National_Geographic_Traveller_UK_June_2017

City life
ADDIS
ABABA
Lofty and leafy, with ancient sprawling markets and shiny
modern skyscrapers, Ethiopia’s capital is a surprise
package with a curious past
WORDS: Chris Leadbeater
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
Four men are approaching at speed,
consuming with ease the gradient
under their feet offered by Mount
Entoto. They’re all wearing the same uniform,
the same expression of concentration and
focus, and for a second, I wonder if they’re
coming for me. But they continue upwards,
fluorescent trainers padding the tarmac,
exercise tops stretched tight over limbs and
torsos. I follow them with my eyes, until they
glide around a corner and the eucalyptus
treeline claims them, never once slowing
their pace as they race towards their futures.
A quartet of slight teenagers, they’re a
symbol of Ethiopian aspiration. And they
have every reason to be pushing themselves
on this 10,500ft peak, which frames Addis
Ababa. Long-distance running is firmly
established as a route to better things in
Ethiopia. The proof lies two miles up the
road amid shady paths and tasteful
accommodation. Yaya Village opened in
2011 as a mixture of four-star hotel and
training camp for athletes seeking to hone
their fitness at altitude. It’s partly owned by
superstar runner Haile Gebrselassie, the
(now retired) Ethiopian master of the
marathon, who won two Olympic gold
medals and set 27 world records. The young
men who overtook me will be dreaming of
achieving even a fraction of the glory
amassed by a legend who’s considered one
of the greatest ever sportsmen, and of
taking the tape in New York, Dubai, Sydney
and the other major cities where he won.
Just the thought of their relentless stride
pattern is enough to snare my breath
— although the discernible thinness of the
oxygen at this elevation doesn’t help. Two
steps behind, my guide Yohannes Assefa
giggles. “Come on,” he says. “Just by getting
off the plane, you’re seven years younger than
you were yesterday. This little hill really
shouldn’t be an issue.”
He’s referring to the Ethiopian Calendar,
which, by dint of the Orthodox Christian
June 2017 139