Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
is the largest and most representative in the world. Senses of another sort are indulged in
the small cavelike corridor that sits next to the hall. Inside, traditional music gently fills
the air and the black surrounds leave you nothing to look at besides the instruments - bril-
liant.
It's well worth coming to this museum twice; once at the start of your journey through
Ethiopia and once at the end when you'll be able to put everything into context.
After you've lapped up the treasures in the museum, stop by the double-decker London
bus next to the university entrance gates. Brought to Addis by Haile Selassie it's now a
cool bar and packed with students.
National Museum
( 0111-117150; King George VI St; admission Birr10; 8.30am-5pm)
The collection
on show at the National Museum is ranked among the most important in sub-Saharan
Africa, but sadly many of its exhibits are poorly labelled, lit and displayed, particularly in
the upper levels of the museum.
The palaeontology exhibit on the basement level contains fossilised evidence of some
amazing extinct creatures, like the massive sabre-toothed feline
Homotherium
and the gar-
gantuan savannah pig
Notochoerus
. However, the stars of the exhibit are two remarkable
casts of
Lucy
(
Click here
)
, a fossilised hominid discovered in 1974. One lays prone,
while the other stands much like she did some 3.2 million years ago, truly hitting home
how small our ancient ancestors were. The real bones are preserved in the archives of the
museum.
The periphery of the ground floor focuses on the pre-Aksumite, Aksumite, Solomonic
and Gonder periods, with a wide array of artefacts, including an elaborate pre-1st-century-
AD bronze oil lamp showing a dog chasing an ibex, a fascinating 4th-century-BC rock-
hewn chair emblazoned with mythical ibexes, and ancient Sabaean inscriptions. The
middle of the room hosts a collection of lavish royal paraphernalia, including Emperor
Haile Selassie's enormous and rather hideous carved wooden throne.
On the 1st floor, there's a vivid display of Ethiopian art ranging from early (possibly
14th-century) parchment to 20th-century canvas oil paintings by leading modern artists.
Afewerk Tekle's massive
African Heritage
is one of the more notable pieces. Another
painting depicts the meeting of Solomon and Sheba. Note the shield of the soldier next to
Solomon, which is engraved with the Star of David
and
a Christian Cross. The artist must
have forgotten that this meeting is said to have occurred long before the birth of Christian-
ity.
MUSEUM
