The Best of Ethiopia

Addis Ababa

Ethiopia’s capital is a relatively new city, founded by the Emperor Menelik II in 1887 and lying at an altitude of 2,400m, which makes it the world’s highest capital city. With a pleasant climate, the name means ‘new flower’ in Amharic, and it ranks as one of Africa’s more interesting capitals. The museums of Addis are excellent and include the National Museum, with a broad collection of exhibits from various points in the country’s history including a replica of Lucy, the 3.5 million-year-old hominid fossil found in Ethiopia in the 1970s.

Churches such as St George’s Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity give a great insight into Ethiopia’s particular brand of Christianity. The Cathedral of St George, named after Ethiopia’s patron saint (the famed dragon slayer that also serves as patron saint for England and Georgia) was built by Emperor Menelik to commemorate his victory over Italian forces at Adwa, and houses a small museum with a collection of important religious paintings, books and artefacts.

The Mercato is supposedly one of Africa’s largest markets, and walking through the maze of alleyways here is a real experience, with goods on sale ranging from clothing to electronics to qat, the narcotic plant favoured throughout much of the Horn of Africa.

In various parts, but particularly the Piazza area, one can see evidence of the Italians’ ill-fated attempt to rule over Ethiopia in the first half of the twentieth century. Addis Ababa has changed quickly over the last twenty years or so, and modern buildings are springing up everywhere, but scratch the surface and you find a city rich with local culture that is unlike anywhere else in the region.

Arba Minch

Set in dramatic surroundings, Arba Minch is a small southern Ethiopian town lying at an altitude of 1,300m above sea level, on a cliff overlooking Lake Chamo and Lake Abaya. To the west mountains form a backdrop rising to 4,000m. Although there’s not much to do in town, it is the gateway to Nechisar National Park and the Omo Valley.

Jinka

A small mountain town set apart from the country, Jinka feels both remote and rustic, accentuated by the grass airstrip in the middle of town. People come from across South Omo to visit the Saturday market, particularly Ari, Bana, Besheda and Besketo people. The South Omo Research Centre is an ethnographic museum of the many tribes in the area, lying on a hill above the town.

The Mursi

The Mursi are perhaps the best-known tribe of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, and certainly one of its most interesting. When a Mursi woman reaches 20 years old, a slit is made beneath the lower lip and a clay plate inserted. Each year a larger plate is added, stretching the lower lip until it juts out so far that a 15cm plate can be worn and the woman can pull her lip right over her head. This is considered the height of attractiveness.

Mursi men do not escape entirely unscathed, as they take part in stick fights, which in the past sometimes ended in the death of one of the participants. Decorated with white clay, they whack each other with 2m long poles until one submits. There are consolations; the winner is carried off by a group of eligible girls who then decide which one of them will marry him.

The Hamer people

The Hamer are a medium sized ethnic group following traditional lifestyles in the southwestern corner of Ethiopia. Their lifestyle is largely based around pastoralism and so like many groups in the region cattle are of high importance to them. They are most renowned for their elaborate hairstyles, and the women sport colourful beaded necklaces.

Karo people

The Karo are a small ethnic group numbering only a few hundred, scattered throughout a handful of villages. They are most renowned for their spectacular body decorations, which consist of different patterns and colours representing traditional symbolic messages. These can denote an individual’s social position within the group, whether they have killed enemies in battle, and their initiation status. Patterns are made with ochre, coal and lime among other materials and are delicately applied using sticks – the whole process can take hours to finish and is especially elaborate when dances and important ceremonies are taking place. Physical beauty is very important for the Karo; neglecting to care for personal appearance is a social stigma.

Lake Tana

Ethiopia’s largest lake, Lake Tana is most renowned for the collection of monasteries, which dot its shores and many islands, several of which date back to the 15th century. These are often decorated with impressive murals and frescoes, while others contain ancient religious manuscripts.

Many monasteries were used as safe havens for royal and religious treasures to protect against invading forces, and the mummified remains of previous emperors are said to be housed at the remote island of Daga Istafanos.

The shoreline is dotted with small villages, whose inhabitants cross the lake on tankwas, small boats made from papyrus, often burdened with heavy cargo and looking close to submerging. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and contains excellent birdlife, as well as hippos.

Gondar

Gondar is a rather remarkable place, home to a striking collection of royal buildings that seem so much more European than African in appearance. Gondar became the capital of King Fasiladas in the 17th century and an important city in the region – one theory is that captured Portuguese Jesuits, who made early inroads into Ethiopia, were employed to design and build these monuments, while others claim that Ethiopian craftsmen constructed them. The best preserved is Fasiladas’ Palace, a two storey building with towers and parapets. There are several buildings within the enclosure, including a lion cage, a chancellery and the Royal Archive. Wandering through these medieval relics it is not difficult to see why Gondar has the nickname of the ‘Camelot of Africa’.

Simien Mountains

The Simien Mountains are one of the natural highlights of Ethiopia, if not all Africa. Reaching heights of over 4000 metres, they are home to the fourth highest mountain on the continent (Ras Dashen, 620 metres) and are a dramatic landscape of gorges, chasms and valleys, reminiscent of a greener version of the Grand Canyon.

The region is also home to some of the country’s rarest and most iconic wildlife – the most famous of which is perhaps the striking gelada baboon, which can often be seen in quite large troops, grazing on their main diet of grass and vegetation. These are quite a sight, the males with long shaggy manes and bright red patches of skin on their chests – none more so than when they open their mouths to display an impressive set of fangs. Also to be found here are the rare Walia Ibex and the Simien wolf, the world’s rarest canid.

This area offers superb opportunities for exploring on foot and meeting local people living much the same as they have done for centuries, and is one of our favourite parts of the country.

Lalibela

Lalibela is remarkable for its collection of rock-cut churches dating back hundreds of years, hewn into the surrounding mountains, and is today an important centre of pilgrimage for Ethiopians, flocking here to worship. Many myths and stories surround the origins of Lalibela, but the most popular with local people is that they were constructed by angels in one night.

The churches are very much in use today, with resident priests and monks, and come alive during times of religious festivals and ceremonies. Many of them are connected by underground tunnels and passages, with tiny caves hollowed out in nearby walls used as homes for ascetic monks and hermits who stay here for years on end – some are left here when they die and their mummified remains can sometimes be glimpsed in hidden corners.

The churches date back to the 11th and 12th centuries and the most spectacular and well recognised is Beta Giorgis, built in the shape of a cross in a large pit in the ground. Some contain ancient religious artefacts, which resident monks are often happy to show to visitors, including intricately decorated crosses and a wooden box said to be carved by King Lalibela.