Country book · Middle East & Africa

Ethiopia

The only African country never colonised — and it shows

Ethiopia runs on its own calendar, its own clock and its own alphabet, thirteen months of sunshine and a coffee ceremony older than the country's borders. This book is the Ethiopia that exists today — the people, the truths, the myths, the food and the cities travellers come back for.

Myths

What's true, what isn't

Actually true

It really does use its own calendar and clock
Ethiopia is about seven to eight years 'behind' the Gregorian calendar and counts the day starting from dawn, not midnight.
It was never colonised
Ethiopia defeated an Italian invasion at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 and remains the only African nation to have never been formally colonised.
Coffee genuinely was discovered here
The Kaffa region gives coffee its name, and the Ethiopian coffee ceremony — roasting, grinding and brewing in front of guests — is still a daily ritual.
Its runners dominate world distance events
High-altitude training towns like Bekoji and Sululta have produced a disproportionate share of the world's Olympic and marathon champions.

Commonly believed, wrong

"Ethiopia is a permanent famine zone"
That image comes from the 1980s. Ethiopia today has fast-growing cities, a booming flower export industry and one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.
"It's mostly desert"
The highlands are lush and green, home to the Blue Nile Falls, alpine peaks over 4,500m and some of Africa's richest farmland.
"Everyone speaks Arabic"
Amharic is the working language, written in the unique Ge'ez script, and the country has over 80 distinct languages.
"It's a single culture and religion"
Ethiopia is roughly split between Orthodox Christians, Muslims and other faiths, spread across more than 80 ethnic groups.

Highlights

The best of Ethiopia

The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela

Eleven medieval churches carved downward out of solid volcanic rock, still active places of worship.

The Simien Mountains

Jagged escarpments, gelada monkeys and some of the best high-altitude trekking on the continent.

The Danakil Depression

One of the hottest, lowest places on Earth — sulphur springs, salt flats and an active lava lake.

The Omo Valley

Home to dozens of distinct ethnic groups with traditions found nowhere else in Africa.

Culture

Cultural riches

The coffee ceremony

Green beans roasted, ground and brewed in front of guests over incense — a ritual of hospitality, not caffeine.

Orthodox Christian heritage

Ethiopia adopted Christianity in the 4th century, among the earliest states to do so, with its own liturgy and calendar of saints.

Ge'ez script and manuscripts

An indigenous alphabet still used for Amharic and Tigrinya, preserved in illuminated religious manuscripts.

Music and the krar

Ethio-jazz and the five-note pentatonic scale, played on the krar lyre, gave the world Mulatu Astatke.

Food

What to eat

Injera

A spongy sourdough flatbread made from teff, used as both plate and utensil at every meal.

Doro wat

A slow-cooked chicken stew in berbere spice paste with boiled egg, the centrepiece of festive meals.

Kitfo

Minced raw or lightly warmed beef seasoned with mitmita chilli and spiced butter.

Shiro

A thick chickpea or broad-bean stew, the everyday staple for fasting days.

Ethiopian coffee

Grown wild in Kaffa's forests and roasted fresh at home, served thick in small cups.

History

Important people in history

Menelik II

1889–1913

Emperor who defeated Italy at Adwa and expanded and modernised the Ethiopian state.

Haile Selassie I

1930–1974

Emperor and founding figure of the Organisation of African Unity, a global symbol of Pan-Africanism.

Meles Zenawi

1991–2012

Led the post-Derg government and oversaw two decades of rapid economic growth.

Cities