Walking Tour of Addis Ababa (Sidist Kilo to Merkato)

The walk with stops takes around 3 to 4 hours.

Meet at Sidist Kilo. After an introductory talk walk to Arat Kilo with stops at the Yekatit 12 Monument, the residence of the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Minilik II school (the first modern school in Ethiopia) and Arat Kilo Victory Monument. (About 45 minutes)
Walk to Piazza via Ras Mekonin Bridge. On the way, you will spot an Armenian and a Greek Church from the 1920s and 1930s. Due to crisis during the First World War many Armenians and Greeks fled to Ethiopia. In now a day Piazza is known for its jewelry shops, up market stores and cozy cafes. You will also spot the old Cinema Ethiopia, the City Hall, and Abune (Father) Petros Monument. (About 45 minutes)
There will be an optional toilet and coffee break in Piazza
Walk to Merkato with stops at the vibrant daily vegetable market (Atkilt Tera) and the Anwar Mosque, the largest mosque in Addis. (About 30 minutes)
Walk in Merkato, the largest market in Africa. The quarters in the market you walk across include the Anwar Mosque area famous for its carpet shops; Raguel Church area where you see variety of Ethiopian Orthodox Church paraphernalia; cloth and craft shops; vegetable, spice and basket quarters; coffee and incense stalls and the area where recycled materials are traded. (About 1 hour)
Walk to Piazza (about 30 minutes) to end your tour at Tomoca Coffee Shop, known for serving excellent coffee. You can also buy packed Ethiopian coffee

Practicalities

We recommend good walking shoes and drinking water
It is possible to take photograph during the walking tour, so take your camera with you
For interested travelers there will be opportunities of shopping crafts, hand-woven textiles and baskets
As congestion is part of the beauty of Merkato we advise against carrying a lot of money, passport, jewelry and other valuables. For the purpose of shopping we suggest to take not more than 2000 birr

For travelers who may find the above walking tour too long, it is possible to do a shorter version of only the Merkato section in about 2 hours by starting and finishing at Tewodros Square near Churchill Hotel
For travelers who still want shorter walk we organize minivan so that they can drive into and out of Merkato, walking only in the market for an hour or less. For this, arrangement has to be made and the price has to be negotiated in advance