Enkutatash! Ethiopian New Year

The Ethiopian New Year falls in September at the big rains. The sun comes
out to shine .ll day long creating an atmosphere of dazzling clarity and fresh
clean air. The highlands turn to gold as the Meskal daisies burst out in all
their splendor. Ethiopian children — clad in brand-new clothes — dance
through the villages giving bouquets of flowers and painted pictures to each
household.
Eleventh September (this year being 12 September) is both New Year’s
Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning
the ‘gift of jewels’. When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her
expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her
back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has
been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt
end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in green countryside.
After dark on New Year’s Eve people light fires outside their houses. This year
will be a special one as Ethiopia crosses over into a new millennium.
The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete
Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar region. Three days of
prayers, psalms and hymns, sermons, and massive colourful processions mark
the advent of the New Year. Closer to Acidis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on
top of Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular
religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and
the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers
in the fields convey the message of spring-time and renewed life. Today’s
Enkutatash is also the reason for exchanging formal New Year greetings and
cards among the urban sophisticated — in lieu of the traditional bouquet of
flowers.

Omo Valley of Ethiopia

Reckoned by enthusiasts to be one of Africa’s premier locations for white-
water rafting, the Omo River’s early fury takes it through gorges hundreds of
metres deep over fish and the huge shapes of crocodiles and hippos.
On the final leg of its journey south to Turkana, the Omo forms the border
between Kefa and Gamo Gofa provinces. It is here that Ethiopa’s largest
nature sanctuary, the Omo National Park — one of the richest in spectacle
and game and yet one of the least-visited areas in East and Central Africa — is
located. And another sanctuary, the Mago National Park, has been established
on the eastern bank of the river: a land of endless, distant horizons.
Both parks can offer amazing spectacles of big game and have the merit,
also, of being far off the beaten track. Virtually unexplored, they are places in
which game can be seen in a truly natural state. Most easily reached from the
town of Jinka, Mago National Park is mainly savannah, with some forested
areas around the river, It was set up to conserve the large number of plains
animals in the area, particularly buffalo, giraffe and elephant. The birds are
typical of the dry grassland habitat — bustards, hornbills, weavers and starlings.
Kingflshers and herons feed in and around the Neri River, which provides an
alternative habitat. Adjoining Mago the large and beautiful Omo National
Park has hardly been visited in the past two decades, as getting there has been
so difficult.
The parks are extensive wilderness areas, where wildlife can be prolific: large
herds of eland, buffalo, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, lion, leopard and Burchell’s
zebra. Greater and lesser kudu, leIwel hartebeest, topi, gerenuk and oryx
are all resident species, as well as deBrazza’s, colobus monkeys and Anubis
baboon. The 306 bird species recorded include many that will be familiar to
East African visitors.

Hot Ethiopian Girl

Ethiopian Orthodox celebrates Emancipation

RAIN failed to dampen the spirits of scores of people dressed in African wear who participated in a street procession in San Fernando yesterday to commemorate Emancipation Day.

Although a week early, as the national day is next Monday, the event was hosted by members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Men, women and children walked from St Peter’s Parish church, Dallas Avenue, Cocoyea village and finished at Palms Club, Point-a-Pierre Road, where a function was held.

Moko jumbies led the procession of church members who were dressed in traditional Ethiopian garb and multi-coloured clothing.

They proceeded through Coffee, Penitence and High Streets, then through Point-a-Pierre Road. Adults and children, however, were forced to bring out the umbrellas as a heavy shower of rain drenched them.

Despite the downpour, they danced to the beat of African drums.

At Palms Club, there was also a display of different ornaments, food dishes and delicacies. This country’s first Olympic medallist Rodney Wilkes was honoured with a plaque.

Wilkes was not present to collect the award, but his son Rodney Wilkes Jr, collected the award on behalf of his father, who in the 1948 London Olympic games, brought home a silver medal. Wilkes copped the bronze medal in 1952 when the games were held in Finland.
source [newsday.co.tt]

By STACY MOORE Monday, July 25 2011

Major Ethiopian holidays and celebration dates

Ethiopian New Year is celebrated on September ,11
Finding of the true cross September 27
Eid-al - Adha November 17
Ethiopian Christmas - January 7
Ethiopian Epiphany - January 19
Birth day of Prophet Mohammed - February 15
Victory of Adwa - March 2
Ethiopian Good Friday - April 22
Ethiopian Easter - April 24
International Labor Day - May 1
Patriots Victory Day - May 5
Down fall of Derg - May 28
Eid al Fitr ( ramadan ) - August 30

