Entoto Maryam Church

This is a church which hosted Emperor Menelik's coronation in 1882. We weren't allowed in, as we visited on a Sunday. It is high in the Entoto Hills above Addis Ababa, at an altitude of about 3 km. It is easy to get out of breath walking up a short flight of stairs there. The Emperor and his wife lived there for years. We toured the palace where they lived, which was quite modest. It was Menelik whose army defeated the Italians at the battle of Adwa, in 1895, resulting in Ethiopian independence. Ethiopians feel that their country was occupied, but never colonized, making it unique in Africa.
The of the church and residence on the top of this hill would be quite cold and windy for much of the year. We were told that the Emperor's wife eventually tired of living up there, so they moved down to a palace in Addis proper:)

PS. I've figured out how to post photos more easily now, on our limited bandwidth, so hopefully I will be more consistent.