46
Volume 25, Number 3 July - September 2008 Volume 25, Number 3 July - September 2008 Ethiopia A land of timeless appeal

25no1

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

A land of timeless appeal Volume 25, Number 3 July - September 2008 Volume 25, Number 3 July - September 2008

Citation preview

Page 1: 25no1

Volume 25, Number 3July - September 2008Volume 25, Number 3

July - September 2008

EthiopiaA land of timeless appeal

sElAm

tAtH

E IN-FlIG

Ht m

AG

AZ

INE O

F EtHIO

PIAN

AIRlIN

EsV

OlU

mE 25 N

Um

BER 1

cover.indd 1 6/6/11 10:55:18 AM

Page 2: 25no1

Girma WakeChief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines

mEssAgE frOm thE CEO

Welcome aboard! 007 was another successful year for Ethiopian in all performance indicators despite the escalating

fuel prices adversely affecting the airliner industry.

three years ago, we formulated a new growth strategy and started the journey towards achieving our 2010 vision. Now more than half way through our five years’ plan, we have not only surpassed the milestones in our vision 2010, but the airline has grown to double its size.

Within the past three years, annual passenger numbers grew from 1.1 million to 2.1 million and annual revenue from UsD350 million to UsD 800 million. On the other hand, our fleet renewal project has put us in a leading position, operating one of the youngest fleets on the continent with an average fleet age of 7.9 years. In the Information technology area, our strategic move to sabre’s modern Passenger management system has enabled us to achieve global standards. today, about 90% of our airport check-in and boarding processes are automated. this automation allows our passengers the convenience of collecting their multi-sector boarding passes at the point of origin even when they have to travel via connecting flights through our Addis hub. shebamiles, a reward programme to our frequent flyers, has improved tremendously and now our loyal customers can make transactions fully through the Internet. moreover, we have also entered into a miles exchange contract with our partner Lufthansa, empowering our members to redeem their accrued miles on Lufthansa services.

We have designed, and are supporting, one of the best networks on the continent via our Addis hub with 543 weekly connections. today we are serving more than 650 market pairs with over 300 weekly international flights. Our network is continuously expanding. We are the leading African airline to China, operating 14 flights a week to this fast-growing gigantic economy (six to guangzhou, five to Beijing and three to hong Kong) with daily connections to most destinations in Africa.

Cargo has been an equally important core business of Ethiopian since its inception. the fast growth during the last few years in Ethiopian horticultural exports has given us a golden opportunity to expand and restructure our cargo network. As a national carrier, we fully understand that it is our duty and our national responsibility to support the economic development of the country. In view of this objective, we have leased in two B747-200 freighters with combined capacity of 200 tonnes of cargo to fill in the gap until the delivery of our two mD11 freighters in January and August 2009.

A highlight to look forward to is the arrival of the groundbreaking Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft, for which Ethiopian is a launch African carrier. the arrival of the first B787 is now scheduled for early 2009.

As a testimony to these fundamental service improvements, we have been privileged to receive several awards and votes of confidence from various organizations and institutions.

It is with a renewed vigour and commitment to serve you even better that we enter 2008. You can be assured of the traditional Ethiopian values of courtesy and hospitality which are the hallmark of our staff, whether in the air or on the ground.

As always, on behalf of all employees of Ethiopian and myself, I thank you very much for choosing Ethiopian, and enjoy your flight!

BUILDINg ON OUr sUCCEss

January - march 2008 1

BUILDING ON OUR SUCCESS

Welcome on Board!

2007 was another successful year for Ethiopian in all performance indicators despite the escalating fuel prices adversely affecting the airliner industry.

Three years ago, we formulated a new growth strategy and started the journey towards achieving our 2010 vision. Now more than half way through our five years’ plan, we have not only surpassed the milestones in our vision 2010, but the airline has grown to double its size. Within the past three years, annual passenger numbers grew from 1.1 million to 2.1 million and annual revenue from USD350 million to USD 800 million. On the other hand, our fleet renewal project has put us in a leading position, operating one of the youngest fleets on the continent with an average fleet age of 7.9 years. In the Information Technology area, our strategic move to Sabre’s modern Passenger Management System has enabled us to achieve global standards. Today, about 90% of our airport check-in and boarding processes are automated. This automation allows our passengers the convenience of collecting their multi-sector boarding passes at the point of origin even when they have to travel via connecting flights through our Addis hub. ShebaMiles, a reward programme to our frequent flyers, has improved tremendously and now our loyal customers can make transactions fully through the Internet. Moreover, we have also entered into a miles exchange contract with our partner Lufthansa, empowering our members to redeem their accrued miles on Lufthansa services.

