Merkato (

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: መርካቶ;

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

: "market") is a large open-air

marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

in the

Addis Ketema Addis Ketema ( or ክፍለ ከተማ, meaning "new city") is a district (sub-city) of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region ...

, district of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia, and the name refers to the neighborhood in which it is located.

Overview

Mercato is the largest open-air market in Africa, covering several square miles and employing an estimated 13,000 people in 7,100 business entities. The primary merchandise passing through the Merkato is locally grown agricultural products — most notably

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

. Prior to the current Mercato, there was an open marketplace in Addis Ababa near St. George Church at the site where the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

stands now, but it ended with the Italian occupation of the 1930s. The occupiers moved the market further west to the area around the premises of Fitawrari

Habte Giyorgis Dinagde ''Fitawrari'' Habte Giyorgis Dinagde (; ; c. 1851 – 12 December 1926) also known by his horse name Abbaa Malaa was an Ethiopian military commander and government official who, among several other posts, served as President of the Council of ...

, which they named Merkato Dinagde. Thus, the present Addis Merkato was founded by the segregationist policies of the Italian occupational government. Meanwhile, the Italians restricted the historic St. George Merkato to Europeans, renaming it Piazza, which featured European-style shops that displayed commodities through glass windows. The mostly Arab tradesmen who owned stores there eventually relocated a half-mile to the west. Over time, local shopkeepers displaced the Arab merchants and, since the 1960s, the Addis Merkato has had a mostly local flavor. The Mercato Dijino did not have any plan and gradually grew in width and breadth taking different categorical stocks called "terras".

Merkato as a tourist spot

As per 2024, it is one of the most popular tourist icon for Addis Ababa day tour given its size. The main activities in Merkato is for the local experience. Although, it is the largest African open market, it is not a shopping place for tourist. While, some sessions such as coffee, spicy and local snacks booths may be relevant to tourists. Most of sessions of Merkato are for wholesales including scrap metal recycling session, furniture session and home electronics appliance session.

References

* Zewde, Bahru. (1991) ''A History of Modern Ethiopia''. London: James Currey.

External links

* Economy of Addis Ababa Buildings and structures in Addis Ababa Retail markets in Ethiopia {{AddisAbaba-geo-stub