Early days in Ethiopia

September 03, 2002



Moving into a New Environment

I was appointed to the Programme Planning Officer's post in Addis Ababa in the beginning of 1981. I went ahead of the family towards the end of January. I flew to Addis from Bombay by Air-India [which then flew on to Nairobi]. As usual I asked for a window seat - it was an entrancing introduction to the country's varied topography, as the aircraft kept low enough most of the trip. As we crossed the Red Sea near the tip of the horn of Africa, past Djibouti, the south eastern deserts, the deep gorges of the rift Valley, and then the towering highlands as we neared Addis, etched the fascinating diversity and beauty of the country in my mind and soul.

The office had first put me up in the Ras hotel on Churchill road [ or was it Field Marshall Smuts road?] [I wondered about those names, and then was told that the allies were held in great esteem in the country due to their having liberated it in the 2nd world war from the six year Italian occupation. This accounted for one of the main roads being named 'field marshall jan smuts rd'! - In Africa!].



But I found it impossible to read by the dim light in the hotel room, and in a week or so, opted for the Ghion, which was slightly costlier, but much better appointed. Also it was in a garden while Ras was right on the main street; and Ghion had a swimming pool too. The cold weather and my lack of time prevented me from enjoying that enough [ Like all the hotel pools in Addis, however, this was heated naturally by the thermal springs that are found so often in the
Ethiopian highlands.

Popular misconceptions about weather in 'Tropical Africa' pictures it as hot, hotter, hottest. But most Of East Africa is highland, and the temperatures are mild to cold. Two-thirds of Ethiopia is high ranging from plateau to mountainous, with Addis being very hilly - 2,000 to 2,500 metres high - the equivalent of kodi or Ooty. As it is about 8* north of the equator, this makes for a near perfect sunny coolness. During the rains and in winter, however, it can be nearly as cold as Delhi.

13 months of sunshine
Now as to the ' Thirteen Months of Sunshine' that Ethiopian Airlines boasts of. The Ethiopian calendar has 12 months of 30 days each, starting with The Maskal festival on Sept. 12. The balance of 5
days becomes a last tiny month [Sept 7-11]! As for every month and every day in it being sunny, it is almost true. Even in the monsoon [the big rains - Jun-Aug] or the little rains [Feb.- Mar.], the sun peeps out for at least a few hours, and the air is gloriously fresh, and the leaves sparkling. Occasionally though, we used to tease the
Ethiopians: 'where is your famous thirteen months of sunshine?'

When it rained during the long or big rains, also, in December and January, my Colleague Samuel Olana would don his overcoat despite
getting teased by us. We did welcome the room heaters at those times But most of the year, Addis was cool enough in the shade to throw a light sweater or shawl over one's shoulders, and take it off when one went out in the sun. I perspired there only one year for a few days when the short rains were late in coming.


Posted by padmini at 09:21 AM