Ethiopia is a land of wonder and enchantment, a country with one of the richest histories on the African continent, a land contrasts and surprises, of remote and wild places, home to cultured and friendly people who are descended from some of the world’s oldest civilization. Ethiopia is the land of the fabled Queen of Sheba, home of the Ark of the Covenant, the birth place of Coffee, “Lucy”, the world’s oldest known almost complete hominy skeleton, more than three million years old, was discovered near.
Ethiopia has so much to offer visitors: the historic route, covering the ancient town of Axum, with its amazing carved obelisks, Christian festivals and relics, including the Ark of the covenant; Gondar with its castles and palaces: Lalibela, with its remarkable rock hewn churches; and the walled Muslim city of Harar. At Diredawa you can see cave paintings considered to be thousands of years old. Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile, Great Rift Valley lakes, National Parks, home to a wealth of bird and animal and the Bale Mountains in the south are also home to some unique wild life, and are ideal for trekking, whilst some of Ethiopia’s fast-flowing rivers are becoming famous for white- water rafting.
Why Ethiopia?
1. Home of the Ark of the Covenant,
2. A land of culture
3. Our history dates back to the ADs.
4. Ethiopia has been called “a land of a thousand smiles”
5. Being the oldest independent nation in Africa having its own calendar, alphabet and clock make Ethiopia to be chosen as one of the best tourist destinations in the Africa continent
6. A land of discovery "Our soil has preserved Lucy and even a much earlier remain"
7. Our mountains are extremely scenic and fit for real trekker.
8. The water tower of Africa
9. The birth Place of Coffee
10. Our birds are plenty and satisfy genuine bird lovers.
There are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September.
About 90 percent of the population earns their living from the land, mainly as subsistence farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from the sector are coffee, oil seeds, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals.
Ethiopia is a multiethnic state with a variety of languages spoken in the country, of which there are 83 with 200 dialects. Amharic is the national language of the country. After Amharic the most common would be Tigrigna and Oromigna. English is also widely spoken.
Ethiopia is in the GMT + 3 hours time zone. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consist of twelve months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 or 6 days.
The population is estimated at 70 million, over 50 present of whom are under 20 years old. The average number of inhabitants per square kilometer is 49.
The local currency is the Ethiopian Birr made up of 100 cents.1 USD = 8.73 Birr (fluctuating).
Ethiopia uses 220 volts.
