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Few countries in
the world possess such a wealth and variety of ancient legends and
fascinating attractions as Ethiopia. It is a country split by an act
of nature-the cleavage known as the Great Rift Valley. At the
northern end of the Ethiopian Rift lies Afar in what is known as the
Danakil Depression, a barren, scorched landscape which millions of
years ago was ‘home ‘to man kind’s ancestors. In 1974,the 3.2
million year old remains of the ancestral Australopithecus
Afarensis were found in the hadar area of Ethiopia, and
nicknamed ‘Lucy’. this is the only one of the many major
scientific discoveries in the area.
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The discovery chalked yet another first for the country which
gave the world coffee, pioneered growing teff, and the ‘false
banana’ enset. It was the first place in Africa to make
Christianity a state religion. As religion has always been a
major influence in the country. Certainly no country in
sub-Saharan Africa can trace its origins as far back. Ethiopia is
mentioned 33times in the Bible and many times in the Qur’an. Perhaps
this is the reason why so many visitors retrace the ‘historic route’
drawn by colorful stories and fantastic tales once know as
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Throughout the ages, the rocky ramparts surrounding its 2500-metre
high (8,000ft) central plateau prevented countless invaders from
ever penetrating far beyond the lowlands of the Red Sea coast.
Thanks to their courage, Ethiopia’s highlanders remained unconquered
for centuries, and most of their historic records and buildings were
preserved for posterity.
Ancient Egyptians, Romans,
Greeks and Persians all tried to occupy what has been called ‘the
Roof of Africa’. More recently, in the 16th and 17th centuries,
Turkish troops, Portuguese adventurers and priest were more
successful in gaining tenuous footholds for a time, followed later
by British, French and Italian military expeditions.
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About Ethiopia