This small area in the northern part of Addis got its name (Afincho Ber implying that it was a gateway that resembled a nose) from the shape of the road traversing through it. You can find Afincho Ber if you head towards Giorgis (St. George Church) from Sidist Kilo just below the Addis Ababa University campus at the end of the downward sloping road leading away from it. At the end of that road is the sharp left turn leading onto the once treacherous bridge over the small creek that was the scene of many a horrific accident including trucks that would seemingly routinely plunge into the deep (relatively) gorge from the narrow, unprotected roadway.
The sharp turn is what would be considered the tip of the nose from where Afincho Ber gets its name. But although the name of this neighborhood will likely remain in place for some time, the crooked road from which it got its name is about to be bypassed by the brand new bridge under construction over a different part of the creek and which will finally straighten out the original nose job by a significant margin. The new bridge (as well as the roads leading up to it) are plenty wide and should make driving in that area a much safer prospect. The roadwork here is actually just one component of a much bigger project which when completed will produce a modern thoroughfare connecting Sidist Kilo all the way to Merkato through the Yohannes and Gojam Berenda areas.
So how to remember Afincho Ber which may fade away into the distant dust heaps of history once the modern road is in use? We propose the erection of a memorial at one end of the new bridge with an inscription of the story behind this old neighborhood. Of course it should be in the shape of a nose…
