When waiting for the referral of a child or for news that finally they can travel to get their child, many parents like to spend some time learning a little bit more about Addis. Recently I found a website called What's Up, Addis? that is a nice resource for adoptive families.

The website features pages about many different topics. There's a page of frequently used phone numbers. Here are some of the ones most likely to be useful to adoptive families.

HOSPITALS (in case of illness)
Black Lion 001-5511211
Hayat Hospital 001-6624488 (This hospital has an excellent lab that is good at testing for parasites. Some folks opt to get their kids checked before they come home.)

PHARMACIES
(in case a prescription is needed. Pharmacies also carry baby formula)
Abbay Pharmacy 001-3713298
Ghion Pharmacy 001-5518606
Hilsen Pharmacy 001-5446555
Lion Pharmacy 001-1551893

AIRLINES
(Remember, you'll need to confirm your homebound flights while in Addis)
British Airways 001-5505913/14
Ethiopian Airlines 011-5181818
Lufthansa 001-5518400


RESTAURANTS

There's a list of restaurants in Addis. I personally can recommend the Blue Tops, the China Bar, and the Cottage restaurants. Other good restaurants not on their list include the Arcabellano and the Yilma restaurants, both of which are not far from the Vatican Embassy in the Mekanissa area of Addis.

Here's one final tidbit for you. Before I ever traveled to Ethiopia, I wondered how exactly the locals pronounce 'Addis Ababa.' Here's how it sounded -- to my ear, anyway. First of all, both words are run together, with only a very slight emphasis on the first syllable. Phonetically it sounded like this-- "AH-dees-ah-bee-bah". Whatever you do, if you're trying to be authentic, do NOT say the "a" like the "a" in the word "apple". The first and last A's sound like short "O' in the word "odd". And to me, the middle 'a' actually sounded like 'ee'.

Additional info about Addis
Hotels in Addis (links to 8 posts)
More on restaurants
Telephone tutorial