ETHIOPIA  >  AFRICA  >  INDEX


Ethiopia vacations.

Regions in Ethiopia : Afar, Amhara, Benshangul / Gumaz, Gambela, Harar, Oromia, Somali, Tigray

Federal capital Ethiopia : Addis Ababa


hotels, travel agency, travel guides, transportation / traveling to ethiopia

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Car Rental Ethiopia

 Europcar - Addis Ababa Hilton, Addis Ababa Airport
Only new rental cars [ average age only 6 months ], All inclusive prices, 24 hours roadside assistance, 24/7 service most airports.

Hotels in Ethiopia

 Ararat Hotel  -  located atop of a hill
Stunning view of Addis Ababa [ a roof top lounge and terrace overlooking the city ] and a few minutes drive from the city center.
 Ghion Hotel  -  in the heart of Addis Ababa's business district near the Royal palace
 Hilton Hotels Addis  -  located downtown, in the heart of the city
The hotel is surrounded by 15 acres of landscaped gardens and an ideal base for business as well as for exploring Ethiopia's historic sites. See Hilton.com.
 Imperial Hotel  -  closest hotel to Bole International Airport.
 Sheraton Hotel Addis  -  mountainous countryside, Bole international airport only 6 km away
Located near the capital's main attractions. The National Palace and the National Museum are less than a mile away. It is also conveniently close to Merkato, one of the largest open-air markets in Africa, the United Nations headquarters and St. George's Cathedral.

Travel Agents / Tour Operators

 Mountain Travel Sobek
 Truck Africa  -  camping safari's  -  last great overlanding challenge
The idea of TA is to provide such a quality overland trips at a realistic price more likely to appeal to the adventurous in spirit.
 Responsibletravel.com  -  African safaris & holidays
100's of holidays to Africa from dozens of leading specialist tour companies and accommodations who are passionate about conserving Africa's wildlife and benefiting its people.



 Abyssinian Tours & Travel  -  tour operating company based in Addis Ababa
Cultural tours, Nature tours, Historic tours, Photo Safaris, Trekking, Rafting, Bird watching, and much more
 Africa Expeditions Ltd  -  Adventure, Camping, Family safaris, Luxury safaris

Travel Guides Ethiopia / Related Books

 Ethiopia and Eritrea - Lonely Planet  -  Jean-Bernard Carillet, Frances Linzee Gordon
This guide explores the region's national parks, historical sites, tribal villages, modern cities and old monasteries. It contains practical advice for independent travellers, covering getting around and where to stay. It also offers details of the region's tribes and languages.
Paperback 400 pages (November 21, 2003); Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; Language: English; ISBN: 1740592905
 Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti - Lonely Planet Country Guide 
Frances Linzee Gordon
This guide explores the region's national parks, historical sites, tribal villages, modern cities and old monasteries. It contains practical advice for independent travellers, covering getting around and where to stay. It also offers details of the region's tribes and languages.
Paperback 496 pages (November 2000); Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; Language: English; ISBN: 086442292X

Transport / How do I travel to Ethiopia

 Addis Ababa Airport - Bole International Airport 

 Emirates US  -  Flight tickets Addis Ababa

 Ethiopian Airlines - Domestic Airline
EA has an extensive domestic network flying to > 40 airfields and an additional landing strips

 Airline Tickets / Bargain Flights

A 778 kilometers railway line links Addis Ababa with Djibouti, and carries both freight and passengers.

 Map of Ethiopia [ Uni Texas - Perry-Castañeda Library - Map Collection ]


Links 

 Travel Insurance

Ethiopia is famous for its rock-hewn churches and ancient monasteries, Ethiopia's spectacular scenery and wildlife are among the lesser-known attractions of 'The Roof of Africa'.
Most people visit Ethiopia's historical route, with its fascinating castles, stelae and rock-hewn churches. The Solomonic dynasty is said to have originated with the Queen of Sheba's visit to King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. She returned to Ethiopia where their child, Menelik I, was born. The dynasty's last ruler, Haile Selassie, was deposed in 1974.

 Ethiopian Tourism Commission
About Ethiopia, Addis Abbeba, Natural Attractions, Cultural Attractions, Historical Attractions, Archeological Attractions, Hotels, Tours, Air Transport

 Government 

 Addis Ababa  -  Capital City
Addis Ababa is situated in the foothills of the 3,000 meters Entoto Mountains and rambles pleasantly across many wooded hillsides and gullies cut through with fast flowing streams.
 Harar
The city of Harar is an ancient (1520) city. Harar was an important trading center and is famous for its ancient buildings, its great city walls and as a centre of Islamic learning (the city has 99 mosques). In Harar you will lose yourself in an Arabian nights fantasy of narrow alleyways, incense and intrigue.

