The Capitol of Ethiopia: Addias Ababa

Unlike almost every other place I've gone, I arrived in Ethiopia at
night. When I woke up the next morning I realized that I had no
concept about what I would find outside the door of my hotel room.
Addias Ababa (meaning "new flower"), the third highest capital city on
earth, is a sprawling hilly place. It seems like every
street/corner/alley has a cafe and an Ethiopian/Italian restaurant.
The traffic moves slowly because there is always a person or dog
walking into the road. In that note, unlike where else I've been, the
dogs are multiple breeds similar to german shepherds, sheepdogs,
retrievers etc.
On the west side of the city is the Mercato which is supposedly the
largest market in Africa. I don't think anyone knows exactly how big
it is as no one has ever been able to make a map of it. In my own
quest I walked about a kilometer before I got through the clothes
section and into the timber section. I never found the food section.
The destitute population is larger than anywhere I've seen, consisting
of war veterans, the elderly, polio victims, and children (generally
sent out to beg by their mothers).
The city itself is not dangerous, but the local hustlers are very
pushy. In Dar Es Salam, for instance, you can shake them off pretty
easy, but here if you don't respond immediately to their calls they'll
occasionally walk up to you with declarations of "Why are you such a
hateful person that you would ignore me?" or "You're a racist".
Honestly, its a nice little trick since then you end up talking to
them to defend yourself.
The city is big enough that there is always something new to find/see.
Quick example: while strolling around last Friday I began to notice
how quite it had become suddenly. When I turned the corner onto a main
road I found myself confronted with a sea of people on the street
praying. It was Friday prayers and the Mosque was past capacity.
Traffic was diverted and the street was filled with men using large
sheets of brown paper in place of prayer mats. When it was finished,
everyone rose in unison and there was a quiet rumble of greetings and
the sound of hundreds of sheets of paper being folded up. Probably one
of my favorite "audio" experiences of the trip.
Time and dates in Ethiopia take some getting used to. Their calendar
has an extra month for instance (everyone loves to tell you that there
are "13 Months of Sunshine in Ethiopia!"). For me it is 5:30 PM on
September 26, 2011. For Ethiopians it is 11:30 September 15, 2004.
Thus far, Ethiopia is the cheapest country I've visited. My hotel in
the capital is about $7 for a 3/4 bed and a sit-down toilet. A meal
across the street is $1.50. I feel this is matter of fewer tourists
than East Africa so the prices haven't been inflated. Granted, a few
hotels will look at me and give me the "farinji price" (foreigner
price).