Full Name

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Capital City

 Addis Ababa

Land

Ethiopia covers an area of 1.14 million square kilometers (944,000 square miles).

Location

 Ethiopia is landlocked country located in Eastern Africa. It borders Kenya, South Sudan, Somali, Djibouti and Sudan.

Climate

There are two major seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to September.

Topography

Ethiopia has an elevated central plateau varying in height between 2,000 and 3,000 meters. In the north and centre of the country there are some 25 mountains whose peaks rise over 4,000 meters. The most famous Ethiopian river is the Blue Nile (or Abay), which runs a distance of 1,450 kilometers from the source in Lake Tana, to join the White Nile at Khartoum.

Economy

About 85 per cent of the population earns living from the land, mainly as subsistence farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, pulses, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals. There is also a thriving livestock sector, exporting cattle on the hoof, hides and skins.

Language

Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with a great variety of languages spoken in the country, of which there are 83 with 200 dialects. Amharic is the working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia while Oromigna, Tigrigna and Guragina are widely spoken. Moreover, English, French and Arabic are widely spoken in the spheres of commerce and education.

Religion

Orthodox Christians make up about 46% of the country's population. The rest are Muslims, Jews, other Christians and African traditionalists.

Telephone

International dialing code: +251

Time

Ethiopia is in the GMT + 3 hours time zone. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar.

People

The population is estimated at 90 million. There are more than 80  ethnic groups, each with their own language and culture.

Clothing

In general between seasons clothes are appropriate. At higher altitudes, woolen clothes or a coat are needed in the evenings. Travelers should take rain coat or other rainwear, particularly when visiting the country during the period from February to October.

Banking Hours

Banking hours are usually from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm from Monday to Friday and from 8:00 am – 11:00 am on Saturdays. Closing times may be an hour longer in some private banks. Most banks work through lunchtime; however foreign exchange services are closed during lunch hours (12:00 noon – 1:00 pm).

Shopping Hours

Shops are open Monday to Friday 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-very flexible, often longer opening hours; some shops are also open on Saturday. These days a few supermarkets and beauty salons in the capital are working 24 hours.

Currency

The local currency is the Ethiopian Birr (ETB), made up of 100 cents. Birr notes are available in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100. Visitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency but this must be declared on arrival to the customs authorities on the appropriate blue-colored form. Foreign currency may only be exchanged at authorized banks and hotels, and a receipt must be obtained. The currency declaration form must be retained as this will be required by customs on departure. Visitors may change back any surplus Ethiopian Birr to cash at the airport before departure. In addition to any Ethiopian Birr, along with the currency exchange form you must bring with you all receipts for exchange transactions.

Public Holidays

Sunday is the weekly day of rest. Public holidays are celebrated according to the Ethiopian (Julian) Calendar which consists of twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six days in leap year). The calendar is seven years behind the Western or Gregorian calendar, with New Year falling in the month of September. September 11 Ethiopian New Year, September 26 The finding of the True Cross (Meskal), January 8 Ethiopian Christmas, January 20Ethiopian Epiphany, April 25 Ethiopian Good Friday, April 27Ethiopian Easter.