 Debre Damo
The Debre Damo monastery dates back to early Axumite times. It is reached only by rope and is closed to women. It is said to have the oldest existing intact church in Ethiopia.
 Ethiopian New Year  -  Enkutatash
Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days and 6 days in leap year. The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar from January to September and 7 years behind between September 11 and January 8.
Enkutatash means the "gift of jewels". When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her bolts by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside
 Genna  -  Ethiopian Christmas
Christmas, called Lidet, is not the primary religious and secular festival that it has become in Western countries. Falling on 7 January, it is celebrated seriously by a church service that goes on throughout the night, with people moving from one church to another. Traditionally, young men played a game similar to hockey, called genna, on this day, and now Christmas has also come to be known by that name.
 Gondar
Gondar offers fairy-tale castles dating back to the 17th-century that seem to belong in an Arthurian romance. The oldest and most impressive of Gondar's many imperial structures is the two-storey palace of Emperor Fasiledes, which includes a tower that affords a view of Lake Tana in the distance.
 Lalibela
Lalibela sometimes called as the eighth wonder of the world, where eleven churches were hewn out of solid bedrock almost 800 years ago. These incredible edifices remain places of living worship to this day. The legend says that angels helped build the churches which were built at great speed and seem to be of superhuman creation in scale, workmanship and concept
 Meskal  -  Finding of the True Cross
Meskal has been celebrated in the country for over 1600 years. The word actually means "cross" and the feast commemorates the discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. The original event took place on 19 March 326 AD. but the feast is now celebrated on 27 September.
 Wildlife
Ethiopia is a marvellous wildlife destination, with a number of endemic mammals in its rugged reserves. These include the world's rarest canid, the Simien Wolf, which is easy to spot in Bale National Park, where you will also find various endemic antelope. Another endemic mammal, the striking Gelada baboon, is common in the Simien Mountains. Birders come in search of the 30-odd endemics. Among the star attractions are the Ruspoli's turacou and yellowfronted parrot.
 Yeha
Ethiopia's earliest known capital Yeha, is less than two hours' drive from Axum through some dramatic highland scenery. As the birthplace of the country's earliest high civilization, it is well worth visiting. The massive walls of the temple house Judaic relics and historical artifacts.
 Yohanes
The capital of Emperor Yohanes IV (1871 - 1889), Makale is now the main city of Tigray, the most northern Ethiopian region. The Emperor's palace has been turned into a particularly interesting museum, with many exhibits of his time and subsequent history.

 A Journey through Ethiopia
 News from Ethiopia  -  Addis Tribune
 News  -  Ethiopian Related News and Information
Ethiopia is both breathtaking and extraordinary, a country perched on a high plateau in a region known as the Horn of Africa. This land of striking natural beauty, isolated by geography for centuries, has culture and traditions date back over 3000 years. Long known as Abyssinia, it stands between the cultures of the Mediterranean and the tribal people of the African heartland who inhabit areas that boast the origins of humankind. The rich history of the country dates back to the Queen of Sheba and is visible today in ancient tombs, rock-hewn churches and colorful festivals.

Cuisine - Ethiopian Foods / Recipes

 Exotic Ethiopian Cooking: Society, Culture, and Hospitality Tradition in Ethiopia 
Daniel Mesfin, Shlomo Bachrach (Introduction)
Paperback (March 1994); Publisher: Ethiopian Cookbook Enterprise; Language: English; ISBN: 0961634529

The Best of African Cooking 
By Manjase Banda (Author), Esanjam (Producer)
Paperback: 144 pages; Publisher: Esanjam; 2 Revised edition (March 14, 2007); Language: English; ISBN-10: 0954682130; ISBN-13: 978-0954682132
 
 African Recipes
 African Studies  -  The African Cookbook - Menus & Recipes from Africa 

History of Ethiopia

Oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years.
The country was occupied by Italy from 1936-41 and the Italian influence is apparent - though less than in Eritrea.
It has long been an intersection between the civilizations of North Africa, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.