ገጣሚ በዕውቀቱ ሥዩምና የእግር ኳሳችን አቤቱታ! Bewketu Seyoum Poem

እጇ ላይ ነጣ ያለ መፅሐፍ ይታያል፡፡ አንድ ቅዳሜ ቀን ነው፡፡ መፅሐፏን እያሻሸች "ሁሌም የማንገናኘው ግን ለምንድን ነው?" አለችኝ፡፡ ብዙ ጊዜ አንስታብኝ የተለያየ መልስ ስለሠጠኋት አሁን ምንም አላልኳትም፡፡ በቀጠሯችን የማልገኝበትን ምክንያት መዘክዘክ ሰልችቶኛል፡፡ ስለዚህም understand እንድታደርገኝ ብዬ ስታዲየም ይዣት ገባሁ፡፡ ኳሱን እያየን ሳለ ሠረቅ አድርጌ አየኋት፡፡ አንገቷን አቅንታ ወደ ሰማይ እያየች ቢሆንም የምታየው ግን ሰማዩን አልነበረም፤ የማይታይ ነገር ነበር እያየች የነበረችው! የማይታይ ሲባል ደግሞ ለእርሷ ብቻ የሚታይ የተለየ ነገር ኖሮ አልነበረም፡፡ ይልቁኑ አንዱ ከአፍሪካ ሃገር በፕሮፌሽናልነት ወደ ቡና ክለብ የመጣ በረኛ ወደ ሰማይ ያጎናትን ኳስ በዓይኗ እየተከተለች ነበር፡፡ ኳሷ እንደምንም ብላ ወደ መሬት ብትወርድም የእሷ ዓይኖች ግን አብረዋት አልወረዱም፡፡ ብዙም ሳይቆይ ዳኛው የዕረፍት ፊሽካ ነፍተው ጨዋታው ቆመ፡፡ የእሷ ዓይኖች ግን እዚያው ደመናማው ሰማይ ላይ ተተክለው ቀርተዋል፡፡ ምናልባት በዚያው ስለ ፉትቦላችን ትንሽዬ ፀሎት ነገር ማድረግ ሳያምራት አልቀረም፡፡



በድንገት ግን ምን እንደተገለጠላት እንጃ ወደ እኔ ዘወር አለችና "ከዕረፍት እስቲገቡ ትንሽ ግጥም ላንብብልህ?" ብላኝ መፅሐፏን ገለጥ ገለጥ አድርጋ አንድ ግጥም አነበበችልኝ፡፡ ግጥሙ በጣም ከየፈኝ፡፡ በቁንፅሉ እንዲህ ይላል፡፡





". . .





ጥንቸሉ ሐሳቤ ‑ ንሥሩ የቀን ሕልሜ



ከዔሊው ቅልጥሜ ‑ ከጫጩቱ አቅሜ



ያላቻ ተጋጥመው ሰርክ ሲፎካከሩ



ያለመዳረሻ ‑ ያለፅኑ ወደብ ‑ ሲያባዝኑኝ ኖሩ



. . ."





መፅሐፉ 'ስብስብ ግጥሞች' የተባለው የበዕውቀቱ ሥዩም መፅሐፍ ሲሆን በገፅ 50 ላይ የፃፈውን ግጥም ነበር ያነበበችልኝ፡፡



መቼም 'ሳይንሳዊ አሠለጣጠንን እንከተላለን' ለሚሉት ላገራችን 'ምኁር' አሠልጣኞች ይህችን የመሠለች ግጥም ለማብራራት መሞከር ማለት እነሱን ብቻ ሳይሆን ገጣሚውንም መናቅ፤ የግጥሙንም ደረጃ ዝቅ ማድረግ ነው የሚሆነው፡፡ አሠልጣኞች እስቲ እባካችሁ እንደገና ግጥሟን አንብቧት፡፡



በዕውቀቱ ሥዩም ግጥሟን 'ዕረፍቴን አሥሣለሁ' ብሎ ሠይሟታል፡፡ እግር ኳሳችንም የሚጫወተው እና የሚያሣርፈው አጥቶ 'ሐሠሣ ዕረፍት' ላይ ነው፡፡ ቡድኖቻችንን በዓለምአቀፋዊ ውድድሮች ላይ ባለድል የማድረግ ምኞት ያላቸው አሠልጣኞች ያሉባት ሃገር ብቻ አይደለችም ‑ ኢትዮጵያ፡፡ ነገር ግን የእግር ኳስ ተጫዋቾቿም በተፈጥሯቸው አናሳና፣ ደቃቃ የሆኑባት ሃገር ናት፡፡ እግር ኳሳችን እነዚህ ሁለት የተለያዩ ነገሮቸን (ምኞትና አቅም) ማመጣጠን ባልቻሉ ወይም እንደ ግጥሙ በግድ ባፎካከሩ አሠልጣኞቻችን የተነሣ 'ሐሠሣ ዕረፍት' ላይ ነው፡፡



የአሠልጣኞች ሕልም ብቻ የሚያስተዳድረው አሠለጣጠን በአንደኛው ዋልታ ላይ ይገኛል፤ የተጫዋቾቻችን ተፈጥሯዊ ማንነትና አቅም ደግሞ በሌላኛው ዋልታ ላይ ነው ያለው፡፡ እነኚህ ሁለት የተለያዩ ነገሮች በሁለት የተለያዩ ፅንፎች ላይ በተገኙበት ሁኔታ እግር ኳሳችን ልክ መሐል ውቅያኖስ ላይ ሳለች አቅጣጫዋ /ኮምፓሷ/ እንደጠፋባት መርከብ ሆኖ እየባዘነ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ኃላፊቱን መውሰድ የሚገባቸው ራሳቸው አሠልጣኞቻችን ናቸው፤ ምክንያቱም የሚከተሉት ታክቲክና ሥልጠና ተጫዋቾቻችን ያላቸውን ክህሎትና የሌላቸውን ጉልበት ያላገናዘበ ስለሆነ ነው፡፡



