The climate is balmy and pleasant with rain falling rarely except in the summer months. Here, where the Queen of Sheba once ruled, primitive and modern cultures exist side by side. In Addis Ababa, there are new white buildings of reinforced concrete in the midst of bustling, energetic people. Women with exquisite facial bone structure wear shamas, a gauzelike white fabric covering them from head to foot.
Men wear either Ethiopian robes or Western dress.
The open-air market of Addis is the largest and most exciting in all of Africa. The market seems to stretch for miles. Everything is on display, from clothing and household wares to treadle sewing machines. The meats on sale are beef, lamb, and goat. You'll find a sort of rancid butter cut from a large block and sold in chunks wrapped in wax paper, along with lab, a soft cheese wrapped and kept cool in banana leaves.