Addis Ababa - First Impressions

Addis Ababa is a serious melting pot of cultures, with a very long history (see Lucy, the oldest hominid skeleton ever discovered in the country's Afar region), a manic building boom that makes Dubai look slovenly and massive urban growth...

Minibus ticket guy touting for that last passenger.
Most of these local minibuses look in pretty bad shape

Early morning light walking into the church grounds with a bunch of local pilgrims

Panorama of a church located near our first hotel.

Donkeys being used to carry freight into Mercato, a massive market area selling almost anything you can imagine including recycled tin, plastics, wire, motor parts and much more. It was a cacophony of noise, diesel fumes, mixed with a tight press of humanity all going about their daily chores

Two men in a Mercato cable recycling shop

Mercato again - this was a market created purely for indigenous peoplecreated by the Italians, segregating them from the Italian areas around the Piazza part of the city. 
Here's a glimpse down one alley where everyone clearly specialises in recycling anything plastic - and especially anything yellow plastic!

View from hotel window at 6am.
Addis is experiencing a staggering building boom - although not quite on the sheer size of Dubai's skyscrapers, almost every second or third building is either new or under construction - which makes the pace look a terrible mess.

HDR of the old Djibouti to Addis Ababa railway station - it is no longer in use but is soon to be converted into a museum - the new rail line is being brought into a different part of the city.

And what would a railway station be without a proper station restaurant - and bar.
Another HDR image.