| Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the horn of Africa, lying between 3-180
North and 33-480 East. It is bounded on the northeast
by Eritrea and Djibouti, on the east and southeast by
Somalia, on the south by Kenya and on the west by Sudan.
Ethiopian covers an area of 1,104,300km2, making it
the tenth largest country in Africa. The capital of
Ethiopia is Addis Ababa which lies in the heart of the
country at an altitude of 2,300m. Ethiopia is Africa's
third most populous nation. The population of Ethiopia
has above 66 million people.
Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in Africa.
It was home to the powerful Christian kingdom of Axum
in the first century’s and became a Christian empire
in the 15th century.
Ethiopia
is a multi-ethnic state. Four main language groups:
Semitic, Cushitic, Omotic, and Nilo-Saharan.
Land
Ethiopia
as large as France and Spain combined has an area 1,235.000
square kilometers. About 65 per cent of the land is
arable, with 15 per cent presently cultivated.
Climate
Three are two seasons the dry season prevails from October
through May the wet season runs from June to September.
Economy
Ethiopia is one of the developing countries. The economy
is largely dependent on subsistence agriculture, which
employs almost 85 per cent of the working population.
Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy
and the principal exports from this sector are coffee,
oil seeds, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs
for animals. Coffee is the main export earner. There
is also a thriving livestock sector, exporting cattle
on the hoof and hides and skins. After the end of the
civil war, the government faced a vast reconstruction
task under unusually difficult conditions and set about
it by reversing the past regime’s policy of state control
of the economy. The manufacturing and service sectors
are both small. The investment policy is aiming at foreign
investors.
Electric
supply
Ethiopia
uses 220 volts 50 cycles AC.
Newspapers
There
are several foreign – language newspapers published
in Ethiopia including the daily Ethiopian herald, Fortune
and Reporter.
Time
Ethiopia
is the GMT +3 hour’s time zone. Ethiopia follows Julian
calendar, which consists of twelve months of 30 days
each and thirteenth month of five or six days.
Currency
The local currency is the Ethiopian birr made up to
100 cents. Tourists may import and unlimited amount
of foreign currency. Foreign currency may only be changed
at authorized banks and hotels.
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1 birr |
5 birr |
10 birr |
50 birr |
100 birr |
Duty
Free
The
following goods may be imported into Ethiopia without
incurring customs duty:
a. 200 cigarettes ,or 50 cigars, or ½ of tobacco
b. 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
c. ½ liter or two bottles, of perfumes.
Tourists may export souvenirs with a value not exceeding
E.Birr, although some articles (such as animal skin
and antiques) require an export permit.
Hotel
Addis
Ababa has Hotel that cater for all pockets from the
luxurious Sheraton and Hilton hotels to the tourist
–class hotels such as the Ghion Hotel, Ethiopian Hotel,
Aweraris Hotel, Holly day Hotel, Bole international
Hotel, Extrim Hotel and the Wabi Shebelle Hotel e.t.c.
Economic class Hotel like Taitu Hotel Baro Hotel and
Wutima Hotel e.t.c. all tourists’ resorts offer a choice
of modern hotels.
Health
requirements
Prior
to entry visitors should be in possession of a valid
health certificate for yellow fever. Vaccination against
cholera is also required for and person who has visited
or transited a cholera-infected area within six days
prior to arrival in Ethiopia.
Photography
While
the scenic beauty of Ethiopia makes it a photographer’s
paradise, photographs should not be taken of military
or strategic buildings. These include airports. Before
photographing any person, religious festival or rural
homestead it is courteous to ask permission. While film
is readily available in most towns, we recommend that
visitors bring plenty of film with them.
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