 Ethiopia's History  -  see Wikipedia
Earliest History of Ethiopia, Introduction of Christianity, Portuguese Influence in Ethiopia, The Period of Isolation, Leaving the Medieval World, Modern History
 A History of Ethiopia - Harold G. Marcus
In this concise history of Ethiopia, Harold Marcus surveys the evolution of the oldest African nation from prehistory to the present. This study demonstrates that there is more to Ethiopia's existence than colonial logic . It shows how geography, economics and culture have served to unite Ethiopians against fractionalization. For the updated edition, Marcus has written a new preface, two new chapters and an epilogue, detailing the development and implications of Ethiopia as a Federal state and the war with Eritrea.
Paperback 336 pages (December 31, 2002); Publisher: University of California Press; Language: English; ISBN: 0520224795.
 In Search of King Solomon's Mines  -  Tahir Shah
King Solomon, the Bible's wisest king, also possessed extraordinary wealth. He built a temple at Jerusalem that was said to be more fabulous than any other landmark in the ancient world, heavily adorned with gold from Ophir. The precise location of this legendary land has been one of history's great unsolved mysteries. Long before Rider Haggard's classic adventure novel "King Solomon's Mines" produced a fresh outbreak of gold fever, explorers, scientists and theologians had scoured the world for the source of the king's astonishing wealth. In this book, Tahir Shah takes up the quest, using as his leads a mixture of texts including the Septuagint, the earliest form of the Bible, as well as geological, geographical and folkloric sources. Time and again the evidence points towards Ethiopia, the ancient kingdom in the horn of Africa whose imperial family claims descent from Menelik, the son born to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Tahir Shah's trail takes him to a remote cliff-face monastery where the monks pull visitors up on a leather rope, to the ruined castles of Gondar, and to the churches of Lalibela, hewn from solid rock. In the south, he discovers an enormous illegal gold mine, itself like something out of the Old Testament, where thousands of men, women and children dig with their hands. But the hardest leg of the journey is to the accursed mountain of Tullu Wallel, where legend says there lies an ancient shaft, once the entrance of King Solomon's mines. Tahir Shah's account of his journey in search of the facts behind the fiction is almost as exciting as Rider Haggard's
Paperback 272 pages (May 15, 2003); Publisher: John Murray; Language: English; ISBN: 0719563364
 The Ark of the Covenant: The True Story of the Greatest Relic of Antiquity 
Stuart Munro-Hay, Roderick Grierson
At the heart of the city of Aksum in Ethiopia stands a small chapel, whose entrance is constantly guarded. Ethiopians believe that this chapel contains the Ark of the Covenant; their religious epic "The Glory of Kings" gives an account of how Makeda, the Queen of Sheba had a son by Solomon and how it was this son who removed the Ark from Jerusalem because of the disobedience of the people of Israel. Stuart Munro-Hay began excavating at Aksum in 1974, but his work was interrupted by the revolution. He did, however, make many valuable friendships in the city and learnt to speak the language of the guards, a combination that has led him to become recognised as the premier Aksumite historian. Together with Roderick Grierson, a semiotic philologist, he investigated the ancient mystery to try and determine what the Ark was, if it could have been carried to Ethiopia, and, if it was not at Aksum, what is being guarded in the chapel.
Paperback 480 pages (March 2, 2000); Publisher: Phoenix mass market p/bk; Language: English; ISBN: 0753810107 
 National Museum in Addis Ababa
A plaster replica of the early hominid Lucy is preserved at the national Museum in Addis Ababa.

Music, Culture & Entertainment

The main three languages are Amharic, Tigrigna and Oromigna. English is also widely spoken.

 Ethiopian Amharic / Lonely Planet Phrasebook  - Tilahun Gabriel, Cath Snow
This phrasebook features: a comprehensive section on hospitality and greetings; a clear pronounciation guide; Amharic script throughout; and cultural tips on food and shopping.
Paperback 264 pages (September 27, 2002); Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; Language: English; ISBN: 174059133X
 Ethiopia, the Unknown Land: A Cultural and Historical Guide 
Stuart Munro-Hay
Ethiopia, legendary home of the Queen of Sheba who travelled to Jerusalem to meet Solomon, resting-place of the Ark of the Covenant and battleground of the great emperors from Ezana in the 4th century AD to Haile Selassie in modern times, has inspired many travellers and writers since time immemorial. Recently few have journeyed there or, indeed, have any conception of the extraordinary cultural treasures that await visitors. Stuart Munro-Hay knows Ethiopia intimately, having lived and researched there over many years. He has produced the first truly comprehensive guide to the monuments of this beautiful, culture-steeped country, as well as offering a literary companion. Here is a guide to Ethiopia's architecture, geography, peoples, art and history, embracing all the major sites of the land over the ages. It will become the classic reference guide.
Hardcover 432 pages (February 21, 2002); Publisher: I.B. Tauris; Language: English; ISBN: 1860647448
 Ethiopian Music Archive

Web Portal / Search Engine / Directory

 Abyssinia Gateway
 Cyberethiopia  -  information gateway to all that is Ethiopian on the World Wide Web
 Ethio Networks

 Yahoo Ethiopia Directories


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