ይህን ስል ታዲያ መላው ኳስ አፍቃሪ ስታዲየም ገብቶ ሊያደንቃቸውና ሊያበረታታቸው የሚገባቸው ምርጥ ምርጥ ተጫዋቾቻችንን ሳልዘነጋ ነው፡፡ ካሠልጣኞቹ ታክቲከ አፈንግጠው ክህሎታቸውን የሚያሳዩን ዕፁብ ድንቅ ተጫዋቾች አሉን፡፡ ለምሳሌ የኤልፓው ሳሚ ከደደቢት ጋር ያሳየንን ድሪብሎች እንዴት አሪፎች እንደነበሩ ማን ይዘነጋል? የጊዮርጊሱ ሚኬሌስ መተሐራ ላይ የሠራቸውን አብዶዎች ማን ነው የማያደንቅ? የዳዊት እስጢፋኖስ ጓደኞቹን ለመርዳት ሁሉም ቦታ መገኘትስ? የትኛው የእንግሊዝ ፕሪሚየር ሊግ ተጫዋች እንደዚህ ያደርጋል? ሰብስቤ ሸገሬ ቴክኒሺያንነቱን ትተን አዳማ ከነማ ላይ ያገባትን ኳስ ማን ይረሳል? ከተጫዋቾቹ የግል ክህሎት በስተቀር በ2002 ብቻ ከታዳጊ ቡድኑ ጀምሮ ባንክን ጨምሮ እስከ ጊዮርጊስ ድረስ ከድሮ እስከ ዘንድሮ እየተከተሉት ባሉት ተመሳሳይ ታክቲክ ተበልጠው ከኢንተርናሽናል ውድድር ወጥተዋል፡፡



እስቲ ለማንኛውም ወደ ጉዳያችን እንመለስ፡፡ ከላይ በግጥሙ ላይ እንዳስተዋልነው ፍላጎትና አቅም አልመጣጠን ካሉ እኮ አበሳ ነው፤ አንድም ፍላጎትን መገደብ ወይም ደግሞ አቅምን መጨመር ያሻል፡፡ 1ኛ ፍላጎትና ምኞትን መገደብ ማለት ለአፍሪካ ዋንጫ ማጣሪያ አለመሳተፍ፣ ከዓለም ዋንጫ ማጣሪያም በፈቃደኝነት መውጣት፣ ለአፍሪካ ክለቦችም ሆነ ለካፍ ካፕ ውድድሮች አለመጫወትና ያገር ውስጥ ሊጉን መዝጋት ማለት ሲሆን ይህ ደግሞ በአጠቃላይ በፍፁም ተቀባይነት የለውም፡፡



2ኛ አቅምን ማሳደግ የሚለውን ስናየው ደግሞ በተናጠል ለሚተገበረው የእግር ኳስ ታክቲክ የሚጠቅም ፊዚካል እንዲኖራቸው ተጫዋቾቻችንን ጉልበትና ፍጥነታቸውን ማሳደግ ማለት ነው፡፡ ይህም አያስኬድም፡፡ የማያስኬደው ስለማይቻል ነው፡፡ ምክንያቱም የተጫዋቾቻችን አካላዊ ተፈጥሮ ለውጥ ቢያመጣና ቢደረጅ እንኳ በፍፁም እንደሚታሠበው ከአፍሪካዊያኑ ጋር ሊነፃፀር የሚችል አይሆንም፡፡ ማን ነበረ የኬንያዋ ቆንጆ እዚህ እኛ ሀገር መጥታ "ፀጉሯ ወርዶ ወርዶ ከጆሮዋ በላይ ነው" ያላት? የኛም ተጫዋቾች የፊዚካል ጥንካሬም ሆነ የፍጥነት ለውጥ ቢያመጡም ኢምንት ነው፤ እሱም እዚሁ ለእርስበርስ ንፅፅር እንጂ ለሌላ ለምንም አይፈይድም፡፡ ክቡር ጋሽ ይድነቃቸው ተሰማ አንድ ጊዜ እንደተናገሩት እኮ 80 ኪሎ የሚመዝን ቦክሰኛ እንኳን ማፍራት አልቻልንም፡፡ (ሊያውም እሳቸው ይህን ያሉት ከ20 ዓመታት በፊት ነው፡፡) ስለዚህ አካላዊ ዕድገት ለማምጣት የምንሠራው ሥራ ከአፍሪካዊያኑ ጋር በጭራሽ አያስተካክለንም ማለት ነው፡፡ ያ ማለት ደግሞ አካል ብቃት ላይ (intensively) መሥራት ሊያመጣ የሚችለው ምንም እግር ኳሳዊ ለውጥ የለም ማለት ነው፡፡



