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About
Ethiopia |
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Ethiopia
is a land utterly out of the common, it is like no other in
its Geography and geology, its founa and flora, its people
and their customs, its favorable climate, its long and
fascinating history.
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Various descriptive epithets have been applied to Ethiopia,
the ‘Roof of Africa’ for its geographical situation, a
museum of ethnography’ for its multiplicity of peoples, 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 Arc 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 3.6 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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