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Addis Ababa City Tour Including Unity Park

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Must Visit City
Addis Ababa
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Stop at: Unity Park, Grand Palace Niger Street, and Menelik II Avenue, Addis Ababa Ethiopia. At 8:00 AM, your tour starts with a visit to the Unity Park, a newly refurbished park at the Grand Palace, . .
Country: Ethiopia
City: Addis Ababa
Duration: 1 Day(s) - 1 Night(s)
Tour Category: Family Tours
Departure Date: Thu 01 Jan '99
Package Itinerary

Stop at: Unity Park, Grand Palace Niger Street, and Menelik II Avenue, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

At 8:00 AM, your tour starts with a visit to the Unity Park, a newly refurbished park at the Grand Palace, covering about 20 acres of land that can take you between 4-5 hours of your day.

Be ready to visit the historical palace buildings restored professionally with your VIP admission. The traditional garden beautifully displays over 43 indigenous plants. In the spacious green area, there is a botanical garden of various plants. At the lion zoo, primates and endemics including black-maned lions roam, and another 46 types of species and 312 individual animals in the separate zoo. The regional states' pavilion displays cultural and historical assets and sculptures of regional states.

Unity Park inside the National Palace of Ethiopia

Unity Park located within the National Palace of Ethiopia embodies the generational legacy of Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Prime minster Dr. Abiy has announced that the Park will be open to the public as of October 11, following the October 10th launch

The National Palace was built under Emperor Menelik II over a century ago, the Palace rests on 40,000Sqm of land. For generations, it has been viewed as the epicenter of political power, where the most powerful family in the land resides. The renovated compound incorporates several sights of interest to visitors, including an arena, a playground, a zoo, three churches, a House of Royals, and an imperial banquet hall.

Unity Park Sightseeing

Banquet Hall

The Banquet Hall or commonly called ‘Gibir adarash’, was built during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. When it was constructed, it had a capacity to entertain almost 8000 guests at a time. Emperor Menelik used to organize feasts three times a week, not to mention the plentiful carousals during festive days. In 1963 following the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Emperor Haile Selassie had organized a feast for the founding fathers of OAU in this same Hall. In 2019 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, had arranged a 5-million-birr dinner as part of raising money for the project ‘Beautification of Addis Ababa’.

The Throne Hall

The “Throne Hall” or “Throne House” as it is also known is where Ethiopia’s monarchs would meet with the provincial lords of aristocratic backgrounds and royal lineage to discuss local issues and make important decisions on subjects such as land tax. On special occasions, the space was also used to welcome nobles and foreign dignitaries. Queen Elizabeth II of British, Charles De Gul of France, and Joseph Broz Tito of Yugoslavia were only a few of the distinguished world leaders to be received in this Hall during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie.

During the Dergue regime, the Throne House served as a meeting hall for the Dergue Central Committee in which numerous matters were deliberated, including the famous rural land expropriation proclamation and the decision to kill high officials of Emperor Haile Selassie.

The Throne Hall is highly decorated with precious stuccos covering the walls and ceiling. It takes its name from the large, golden throne displayed in the center. There are plinths featuring the Star of David, the symbol of the Solomonic Dynasty, at the base of the columns supporting the canopy holding the crown. At the top, statues of angels extend their arms, expressing praise. Currently, the “Throne Hall” houses the main exhibition of Unity Park museum.

The exhibition celebrates the history and culture of Ethiopia, a nation shaped by its ethnic and religious identities and its politics. It traces Ethiopia’s evolution through legends, cultural beliefs, various governments, and historical events- some of which took place here in Menelik palace.

Menelik II’s Palace Complex

Menelik Palace Complex refers to the octagonal structure and other collections of historical buildings that were built at the time of Emperor Menelik II. This Complex consists of the private prayer room of Emperor Menelik II and the Emperor’s watching tower, Emperor Menelik II’s office, Menelik IIʼs bedroom and Reception Room, Etege Taytu Betul’s Bedroom, the Minister of War’s Waiting Room, The Princes’ Bedroom, Council of Ministers and a small banquet hall. The first telephone for the entire country was also installed to this building.

Ethiopian Zoo (Black-maned Lion Zoo)

This section of the park is dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of diverse types of fauna and flora of the country. Over 20 species of animals and plantations are parts of this extraordinary zoo.

Duration: 5 hours

Stop At: Addis Mercato, Kenya St, Addis Ababa null Ethiopia

We will visit the largest open-air market, Merkato. It is also the largest open-air market in Africa. Here you will be presented with a confusing, but fascinating; glimpse of the vast range of goods and artefacts available from all parts of the country and enjoy the Ethiopian trade exchange tradition in the open air.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop at: Trinity Cathedral

Trinity Cathedral: a beautiful church with a baroque style of European architecture that is unique to both Ethiopia and Africa and is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. Here you will find scripts of the imperial families, statues done by a Greek sculpture, Stained glass window paintings from the Old and New Testament in the Bible, and coffins of Emperor Haile Selassie-I the founder of the church, and his wife.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop at: Yod Abyssinia Traditional Restaurant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

For an extra fee: You may join a cultural night for authentic Ethiopian cultural food buffet along with cultural drinks, live music and dances of the diverse nations and nationalities of Ethiopia at Yod Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant.

Duration: 3 hours

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