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About The Flag

Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world that has no history of colonization. Upon their independence, many African countries adopted the colors of the Ethiopian flag - green, yellow and red - that became known as the Pan-African colors.

The official flag of Ethiopia consists of three equal and horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands. 

Ethiopian Map

Location

Ethiopia is located in north eastern part of Africa, what is sometimes referred to as the "Horn of Africa." It is bordered by Eritrea in the north (912 km), Kenya in the South (830 km), Djibouti and Somalia in the east (337 km and 1,626 km respectively), and the Sudan in the west (1,606 km). [See map above]

Size

Ethiopia is a country with a total area of 1,127,127 square km, of which 7,444 square km is water bodies. Comparatively, Ethiopia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, USA or Britain and France put together.

Coastline

With the independence of Eritrea on the 27th of April 1993, Ethiopia became a landlocked country. It has no coastline and has no maritime claims. [See map above]

Topography

The Ethiopian topography is best expressed as a complex blend of massive highlands, highly rugged terrain, and remarkable valleys divided by the Great Rift Valley running from southwest to northeast surrounded by lowlands, steppes, and semi-desert. This great terrain diversity is responsible for wide variations in climate, soil, natural vegetation, and settlement pattern. The highest point in Ethiopia is Ras Dashen at 4,620m (15,157ft) and the lowest point is Denakil at 125m (410ft) below sea level.

Natural Resources

Ethiopia has largely undetermined reserves of natural resources such as gold, platinum, copper, potash, and natural gas. Approximately 12% of the land is arable. Other land usage comprises of permanent crops (1%), permanent pastures (40%), forests and woodland (25%), and other (22%). Ethiopia is endowed with rich and unique flora and fauna. Approximately 11% of the six to seven thousand plant species that are believed to occur in Ethiopia only exist in there. The fauna is also quite unique in that many, including large mammals such as Walia, Ibex, Semien Fox, and Agazen, exist only in Ethiopia.

Environmental Issues and Natural Hazards

The major environmental issues facing the country include deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, and desertification. Natural hazards include a geologically active Great Rift Valley, which is susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Drought also occurs frequently; and the economy’s heavy reliance on rain water amplifies its effects resulting in severe food shortages and famines. 

Sport

Abebe Bikila (1932 - 1973)
Abebe Bikila was exceptionally talented at the marathon, winning two gold medals, setting world records, in the process heralding a new era in marathon running, one in which speed was the key to victory, rather than raw strength and endurance. More than three decades after his running career ended, Bikila is widely recognized as the greatest marathoner of all-time.

Abebe Bikila was born in 1932 in a town called Jato, outside of Addis Ababa. According to tradition, he spent most of his childhood as a shepherd and a student. In 1952, young Abebe was hired by the Imperial Body Guard. In 1954, he married W/t Yewibdar W/Giorghis with whom he had four children.

Bikila spent a number of years with the Imperial Guard before he distinguished himself as an athlete. His defining moment came when he was watching a parade of Ethiopian athletes who had participated in the Melbourne Olympics. Looking at the athletes who were wearing a uniform with names written on the back, he asked who they were. When told that they were athletes who represented Ethiopia in the Olympics, he was determined to be one of them.

In 1956, at the age of 24, he participated in the national armed forces championships. The hero of the time was Wami Biratu, who held the national records in 5,000 and 10,000 meters. During the marathon, the crowd at the stadium was waiting, expecting to see Biratu win the race. In the first few miles, Wami was leading. After a while, radio broadcasters informed the crowd that a young unknown athlete by the name of Abebe was leading. As Bikila was extending his lead, the crowd waited anxiously to see this new sensation. Bikila easily won his first major race and later on went to break the 5,000 and 10,000 meter records held by Wami. With those impressive results, he qualified for the Rome Olympics.

Finally, Bikila's dream of wearing that outfit with Ethiopia's name written on the back was realized. Abebe's race in the Rome Olympics established him as a running legend. Not only did he win the race, he also set a new world record of 2:16:02, running on the cobblestone streets of Rome without shoes. He was also the first African to win an Olympic medal. Commenting on why he had run on bare feet, Abebe said, "I wanted the world to know that my country Ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism."