ምኞትና ፍላጎት (ማለትም የአፍሪካን ዋንጫ የማግኘትንም ሆነ የመሳተፍ) አልገደብ ካለ፣ የተጫዋቾቻን አቅምም አላድግ ካለ እንግዲህ ወደ ሦስተኛውና ብቸኛው አማራጭ ከመሔድ ውጭ ምን አማራጭ አለን? ይህም 'ብልኃትን መጠቀም' የሚል ብቸኛ አማራጭ ነው፡፡ ይህ አማራጭ ፍላጎታችንን ሳንገድብ፤ ከንቱ አካላዊ ልፋት ውስጥም ሳንገባ ያለንን ብልኃት ተጠቅመን ባለችን አቅምና ተክለሰውነት ያልተገደበውን ፍላጎታችንን እንድናሳካ የሚረዳን ትክክለኛ አማራጭ ነው፡፡





"ይህ ብልኃት ምንድን ነው?" ከተባለ እሱን ለመግለፅ በርካታ ኢትዮጵያዊ አባባሎችን ልናነሳ እንችላለን፡፡ ነገር ግን ሰሚ ጆሮ ላለው፣ አስተዋይ አዕምሮ ለታደለ አሠልጣኝ እነዚህ ሁለት አባባሎች ብቻ ስለሚበቁት ብዙ ዝርዝር ነገሮችን አንስተን መዘብዘብ አያስፈልገንም፡፡ ላንድ ብርቱ ሁለት መድኃኒቱ! ወይም ድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር! በቃ! ተረዳድተን የምንጫወትበትን በ1995 ካሳዬ አራጌ ሜዳ ላይ ያሳየንን ታክቲክ መተግበር አለብን! በዚህ ሁኔታ ለሃገራችን ተጫዋቾች ወደሚያዋጣ፤ ለእግር ኳሳችንም መፍትሔ ወደሆነ ትክክለኛ አሠለጣጠን ማምራት ግድ ይላል፡፡ አለዚያ ግን እንደእስተዛሬው ሁሉ መባዘንና ዕረፍት ማጣት ውስጥ ነው ፉትቦላችን የሚዳክረው፡፡



በነገራችን ላይ ጓደኛዬ የእስታሁኑን የስታዲየም ቆይታችንን ወዳዋለች፡፡ አሪፍ ቴክኒካል ክህሎቶችንም አይታለች፡፡ አውሮፓ ውስጥ አሉ የሚባሉ ጎሎችን እዚህ አዲስ አበባ ስታዲየም እነ ሰብስቤ ሸገሬ እንደዘበት ሲያስቆጥሩ አይታ ረክታለች፡፡ ግን በተለጋችው ኳስና ከኢንተርናሽናል ውድድሮች 3ቱም የኢትዮጵያ ቡድኖች ተሸንፈው መውጣታቸውን ስነግራት ትንሽ አዝና ስለነበረ ነው ግጥሙን በጨዋታው የዕረፍት ሰዓት ላይ ያነበበችልኝ፡፡



ያም ሆነ ይህ በዕውቀቱ የግጥሙን መታሰቢያነት ለአሠልጣኞቻችንና ለታክቲካቸው ባያደርገውም፤ ጓደኛዬ ግን አንዲት የበፊት ሙዚቃ ልትጋብዛቸው ፈለገች፡፡





".

. . አቅምን አውቆ መኖር ጥሩ ነው



ታላቅ ችሎታ ነው . . ."





ደግሞ እናንተ ሰዎች (ማለት አሠልጣኞች) እባካችሁ ዘፈኑን አጣጥማችሁ መስማት ብቻ ሳይሆን የታክቲካችሁ ፍልስፍናም መሠረት አድርጉት፡፡ የተጫዋቾቻችንን ክህሎት ለይታችሁ አወቃችሁ ማለት እኮ አቅማችሁን አወቃችሁ ማለት ነው ‑ ይህ ደግሞ ታላቅ ችሎታ ነው፡፡ ክህሎት ያላቸውን ኢትዮጵያዊ ተጫዋቾችን የምትጠቀሙበትን ተስማሚውን ታክቲክ ከተገበራችሁ ደግሞ ታላቅ ብልኅነት ነው፡፡ ያን ጊዜ ነው እስተዛሬ ድረስ የማንጋፋቸው ባላጋራ የሆኑብንን አፍሪካዊያን በእግር ኳስ ውስጥ የማያውቁት ዓለም እንዳለ የምናስረዳቸው፡፡ አለዚያ ታውቁታላችሁ አይደል? 'እግር ኳስ ውጤት ነው' በማለት ብቻ በናንተ ዓይነቱ የእግር ኳስ ታክቲክና ሥልጠና እንኳንስ ውጤትና ዋንጫ ልታመጡ ወደ ስታዲየም እየተመለሠ ያለውንም ኳስ አፍቃሪ ታስኮበልላላችሁ፤ የናንተን ዓይነት የሻሞ አጨዋወትም ከማንም በተሻለ የሚጫወቱ፤ እቤቱ ድረስ እየመጡ በቲቪ የሚያያቸው የእንግሊዝ ፕሪሚየር ሊግ ተጫዋቾችም እስታፍንጫው ድረስ ነፍ ናቸው፡፡





አሠልጣኞች ሆይ እባካችሁ ለእግር ኳሳችን እሰቡለት!



