The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is a developing country located in the northeastern part of Africa commonly known as ' The Horn of Africa'. It lies in the equatorial region between 30 - 180 north and 330 - 480 east, Eritrea and Djibouti bound in on the northeast, on the east and southeast by Somalia, on the south by Kenya and on the west by the Sudan. Ethiopia, as large as France and Spain combined, has an area of 1,104,300 km? It is the tenth largest country in Africa. It is a democratic national comprising of 11 semi-autonomous administrative regions organized loosely along major ethnic lines. It has an agriculturally dominated economy, which is about 65 per cent of the land is presently cultivated. Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa having its own calendar, alphabet and clock.
                          

Lucy is a 3.5 million years old female skeleton, which is among the important archaeological discoveries that make Ethiopia to have the prestigious title of 'the cradle of mankind'. It is a complete direct hominid fossil discovered in the north - eastern part of Ethiopia at the place called Hadar. Now any tourists in the National museum in Addis Ababa can visit it. So the fact that the most crucial discoveries, including the Lucy's, have taken places in Ethiopia make the country the most probable site for the cradle of mankind
                          

Ethiopia is considered to be the' mosaic of cultural diversity. 'The population of Ethiopia is estimated to be about 72 million. It is the home of more than 80 ethnic groups. Based on the language they speak, they can be divided into Semitic, cushetic, Nilotic and Omotic stocks. Despite their diversity, Ethiopians are characterized with peace, hospitality and struggle for development. The Ethiopians, often called the 'Habesha' are generally sociable and friendly, not at all hostile to tourists. Ethiopians are proud of their culture and civilization, which pre-date those of Europe. They are known for their unforgettable hospitality and well-deserved cultures.
 

A wide variety of different dishes are available in Ethiopia and most of them are unique to the country so you have to familiarize yourself first with the names of different dishes. You can choose from the spicy and hot Doro Wot, Kitfo, or Key Wot to less spicy dishes like Alicha Wot you can get these foods virtually anywhere in the country and portions are generous and very cheap. There are also home made and fabricated local drinks for you to choose from Araki- a strong alcoholic beverage made from millet and maize, Tej - a mead like drink made from honey and Tela - locally brewed beer from maize, wheat and barely and Guder- the Ethiopian wine.
                         

Ethiopia's economy is predominantly agricultural. The highlands are very fertile, which contain many large rivers with enormous untapped potential for irrigation projects. About 90 per cent of the population earns their living from the land, mainly as subsistence farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, pulses, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals. There is also a thriving livestock sector, exporting carrel on the hoof and hides and skins. 25% of the populations grow coffee and it accounts for 55% of Ethiopia's exports.
                          

A volcanically formed central plateau, isolated on three sides by low- lying desert dominates the Ethiopian landscape. The central plateau, often referred to as the Ethiopian highlands, has an average altitude of above 2,000m and includes 20 peaks of 4,000m or higher. The Ethiopia highlands are dramatically mountainous, no more than where they are bisected by the Rift valley, which starts at the Red sea, then continues through the Denakil depression and through southern Ethiopia to Mozambique in Southern Africa. The part of the Rift valley, south of Addis Ababa, is notable for its string of eight lakes. The most extensive mountain ranges on the highlands are the Semien, which lie directly north of Gondar, and Bale, which lies in the southern highlands to the east of the Rift Valley. Mount Ras Dashen in the Semien is at 4,620m, the fourth highest peak in Africa. The highlands also form the source of four major river systems. The most known of these is the Blue Nile or Abbay, which starts at Lake Tana in the northwest and supplies nine- tenths of the Nile's water, which eventually reaches Egypt's Nile valley.
                         

Ethiopia shows a wide climatic variation, ranging from the peaks of the Semien and Bale, which receive periodic snowfall, to regular daytime temperatures of over 50⁰C in the Denakil Desert As a rule, the highland has a temperate climate and average day time temperature of 16⁰C. Due to their proximity to the Equator, the eastern lowlands and far south is dray and hot. The western lowlands are moist and hot, making them one part of the country that feels truly tropical. The southern rift valley, much of which is at the relatively high altitude of 1.500m, is temperate to hot and seasonally moist. The general precipitation pattern is that the bulk of the rain in the highlands and Rift valley falls between mid-June and early October. The rainy season in the Rift Valley generally starts and ends a few weeks earlier than in the highlands. The northeastern highlands have a less reliable rainy season than other highland parts of Ethiopia. In normal rainy season the highlands receive an average rainfall of 1,000mm. From a tourist's point of view, rain tends to fall in dramatic storms, which end as suddenly as they start a situation that is infinitely easier for travel than are days of protracted drizzle.
                         

Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six days on leap year). You can see the sun every day of the year That is why we call our country- a country where the sun shines thirteen months. You will be seven years younger when you arrive in Ethiopia because the calendar is seven years and eight months behind the western calendar.
                          

Ethiopia has a different time calculating system and three hours ahead of Green witch Mean time (GMT). The Ethiopian day is calculated in a manner similar to that in many equatorial countries, where day and night is always the same length. Time remains constant through the year counting starts from western 6 and 6 Western 7 is there fore one o'clock, noon is 6 o' clock and 6 is 12 o'clock. In Addis Ababa, then sunrise and sunset at around 6:30 and 18.45 respectively.