THE MERCATO
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2013
A ‘drive-by’ shot of the market in Addis and a glimpse of the city’s skyline. A few high-rises are visible but so are some of the thousands of shanties that serve as homes and shops. The main streets through the Mercato (Africa’s largest market) are paved but inside the market the streets are dirt…on this day they were mud.
“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.
There were many young men like this man who carried heavy loads on their heads. Other men pulled home-made, heavily loaded wooden carts through the market. Some of the carts had wheels about 4 inches in diameter. They’d get stuck in a pothole in the middle of a busy intersection. The men would strain and pull but the tiny wheels and the heavy load wouldn’t budge. No one came to help.
Wonderful reminder of the Addis Market, my first experience in Africa (’71).
I returned to Africa in ’73 for 3-yr stint in the Peace Corps Ag project in extreme NE Benin (Country used to be called Dahomey – The ancestral home – in the south- of the Kingdom of Abomey which was served by a fierce battallion of Amazons (said to have cut off their left breasts so not to interfere with drawing their bow strings) and Voudon as you portrayed in Togo).
Interesting! I saw an exhibit of carvings from Benin in a museum in Los Angeles. The figures were about 8 inches high and delicately carved….you might have come home with a suitcase full!
When I was young, I considered the Peace Corps, but joined the military instead. Later, when I was able to travel to remote countries, I’d look at the villages and ask myself it I’d have been happy to spend two years alone in such primitive conditions. I’m afraid the answer was “No.”
I’m glad you emailed me!
Rosemary
It wasn’t that bad but being male in a Muslim country was a def plus.
I’ll be outta touch for a few going to Mexico Puerto Vallarta wedding my eldest daughter
Salud!