አንድዬ እሱው አቅማችሁን ያሳውቃችሁ! ልካችሁን ይንገራችሁ!



ዳዊት ከአዲስ አበባ

አዳም ለሄዋን(ቅድሚያ ለወንዶች)

አዳም ለሄዋን(ቅድሚያ ለወንዶች)

"መጀመሪያ ሲፈጥረን

ነበር አንድ ላይ አድርጎ

ሰላሜን ብትነሽኝ ጊዜ

አንድዬ አወጣሽ ፈልቅቆ::

ታዲያ ወጥተሽም አላረፍሽ

በልቤ ውስጥ አድርገሽ ልትገቢ ትሞክሪያለሽ::"



ሄዋን ለአዳም

"መጀመሪያ ሲፈጥረን

ነበር አንድ ላይ አድርጎ

ስትጨቁነኝ ስትበድለኝ

ነጠለና ነፃ አወጣኝ

እኔን ከጎንህ ፈልቅቆ

ታዲያ አንተ መች የዋዛ

አሁንም ትሞክራለህ

ልትጨቁን ልትገዛ::"

ፀጋዬ ኃ. ስላሴ

25-10-2003 ዓ.ም

ፒያሳ( የዳዊት ፀጋዬን "አይዞህ" አንብቤ ሃሳብን ሃሳብ ቢያመጣው ጊዜ"

ሃሳብ ከመጣላችሁ ፃፉት

.

ይቺ ዴሞክራሲ

ይቺ ዴሞክራሲ ሳይሸራረፍ የተረጋገጠባት፣ ሰብአዊ መብት በስሕተት እንኳን የማይጣስባት፣ የኢኮኖሚው ፍሬ ለሁሉም ዜጎችና ብሔር ብሔረሰቦች ሕዝቦች…በፍትሐዊ መንገድ የሚከፋፈልባት፣ ሙስና በወሬ ደረጃ ብቻ የሚገኝባት፣ ሐሳብን የመግለጽ፣ የመደራጀት መብቶች ተርፈው ለጎረቤቶች (ለምሳሌ ሶማልያ) የሚፈስባት፣ ሚሊየነር ገበሬዎች ፈልተው የሚያድሩባት፣ የዋጋ ግሽበት በሕዝቡ የተደላደለ ኑሮ ላይ ብዙ ለውጥ የማያስከትልባት፣ መሬት ከገበሬዎቿ ተርፎ ለሕንድና ለሳውዲ የምትሸጠው…የይቅርታ መንግሥት ለዘላለም የነገሠባት የምህረት ምድር፣ “የአብዮታዊ ዴሞክራቶቹ” ገነት “ኢቲቪዮጵያ” ትሰኛለች።

By Derse G kassa

Ethiopia's aksum Obelisks

Much has been written about Axum’s famous monolithic obelisks, or stelae, cut out of the hardest granite, some no more than rudely fashioned stones little larger than a human being, but others massive and beautifully carved monuments which once towered into the sky. The finest represent multis toreyed houses, with a ground-floor door, complete with a door handle, and windows on each ‘floor’.

In its heyday Axum had three main obelisks. The largest, now fallen and broken into several pieces, is the biggest block of stone ever worked on by humanity anywhere in the world. It was a remarkably impressive piece of workmanship, representing a palace of no less than 72 storeys. Many Ethiopians long for the day when it will be erected again on its original site.
The second obelisk is some 10 metres shorter, and stands a little away from the great fallen monolith. It was described early in the i9th century by the British traveller Henry Salt as the most admirable and perfect monument of its kind.
Exactly between these two obelisks stood a third monolith, slightly larger than the second, and better carved. This Obelisk collapsed and broke into three large pieces. This was taken to Rome, orders given by the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and erected in 1937 in front of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Nineteenth April 2005, saw the return of this famous Obelisk back to Axum.

Source :Selamta

Axum

Ethiopia is truly a tourist paradise — beautiful, secretive, mysterious and extraordinary. Above all things, it is a country of great antiquity, with a culture and traditions dating back more than 3,000 years. The traveller in Ethiopia makes a journey through time, transported by beautiful monuments and the ruins of edifices built long centuries ago.

