37 Interesting Info about Ethiopia

1. Ethiopia is the cradle of Humanity.

2. Ethiopia has a 3000 years civilization and this makes it one of the earliest places in the world where civilization started.

3. The Aksumite Empire was among the most powerful states in the ancient world at it's peak then alongside Roman, Persia and China.

4. More than 70% of Africa’s mountains are found in Ethiopia. It is sometimes called “the roof of Africa.” The mountains are one of the most rugged ones in the world.

5. The Danakil depression in Ethiopia is the hottest place on Earth.

6. Ethiopia is the most mentioned country in the Bible (40 times) and it is one of the few countries to be mentioned in the Bible Koran, Homer’s Odyssey and many other ancient books.

7. The Ark of the Covenant is found in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is the earliest state in the world to adopt Christianity.

8. The Ethiopian Bible is the oldest and most complete one. The complete Book of Enoch only serves in Geez (Ethiopic) language.

9. The earliest surviving Christian manuscript is found in Ethiopia.

10. Almost all of emperors who ruled Ethiopia from 1270–1974 AD claim Solomonic dynasty through Menelik I (son of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba).

11. According to legend, the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, was found by St. Helena—the mother of Constantine the Great). A relic of it was later given to an Ethiopian King. “Meskel” festival celebrates the arrival of the True Cross to Ethiopia and has been celebrated for more than 1600 years.

12. Ethiopia has 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (more number than any other African country).

13. The Rastafarian religion which originated in Jamaica is based on emperor Haileselassie. It says he was the coming of the 2nd Jesus.

14. Except for the Arabs, the Ethiopians are the only people in Africa with their own indigenous script.

15. The first Muslim call to prayer was done by an Ethiopian named Bilal Ibn Rabah.

16. The 1st mosque outside Arabia was built in Ethiopia (happened when Prophet Mohammed sent one of his daughter and some followers to Ethiopia, so that they could escape the persecution in Arabia) and it still stand to this day.

17. Ethiopian distance runner Abebe Bikila was the first black African to win the gold medal in the Olympic. He won it by running barefoot in the 1960 Olympic marathon and broke the world record. He won again in the 1964 Olympic marathon by breaking the world record again, but this time he run with shoes.

18. Coffee was discovered in Ethiopia.

19. Ethiopia is considered the originator of honey wine, or tej, which the rest of the world knows as mead.

20. Ethiopia was the first African nation to join the League of Nations.

21. Captain Aster Tolossa is the first female pilot in the world to shoot down an enemy fighter Jet.

22. Ethiopia Emperor Menelik II was the first African to drive a car, in 1907.

23. Ethiopian female pilot Asegedech Assefa is the first African female to fly an airplane.

24. The Great Rift Valley cuts through Ethiopia from northeast to south of the country and is the only physical feature of Africa that it visible from space.

25. Donkeys and camels were first domesticated in Ethiopia.

26. Ethiopia was the main reason for the birth of Ethiopianism and Pan-Africanism (a united Africa)

27. Ethiopia is home to the source of the Blue Nile, which contribute 85% of the water to the main Nile river (the longest river in the world).

28. Ethiopians don't share a last name. Most children take their father’s first name as their last name.

29. Addis Ababa which is the capital of Ethiopia’s capital city is 2400 m above sea level and this makes it the 4th highest capital city in the world.

30. Ethiopia has more than 80 distinct ethnic groups. Afroasiatic language originated in Ethiopia and majority of Ethiopian languages are branches of it (Ethiosemitic, Cushitic and Omotic).

31. Raw meat is considered a delicacy in Ethiopia. Large amounts of raw meat are eaten at weddings, festivals, and other special occasions.
32. Some African countries like Ghana adopted flags with the same colors as Ethiopia green/red/yellow, because Ethiopia was the first African country to win a war against an European country.

33. Teff which is used to make the Ethiopian staple injera, is an ancient grain believed to have originated in Ethiopia between 4000 and 1000 B.C. It is the smallest grain in the world.

34. Gebeta is an ancient Ethiopian game of strategy. It is played using seeds or pebbles and a board with rows of cups. It is also called wari et solo, mancala, or congkak in different cultures in the world.

35. Traditionalists believe that Ethiopia’s Oromo religion, whose God is called Waka, is the oldest monotheistic religion in the world and that Moses borrowed the Ten Commandments from them.

36. For centuries, Ethiopians have used wild herbs as medicines to treat such ailments as malaria, hepatitis, pneumonia and even tapeworms. Scientists point out that common Western drugs such as aspirin and morphine were derived from traditional folk medicines.

37. Ethiopian has it's own calendar which has 13 months (the first 12 months have 30 days and the last month has 5 to 6 days) and it is 7 to 8 years behind the Western calendar. The New Year is on Merksem 1 (September 11 and 12 in the leap year). September 11 is USA worst day.