Famous landmarks in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa, with high mountains, deep gorges and hot lowlands. Its capital is Addis Ababa, home of the African Union, and about 130 million people live there, making it the second most populous country in Africa. Ethiopia is known as the birthplace of coffee, for its own calendar and alphabet, ancient churches carved from rock, and some of the oldest human fossils ever found.

On My Earth Toy you can visit the Obelisk of Aksum, the cross-shaped Church of St. George at Lalibela and the castles of Fasil Ghebbi in Gondar. Ethiopia's animals on the globe include the spotted hyena, gelada, Ethiopian wolf and Somali wild ass.

Geography and nature

The Ethiopian Highlands make up much of the country, split by the Great Rift Valley. The Simien Mountains have jagged peaks and Ras Dashen, about 4,550 metres high. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile. In the northeast, the Danakil Depression is one of the hottest places on Earth, with colourful hot springs at Dallol. Many animals live only here, such as the gelada, which grazes on grass, and the Ethiopian wolf, the rarest wild dog in Africa.

People, languages and culture

Ethiopia has more than 80 ethnic groups; the largest are the Oromo and the Amhara. Oromo is the most widely spoken first language, and Amharic, written in the Ge'ez script, is the main working language of the federal government. Most people are Orthodox Christians or Muslims. The coffee ceremony, with beans roasted and brewed in front of guests, is a sign of friendship. Injera with spicy stews is the national food, and Ethiopian distance runners are world famous.

History in a nutshell

Fossils show human ancestors lived here millions of years ago, including 'Lucy', found in 1974. The Kingdom of Aksum, about 2,000 years ago, was one of the great powers of its time and adopted Christianity in the 300s. King Lalibela's rock-cut churches date from around 1200. In 1896 Ethiopia defeated an Italian army at the Battle of Adwa, and apart from an Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941, it was never colonised.