Northern Ethiopia’s ancient city of Axum is the country’s oldest extant urban settlement. Once the capital and a major religious centre, it remains the site of many remarkable antiquities, including the famous monolithic obelisks, or stelae, important Stone inscriptions, the remains of spectacular palaces and graves, and a special gold-silver-and-bronze currency.
The city, with its historic church of St Mary of Tseyon (Zion), is a must for the tourist and any serious student of Ethiopia’s history and culture. Axum grew to importance in classical antiquity — the millennium which included the birth of Christ. The Axumite kingdom emerged as the most powerful Red Sea state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia, a great commercial power trading with Egypt, probably Palestine, Arabia, India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

A stone slab with inscriptions in Geez, Greek and Sabean describing Axum's victory over Yemen
photo:Andrei Skurtu

The Axumites also had significant trading land contacts with religions to the west and south, some of which were gradually brought into Axum’s economic and later political orbit. After its conversion to Christianity, early in the fourth century, Axum also emerged as an important religious centre, site of the country’s most important and revered Church of St. Mary of Tsion, which, according to Ethiopian tradition, is the repository of the biblical Ark of the Covenant. Axum’s importance survived its political decline, between the seventh and tenth centuries. A number of years later Ethiopian Emperors — all who could do so — went to the city for their coronation. Axum so impressed nineteenth-century British traveller Theodore Bent that he described it at length in his classic travelogue The Sacred City of the Ethiopians.
More about the Aksum obelisks
Source : Selamta

Three Best Coffee Stops in Addis Ababa

The BBC's Travel Guide published few of the finest coffee spots around the globe & Ethiopia , also the birth place for coffee has the best coffee shops .
First on my list is Tommoca Coffee House
This place is one of the oldest and most popular coffee places in the city.
Located around piassa,its unique coffee aroma is exceptional .

Kaldis Coffee House

Is definitely very popular & for your convenience located in all corners of
addis ababa.The place is a popular socializing platform especially for the youth & beyond.


Yeshi Coffee House

Its traditional theme & coffee ceremony is what they are known for well.Also spread
around key spots in addis,its a must see place for first time visitors.

Harrar

526 Km east of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa .

ትልቁን ካርታ መመልከት

about 50 km south east of diredawa ,the thrid largest city in Ethiopia
Generally , harrar is found in between teh great east African rift valley which extends from Syria to mozamibique including Ethiopia .

History :

there are no real evidences about harrar's early foundation but its known that harrar existed even before the 12th century A.D .

Harrar become prominent int eh 16th century because it was used as a base for the Muslim sultanate fighting against the christian highland kingdom

But soon after the end of the war , in the 1560's the Harrari were threatened of the expansionist oromo people . Inorder to protect themselves they built a formidable fences the encircled the city of harrar .
Because of hte strong offensive of the Oromos the base of the Muslim sultanate shifted from harrar to awssa in 1575 .

Neverhless, Harrar re-attained its position as the base of Muslims in 1647 .
In 1875 , the city was concord by the Egyptian imperialist army , the Egyptians ruled Harrar for ten years until a rebellion led emir Abdulahi over threw them .

In 1887, However , Harrar was invaded and Incorporated under Menlik II's kingdom , During this time many Muslims including the emir changed their religion to Christianity .

Harrar continued to prosper after the invasion , but its rate of development was minimised after diredawa took the market .
At present Harrar is the 11th largest city in Ethiopia .


Accessiblity : You can not directly access harrar from addis ababa both by air and Train.
But the near by Dire dawa has all the mentioned accesses because the city is more developed relative to harrar . Therefore , if you plan to get to harrar , you can travel to diredawa by domestic flight or a train from the bole international airport or the main train station respectively .
After arriving at dire dawa take a mini bus that takes you to harrar .
Another means to arrive at harrar is by taking a bus from Addis Ababa which runs directly to Harrar .

Ethiopian History : The Derg executed its own deputy.

During the height of the derg's rule (Millitary government that ruled Ethiopia for almost 2 decades),Lt. Col. Atnafu Abebe, the derg's deputy chairman said he could not condone the killings & oppressions made in the name of Marxism, an ideology he considered alien to Ethiopia's political traditions.He made his speech in the
regime's third congress & declared would be impossible to establish in Ethiopia during his lifetime .

He also ridiculed the notion of a workers' party in a largely peasant country and condemned the alliance with the USSR as alienating Ethiopia from its longtime Western allies who, besides weapons,had provided capital and technology.

Atnafu misread his popularity within the derg,and he completely misunderstood the attraction of the Marxist vision that now conditioned the derg's thinking. In response, Mengistu termed his old colleague in arms a reactionary, a view that the military council sustained. When, over the next few days, Atnafu refused several
times to recant, Mengistu had him summarily executed on 13 November 1977.

Ethiopian History: The yekatit 12 incident.

During a ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (Haile Sellassie's former residence; now Ras Makonnen Hall of Addis Ababa University), on 19 February 1937 (Yekatit 12), two young Eritreans lobbed as many as ten grenades into a crowd of Ethiopian and Italian dignitaries attending Graziani. One Ethiopian was killed, an Italian general was
seriously injured, but the viceroy suffered only superficial wounds. The confused Italian security guard responded by firing into a crowd of Ethiopian onlookers,whose deaths prefaced an Italian orgy of vengeful killing.

Shortly after the incident, the Italian command ordered all shops closed and shuttered, directed people to return home, and suspended postal and telegraphic communications. Within an hour, the capital was isolated from the world, and its streets were empty. During the afternoon, Addis Abeba's Fascist Italian party, voted a pogrom against the city's population. The slaughter began that night and
continued into the next day.