Bikila came to Boston in 1963, the heavy favorite to take the historic marathon. But cold winds blowing in off the ocean in the late miles felled the great Ethiopian, and he settled for fifth place in a pedestrian 2:24. At the Tokyo Olympics a year later, Bikila's fame had reached all corners of the globe. Despite the Boston debacle, he was favored to win the Olympic Marathon yet again. Six weeks before the marathon however, Bikila was taken ill with Appendicitis. He underwent surgery amid a public outcry for a proper medical treatment. The day he arrived in Tokyo, he hadn't fully recovered from the surgery and limped down stairs. However, the reception Abebe received from the Japanese people helped him recover quickly and unexpectedly. Along with teammates Mamo Wolde and Demssie Wolde, Bikila resumed his regular training a few days after his arrival in Tokyo. The marathon, particularly the way Abebe won it barely six weeks after his surgery, was astonishing. This time he wore shoes, but still won the race easily. And the gymnastic display he showed right after finishing the race is now a classic image engraved in the minds of hundreds of millions of people. This was also the first time ever that the Olympic marathon race was won consecutively by the same athlete. The new world record of 2:12:11 that Abebe set was icing on a cake for this remarkable race. Bikila trained hard for the Mexico City Olympics of 1968. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from the race after 15 kilometers. His compatriot, Mamo Wolde would later finish the race victoriously. Bikila competed in more than 26 major marathon races in his illustrious athletic career.

The world championships he won in 1960 and 1962 deserve special recognition. In 1968, The legendary Bikila was involved in a car accident in the city of Sheno near Addis Ababa that left him paralyzed below the waist. Over the next several months, he was treated both in Ethiopia and abroad. Even while in a wheelchair, Abebe's competitive spirit and helped him compete and win several races. In 1970, he participated in a 25 Km cross-country competition in Norway where he won the gold medal. The illustrious life of the legendary Abebe Bikila came to a tragic end in October of 1973 when he finally succumbed to a disease he had battled for many months. This eternal Ethiopian hero was buried in the grounds of the St. Joseph church in the presence of a huge crowd and the then emperor, Atse Haile Selassie. His life was over, but the memories remained. Bikila ushered in a new era in marathon running - and he made it look easy.

Haile Gebreselassie

Gebreselassie, just 23, slashed the world 5,000 record by an astounding 11 seconds on a tumultuous Zurich night last August. In addition he holds the world outdoor 10,000 meter and two-mile marks and switched serenely from the track to the boards this year to shatter the world indoor 3,000 and 5,000 records.

 

Capital City: Addis Ababa

 

The Lion of Judah Statue stands magestically in front of high-rise office buildings in central Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The statue, which was stolen by the Italians during their occupation of the city from 1936-1941, is a major landmark today (photo courtesy of Tom Re).

The city lies on the central plateau at an altitude of 2,400m, 9 degrees North of the equator. Its average temperature is 16 degrees Celsius.

Ethiopia's other important cities of trade and industry are Awassa, Bahir Dar, Debre Markos, Dessie, Dire Dawa, Gondar, Harar, Jimma, Mekele, Nazareth, and Nekemte. All these towns are connected to Addis Ababa by asphalt and gravel roads and by air.

 Tourism

Lalibela: Eighth wonder of the World, is a church carved from a single rock. Formerly known as Roha, it now bears the name of King Lalibela (1181-1221), a member of the Zagwe dynasty. Lalibela churches physically prised from the rock in which they stand, these towering edificies seem to be of superhuman creation in scale, workmanship and concept. A complex and bewidering labyrinth of tunnels and narrow passageways with offset crypts, grotts, and galleries connects them all. Throught this mysterious and wonderful settlement, priests and deacons go about their timeless business, scarcely seeming aware that they are living in what has become known as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Lalibela is 642 kilometres (398 miles) from Addis Ababa, is served by road and by air on daily flights of Ethiopian Airlines. Always a place of unparalleded fascination, Lalibela is particulary interesting during religious celebrations, notably those of Ethiopia's Christmas (7 January), Timkat (19 January), and Easter, when Christians pour into the area from far and near.

