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Ethiopia is a mysterious country and a land of mysteries where its historic, cultural and spiritual relics and antiquities have not yet well unearthed and unexplored. The country is an ancient country, its name, Ethiopia, is mentioned thirty-three times in the Holy Books-Bible and many times in the Qur’an. Certainly, no country in sub-Saharan Africa can trace its origins as far back.
Ethiopia is also the land of the Queen of Sheba, a place of legendary rulers, fabulous kingdoms and ancient mysteries. Mother Nature was in a playful mood when she created Ethiopia, the result is a land that varies greatly from one region to the next. With more than 80 languages and some 200 dialects, each ethnic group, preserves its own unique customs, tradition, and costumes. But for all this exotic variety, the people of Ethiopia are as one in their friendliness and hospitality.
Ethiopia is old beyond imagination, dating back to the very beginnings of mankind and is also home to many ancient hominids remains yet discovered.
Ethiopia’s first modern encounter with the ancient world was in 1974. It made headline news everywhere. Anthropologists around the world took note: “Lucy or Dinknesh; had been discovered in North-eastern part of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has been called “The Roof of Africa” for its most outstanding topographical feature: a huge central plateau, the Ethiopian Massif. Formed in the Tertiary era by volcanic activity, this great massif occupies more than half of the total surface area of the country, and has an average elevation of between 1,800 and 2,400 meters (5,700- 7,700 feet). Nine peaks rise above 4,000 meters (12,800 feet) and eleven above 3,000 meters (9,600 feet). These high flat plateaus are dissected by deep valleys through which rivers run.
The Rift Valley crosses the massif, dividing the country into two parts: the highlands of the west, known as the Abyssinian Massif, and those of the southeast of Harar Massif. These highlands gradually descend until they create plains that give way to immense semi-arid lands.
Ethiopia’s geological past has played a crucial role in making the country today a vast and generous endowed natural haven for many kinds of wildlife and avifauna, more than 850 species of birds are found in Ethiopia, of which 21 are found exclusively in Ethiopia.
There are also 103 separate mammal species, 9 of which are endemic. The diversity of animals and birds owes its origins to the parallel diversity of the Ethiopian environment Mountains and plains, valleys and deserts, rivers and lakes. The existence of so many endemic creatures is due to the country’s spectacular geological and geographic contrasts, which have created numerous unique habitats and specialized ecological niches replicated.
As a major source of water between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Ethiopia has been called the “water tower” of Northeast Africa. The combination of its high altitude, 14 large rivers (many of them international), numerous lakes and other sources of fresh water, has created an extensive natural irrigation system to various regions of the Horn.
The calendar is another unique feature-it has 13 months. Using the Julian calendar, Ethiopia has twelve lunar months of thirty days, plus one month of five or six days, depending on the leap year. The Julian calendar began 7 years and 113 days after the Christian age, making the first day of the New Year September 11.
If you only have the image of Ethiopia, you need to visit to see the reality as it is said “forget the image experience the reality”.
Source-www.passionethiopiatours.com/ index.php/aboutethiopia/ethiopia-a-land-of-mysteries
The Ethiopian Herald March 16/2021
