Here we were received in great state by the governor, one Aito Merzha (i.e., Ato Mersha), who, to impress on us that we were now on Abyssinian territory, had turned out a guard of about a dozen men, all armed with rifles and carrying the Abyssinian flag. The latter, I fear, did not impress us much, as it only consisted of triangular yellow, red, and green pennons nailed on a thin and crooked stick; but the guard of honour was very beautiful. Most visitors came to the country through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and many camped at Jaldessa for at least a day before traveling further to Addis Abeba, Harar or other parts of the new empire. Thus, Mersha was tasked with providing logistical and other forms of assistance to the guests. He was uniquely positioned to meet and interact with a large number of Europeans and other foreign nationals. In an article published in Le Figaro (April 1901), the French journalist and author Hughes Le Roux noted the following after a long discussion with Mersha. Je ne sais si ce sage a lu Candide, mais depuis les années déjà longues que le Roi des rois lui a confié la clef de la première poterne de l'empire, il a vu défiler beaucoup d'hommes de toutes couleurs, de tous pays, de toutes langues. English translation: I do not know if this wise man read Candide, but since for many years the King of Kings has given him the key to the first gate of the empire, he had seen people of all colors, all countries, and all languages. The following is a partial list of notables who have either interacted with or hosted by Mersha at Gildessa or Dire Dawa: Prince Henri of Orleans (1867–1901): French prince; Harald George Carlos Swayne (1860–1940): British army officer and author; Vicomte Edmond de Montaigne de Poncins (1866– 1937): explorer, naturalist and author; Lord Albert Edward Wilfred Gleichen (1863–1937): British diplomat and author; Pyotr Mikhailovich Vlasov (1850–1904): head of the Russian Imperial mission to Ethiopia Jean-Baptiste Marchand (1863–1934): French army officer and explorer; Robert Peet Skinner (1866–1960): American diplomat; Lucien Heudebert (1860–1949): French writer; Jean-François-Albert du Pouget, Marquis de Nadaillac (1818–1904): French anthropologist; Hughues Le Roux (aka Robert Charles Henri Le Roux) (1860–1925): French journalist, author and senator; Robert Pierre Marie Robert, vicomte du Bourg de Bozas(1871–1902): French explorer;; Peter Nikolaevich