We have designed, and are supporting, one of the best networks on the continent via our Addis hub with 543 weekly connections. Today we are serving more than 650 market pairs with over 300 weekly international flights. Our network is continuously expanding. We are the leading African airline to China, operating 14 flights a week to this fast-growing gigantic economy (six to Guangzhou, five to Beijing and three to Hong Kong) with daily connections to most destinations in Africa.

Cargo has been an equally important core business of Ethiopian since its inception. The fast growth during the last few years in Ethiopian horticultural exports has given us a golden opportunity to expand and restructure our cargo network. As a national carrier, we fully understand that it is our duty and our national responsibility to support the economic development of the country. In view of this objective, we have leased in two B747-200 freighters with combined capacity of 200 tonnes of cargo to fill in the gap until the delivery of our two MD11 freighters in January and August 2009.

A highlight to look forward to is the arrival of the groundbreaking Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft, for which Ethiopian is a launch African carrier. The arrival of the first B787 is now scheduled for early 2009.

As a testimony to these fundamental service improvements, we have been privileged to receive several awards and votes of confidence from various organizations and institutions.

It is with a renewed vigour and commitment to serve you even better that we enter 2008. You can be assured of the traditional Ethiopian values of courtesy and hospitality which are the hallmark of our staff, whether in the air or on the ground.

As always, on behalf of all employees of Ethiopian and myself, I thank you very much for choosing Ethiopian, and enjoy your flight!

a^TÇ?¶ ayR mNgD lmBrR ANèN dU³ me*¥¥

yayR T™NSÍRT a^Në&STÞW ®Y kFt¼ ´³ A¶drg ¶lW ynëJ §¬ ìáqB ayR mNgë{N ®Y t"OÑ b^ÑrWM kaeš®Y KNWÑ{ aN¯R s^ªY ¶±lFnW yfrNÐ{ amT 2007 EÝ We_T ytmzgbbT ¹mT nbR¥¥

kÎST amªT bÜT aë^S yADgT mRu GBR qYsN y2010 (A. a_. a.) ™O¶{NN lì±·T aND BlN g&Ø jmRN¥¥ auƒN ymjmÞ¶WN yaMST amT AQD ¶¬mSN s^ÒN lz^U g^z_ ¶SqmE³[WN GÏ{ ì±·T Bê ±YÒN yDRJª{NN aQM bAEF lì±dG {l³L¥¥ ²lÛT 3 amªT Bê amª§ #ymNgdÚ{ q>ER k1.1 ì@l^ÇN wd 2.4 ì@l^ÇN ¶dg s^ÒN amª§# gb^¶{N dGÀ k350 ì@l^ÇN Ì®R wd 800 ì@l^ÇN Ì®R kF B®¡L¥¥ båì@nT bt¶zW aÅg_ aWÅP®Ñ{N baë^S ymt·T AQD msrT bauƒn& wQT yaND aWÅP®N aì·I yagLGÉT zmN 7.9 ¹mT l^ÒN {®¡L¥¥ YUM baUg&™{N ·l& ayR mNgÌ{ bqëì@ SF™ ®Y ¶SqMe³L¥¥ ba^NÂRì…}N t†KÑÉé@ rgD bQRb* bS™ ®Y ¶§LnW ySabre ymNgdÚ{ mÖ½eÞ¶ y×Mp #WtR s^StM yMNseWN agLGÉT wd alM aqF dré kF lìDrG aS{ɳL¥¥ bWe_t >M 90 pRsNT mNgd¼ ymqbL³ yì±fR S™¿{ yì@sÝT b×Mp#WtR bªgz zm³§# as™R nW¥¥ dMbÚê{NN yMN]LMbT y]_²ìYLS PÅG™ì{NM kz^uƒ ¬R ytáál s^ÒN yz^U PÅG™M a²®T txìÞ ìYÉ{N ba^NtRn…T ìSmZgBM Òn ¶®[WN meqM Y{®l&¥¥ kz^U btxìÞ kjRmn& l&FªNº ayR mNgD ¬R bQRb* ytdrsW SMMnT yz^U PÅG™M a²®T ba^TÇ?¶ ayR mNgD ¶e™qm*TN ìYL bl&FªNº meqM ¶S{®[§L¥¥

baUg&Þt> AJG zm³§# yÒn ybr™ mrB bmzR¬T ybr™W mrB AMBRT kÒn{W aë^S ab² b±MNT 543 ½b^¶¿{N A³g³¼lN¥¥ balM aqF dré k650 b®Y yì@Òn& gb¶¿{N yM³glGL s^ÒN k300 yì@bLe* ±MNª§# alM aqF br™¿{ al&N¥¥ ybr™ mr²{N byg^z_W Ays¨ Yg¼L¥¥ bauƒn& g^z_ bf½N ya^×Ñì@ ADgT ®Y wdMTgiW êY³ ²l&N 14 ±MNª§# br™¿{ kaFÞ· ymÞnt>N Ϫ Yz³L¥¥ knz^UM WSE 6 wd g&§Nz&¤ 5 wd b_é@NG A³ 3 wd ÒNG×NG yì@drg& ³[W¥¥

