(Excerpt from
the book ‘The Greek presence in the horn of Africa’)
In the 1890s, the emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II,
decided to transfer the capital on Mount Entoto. This was the starting point
for the building of Addis Ababa (lit. new flower). This decision demanded the
presence of the appropriate skillful workforce. Several Greeks took part in several
construction projects including streets, bridges, buildings and churches. Apart
from the construction field, lots of Greeks were engaged in trade. Therefore, some
of them were members of the local government such as Kleanthis Moschopoulos,
who had been appointed as Head of State Security and Vassilis Diamandouros, who
was the Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.