Ethiopians were killed indiscriminately, burnt alive in their huts, or shot as they tried to escape.Italian truckers chased people down and then ran them over, or tied their feet to tailgates and dragged them to death. People were beaten and stoned until dead. Women were scourged, men emasculated, and children crushed underfoot; throats were cut, people were disemboweled and left to die, or hung, or stabbed to death. A relatively large percentage of the victims came from the traditional ruling class and the Young Ethiopians, although many of these had already formally
submitted to Italian authority.

The fight continued nation wide and churches and monstries were burnt and as many as 10,000 people died .The day,19 February, is marked to this day to remember those who has fallen.

Ethiopian History :Belay Zelleke & The Conspiracy against Emperor Haileselassie.

A subprovince ruler of Gojam , Dejazmach Belai Zelleke ,( Dejazmach - title for War heros ) became insubordinate to emperor Haileselassie-I,loudly proclaiming that he was not going to be part of a monarch that deserted its country in its greatest Travail. He thus organized a conspiracy that involved a number of the emperor's guard which ended in bloodshed . The Emperor ordered a show trial and Dejazmach Belay Zelleke was hanged in publicly in the capital Addis Ababa .

ባንዲራው የዘለቀ ልጅ
ባንዳ አባራሪ እድሜው ሳይደረጅ!
ባንዲራው የዘለቀ ልጅሶላቶ ገዳይ ጦሩ ሳይደረጅ
የዘለቀ ልጅ ቆራጥ ወታደር
ጠላቱን ገዳይ ሳይውል ሳያድር
ነጭ ሰው ደምሳሽ
ያገር ደም ምላሽ
በላይ ዘልቀ የአትዮጵያ ሱሪ
ጠላት ሲመጣ ሊሆን ተሰሪ
በላይ ዘልቀ የባንዳ እረኛ
የማያስቀምጥ የማያስተኛ

Dej. Belai Zelleke now has a street & a public school named after him in Addis Ababa for his bravery .

Other Dejazmaches ,such as Dej.Tekle Wolde(1900-1969) were also imprisoned for speaking about reforms or lack of democracy in the country.

Ethio-telecom disappoints Millions by abridging cell phone air time

Ethio-telecom has announced it would be shortening Mobile Life Time - Maximum time where one can use his/her phone to accept incoming calls long after credit expires . from December 2014 to December 2011 .


deanb says:

የነበረን የአየር ሰዓት (Life Time) ወደኋለ መመለሱም በጣም ቅር አሰኝቶናል።

getmeze says :

I am not astonished with all problems Ethio-telecom imposing on us. Its just rent seeker. It doesn't bother on it's service quality and customer satisfaction. As it is just one (monopolized ) all communication services, we can do nothing-just pray to end monopoly and let it be open for private investors. Till then, it will keep burning us

.

Thomas says :

I am always shame on wayanne and Ethio-Telecom I don't understand is how come Somalia has better service without government? Ethiopia is the only country in the world who have only one Telecom Operator which is the worst service provider. Only in Hong kong there are 14 telecom operators,if we compare the population of Ethiopia and HK,Ethiopia needs at least 40 operators. Almost all African countries have at least 3 tele operators

lilay2009 says:

ኢትዮጵያ የ80 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ ሀገር 9 ሚሊዮን ሞባይል ተጠቃሚ ብዙ መሆኑ ነው? ቂቂቂቂቂቂ!!!!! ኬንያ ጎረቤታችን 40 ሚሊዮን ሕዝብ( የኢትዮጵያ ግማሽ) ሞባይሉን ተጠቃሚውን ተዉትና ኢንተርኔት ተጠቃሚው ብቻ 8 ሚሊዮን ህዝብ ነው። ከ40 ሚሊዮን ኬንያውያን 25 ሚሊዮን ሰው የሞባይል መስመር አለው። የኢትዮጵያ አንድ የመንግስት ቴሌ ካምፓኒ ሲኖር ኬንያ 5 የግል ካምፓኒዎች አሉ። የኢትዮጵያ የኢንተርኔት ተጠቃሚው ለዚያውም በሞተ የመስመር ግንኙነት አምስት መቶ ሺህ አካባቢ ነው። ኒዮ ሊበራል ወይስ አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ የኢንተርኔት መስፋፋትን የከለከለው? ቂቂቂቂቂቂቂቂ!!!!! አብዮት ወይም ሞት አለ!! የሃራሬው ሰውዬ።

The Bizzare Ethiopian calendar

The Ethiopian calendar is unlike any other you know . To start with , Ethiopia has 13 months , the 13th month is called Ṗagʷəmen/Ṗagume (ጳጐሜን/ጳጉሜ) & lasts for about a week or Less .
Ethiopia also lags behind some eight Years behind the Gregorian calendar .At the time of this post, Today is 9/July/2011 & Our Ethiopian calendar indicates its 2/july/2003 .
Almost all Ethiopian based organizations , the Government and schools use the Ethiopian calendar to run their affairs.



