. A hot economy is bringing eco-tourism to the capitalEthiopia, where coffee is said to have originated, where Stone Age ancestors first carved flint into tools and where churches were hewn into rock and perched atop cliffs, is Africa’s fastest-expanding economy. Nowhere is its rise more evident than in bustling Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s capital has been named a 2020 World Capital of Culture and Tourism and for good reason. Its treasures include Aksum, which, according to tradition, is the birthplace of the Queen of Sheba; a national museum housing traditional crafts and prehistoric fossils, and cathedrals including the copper-topped, neo-Baroque Holy Trinity and massive, mural-filled Medhane Alem, the second largest in Africa. The city has the first light-rail system in sub-Saharan Africa and an industrial and transportation sector humming with new eco-conscious energy. Public spaces have turned greener, and there are more eco-friendly lodges for tourists. Now Bole International Airport, once a tiny, chaotic transit hub, has had a €326 million renovation. Three times the size of its predecessor, the airport has a nearby five-star hotel and the capacity for 22 million passengers a year. – Debra Kamin
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Re: 52 places to go in 2020: Here’s where the New York Times says you should visit. Addis Ababa is included
A hot economy is bringing eco-tourism to the capitalEthiopia, where coffee is said to have originated, where Stone Age ancestors first carved flint into tools and where churches were hewn into rock and perched atop cliffs, is Africa’s fastest-expanding economy. Nowhere is its rise more evident than in bustling Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s capital has been named a 2020 World Capital of Culture and Tourism and for good reason. Its treasures include Aksum, which, according to tradition, is the birthplace of the Queen of Sheba; a national museum housing traditional crafts and prehistoric fossils, and cathedrals including the copper-topped, neo-Baroque Holy Trinity and massive, mural-filled Medhane Alem, the second largest in Africa. The city has the first light-rail system in sub-Saharan Africa and an industrial and transportation sector humming with new eco-conscious energy. Public spaces have turned greener, and there are more eco-friendly lodges for tourists. Now Bole International Airport, once a tiny, chaotic transit hub, has had a €326 million renovation. Three times the size of its predecessor, the airport has a nearby five-star hotel and the capacity for 22 million passengers a year.
I didn't know this, is it real?
I didn't know this, is it real?