Addis Ababa City Tour and Demera Festival

Meskel Square - Upon arrival at Bole International Airport, clear immigration and proceed to baggage claim. After collecting your checked bags, clear customs and pass through the arrivals hall where a FINOT Tour Ethiopia representative will meet you and assist with your transfer to the hotel.

After breakfast in the morning, enjoy a half-day guided tour of the Ethnological Museum, showcasing artifacts and displays of the cultures and handicrafts of Ethiopia’s diverse ethnic groups. At the renowned National Museum, with its cultural and archaeological relics, visit the famous “Lucy,” a 3.2 million-year-old female hominid discovered in Ethiopia’s Awash Valley in 1974. Drive through the Mercato, the largest open-air market on the continent. Time permitting, visit Ba’ata Church, also known as Menelik’s Mausoleum, one of the oldest churches in Addis, built in 1911. It houses beautiful paintings and the royal tombs of past emperors, including Emperor Haile Selassie. Late in the afternoon, transfer to Meskel Square to participate in the eve of Meskel and Demera ceremony.

REMARKS: One of Ethiopia’s most popular attractions that captivates tourists is the annual Meskel celebration. The September Meskel Festival commemorates the finding of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The festival is ancient, dating back over 1,600 years. It is celebrated with yellow Meskel daisies placed on top of huge bonfires lit in the evening in front of the throngs of celebrants.

The main Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, the Demera, in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa. This occurs on the eve of Meskel and is based on the belief that Empress Eleni, the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, had a revelation in a dream. She was told to make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the True Cross was buried. She ordered the people of Jerusalem to bring wood, and after adding frankincense, the bonfire was lit, and the smoke rose high into the sky. It then fell back to earth and returned to the ground, swirling around at the exact spot where the Cross had been buried.

During the celebration of the Finding of the True Cross, ornately robed priests carrying silver crosses dance with their followers around the fires, singing and chanting while carrying flaming torches. Sunday school students dressed in traditional Ethiopian plain white clothes add color to the event by singing hymns and presenting colorful spiritual and artistic religious shows to the crowd. Millions of followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrate Meskel every year throughout the country. The festivities also mark the end of the three-month-long rainy season and the return of summer to Ethiopia. No rain is expected to occur after Meskel – and indeed it is rare for this to happen. The scenery of this religious festival is a feast for the senses and the soul.

The Meskel festival is unique to Ethiopia. No other country celebrates the Finding of the True Cross, and it is a celebration as old as the actual finding of the True Cross. Ethiopia is now engaged in an effort to register the Meskel festival as one of the World’s Cultural Heritage experiences. It deserves this designation because of the ancient nature of the celebration, its color and significance, and the attraction it has for a growing number of tourists, as well as the immense participation of society and people of all ages, which adds to its inimitable quality. UNESCO should seriously consider welcoming the Meskel celebrations as a World Cultural experience, contributing significantly to the enrichment of human culture.

Drive to Addadi Mariyam and Melika Kuntire Archaeological Site

Adadi Maryam - Pick up is at 7:30 am, and then head southwest on the Jimma road, before turning due south onto the Butajira Road. Melka Kunture lies near the Awash River Gorge and is one of the most important Neolithic sites in Ethiopia. Hand axes and various other implements have been found here. There is a museum at the site.

About 5 km further on the Butajira Road is the rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam, contemporaneous with those of Lalibela – in fact, local tradition ascribes it to King Lalibela, who is said to have had it built on his visit to Mount Zuqwala in 1106. Damaged during the wars with Ahmed Gragn in the 16th century, it fell into disuse and was only reopened in the time of Menelik II. It is today in regular use.

Our final stop today is at Tiya, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, where we can see the northernmost example of a peculiar type of engraved, standing stelae which stretch across parts of southern Ethiopia. These stelae are believed to have been erected between the 12th and 14th centuries and are almost certainly grave markers – recent excavations at Tiya have revealed the remains of young people of both sexes, aged between 18 – 30 and buried in fetal positions.

At some stage today, we will take a picnic lunch, perhaps near the Awash River Gorge, and leave for the return journey to Addis Ababa mid-afternoon.

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• 2 liter bottled water per day per passenger
• Local guide fees
• Government tax and 8% service charge
• Driver allowance
• English speaking guide

• Alcoholic drinks Video and camera fees if and where applicable
• Tips, telephone calls, laundry services and other expenses
• Entrance fees to any special ceremonies you might encounter by chance
• International and domestic flights Any other expenses which are not mentioned on price includes

The annual Meskel festival, one of Ethiopia’s major tourist draws, commemorates the discovery of the True Cross, the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. This ancient celebration boasts a history of over 1,600 years. It is symbolized by the lighting of massive evening bonfires, adorned with yellow Meskel daisies, in the presence of large crowds of festival-goers.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.