• Ethiopia is among the oldest countries on the planet, having been established in 980 B.C.
• Ethiopia is the only country in the world with 13 months. It is also eight years behind the Western calendar. The 13th month has only five days, or six in a leap year.
• The Great Rift Valley cuts through Ethiopia from northeast to south of the country and is the only physical feature of Africa that it visible from space.
• Donkeys and camels were first domesticated in Ethiopia.
• Ethiopians celebrated their new year on September 11.
• Aksum, in Ethiopia, is famous as a claimant to the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the 10 commandments God gave to Moses, and the standing obelisk, which is 75 feet (23 m) high. With windows and doors, it looks like the world’s first skyscraper.
• Ethiopian distance runner Abebe Bikila was the first black African to win the gold medal in the Olympic Marathon in 1960, and he ran the race barefooted. He won the race again in Tokyo four years later and became the first person to win the race twice, setting a world record.
• Coffee was first discovered by an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi in the Kaffa region, from which the word “coffee” may derive, when he noticed his goats “dancing” after eating the berries off the coffee plant. Today, it is estimated that four out of five Americans drink coffee at least once a day. Coffee is the top agricultural export for 12 countries, with the livelihood of over 100 million people depending on its production, and it is the world’s second most valuable commodity after petroleum.
• Ethiopian emperor Menelik II was the first African to drive a car, in 1907.
• Ethiopians measure time from when the sun rises and count time on the opposite side of the clock. When the sun rises at 6 o’clock it is said to be 12 o’clock – the start of the day in Ethiopia. Ethiopians rationalize that the clock should start when the day does. Confused? Don’t worry, you get used to it after a few days!
• Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that was never formally colonized; however, it had to defeat the Italians twice to remain independent.
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest forms of Christianity in the world. It came to Ethiopia from Egypt, where Egyptians belonged to the Coptic Church. Around A.D. 330, Frumentius, the Apostle of Ethiopia, converted the Axumite king Ezana, who made Christianity the empire’s official religion. Today, 46% of Ethiopians practice Christianity.
• Ethiopia was the birthplace of Pan-Africanism (a united Africa). Hailed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, it led to the birth of the African Union.
• Ethiopia is home to the source of the Blue Nile, which together with the White Nile makes up the Nile River, the longest river in the world.
• Ethiopia’s national language is Amharic, but there are over 82 languages and 200 dialects, or variations, spoken in the country.
• Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I is considered the son of God among the followers of the Jamaican Rastafarianism religion. In fact, the name “Rastafari” originates from the emperor’s birth name, Ras Tafari, which means “Prince Tafari” in Amharic. Bob Marley was one well-known Rastafarian. Although the Rastafari movement did evolve in Jamaica, it began in Ethiopia.
• The Ethiopians are the only people in Africa, except for the Arabs, with their own indigenous written alphabet. Actually it uses an abugida, also known as an alpha-syllabary, which consists of 209 symbols and 25 letter variants.
• Some African countries, like Ghana, adopted flags with the same colors as Ethiopia’s green/red/yellow because Ethiopia was the first African country to defeat a European power militarily.
• The first globally recognized female African head of state was Ethiopian Queen Zewditu, who was the empress of Ethiopia from 1916 to 1930
• Ethiopia was the first country to accept Islam as a religion and it sheltered the Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his followers when they were being persecuted and killed by pagan Arabians. Today, 35% of Ethiopia is Muslim.
• In some parts of Ethiopia, wearing a large disc in the lower lip is considered beautiful. To accommodate a lower lip plate, often the bottom two or four teeth are removed.
• The Garima Gospels, the oldest illustrated Christian book, is in Ethiopia. It was written about A.D. 494 by the Abba Garima, a monk who arrived in Ethiopia from Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). According to legend, he wrote the book in one day.
• More than 70% of Africa’s mountains are found in Ethiopia. It is sometimes called “the roof of Africa.”
• The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is home to the lowest point on Earth, Dallol, a lava lake that is 380 feet (116 m) below sea level. It is also one of the only lava lakes in the world and it is the hottest place on the planet.
• Teff, used to make the Ethiopian staple injera, is an ancient grain believed to have originated in Ethiopia between 4000 and 1000 B.C. It is the smallest grain in the world and its name may have come from the Amharic word meaning “lost” because it is so small. It is also popular as a baby food.
• Lucy, a human fossil believed to have existed over 3 million years ago, was found in the Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia in 1974. She was named after the Beatles’ song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” which was playing on the radio at the time she was found.
• Ethiopia was the first African nation to join the League of Nations.
• The first Muslim call to prayer was done by an Ethiopian named Bilal Ibn Rabah, and the first mosque to be built outside of Arabia was the Al Nejashi mosque in northern Ethiopia.
• Ethiopia is considered the originator of honey wine, or t’ej, which the rest of the world knows as mead.
• Ethiopia is mentioned 40 times in the Bible and it is one of the few countries mentioned in the Bible, the Koran, Homer’s Odyssey, and many other ancient books.
• An important rite of passage for Hamer and Banna boys in Ethiopia is the Ukuli Bula, or Jumping of the Bulls, ceremony. After 15 to 30 bulls have been lined up side by side, each naked boy must leap down the line of bulls, jumping on the beasts from back to back. If they fall, they’re whipped and teased by the women; if they succeed, they have to turn around and complete the task three more times.
• For centuries, Ethiopians have used wild herbs as medicines to treat such ailments as malaria, hepatitis, pneumonia, and even tapeworms. Scientists point out those common Western drugs such as aspirin and morphine were derived from traditional folk medicines.
• In Ethiopia’s lower Omo Valley, scarification serves as a distinction for brave warriors for men and, for women, the raised texture of the scarred skin is considered highly desirable and sensual.
• Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie set a world record for the marathon in Berlin in 2008, and won Olympic gold medals twice in 1996 and 2000 in the 10,000 meters. Every day, he ran 6 miles (10 km) to school and back as a child.
• According to legend, the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified was found by St. Helena—the mother of Constantine the Great, the Roman Emperor who converted to Christianity—in the 4th century. A relic of that cross was later given to Ethiopia’s kings for protecting Coptic Christians in their country. Meskel celebrates the arrival of the True Cross in Ethiopia and has been celebrated there for more than 1,600 years.
  
  The oldest fossil skeleton of a human was discovered in Ethiopia. So too was coffee, making Ethiopia the home of mankind and mankind’s favorite wake-up drink.