We are in Ethiopia, this morning we were in Lalibela, where we spent two days discovering the rock churches and monasteries; it was an experience that fascinated us.

Today, right after breakfast, we took a flight and now we're back in Addis Abeba; today will be dedicated to discovering the country's capital.

From the airport we head to the National Museum but, as it is time for lunch, we stop first at the Lucy Gazebo Restaurant, that is right next to the museum.

The environment is very welcoming and, despite being very large, it has an intimate atmosphere; there is also a very nice garden.

On the menu they have everything: Ethiopian, Indian, Italian food, even though spaghetti are considered a local specialty, a bit like New York pizza.

We have lunch and then we go to the National Museum of Ethiopia that is located in a multi-storey building surrounded by a beautiful garden.

This museum displays many objects and archaeological finds from different eras, but the main reason why visitors come here is to see the skeleton of Lucy, Australopithecus afarensisthat was found in Ethiopia and dates back to 3.5 million years ago; in reality what is exhibited in the case is a faithful replica.

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But the museum houses many other objects that deserve to be seen, not only dating back to the prehistoric era, but also more recent, such as some artifacts earlier than the Kingdom of Axum or the stems of Tiya, which we will see during our journey.

The museum is well laid out, it is pleasant to visit it and the finds and Lucy, only at the thought of how old they are, are truly impressive.

After visiting the museum we returned to our car and headed towards Entoto, the mountain that with its 3000 meters height dominates the city of Addis Abeba.

We walked part of the winding road that leads to the summit and stopped at a vantage point; from here you can see the whole city.

Addis Abeba has a huge extension and from here you can easily see it; to our right is the old city, that was built by the Italians during the colonial period, while to the left is the new city, built since 1990.

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We take some pictures and then our attention is caught by some women carrying a huge bundle of wood on their back, what a weight!

We go down towards the city and we head to the old city where we visit, first of all, the Cathedral of Saint George that is located in the Square area.

The Cathedral of Saint George is located in a beautiful and quiet garden with trees, closed with a high iron gate; once inside you immediately forget about the chaos and traffic of the African metropolis and find yourself in a small corner of serenity.

Many people, unlike what happens in Catholic churches, also pray outside the church and, some even outside the gate, this custom makes this place even more mystical.

The entrance ticket includes a visit to the church, the museum and a local guide; our guide introduced us to his best friend who is the guide here and who accompanied us to discover this place.

First we visit the Cathedral of Saint George.

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This church has an octagonal plan and was built by Emperor Menelik II to commemorate the victory of Adwa in 1896 over Italians; the exterior is in gray stone while inside there are paintings and colored mosaics, that were made after the Second World War and after the Italians partially destroyed the church in 1937, with a fire ordered by Graziani.

Inside the church is a circular plan, here there are two arcades, one inside the other; the faithful turn to one of these to pray, as well as outside the walls.

In the center is the reproduction of the ark of the alliance that is covered by some drapes; only priests can overcome them and enter, while the faithful cannot pass these sheets.

We enter, we do the whole tour inside the church admiring its treasures and then we go out again in the garden and we go to visit the Museum of Saint George that houses one of the most important collections of sacred objects in the country and includes beautiful crosses, incense burners, sacred rolls, very ancient books, prayer sticks, sacred clothes and umbrellas, worn by the emperors on the day of the coronation, robes and old photographs of archbishops and emperors.

After visiting the Cathedral of St. George we are undecided whether to go for a ride to the Merkato, the commercial area of Addis Abeba, where there are also many handicrafts, or whether to return to the hotel, Getfam Hotel; in the end we choose relaxation, we have already bought many things in Lalibela and we still have the whole journey ahead of us, at the limit we can take a ride on the last day before leaving.

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Data di inserimento: 
Monday, September 16, 2019