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PATCH CORNER


PATCH CORNER

Rocks stacked on rocks form what passes for a wall at a small shoe-repair stall tucked under the overhead bridge in Meshualekya adjacent Tilahun Gessesse round about on Ras Biru street. A sheet of heavy-duty plastic serves as the roof, doing its best to shield the space from the fierce sun and the surprise showers. Above the stall, the soles of long-retired shoes hang in uneven rows. They are not there for decoration; they work harder than any billboard, quietly reminding passersby that help is available the next time a favourite pair starts falling apart. The setup may look improvised, but it delivers its message with the kind of confidence only a veteran street business can pull off.

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In-Picture

IMPERIAL WITNESS

Excavated earth now surrounds the gilded bronze Lion of Judah Monument near Legehar (La Gare) railway station on Ras Mekonnen Avenue, as preparations get underway to move the monument 60 metres backward to make way for road-widening works. Nothing on the monument itself will change; it will be carefully relocated intact, continuing to face the Addis Abeba Municipality Office. Standing atop a black granite pedestal bearing the likenesses of Ethiopia's last four emperors, the Lion was sculpted by...


In-Picture

WHEELED EVOLUTION

A bike lane once foreign to Addis Abeba is now busy serving its intended purpose, and then some. Along African Avenue, beside the walls of the Skylight Hotel, a man rides a small electric scooter while another pushes a two-wheeled wheelbarrow loaded with cement sacks along the same lane. Intended exclusively for cyclists, the lane has become an unlikely meeting point for two forms of wheeled transport, leaving one to wonder whether the rules call for a citation or applause. The scene captures a...


In-Picture

STREET BALLERS

Children kick a ball around the parking lots surrounding Entoto Park, turning an otherwise quiet morning into an impromptu football pitch. One boy, wearing the jersey of St. George Football Club, one of Ethiopia's most decorated teams, is a reminder that football remains very much alive. The government has built football fields across the city, yet it is still common to find people playing in streets, parking lots and open spaces. Perhaps the fields are too costly for some, or perhaps football i...