Unity Park — Attraction in Addis Ababa

Unity Park

The park will be closed on Mondays

Historic Unity Park is established in 2019. The park is located at the Grand Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a compound that has been a seat of state for more than a century The total land coverage of the grand palace is 40 acres and it contains myriads of historical buildings and plants that date back to the time of emperor Menelik II, the founder of the Grand Palace.

Buildings Banquet Hall The Banquet Hall or commonly called ‘Gibir adarash’, was built during the reign of Emperor Menelik II. When it was constructed, it had a capacity to entertain almost 8000 guests at a time. Emperor Menelik used to organize feasts three times a week, not to mention the plentiful carousals during festive days. In 1963 following the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Emperor Haile Selassie had organized a feast for the founding fathers of OAU in this same Hall. In 2019 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, had arranged a 5-million-birr dinner as part of raising money for the project ‘Beautification of Addis Ababa’.

Building The “Throne Hall” or “Throne House” The “Throne Hall” or “Throne House” as it is also known is where Ethiopia’s monarchs would meet with the provincial lords of aristocratic backgrounds and royal lineage to discuss local issues and make important decisions on subjects such as land tax. On special occasions, the space was also used to welcome nobles and foreign dignitaries. Queen Elizabeth II of British, Charles De Gul of France and Joseph Broz Tito of Yugoslavia were only few of the distinguished world leaders to be received in this Hall during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie.During the Dergue regime the Throne House served as a meeting hall for the Dergue Central Committee in which numerous matters were deliberated, including the famous rural land expropriation proclamation and the decision to kill high officials of Emperor Haile Selassie. The Throne Hall is highly decorated with precious stuccos covering the walls and ceiling. It takes its name from the large, golden throne displayed in the center. There are plinths featuring the Star of David, the symbol of the Solomonic Dynasty, at the base of the columns supporting the canopy holding the crown. At the top, statues of angels extend their arms, expressing praise.Currently, the “Throne Hall” houses the main exhibition of Unity Park museum. The exhibition celebrates the history and culture of Ethiopia, a nation shaped by its ethnic and religious identities and its politics. It traces Ethiopia’s evolution through legends, cultural beliefs, various governments, and historical events- some of which took place here in Menelik palace.

Building Menelik II’s Palace Complex Menelik Palace Complex refers to the octagonal structure and other collection of historical buildings that were built at the time of Emperor Menelik II. This Complex consists of private prayer room of Emperor Menelik II and the Emperor’s watching tower, Emperor Menelik II’s office, Menelik IIʼs bedroom and Reception Room, Etege Taytu Betul’s Bedroom, the Minister of War’s Waiting Room, The Princes’ Bedroom, Council of Ministers and a small banquet hall. The first telephone for the entire country was also installed to this building.

Culture Ethiopian Regional States Pavilion Ethiopian Regional States Pavilion is an attraction that display cultural, historical, natural and other assets of the regional states of Ethiopia at a glimpse. The cultural, historical, natural resources and investment opportunities of all regions are presented in a short video, pictorial displays and different sculptures.

Culture Traditional Garden This area is devoted to demonstrate different indigenous plants and traditional building styles of the rural Ethiopia to visitors. In this garden, mainly, different indigenous plants that can be utilized as medication, ornament, spice, food and beverage production, and furniture production are planted.

Ethiopian Zoo (Black-maned Lion Zoo) የጥቁር አንበሳ መካነ እንስሳት የጥቁር...

So this review is a review plus some tips. The website is extremely lacking in information, which is why I knocked off 2 stars. Here are a few logistical tips I feel should have been addressed in the website. Address/entrance is through the gates located above/across Hilton hotel. You will see a white tent that is supposed to provide shade for people in line. There is no parking on the premises. I don’t suggest driving since it can be a hassle to find parking, but if you do drive the side streets by Hilton hotel are the closest. You don’t need an advance ticket through your phone, they do have tickets on site and you can just pay cash and get in. They do not allow beverages or food inside but you can take baby bottles and they make you taste it to make sure it’s safe and allow it inside. For adults there is a nice food court area, not a lot of restaurants just a few but I felt it’s good enough. But then again I went on a quiet weekday so it may be more crowded on weekends. The park is very clean and pretty much level ground so it’s stroller friendly, but I do recommend a baby carrier of some sort since there are some stairs if you visit Emeperor Menelik’s quarters. Which reminds me, you need a VIP ticket for that, I do feel it’s worth it to get it in order not to miss seeing the Emperor’s area in my opinion plus you get a tour guide so you learn a lot. There are nice clean restrooms by the big banquet hall and the ticket office; with baby changing tables. However there are no signs posted directing you to them so ask someone. The place itself was great, i Iearned a lot of history and just enjoyed seeing all the artifacts. Oh and since there is a lot of walking make sure to wear comfortable shoes. My tour group was just 2 more people so it was not crowded. The guide was very nice and detailed, however I did notice a bit of misinformation, or should I say, unverified information. For example she claimed,, and am paraphrasing here, Orthodox Christianity is the most popular religion in Ethiopia. I am assuming she meant number wise, in her defense I didn’t ask for a clarification but either way it seems a strange comment to me, since I know for a fact there is. I formal data to indicate actual numbers. She also referred to the model of Lucy, an ancient human remain found in Afar, as “the MOther of Humanity” another untrue comment but maybe I just want really accurate info from a tour guide. Overall very good experience except for the minor...

Where do I begin! So let me get the negatives then the juicy parts. I went there so my cousin from Sweden to enjoy and see her heritage, to my surprise her entrance fee made my jaw drop. I wish they have some other packages for our own race to get in with lesser fee, the funny part is I was the one who paid, had she been the one, I'd have understood it was my plan to show what a bummer anyway it is lesson learnt if in case my other family members decide to see it, I sure won't pay for them. There were areas that were restricted to see, I sure wanted to see the actual place of MINILIK, but that wasn't possible, one of the main reasons I'm giving a 4 star not 5 for Unity park. Sooo the juicy if you have gone with a group of 5 or 6 you'll sure have fun as there are a lot of things to discuss, the Camel house would sure can be an inspiration for Ethiopian si-fi or time travel movie the artwork the design and even the smell can actually take you there. The Zoo was amazing, I enjoyed every bit of it. I have seen the animals I wished to see in real life. The wild dogs color was out if this world, the giraffes were bigger than I expected, the sound of the peacocks were music to ears I even tried to imitate them 😂😂 the deers were so cute, i wanted to stay forever looking at them. The lions were too white, I don't know if my memory is messing with me but when I was a kid I sure saw brown ones so I was confused for a little while and continued enjoying the zoo. Oh yeah the meerkats were so tinier than I thought, watching Timon in lion king I thought they'd be bigger 😂 but they're as small as a pet cat 😺 I wish there was a way to touch them sooo adorable creatures! The aquarium was good to have but I didn't see much of it as the only interesting thing to see was the three eels, the rest of the fishes were common. I could go on about the Zoo as that's the best part of Unit park, but let me briefly tell you about the other parts; The dinning or ballroom of MINILIK is 😍 sight for sore eyes, the chandeliers are out off this world! The colors of the windows are mesmerizing, the floors have great tiles you'd not believe it was created then all in all you'll sure want to go back in time to see all the celebration that took place then. I promise to visit it again and write about the other experience some other day.fir now enjoy the few pictures I've posted!...