As Addis Ababa Pushes to Modernise, many Worry that Traditional Artforms Will be Lost

One of the last remaining ‘azmari bets’ (poetry/music houses) in the Ethiopian capital has been saved from demolition to make way for a skyscraper. Fendika is one of the few remaining cultural houses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, where poets sing their criticism of the mighty and powerful alongside the ‘masinko’, an Ethiopian violin. But these azmari bets are disappearing from the urban landscape.

AFRICA REPORT