ART AFTER HOURS
Fendika’ s creativity extends beyond its stage. The cultural center also houses an art gallery showcasing Ethiopian artists from multiple generations. Curated by renowned artists Yoseph Seboksa and Hailu Kifle, exhibitions rotate every three weeks, offering a constantly changing look at the country’ s visual arts scene.
ADDIS ABABA
ALTITUDE OF ADDIS ABABA
Sitting more than 7,700 feet above sea level, Addis Ababa spreads across Ethiopia’ s central highlands, a capital where diplomatic institutions, contemporary development, and centuries-old cultural traditions share the same mountainous landscape. Ethiopian Airlines offers nonstop flights from Washington Dulles to Addis Ababa. The city is home to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, while Ethiopian Airlines connects its international airport to destinations across the continent, making Addis an important gateway for exploring Africa.
For Banna Desta, a first-generation Ethiopian-American playwright, Addis is more personal. Desta spent extended time in Ethiopia researching The Abyssinians, an audio drama rooted in Ethiopian history and culture. Her work took her beyond the capital’ s institutional identity and into the places where Addis expresses itself through music, dance, food, and everyday life.
A NIGHT AT FENDIKA
One of the best places to experience Addis Ababa’ s creative energy is Fendika Cultural Center, where Ethiopian music and dance are not simply preserved from the past but practiced, shared, and continually reimagined. Musicians perform on instruments such as the krar, a lyre-like string instrument, and the one-stringed masenqo, while singers carry forward the centuries-old azmari art of musical storytelling and improvisation.
Fendika also reaches well beyond Addis. Its concerts are livestreamed on YouTube, connecting musicians, dancers, and audiences in Ethiopia with viewers around the world. Together, the stage, gallery, and digital audience make Fendika more than a performance venue. It is a gathering place where Ethiopian artistic traditions continue to evolve in real time.
ABOVE ADDIS
To understand the city itself, head higher. Entoto Park sits in the mountains overlooking Addis Ababa, where the elevation offers sweeping views across the capital and the surrounding highlands. Walking and cycling trails wind through eucalyptus forests, while horseback riding, rock climbing, and other activities make the park a popular escape from the streets below. More important than its roster of attractions, however, is the perspective it offers: From Entoto, Addis stretches across the valley below, a highland capital shaped as much by the mountains surrounding it as by the neighborhoods spreading outward beneath them.
GO BEYOND: ZANZIBAR
From the cool, high-altitude air of Addis Ababa, travelers can make a dramatic change of scenery with a flight to Zanzibar, the semiautonomous Tanzanian archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In a matter of hours, mountain views give way to tropical heat, white-sand beaches and turquoise waters. It is a striking reminder of how quickly a journey through Africa can shift in landscape, climate and culture.
Ethiopian Food
Credit: Monika Borys
Dance brings another dimension to the experience. Performers shift between regional styles with rapid footwork and the distinctive shoulder movements associated with eskista. Every other Friday night, visitors may also catch the internationally known Ethiocolor Band and Fendika director Melaku Belay, whose improvisational approach to eskista pushes the traditional dance form in unexpected directions.
The audience becomes part of the experience, responding to performers and sometimes joining the dancing as the night progresses. Traditional sounds mingle with Ethio-jazz and other contemporary influences, creating a cultural space that looks forward without losing sight of its roots.
FLYWASHINGTON. COM 12 AUTUMN / WINTER 2026