Gondar Palace during the 16th Century

Gondar became the capital of Ethiopia during the reign of Emperor Fasilidas (1632-1667), who was responsible for the building of the first of a number of castle-like palaces to be found here. The oldest and the most impressive of Gondar's imperial structures is the two-storeyed palace of Emperor Fasilidas, which is built of roughly hewn brown basalt stones held together with mortar.

The city retained its pre-eminence until the middle of the nineteenth century, when Emperor Tewodros II moved his seat of government to Debre Tabor and later to Mekdela. As a result, Gondar declined in importance ans was subsequently looted in the 1880s by the Sudanese Dervishes.

By the early nineteenth century the city was a mere shadow of its former self. More recently, several hisoric buildings were damaged by British bombing during the Ethiopian liberation campaign of 1941. Most of Gondar's famous castles and other imperial buildings nevertheless have survived the ravages of time and together constitute one of Ethiopia's most fascinating antiquties.

Axum Oblisk , a civilization of considerable distinction. Ethiopian legends first recorded in the fourteenth-century kebre Nagast(Book of Kings) make Axum the capital of the Queen of Sheba in the tenth century BC.

We know very little about the early Axumite kingdom. Roman and Greek sources indicate that an Axumite kingdom was thriving in the first century AD; the city of Adulis is frequently mentioned because it had become one of the most important port cities in Africa. Aksum lay dead in the path of the growing commercial trade routes between Africa, Arabia, and India. As a result, it became fabulously wealthy and its major cities, Adulis, Aksum, and Matara, became three of the most important cosmopolitan centers in the ancient world. Although they were off the beaten path as far as European history is concerned, they were just as cosmopolitan and culturally important in that they served as a crossroads to a variety of cultures: Egyptian, Sudanic, Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Indian. Perhaps an indication of this cosmopolitan character can be found in the fact that the major Aksumite cities had Jewish, Nubian, Christian, and even Buddhist minorities.

In the second century AD, Aksum acquired tribute states on the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea, conquered northern Ethiopia, and then finally conquered Kush. The downfall of the Nubian powers led to the meteoric rise of Aksumite imperial power. The Aksumites controlled one of the most important trade routes in the world and occupied one of the most fertile regions in the world.

Axum, 1005 Kilometers (623 miles) from Addis Ababa can be reached by road or by air on one of Ethiopian Airlines' daily flight to the town.

Coffee Ceremony

"Yebuna kourse"

"Yebuna kourse" (popcorn or bread) has been made to be passed with the coffee. The youngest child is summoned to stand ready to bring a cup of coffee to the eldest in the room as well as to all others, thus connecting all generations.

Gracefully pouring a thin golden stream of coffee into each little cup from a height of one foot without an interruption requires years of practice. If the cups are placed properly when the pouring commences, even they will ring overjoyed in being filled with this heady elixir. Sugar may be added or in the countryside, salt. Holding the little heated cup requires finger dexterity and reminds us of the Ethiopia proverb, "Coffee and love taste best when hot."

So we have enjoyed the first round, called "Abol", of the coffee ceremony. Two more times for "Tona" and "Baraka", we will again drink, each time becoming more relaxed and comfortable in just being present, often in silence, with the sensuousness of the smell, taste, feel and sight of this beautiful cultural tradition. The atmosphere will move us to share our thoughts and feelings as well as concerns for the family, neighborhood gossip and community events with those present. A real warm human binding occurs that runs deeply throughout Ethiopian society. Transformation of the spirit takes place during the coffee ceremony.

Another Ethiopian proverb perhaps best describes the place of coffee in Ethiopian life, "Buna dabo naw" when translated means "Coffee is our bread!"

The author (pictured above making coffee) can be contacted through
The Center for Ethiopian Arts and Culture
2116 18th Street 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20009