መዝገብ
Everything you've discovered.
PLACESAksum
Capital of one of the four great empires of the ancient world, crowned by towering granite stelae.
PLACESLalibela
Eleven churches carved downward from living rock — a 'New Jerusalem' in the highlands.
PLACESGondar
The 'Camelot of Africa' — royal castles from the 17th-century Ethiopian empire.
Harar Jugol
A walled city of 82 mosques, colourful alleys and nightly hyena feeding.
NATURESimien Mountains
Jagged peaks and sheer escarpments — home to geladas and the Ethiopian wolf.
Lake Tana
Ethiopia's largest lake and source of the Blue Nile, dotted with island monasteries.
Danakil Depression
One of the hottest places on Earth — acid pools, salt flats and lava lakes.
Lucy (Dinkinesh)
A 3.2-million-year-old ancestor whose bones rewrote the human story.
King Ezana
The Aksumite king who made Christianity a state religion in the 4th century.
Empress Taytu Betul
Strategist, founder of Addis Ababa and a commander at the Battle of Adwa.
Emperor Menelik II
The emperor who led Ethiopia to victory at Adwa and modernised the country.
Abebe Bikila
Won Olympic marathon gold in Rome in 1960 — running barefoot.
Battle of Adwa
1896: Ethiopia defeats an invading Italian army and keeps its independence.
Ge'ez Script
One of the oldest alphabets still in use — the fidel behind Amharic and Tigrinya.
Amharic
Ethiopia's working language, spoken by tens of millions.
Afaan Oromo
The most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, written in the Latin-based Qubee.
FOODCoffee Ceremony
Roasted, ground and brewed in a jebena — three rounds of friendship.
Injera
Spongy fermented flatbread made from teff — plate, spoon and food in one.
Timkat
Epiphany festival of processions, white robes and holy water every January.
Meskel
The finding of the True Cross, celebrated with a giant bonfire — the Demera.
Irreecha
Oromo thanksgiving festival held at lakes and rivers after the rains.
Krar
A bowl-shaped lyre with five or six strings, heart of azmari music.
Ethio-Jazz
Mulatu Astatke's fusion of Ethiopian scales with jazz and Latin rhythms.
Illuminated Manuscripts
Goatskin books painted in vivid colour by monastic scribes.
Ethiopian Calendar
Thirteen months of sunshine — and a calendar about 7–8 years behind the Gregorian.
WILDLIFEEthiopian Wolf
Africa's most endangered carnivore, hunting rodents on the high plateaus.
WILDLIFEGelada
Grass-eating primates with a bright red 'bleeding heart' patch.
Queen of Sheba
Makeda, the legendary queen who journeyed to meet King Solomon.
Kaldi & the Dancing Goats
The goatherd who discovered coffee when his goats wouldn't stop dancing.