Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Credit: urosr
EVENING MOUNT ENTOTO: WHERE PAST MEETS PRESENT
Beyond the city’ s hustle, Mount Entoto offers stunning views and historical importance. St. Mary’ s Church sits at the top, where Emperor Menelik II established his capital before founding modern Addis Ababa in the valley below. There, he was crowned emperor and planned the Italian defeat that secured the country’ s independence. While the palace museum next to St. Mary’ s keeps imperial artifacts, the mountain’ s eucalyptus forests— brought from Australia— now give the city its distinctive aromatic scent.
To explore Addis Ababa is to witness an ongoing conversation between past and present, where heritage is continuously celebrated through the walls of its churches, the halls of its museums, and the air atop its mountains. Each landmark shares a story: at the National Museum, you meet the ancestors who shaped humanity; at the Ethnological Museum, the diversity that defines the nation; at the cathedrals, the faith that guided Ethiopia through challenges and change; and on Mount Entoto, the viewpoint that links past, present, and future.
For explorers eager to delve into Ethiopia’ s rich history, Addis Ababa offers discovery at every turn.
African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa
Credit: Habte Zewge
FLYWASHINGTON. COM 18 AUTUMN 2025