December 30, 2004
A walk up Entoto
Michael Buerk infamously described Addis Ababa as a city of "diesel and desperation" in his recent documentary on Ethiopia, returning 20 years after the 1984 famine.
Even in the city centre the description is unfair. There is plenty of diesel and some desperation, a result of the grinding poverty. But the phrase simply fails to capture the vitality of the capital.
When you wander to the city limits - just 20 minutes drive from the centre - Buerk's description becomes even more inappropriate.
These are some pictures taken on a Boxing Day walk in Entoto, the hill to the north of Addis where Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopia's running star, trains every week. This is where Emperor Menelik II originally founded the capital at the end of the 19th century.
Posted by aheavens at December 30, 2004 4:31 AM