The MERKATO!

The commercial part of Addis Ababa has two central areas- Merkato and Piassa. Piassa has a more Italian feel with European-style buildings, cobblestone streets, and fashionable clothing, shoes and jewelry. Both areas are bargain-friendly, as are most shopping spots in the city. Most of our shopping has taken place in shops near the Black Lion Hospital.
Yesterday I was carrying a bag with my Asics running shoes in it and many of the vendors swarmed around them offering to buy my (gross,dirty used)shoes for 500 birr (about 45 dollars!) I neglected to take the offers as I suspect I will need a pair of shoes for the next few weeks!
We went to a few stores in the Piassa area this week in search of orthotic-appropriate shoes for one of my patients. Today we ventured out for some shopping at the Merkato in the center of the city. The Merkato area has historically been known for its higher level of crime, pickpockets and prostitution. Currently, the biggest threat seems to be pickpocketing and we were very cautious- I would not recommend bringing a purse or backpack. There were many armed men walking the streets and standing around but fortunately we saw no signs of violence.
However, the entire experience was sensory overload and mass chaos- people navigating potholes and manure shoulder to shoulder, donkeys with loads running up the street, cars and trucks and taxis zooming in and out of the crowd, people carrying live chickens and goats/crates/other food on their heads, children following us begging, words in Amharic coming out of loudspeakers, vendors waving their handicrafts in our path. A massive afternoon rainstorm added to the colorful scene and one of our drivers, Fantu, led us for about 20 minutes through the crowd until we reached an area that sold handmade baskets and musical instruments. Taxis here are the blue and white buses that are generally overloaded with 20+ people and one person literally hangs out of the window shouting out the destination to people on the street. It’s difficult to discretely go anywhere in public here… We are now used to the stares and have seen few other “ferenjis” (foreigners) here – aside from some hospital staff and other Americans at our hotel. Apparently most tourists don’t spend much time in the capital city and instead head to the other tourist areas in Ethiopia. I always love to try blending in to countries but unfortunately for me I am a) WHITE and b) with a group of 10 other white people. Needless to say, we get a lot of unwanted attention!