Ethiopia in a Nutshell

Ethiopia is situated in North Eastern Africa bordering Sudan to the north and northwest, Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti to the east, Somalia to the east and southeast and Kenya is in the south.

History and Language

Ethiopia, located on the horn of Africa, is one of the oldest independent countries in the world.  It is a country that is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, and there are an estimated 4.3 million orphans in Ethiopia.  Ethiopia has a rich heritage as the home of the Queen of Sheba.  The country's Rift Valley is known as the "cradle of civilization".  Fossils of the oldest human skeleton, "Lucy," were found in Ethiopia in 1974.  Coffee can be traced back to the 9^th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region.   Ethiopia is unique in Africa, in that it was never under colonial rule, other than an occupation by Italy during WWII.  In fact, you can visit many restaurants there today that offer a wide variety of Italian food due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.  There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.  Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.  It shares borders with Kenya (to the south), Somalia (east), Djibouti (northeast), Eritrea (north), and Sudan (west). 

Family Culture

Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.

Food and Calendar

Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and the 13^th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11^th (12^th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.