BY MULUGETA GUDETA
Nature tourism or nature-based tourism is “tourism based on the natural attractions of an area. It consists of responsible travel to experience natural areas and the landscape and flora and fauna, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life the local population.” Starting from its very name Addis Ababa seems to have been conceived as a “nature capital” to borrow or coin another expression.
Addis Ababa, literally means “New Flower” and is befitting the face of the Ethiopian capital that is currently undergoing a radical facelift as one of the busiest metropolises on the African continent. Addis Ababa is not only the capital of Ethiopia. It is also the capital of Africa and needs to reflect this grandiose vision and reality. Historically, the Ethiopian capital has undergone three major reconstruction in its no-so-long history which is only less than 150 years.
The first construction upheaval was engineered by the late Emperor Haile Selllssie who saw in Addis the capital of the newly liberated African country as it emerged its independence and sovereignty intact from the brief five years Italian fascist invasion that had no time for consolidation and crystallization into a classic and permanent overseas territory of Duce Mussolini. Addis Ababa which was then largely a conglomeration of eucalyptus trees and dilapidated huts and narrow alleys and neighborhoods that looked like abandoned hamlets and makeshift residences.
Emperor Haile Sellassie whose brief sojourn in exile in Europe gave him the imagination of what a real and modern capital should look like, set on a construction frenzy as soon as his steps into a newly liberated capital with a great deal of hope and energy but little resources to make his vision a reality. He asked the participation of some European engineers as well as Indians who came to the country earlier than anybody to engage in small businesses as well as provide teachers to the then budding education sector. Modernization was the name of the game even though things on the ground could not move as fast as the emperor wished they would.
The next forty or fifty years of imperial administration were usually busy times when Addis Ababa underwent radical changes in its reconstruction as new streets were built, modern buildings constructed, hotels and businesses came into being and recreational and artistic venues were given attention for the first time in the long history of the country. By the end of the 1970s when the Revolution overturned everything causing more damage to Addis Ababa than good, the Ethiopian capital assumed its present shape if not its face although there was much to be done to turn it into a modern African metropolis. The establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa was the single most important impetus for Addis Ababa to become a pole of attraction not only for diplomats but also for great powers who eyed the place and the region in general as their future neocolonial possession although colonialism was on the wane.
The establishment of the OAU had served as a catalyst for the reconstruction of Addis Ababa and helped it assume new dimensions. The imperial palace was not only renovated but the present National Palace was built according to modern palaces in Europe. This has added to the grandeur and influence of the Ethiopian capital as an ancient land of builders and architects whose old palaces and churches testified to the great imagination of hard work of the Ethiopian people.
The second architectural or reconstruction “revolution” may be said to have taken place after the fall of the imperial regime and the advent of the military government that tried to change the face of the capital in accordance with socialist architecture and inspiration. It built the great Revolution Square, whose real name was Meskel Square and used it as staging ground for its military parades that turned into the venue for popular protests and demonstrations. The military government had added little to the previous facelift of Addis because it lacked the resources for implementing such a huge project as it was engaged in conflicts in the north as well as in internal instability.
The third phase of Addis Ababa’s renaissance as a city started after 1991 and includes the present time when the Ethiopian capital is witnessing modernization and beautification like no other time. The last ten or even five years have accelerated its modernization as Addis Ababa benefitted from the economic boom of the 1990s and early 2000’s when high rises replaced old and dilapidated houses, narrow streets were replaced by broad avenues and the skylight of Addis radically changed. It assumed the face of many Asian or African capitals whose high rises and modern architectures give them the face of modernity despite the attendant problems. The demographic explosion in Addis came on the heels of its expansion and modernization, serving as a pole of attraction to hundreds of thousands of people living in the country who are now seeking better opportunities in the booming capital.
The third architectural “revolution” of Addis Ababa is still underway despite the economic slowdown and the rise in the cost of living for underprivileged citizens in particular. It is amazing to see Addis growing both horizontally and vertically while its overexpansion is creating more problems than its solves in this time of economic difficulties. Nowadays the attraction of Addis is apparently fast changing from its building to its new parks, recreational places, green areas, and gardens as well as its avant-garde structures like the newly built Abrehot Library and the recently inaugurated Museum of Art and Science, among others.
As a footnote, one is tempted to suggest here that what Addis Ababa now lacks is another Museum of Arts and Motion Pictures or an Academy of Motion Pictures because the Ethiopian capital has a long history as the first city where the first African modern movie was made back in the 1960s. Film studios and academies of motion pictures have the potential to radically change the face and economy of any city in the world. Film academies serve as places where the new generation of filmmakers would be educated in the latest science and arts of making movies and this would create additional jobs vocation for the young generation.
The development of film studios would attract foreign investors as Ethiopia is famed for its rich cultural, geographic and demographic diversities and potentials.
We are lagging behind the world and even African in this particular area and there is no place more suitable than Addis Ababa to lay the basis for a dynamic and vibrant film industry that will contribute to the stimulation of related sectors of the economy. With the creation of new studios will certainly come the opening of new and modern theatre houses and the explosion in creativity imagination or creativity. WE may perhaps call the Addis Ababa film industry “Addiwood” like Bollywood for Bombay and Nolywood for Nigeria. That would mark a new chapter in the development of Addis Ababa as not only the diplomatic capital of the world but also as the motion picture capital of Africa. What we need is investment, technology and hard work while the capacity for imagination and creativity are already there.
The tourism aspect of Addis Ababa is also untouched as new public places worth visiting are springing up here and there in the capital. Empty spaces and rivers are being turned into parks and recreational places. Old and historic building are being refurbished and given radical facelift. There are still new projects in the pipeline so that Addis would tap into its tourism potentials fully and reinvest it in the further renovation of its relatively less developed quarters or neighborhoods.
Addis is already the conference centre of Africa and the international community although the 2020-21 COVID pandemic had wrecked havoc in this sector too. Nowadays the COVID pandemic is apparently on its way out and people are feeling freer and foreign visitors are coming back to enjoy Addis Ababa’s new and old structures. Its mild climate, its sporting events as the venue for the biggest annual running event in Africa if not in the world.
The Entoto Park, north of Addis Ababa, is in itself worthy of tens of thousands of foreign and local visitors. Addis has a great time ahead of it because it serves as a kind of “promised land” or as the capital of “nature tourism” because it is still continuing to flourish true to the symbolism encapsulated in its very name. In this sense we can say that Empress Taitu, Emperor Menelik’s consort, was a great visionary as the capital city whose name was invented by her is still keeping her dreams alive.
The Ethiopian Herald October 30/2022
