Ethiopia is...
- home to 85.2 million people (2nd most populous in Africa)
- young! (43% of it's population is 14 years old or younger)
- about twice the size of Texas
- home to speakers of more than 80 languages and 200 dialects (Amharic is the official language)
- oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years
- the birthplace of coffee (see below)
- UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Florence, KY, during Standard Time)
- 15 degrees north of the Equator
Capital: Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa means "New Flower." It is a beautiful, green city located high in the mountains. You can see the surrounding mountains in almost every city view.
Life in Ethiopia
Homes are a traditionally a round hut called a Tukul. The floor is dirt, the walls are either sticks and/or mud, and the roof is made out of a long grass called Tef. Families like to use magazines or newspapers as “wallpaper” in their homes.
Food: It's all about the Injera. Injera is a traditional Ethiopian dish, usually shared among family and friends from the same serving dish.
Birth Place of Coffee
Ethiopians have a very beautiful traditional coffee ceremony. It's unimaginable for most Ethiopians to start a new day with out several cups of coffee. Coffee is the best a family has, and Ethiopian families offer it to honor guests. The coffee ceremony is the best occasion for a get-together with neighbors and friends. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony might have been created with the discovery of coffee itself in its south western heartland, in a place called “Kaffa” (from which many experts believe the term coffee originated ).
Ethiopians have a very beautiful traditional coffee ceremony. It's unimaginable for most Ethiopians to start a new day with out several cups of coffee. Coffee is the best a family has, and Ethiopian families offer it to honor guests. The coffee ceremony is the best occasion for a get-together with neighbors and friends. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony might have been created with the discovery of coffee itself in its south western heartland, in a place called “Kaffa” (from which many experts believe the term coffee originated ).
Climate
Is this Africa? The average temperature throughout the year in Ethiopia is 61. The high altitude has a lot to do with the lovely range in temperatures (from 50-75 degrees).
Ethiopian Alphabet and Numbers
Some helpful Amharic phrases:
Tenastiling Hello/ How are you?
Caio (borrowed from Italian) Goodbye
Ow (as in ‘how’) Yes
Ishi Okay
Aydellem No
Amesegenalo Thank you
Ethiopia is the only African country with its own alphabet. The Ethiopian Alphabet consists of 33 letters each with 7 characters. See the lovely Ethiopia script below:
As much as I love languages... this one is intimidating!
Ethiopian Calendar
Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month of five days and six days during the leap year. The Ethiopian Calendar is almost eight years behind the Gregorian calendar.
Meskerem | September 11, 2006 – October 10, 2006 |
Tikimit | October 11, 2006 – November 9, 2006 |
Hidar | November 10, 2006 – December 9, 2006 |
Tahisas | December 10, 2006 – January 7, 2007 |
Tir | January 8, 2007 – February 7, 2007 |
Yekatit | February 8, 2007 – March 9, 2007 |
Megabit | March 10, 2007 – April 8, 2007 |
Miyazya | April 9, 2007 – May 8, 2007 |
Ginbot | May 9, 2007 – June 7, 2007 |
Sene | June 8, 2007 – July 7, 2007 |
Hamle | July 8, 2007 – August 5, 2007 |
Nehase | August 6, 2007 – September 5, 2007 |
Puagme | September 6, 2007 – September 10, 2007 |
Interesting Tidbits about Ethiopia
- They claim the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant at a chapel in the holy city of Aksum, which used to be the capital of Ethiopia.
- Ethiopia has 63 airports. Only 17 of them have a paved runway. :)
- Often women feed the men with their fingers as a mark of love and devotion to them.
- Many Ethiopians claim descent from King Solomon of Jerusalem and Makeda, the Queen of Sheba.
