The cardamom came with a group activity on conflict resolution, the cloves had chemistry and the cinnamon bark seemed to be wrapped in biology notes. I love the way paper is recycled here in small bags used by spice and egg sellers. I wonder who gathers up the paper and creates these bags – and if the pupils had time to learn their lessons well enough before the notes were whisked away…
“ Chaltu and Abdella are neighbours who are always quarreling over the consumption of water and electricity. Chaltu is married with ten chidren, Abdella is a bachelor living with his only brother…. Which methods/mechanisms are you going to use to resolve this conflict?”
Shola Market is the second largest market in Addis Ababa and happens to be a 15-minute walk up a gentle hill from my place. Consequently, it has become my weekend provisioning destination. Mid-week I can buy just about any regular fruits or vegetables, milk powder, eggs, toilet paper (aka “soft”) or even candles within seconds of my front door at one of the numerous small shops along the roads but on weekends I do a major foray in search of more unusual items and good deals on dry goods too. For the record, here are my latest “Top Ten” finds at Shola:
1. In addition to fresh spices, gorgeous arrangements of ground spice mixtures that are staples of Ethiopian cuisine are available – berbere, shiro, mitmita and so on…normally sold by the kilo, I get puzzled looks when I ask for a tiny amount.
2. Curtain shops abound and once your selection has been made the men will sew them up to your specifications within half and hour. Men have cornered the tailoring market here..
3. Traditional clothes are piled high in shop after shop. Scarves are sold in lengths and the fellow will separate and then stitch two together quickly to create the full effect. I decided to get two matching “netella” (women’s shawls in light handspun cotton with colourful woven borders) to use as curtains in my kitchen…
Mohammed entertained me with the latest rap music on his radio while I waited on a small stool in his shop
Second hand t-shirts from around the world are displayed in piles on the ground – one could gather quite an unusual collection for rock bottom prices. This one is from the Kidney Foundation of Canada.
4. Time for checking out the vegetable section
The onions and garlic here are fabulous!
5. Eggs heaped in baskets await customers – fresh, tiny and delicious in a breakfast scramble
6. Live chickens in wooden crates, squawking their heads off, apparently oblivious to their fate or, more likely, protesting it!
7. Kaht, the stimulant leaf that is legal here, seems to go better with coke – will the multinationals ever give up searching out new markets?
Don’t worry, I said “no thanks” to the boisterous young men who offered me a leaf…the market itself is enough stimulation for me!
8. Bright arrays of plastic bowls and towers of aluminum pots and pans are tempting for their low prices
The Chinese have cornered the market on these products though occasionally one finds items from Indonesia and India
9. On the way out, I pass a row of shops piled high with the cheerfully covered foam mattresses that most Ethiopians (and VSO volunteers!) sleep on.
Ethiopia is a Health and Safety Officer’s worst nightmare!
Folks in Addis are less keen to have their photos taken but this guy was pleased to pose!
10. On the way home, I pick up a crusty loaf of fresh bread made by this lovely woman and her daughter. It comes baked in leaves of the false banana tree. A VSO friend introduced me to this sweet little shop. She also sells small jars of hot green chili paste from the fridge, an item I discovered is often served here with pizza to give it an extra kick.
Back home, I spread out my bounty for a good look and to plan my dinner menu.
This week I was thrilled to find some unusual items – okra, cucumber, red/green peppers and cilantro. The beautifully woven basket holding tomatoes, limes and eggplant also came from Shola.
Looks like it will be a vegetable curry tonight!
Wow! what a shopping and food change from last year! I’ll bet your excellent cooking skills are getting a full workout. How nice to be able to walk to such exciting places.
Hi Marian, The market looks as though it has an abundance of all sorts of visual & delectable delights. Can the majority of the locals afford to buy at this market too? It seems a far cry from the images of famine we have of Ethiopia in our media. I love how you display your purchases for us to get a real sense of what your daily life must be there. I can almost taste your wonderful vegetable curry. Do you have any one close by you could share it with? Love, Nora
Hi Marian,
I hope we get to visit this market when I am there. It looks very exciting and a feast for the eyes!.
Cheers – Carol
Hi Marian!
It seems you’re in paradise there, at least food wise 😉 The Shola does remind me of Brazilian farmer’s markets! Even the spices look pretty much like the northeastern markets, where small portions are not quite available :)) Anyway, I’m very happy to know that your culinary skills (as pointed by other readers) will finally be exercised in Africa!
Love,
Maria & John (who, by the way, is very fond of all those colorful spices!)
Sounds as though you are having an entirely different, but very interesting, experience in your second year in Ethiopia. Great market photos.