First Stop: Addis Ababa's National Museum of Ethiopia

Ethiopian dad and his children visiting the museum.

Our first stop in Addis Ababa was the National Museum of Ethiopia. Here we saw fossilized bones of “Lucy”, a tiny human believed to have lived over 3M years ago. She is the oldest humanoid ever found. The real “Lucy” is safely stored elsewhere but a replica of her skeleton is on display here. She’d have been about 3.5’ tall, weighing 60-65 lbs. She was discovered in Hadar in 1974 and was named “Lucy” from the Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”. This song was often played in the celebrations of her discovery. I don’t get it, maybe you do?

---

Lucy Lounge and Restaurant

From here we went to the nearby “Lucy Lounge and Restaurant “...a cozy, busy restaurant with a big menu of Ethiopian food, salads, soups, fish and pasta. Someone said: “The food is nice but watch out for the bones”.

Haha.

---

Welcome to the Red Terror Memorial Museum....a museum of horrors.

Next, we went to The Red Terror Museum which was established in 2010 as a memorial to the victims of the Red Terror under the Derg government. Torture instruments, skulls and bones, coffins, blood stained clothes and photos are on display. Don’t go here on a full stomach. Maybe don’t go here at all. Or maybe you like this stuff. Not me.

The city of Gondar is next, the real essence of this “mission”.

Stay tuned!

---