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The land of
thousand miles, the country where the two oldest religions
co-existed in harmony for centuries, home of the arc of covenant and
seed bed of Christianity & origin of civilization. The land of
friendly people with acclaimed hospitality. The land of thirteen
months of sunshine, the only land in Africa for its unique calendar
and alphabets. Above all things,
It is a country
of great antiquity with a culture and traditions dating back
more than 3,000 years this is Ethiopia.
Ethiopia,
the Origin of mankind and home to various people, is recognized
as one of the cradles of world civilizations. The country claims
to have possessed the world’s most precious relics, the Are of
the covenant and the True cross. |
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Conventionally, Ethiopian history begun with the visit of queen
of Sheba, allegedly from Ethiopia, to Solomon, king of Israel in
the tenth century BC: hence the reference to Ethiopia's 3000
years history that we claim so often. Aside from the fact that
this association has scarcely any scientific basis, it
represents too short a view of the Ethiopia's past.
Archeological and linguistic research in recent years has made
possible and necessary the adoption of a longer and more
scientific perspective.
The
discovery in 1974 G.C of the earliest hominid in the Afar
desert, named LUCY can be a very good example. This female
ancestor of the human race was dated to 3.5 million years ago.
As a proof of its long history Ethiopia has many historical
places. Axum is Ethiopia's most ancient city and the site of
many remarkable monolithic stone stelae. At Lalibela there are
11 remarkable rock-hewn monolithic churches. The 17th century
the city of Gondar and the 9th century city of Harar are the
other historical attractions. In addition to these there are
many age-old churches, monasteries and mosques with rich
collection of relic in different parts of Ethiopia. Many
colorful festivals are also additional attractions.
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With a history stretching to
three millennia back and with different people speaking over 83
languages and 200 dialects, it is no wonder that the mosaic of
cultural diversity of Ethiopia is a major attraction and
enchantment. Ethiopia is rich medley of people of different
religions and customs with distinctive life styles. There are
many interesting cultural traditions in Ethiopia including the
nomadic culture of the people of the Omo Valley. The life style
of the people has hardly changed for centuries. People still
dress from animal skins, drink from calabashes and decorate with
clay. It is unique, undisturbed, wild and considered to be among
the most fascinating in the African continent. Traveling through
this area is like traveling thousands of years back in time,
providing an insight in to an Africa of a bygone age.
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Although Ethiopia is
found very near the Equator, the country as a whole is far
from "tropical" in the accepted sense of the term. On the
contrary the elevated nature of its highlands rising to over
1,500 meters gives it a decidedly cooler climate than its
geographical location seems to suggest. Visitors to Ethiopia
soon discover that climate is not merely an expression of
latitude, but also of altitude.
Ethiopia is a country with contrasting nature, from the snow
caped peaks of the Semien Mountains to the arid lands of low
land desert, the Denakil Depression. Its unique landscape
makes Ethiopia to have more endemic flora and fauna than any
other regions in Africa. No other aspect of Ethiopia's
biology typifies its unique situation more than 800 species
of birds are discovered in the region of which more than 16
species are endemic. |
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