Ethiopia: A Feast for the Eyes

“Go there soon; it’s time to turn Ethiopia’s image from one of famine to feast.”

Ethiopia will surprise even the most jaded traveler. As the only African country never colonized (the Italians only ‘occupied’ what was then Abyssinia during the Second World War), Ethiopians proudly call themselves ‘pure’ Africans. With its own calendar (seven years and eight months behind our own), year length (13 months), clock (12-hour cycles starting at 6am), and an ancient language — Amarhic — not spoken anywhere else, Ethiopia and its people are strikingly idiosyncratic.

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Five great things to do in Ethiopia

1. Be mystified by the Lost Ark of the Covenant. Once rumored to be hidden in Ireland’s Hill of Tara, the ancient Lost Ark of the Covenant is now said to be held in Axum’s (Aksum) Cathedral of St Mary of Zion in northern Ethiopia. Closely guarded by sacred priests, the Ark is Ethiopia’s Holy Grail.

2. Go wildlife-spotting in the north. Indigenous Gelada baboons, Ethiopian wolves, Walia ibex and spotted hyena live in the Simien Mountains. There are hippopotamus hang-outs near Lake Tana, plus colorful birdlime.

3. Wander through the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. An easy candidate for a new wonder of the world, this sacred system of enormous churches carved directly into the rock is an outstanding example of man conquering nature to worship.

4. Stand cheek-to-cheek with the first human. If you had to pinpoint the place where our prehistoric ancestors finally walked upright on two feet, it would fall somewhere in modern-day Ethiopia. See the proof in Addis’s National Museum, where the 3.3 millon-year-old skeleton of ‘Lucy’ is on display. (The skeleton was named Lucy in tribute to the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which was playing in the discoverers’ camp.)

5. Sizzle in the hottest place on Earth. With an average temperature of 35°C, the Danakil Depression, close to the border with Eritrea, is the lowest point on the African continent at 116m below sea level. Access is impossible without private transport.

Please click here to see some fantastic photos of Ethiopia

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German lovers – aged six and five – try to elope to Africa

 

It is a dream that has been shared by lovers across the centuries – the chance to elope to exotic lands. But few would have been as bold and spontaneous as six-year-old Mika and his five-year-old sweetheart Anna-Bell who, after mulling over their options in secret, packed their suitcases on New Year’s Eve and set off from the German city of Hanover to tie the knot under the heat of the African sun.

 

The children left their homes at dawn while their unwitting parents were apparently sleeping, and took along Mika’s seven-year-old sister, Anna-Lena, as a witness to the wedding.

 

Donning sunglasses, swimming armbands and dragging a pink blow-up lilo and suitcases on wheels packed with summer clothes, cuddly toys and a few provisions, they walked a kilometre up the road, boarded a tram to Hanover train station and got as far as the express train that would take them to the airport before a suspicious station guard alerted police.

 

“What struck us was that the little ones were completely on their own and that they had lots of swimming gear with them,” said a police spokesman. He described Mika and Anna-Bell as “sweethearts” who had “decided to get married in Africa where it is warm, taking with them as a witness Mika’s sister”.

 

Anna-Bell told the German television station RTL: “We wanted to get married and so we just thought: ‘Let’s go there.’ “

Mika said: “We wanted to take the train to the airport, then we wanted to get on a plane and when we arrived we wanted to unpack the summer things and then we wanted to go for a bit of a stroll in the sun.”

 

Mika and Anna-Lena’s mother, who was not identified, said she had known nothing of her children’s plan. “I’m still in a state of shock. I thought ‘I’m playing a part in a bad movie.’ When we realised the kids were missing we went looking for them.” But only when the police called did they realise what had happened.

Asked why they failed to let their parents know, the children said they thought they would not be gone for long.

 

Mika told police he instigated the plan having been inspired by a winter holiday with his family in Italy. Based on this the children began to make plans for the future.

 

To allay their disappointment at being caught, Hanover police gave them a tour of the police headquarters.

 

May be they’ll have the chance to put their plan into action at a later date.