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Addis Ababa- the “new flower” is set at the foot of the Entoto Mountains. It is centrally located with in Ethiopia as a capital city should be. It is to here that all roads lead.
The altitude varies from 3000 meters (9840 feet) at the top of Entoto to 2200 meters (6800 feet) at the foot of the city.
The temperature ranges from 14 degree centigrade to 18 degree centigrade. 80% of the yearly rainfall occurs between mid- June and October during the big rains.
Addis Ababa was founded in 1880 by Menelik II who moved his capital city from Ankober (a town 175 km to the northeast) to the top of the Entoto Mountains. The church of St. Mary where Menelik was crowned Emperor in 1882 can still be visited on top of the mountain. His wife, the Empress Taitu however, found the natural hot springs at the foot of the mountain to be more to her liking and so after a while the capital was moved to the foot of the mountains just above the hot springs. The palace he built is still there today.
Axum contains some of the most mysterious monuments in the world, and is reputed to have been the ancient capital of Sheba around the 10th Century BC. Axum is the location of the Church of St Mary of Zion, where the Ark of the Covenant is said to have been placed by Menelik, son of King Solomon, 3000 years ago; a connection with the legendary Queen of Sheba.
Lalibela is famous for its architecture. Lalibela is a city carved from legend a medieval settlement in the Lasta area of Wollo that is the site of eleven remarkable rock- hewn monolithic churches, believed to have been built by king Lalibela in the late 12th or early 13th century.
These notable structures are carved inside and outside of the solid rock, and are considered among the wonders of the world. Each building is architecturally unique, and several of them are decorated with fascinating rock paintings. The unadulterated biblical atmosphere and vivid local color of the Timket celebrations provide an ideal opportunity to see Lalibela as a sacred centre whose roots go back to man’s very early years.
Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia and the capital of the Amhara Administrative Region (kilil). The city is situated on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile (or Abay), in what was previously the Gojjam province. As of 1994, its population was 96,140. It lies at 1700m above sea level.
The city is located approximately 310 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines operates scheduled flights between the two cities. The Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay) are located about 30 km to the south.
Undeniably a highlight of our Omo Safari will be the visit to the Mursi women, famous residents of the South Omo valley who wear clay lip plates. Later we drive into the highlands to Jinka, close to the Omo National Park. Overnight stay at the Jinka resort hotel.
No journey along Ethiopia’s fabled historic route would be complete without a visit to the medieval walled city of Harar, which stands amid green mountains on the east wall of the Great Rift Valley. Harar’s heritage is almost entirely Muslim and oriental.
Harar, which has no airport, is 523 km from Addis Ababa, 332 km. from Awash station and 55 km. from Dire Dawa (Town have an Airport). It can be reached by a good, scenic asphalt road.
The Omo is an important river of southern Ethiopia. Its most important tributary is the Gibe River; smaller tributaries include the Wabi, Mago and Gojeb Rivers.
This river rises in the Shoan highlands and is a perennial river with many affluents. According to the Statistical Abstract of Ethiopia for 1967/68, the Omo River is 760 kilometers long. In its course it has a total fall of about 6000 ft (2,000 m), from an elevation of 7600 ft at its source to 1600 ft at lake-level, and is consequently a very rapid stream, being broken by the Kokobi and other falls, and navigable only for a short distance above where it empties into Lake Turkana, one of the lakes of the Great Rift Valley. |
