Ethiopia

Overview

Travelers to Ethiopia ( Amharic : ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōpyā ) experience a country divided into two: in the north and east the focus is on cultural heritage, while in the south there are several national parks and lakes in the area of the East African Rift with their flora and fauna as well as the habitat of several indigenous peoples.

Ethiopia is Africa 's third-most populous country (after Nigeria and Egypt ), oldest independent country and one of only two never colonised by a European power, save for a short Italian occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.

Ethiopia was historically called Abyssinia , a word related to Habesha , the native name for the inhabitants. In some countries, Ethiopia is still called by names cognate with "Abyssinia", eg, Turkish Habesistan , meaning land of the Habesha people. The English name "Ethiopia" is thought to be derived from the Greek word Αἰθιοπία (Aithiopia), from Αἰθίοψ (Aithiops) "an Ethiopian", derived from Greek terms meaning "of burnt (αιθ-) visage (ὄψ)". However, this etymology is disputed, since the Book of Aksum, a Ge'ez chronicle first composed in the 15th century, states that the name is derived from 'Ityopp'is, a son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham, who according to legend founded the city of Axum .

Ethiopia's population is highly diverse, consisting of more than 80 ethnic groups. The largest ethnic groups are the Oromo (34% of the population), the Amhara (27%) the Somalis (6%) and the Tigrinyas (6%). The largest religious affiliations are Christian (63% of the population – comprising 44% Ethiopian Orthodox and 19% other denominations) and Muslim (34%). Ethiopia once had a large Jewish community known as the Beta Israel , but most of the Beta Israel migrated to Israel in the late 20th century, and only about 12,000 remain in Ethiopia today.

Places to explore

Ethiopia is ranked with African countries the likes of Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia for preserving and maintaining its national parks as tourist attractions . The southern and south-western parts of the country are home to stunning natural beauty with a huge potential for tourism. The northern parts features cultural and religious attractions .

Culture and food

Injera is ubiquitous in Ethiopia. It is a spongy, tangy-tasting bread made from the grain teff , which grows in the highlands of Ethiopia. It looks and feels akin to a crepe or pancake. It's eaten with wot (or wat ), traditional stews made with spices and meat or legumes. Popular wats are doro (chicken) wat, yebeg (lamb) wat and asa (fish) wat. Pork is rare in Ethiopia as both the Ethiopian Church and Islam prohibit the consumption of pork by their followers.

The injera sits directly on a large round plate or tray and is covered with wat placed symmetrically around a central item. The various wats are eaten with other pieces of injera, which are served on a side plate. Injera is eaten with the right hand – rip a large piece of injera from the side plate and use it to scoop up one of the flavours of wat on the main platter. Eating with the left hand is considered disrespectful, as it is the hand traditionally used for personal hygiene and is thus considered unclean. Another popular injera dish is firfir : fried, shredded injera. It can be served with or without meat or with all sorts of veggies.

Planning your route

Ethiopian Airlines is reasonably priced and has fairly comprehensive domestic services. Flights are often overbooked, so it is essential to reconfirm your tickets at least a day in advance and show up at the airport on time. If you forget to reconfirm, they may assume you aren't going to show up and give away your seats. Flights are frequently cancelled or rescheduled so allow extra time if transferring to an international flight.

Sights and landscapes

At 1,104,300 square kilometres (426,372.61 sq mi), Ethiopia is the world's 26th-largest country, comparable in size to Bolivia . It lies between the 3rd parallel north and the 15th parallel north and longitudes 33rd meridian east and 48th meridian east .

The major portion of Ethiopia lies in the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost part of the African landmass. The territories that have frontiers with Ethiopia are Eritrea to the north and then, moving in a clockwise direction, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Within Ethiopia is a vast highland complex of mountains and dissected plateaus divided by the Great Rift Valley , which runs generally southwest to northeast and is surrounded by lowlands, steppes , or semi-desert. There is a great diversity of terrain with wide variations in climate, soils, natural vegetation and settlement patterns.

Ethiopia is an ecologically diverse country, ranging from the deserts along the eastern border to the tropical forests in the south to extensive Afromontane in the northern and southwestern parts. Lake Tana in the north is the source of the Blue Nile . It also has many endemic species, notably the gelada , the walia ibex and the Ethiopian wolf ("Simien fox"). The wide range of altitude has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, and this has helped to encourage the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation.

The nation is a land of geographical contrasts, ranging from the vast fertile west, with its forests and numerous rivers, to the world's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are the largest continuous mountain ranges in Africa, and the Sof Omar Caves contains the largest cave on the continent. Ethiopia also has the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.

Travel guide text compiled and adapted from Wikivoyage article (contributors) and Wikipedia article (contributors). Sections were selected and reordered for this guide. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Check current arrangements with your travel consultant.