Addis Ababa, September 27, 2026 (FMC) — For foreign visitors who gathered in Addis Ababa for Meskel-Demera, Ethiopia offered an experience that extended far beyond a spectacular religious celebration.
From the sacred traditions surrounding the Demera to the warmth of the people and the changing face of the capital, visitors from Jordan, Germany and elsewhere said their time in Ethiopia had given them a memorable glimpse of a country where an ancient heritage continues to live alongside visible transformation.
For Laura, a first-time visitor from Jordan who runs Discover Jordan travel agency, the opportunity to celebrate Meskel-Demera with Ethiopians was a particularly fortunate coincidence.
Her agency organizes pilgrimages for Christian tourists from Ethiopia to Jordan, making her visit part of a longstanding connection between the two countries. But experiencing Meskel-Demera firsthand gave that connection a new dimension.
Speaking to Fana Media Corporation, she described the celebration as beautiful and extraordinary, while her first impressions of Addis Ababa were equally warm. The city’s people, she said, were welcoming, its atmosphere peaceful, and its food and coffee especially memorable.
Laura also noticed a city in motion. Buildings rising, infrastructure taking shape and new investments becoming visible across Addis Ababa left her impressed by the pace of change.
Her message to prospective visitors was simple: Meskel-Demera is an experience worth making part of a lifetime, and Ethiopia is a country worth discovering.
Michel, also from Jordan, found in Meskel-Demera a celebration unlike anything he had witnessed elsewhere.
For him, the experience carried a particular spiritual and cultural significance. He described celebrating the Holy Cross in Ethiopia in this form as unique, saying the occasion reflected the distinctive heritage of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, one of the world’s oldest Christian traditions.
Yet it was not only the celebration that stayed with him.
Michel spoke warmly of the people he encountered in Addis Ababa, describing them as friendly and welcoming and saying he felt secure while moving around the city.
He has also been following Ethiopia’s transformation closely. After a short visit in June, he returned in August for a longer stay and said that each passing day seemed to reveal another change.
New construction, high-rise buildings, infrastructure projects and airport development all caught his attention. He was particularly struck by the dedication of Ethiopian engineers and the sustained activity he observed across the city.
“Every day pass by, I see something changing,” he said, describing the experience as both impressive and encouraging.
For Zoe, a teenage visitor from Germany, the celebration offered something equally powerful in a different way: the excitement of encountering a culture unlike her own.
She said the communal character of Meskel-Demera and the sight of people coming together in traditional white clothing made the celebration feel genuinely different from what she knew in Germany.
The experience, she said, gave her the chance to discover something new while enjoying Ethiopian culture and food.
Ahmed Al-Fouri, a visitor from Jordan, likewise said he had never encountered a celebration like Meskel-Demera before.
His impressions of Ethiopia have also been shaped by places he visited, including Entoto, Kuriftu and Bishoftu. He said the continuing construction and development he witnessed had made a strong impression on him, with new changes becoming visible during his stay.
Together, the visitors’ experiences paint a picture of Ethiopia encountered from the outside but felt at close range: a country whose ancient traditions remain deeply present, whose people leave an impression through their warmth, and whose cities are undergoing visible change.
For those who came to witness Meskel-Demera, the Demera may have been the centre of the occasion, but the experience extended well beyond the flames—into Ethiopia’s culture, its people and the evolving landscape they encountered during their stay.