Though hardly the lap of luxury, the monks at this urban religious house enjoy comforts unthinkable in the far more ascetic rural monasteries for which Ethiopian Orthodoxy has long been known. A small army of kitchen staff serves a hearty breakfast - fluffy white injera (spongy bread made from teff), wat (a traditional vegetable and meat stew), fruit, coffee and tea.

Incense meanders through the candlelit nave.Īs the service concludes, Abbot Melake Girmai leads the monks to the monasterys refectory. Chants drown out the noise of the street. Inside the church, worshipers and monks have filled the pews to celebrate the days first liturgy. The neighborhoods urban energy is palpable, even when the city has barely awakened. The compound, which includes a church and an elementary and high school, sits at the heart of the bustling Sidist Kilo neighborhood, home to Addis Ababa Universitys main campus. A blur of red brake lights eclipses the rising suns soft rays. A cacophony of roaring bus and car engines interrupts the early morning calm. Sunrise at the Meskaye Hizunan Medhane Alem Monastery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopias capital and largest city, feels anything but contemplative. Abbot Melake Girmai addresses students gathered in the school’s courtyard.

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