Merkato

Merkato is not a market building but a whole quarter of western Addis Ababa given over to trade, covering several square kilometres and employing tens of thousands of people, and it is usually described as the largest open-air market in Africa. It is organised into terras, sections by commodity: spices, coffee, grain, textiles, livestock, gold, plastics, and the recycling area where oil drums, tyres and scrap are remade into useful things by hand. The coffee section is the one most visitors want, with sacks of beans from every growing region. Navigation is difficult and the crowd is dense; going with a local guide is genuinely useful rather than optional, both for finding anything and because pickpocketing here is a well-known problem.

What you actually see

• Commodity sections - the market divided into terras by trade.
• The coffee terra - sacks of beans from across the growing regions.
• The recycling quarter - scrap remade into goods by hand.
• The sheer scale - streets of trade running for kilometres.

When to go

Year round; mornings are busiest and most active. Saturdays are the peak. It is quieter on Sundays. Avoid carrying valuables at any time.

Honest expectations

Pickpocketing is common and well organised; leaving valuables behind matters. It is crowded, noisy and disorienting, and getting lost is easy. Photography is often unwelcome and can provoke confrontation. A guide is close to essential for a first visit.

Nearby

Central Addis Ababa lies east; the light rail runs to the edge of the district.