An example of this is Addis Ababa Airport where a new terminal has just been completed. The new building is very beautiful and well designed, and cost, I was told, less than $100 million.
The new terminal at Karachi airport, Pakistan, which cost about $250 million, gave me the same impression — a lot can be done on a modest budget.
These projects contrast sharply with our airport here in Jeddah, which cost more than $4 billion 20 years ago but is badly designed. It will cost another fortune to renovate it.
Why is it that projects in our country cost exorbitant amounts, but produce such poor results?
Addis Ababa is a lovely city with cool weather all year round. It was 20 degrees Celsius at noon when I was there, which dropped to 15 degrees at night. It is also a very green and lush city due to frequent rainfall. In other words, perfect summer weather.
The population of Ethiopia is about 70 million, with seven million living in Addis Ababa. The people there are very friendly and polite and make all visitors welcome.
Ethiopia’s is an ancient civilization dating back to the kingdom of Axum established by King Menelik I who claimed his descent from Bilqis, Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon. Menelik’s descendants ruled Ethiopia until 1974 when Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown and killed in a communist military coup.
Christianity arrived in the fourth century when two Syrian brothers convinced the king to convert. Ethiopia became a vast empire extending its reach across the Red Sea to conquer Yemen and dominate the Hijaz.
The coming of Islam led to the collapse of Ethiopian influence on the Arab peninsula. Relations with Muslims, however, remained cordial, with the latter never forgetting the good treatment given to the early Muslim refugees who were received by the Ethiopians and their king.
An interesting thing about Ethiopia is that they still use the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian used by most of the world. This means that now it is 1996 in Ethiopia. The Julian calendar has 13 months instead of the usual 12. Twelve of the months have 30 days while the thirteenth has just five.
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Addis Ababa and look forward to many more visits there, whether they are for business or pleasure.
