On Saturday afternoon, Mary, Eric and I went with Muligeta (one of our friends here) to visit the Merkato (which is Italian for “market”). The Merkato is the largest open air market in Africa and is about 7 square km with rows, and lanes and streets of stores and stalls selling everything from grains to spices to fabrics to jewellery to art to ceramics all in one area. The Merkato is the source of all goods in Addis and vendors and stores and galleries in other areas often sell goods they have purchased from the Merkato. It was like going straight to the source!
It also put my bargaining skills to the test, honed after many visits to India. You see, there are no price tags on items and the true price whether it is for goods or for cab fare is only arrived at after sometimes lengthy negotiations with the vendor or cabbie. It was great that Muligeta took us, because the Merkato is literally a maze of streets and alleys and foreigners are often taken advantage of by vendors who insist on selling goods at ridiculously high prices. It is also very crowded on Saturdays. Muligeta helped us determine the appropriate prices for goods and led us through the meandering streets. The Merkato is also notorious for its pick-pockets, so we were careful not to carry much money or any valuables.
It was such a fun afternoon – I really wish I could have taken some pictures of the market, but my camera battery died, plus pulling out a camera in the crowded market is literally like wearing a neon sign that says foreigner. Thanks so much Muligeta for taking us to the Merkato!
