted over the next 50 or so years and they remain the dominant tree in the greater Addis Ababa area. They are ideally suited to the soil and climate, and provide much needed safeguards against erosion. They also provide much needed supplies of firewood and building materials for local people.
On the way up to Mount Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia
On the way up to Mount Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia
From near the top of Mount Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia
From near the top of Mount Entoto Natural Park, Ethiopia
More scenes of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CBD of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Despite its economic challenges, its extreme poverty in some areas, frequent droughts in rural areas and a growing population, Ethiopia’s capital city of Addis Ababa has some parts in the CBD which are thriving and can take their place proudly alongside many other cities of the world. Today I feature several more photos taken in the heart of the city.
CBD of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
CBD of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia