Location Information

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Language: Italian, French, English, Amharic
Currency: Ethiopian Birr (ETB)

Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country situated in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world and Africa's third-most populous nation. It has yielded some of the oldest traces of humanity, making it an important area in the history of human evolution.

Human settlement in Ethiopia is very ancient. Fossilized remains of the earliest ancestors to the human species, discovered in Ethiopia, have been assigned dates as long ago as 5.9 million years. Around the eighth century BC, a kingdom known as D’mt was established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. After the fall of D`mt in the fifth century BC, the plateau came to be dominated by smaller successor kingdoms, until the rise of one of these kingdoms during the first century BC, the Aksumite Kingdom. They established bases on the northern highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau and from there expanded southward. The Persian religious figure Mani listed Aksum with Rome, Persia, and China as one of the four great powers of his time.

Elevation and geographic location produce three climatic zones in Ethiopia. The cool zone which is above 2,400 meters (7,900 ft), where temperatures range from near freezing to 16 °C (32 °–61 °F). The temperate zone at elevations of 1,500 to 2,400 meters (4,900–7,900 ft) with temperatures from 16 to 30 °C (61–86 °F). Finally the hot zone below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) with both tropical and arid conditions where daytime temperatures range from 27 to 50 °C (81–122 °F).

Ethiopia’s capital is located at an altitude of 2440m in the central highlands. Places of interest include St George’s Cathedral, the Ethnology Museum, the Menelik Mausoleum, the Trinity Church, the Old Ghibi Palace and the market, one of the largest in Africa. Aksum the ancient royal capital of the earliest Ethiopian kingdom lies in the north of the country. It is renowned for multi-storied ancient carved granite obelisks.

Menus in the best hotels offer international food and Addis Ababa also has a number of good Chinese, Italian and Indian restaurants. Traditional restaurants in larger cities serve food in a grand manner around a brightly coloured basket-weave table called a masob. Traditional Ethiopian food does not use pork because most Ethiopians are Muslim or Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. Before beginning the meal, guests will be given soap, water and a clean towel, and the right hand is used to break off pieces of bread with which the rest of the meal is gathered up. Cutlery is not used.

Addis Ababa is a diverse and riotous capital city, with roughly 80 different nationalities, and a multitude of religious and language. Nestled at the foot of Mount Entoto, the city was founded in the late 1800s by Ethiopian emperor Menelik II and was later occupied by the Italians during the second Italo-Abyssinian War. When Ethiopians regained control, Emperor Haile Selassie immediately set about rebuilding the capital. The city is surrounded by forests and cultivated land.

Addis Ababa is also home to the world-renown early hominid Lucy - her fossilised skeleton, as well as a replica, are housed in the Ethiopian National Museum. The city of Addis Ababa also boasts the largest open market in Africa, several interesting mosques and cathedrals, as well as the world's largest prefabricated building, Shengo Hall, and Menelik's old Imperial Palace.

Addis Ababa is an interesting mix of poverty and wealth, urbanisation and nature. It is a dynamic capital, but has its fair share of unemployment, petty crime and destitution. Addis Ababa, however, is well worth exploring, as there are plenty of 'diamonds in the rough' to be uncovered.

Medical Precautions:

Compulsory Vaccination:
Yellow Fever

Recommended Vaccinations:
Polio
Typhoid
Hepatitis A
Cholera