The Ethiopian Year Begins in Sept.11 (On 9/11) & we call it Enkutatash - Happy New year in Amahric.

Amharic Coptic Begin dates
Mäskäräm (መስከረም) Tut (Thout) September 11 September 12
Ṭəqəmt(i) (ጥቅምት) Babah (Paopi) October 11 October 12
Ḫədar (ኅዳር) Hatur (Hathor) November 10 November 11
Taḫśaś ( ታኅሣሥ) Kiyahk (Koiak) December 10 December 11
Ṭərr(i) (ጥር) Tubah (Tobi) January 9 January 10
Yäkatit (የካቲት) Amshir (Meshir) February 8 February 9
Mägabit (መጋቢት) Baramhat (Paremhat)March 10 March 10
Miyazya (ሚያዝያ) Baramundah (Paremoude) April 9 April 9
Gənbot (ግንቦት) Bashans (Pashons) May 9 May 9
Säne (ሰኔ) Ba'unah (Paoni) June 8 June 8
Ḥamle (ሐምሌ) Abib (Epip) July 8 July 8
Nähase (ነሐሴ) Misra (Mesori) August 7 August 7
Ṗagume (ጳጐሜን/ጳጉሜ) Nasi (Pi Kogi Enavot) September 6 September 6

Amsale Votes Addis Ababa as her second best city

Amesale Abera ,aka Amsale ( Am-sal-le) Top fashion designer originally from Ethiopia ,addis ababa votes addis ababa as her second best city next to Newyork, where she currently resides .
Amsale left Boston, enrolled in New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and began her career as a design assistant for Harve Bernard upon graduation. Two years later, Amsale launched her custom bridal-gown business with her "forever modern" approach to sophisticated design.


Amsale has dressed
Julia Roberts,
Halle Berry,
Alicia Keys,
Salma Hayek,
Heidi Klum,
Selma Blair,
Lucy Liu,
Katherine Heigl etc ...
Amsale Bride Dress can cost $4000 to $75,000 USD .

Amsale has now her Own Tv show Named :Amsale Girls
The show is about 30+ women who also happen to be friends going through Frustrations , fun and Excitement while planning their wedding.

Yes , Ethiopia Traded slaves .

Historically, Ethiopians had exploited slaves as domestics or as farm laborers, frequently under gang conditions, or to proclaim wealth and status. As long as Ethiopia was autarkic, the available agricultural surplus could support the mass of slaves. The intrusion of the world economy in the late nineteenth century and the subsequent growth of cash crops in southern Ethiopia transformed the situation. During the 1920s, Ethiopian agriculture, especially in coffee, became increasingly profitable,
rendering the exploitation of slaves uneconomic in terms of opportunity costs. Moreover, feudal lords suddenly became interested in transforming rights over gabbars into rights over land. They entered into economic alliances with each other and the Asian traders who mediated capitalism in Ethiopia. In short, the feudal nobility transformed itself into an oligarchy more interested in profit than pageantry.

Ethio Telecom ( Telecommunication ) Fixed line and Mobile Tariff.

Ethio Telecom Call Tariffs :

Mobile/GSM related tariff:

0.72 cents on peak hr, plus 15% VAT, will be charged for all calls from mobile to mobile, mobile to fixed telephone and fixed telephone to mobile

EVDO service

1 GB internet access for Birr 300 monthly payment.
2 GB internet access for Birr 500 monthly payment.
4 GB internet access for Birr 700 monthly payment.

Subscription Fee : 236
Charge Beyond Limit : 0.35/MB. (The price are inclusive of VAT )


CDMA(2000) 1X

0.10/minute in Peak hours and 0.07 Off Peak hours for the first 1300 minutes usage within a month.
Extended Usage :
0.07/minute in Peak hours and 0.04/minute Off Peak hours. Plus a 15% VAT charge. (Add 15% VAT on the prices).

Lucy and the Ethiopian History

Four million years ago, near Hadar in the most easterly part of Ethiopia's Welo Province, there was a lake in a verdant setting. Its subsequent desiccation safeguarded a treasure for future paleoanthropologists: in 1974, an old shore or marsh yielded up the fossilized remains of "Lucy Australopithecus afarensis ," a relatively young hominid woman. Her almost complete skeleton reveals an ape-faced species that had just begun its evolution toward intelligence. Her small brain,
one-third the size of that of a modern human, directed a compact and rugged body, little more than a meter tall and weighing about thirty kilos, set on pelvic and leg bones dense enough to support erect and sustained walking, if not speedy locomotion. She and her larger male counterpart scavenged meat from carnivores, caught smaller animals, and collected fruit, vegetables, roots, and tubers. Though they used sticks and stones, they did not hunt; they spent most of their lives gathering and collecting near water and sheltering trees. Even with its obvious limitations, Australopithecus afarensis survived for at least two million years before giving way to its closely related cousin Australopithecus africanus ,present about three million years ago in Ethiopia's Omo region.
The Ethiopians call her Dinkenesh , or "she is wonderful."

The Bizzare Ethiopian calendar