yOš XnT agLGÉT ayR mNgë& ktmsrtbT g^z_ aNSÄ Tk&rT yseW aBY yagLGÉT zRF nW¥¥ kQRB amªT wë^U Ayxmr ym½W yab² ywã NGD ANQSšs_ ya^TÇ?¶ ayR mNgD ¶lWN yXnT ìææ¦ mrB ANë^¶S¨¨ BÉM txìÞ ìáᶿ{N ANë^¶dRG g&LU ì@³ t´Wt £L¥¥ ANd B¾…™§# ayR mNgD ugÞt> bMªdR¬[W yLìT ANQSšs_¿{ WSE ybk&®{NN aSt§"Á bìDrG ¾®Ünª{NN mw½T ANëlBN ANgnz²lN¥¥ bz^UM msrT uƒlT B747-200 yOš m´¼ aWÅP®Ñ{ ytk™yN s^ÒN yuƒlt> aWÅP®Ñ{ DMR yXnT aQM 200 ÄN YdR±L¥¥ YUM ANd A. a_. a. b2009 yMNrk²[W uƒlT MD-11 yXnT aWÅP®Ñ{N ASkì@dRs& ytq®ef agLGÉT lmSeT Yrë³L¥¥ kz^U ¬R bt¶yz ayR mNgë{N baFÞ· qëì@ yì@¶dRgWN yÏYNG 787 "Dreamliner" aWÅP®N b2009 agLGÉT ®Y ANdì@¶WL YebšL¥¥

ayR mNgë{N yì@seWN agLGÉT yble lìááL bì@¶dRgW ¶®sls ErT ktl¶y„ DRJÄ{ ¶g¼[W }LìÄ{³ D¬Â{ bAìInT Yeq±l&¥¥ mãWN aë^S amT 2008 SNqbLM A³NtN WD dNbÚê{NN yble lìgLgL ¶lNN q>ReInT bìds nW¥¥

mL·M br™!

Page 3: 25no1

2 selamta January - march 2008 3

08 Abu Dhabi – Pearl of Arabia Abu Dhabi was a nondescript fishing and pearling village until well

into the sixties; in the Eighties a raw, adolescent city, but by the Nineties a more mature, settled metropolis.

14 Lusaka – Zambia’s ‘garden City’ the capital and largest town of land-locked Zambia, has long been

known as one of Africa’s more pleasant cities.

01 CEO’s message04 Ethiopian News26 A Land of timeless Appeal54 Ethiopia through the millennia66 Business68 health72 Letters to selamta74 International route map76 Ethiopian Worldwide timetable highlights80 Ethiopian fleet82 Ethiopian Offices84 tips for the traveller in Ethiopia85 healthy travelling86 Dining Out in Ethiopia87 Learn Amharic88 Crossword Puzzle & sudoku

rEgULArs

the views expressed in this magazine should only be ascribed to the authors concerned, and do not necessarily reflect the views either of the publishers or of Ethiopian Airlines. the printing of an advertisement in selamta does not necessarily mean that the publishers or Ethiopian Airlines endorse the company, product or service advertised.

DEstINAtIONs

20 Chinese New Year – Year of the rat Just about every culture in the world celebrates New Year, but none

more heartily than the Chinese.

38 Let’s go to the ritz the ritz hotel in Paris first opened its doors in 1898.

Cyril Bracegirdle takes a look at the rich history of one of the world’s most famous hotels.

44 Driven to sanity the much-vaunted American freeway system can be a boon – or a nightmare if you get lost on it, but the amazing technology if satellite navigation has now introduced a friendly new dimension to driving.

50 the Discovery of Lucy – a.k.a Denkenesh Way back in the 19th century Charles Darwin, author of

the Origin of species, postulated that the African continent was ‘formerly inhabited by extinct apes allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee’.

56 henna & miswak Nature’s gift for health and Beauty.

60 the making of heroes In the last seven years no one-day event in Ethiopia has been able to

bring a running nation closer together than the great Ethiopian run.

62 One World, One Dream for the first time in 42 years the summer Olympics will be staged on

Asian soil when Beijing hosts the games in August 2008.

fEAtUrEs

selamta, meaning ‘greetings’ in Amharic,

is published quarterly for Ethiopian Airlines by

Camerapix magazines Limited

PO Box 45048, 00100 gPO Nairobi, Kenya

telephone: +254 (20) 4448923/4/5

fax: +254 (20) 4448818 or 4441021

E-mail: [email protected]

Correspondence on editorial and advertising

matters may be sent to either of these addresses:

Editorial and Advertising Office:

Camerapix magazines (UK) Limited

32 friars Walk, southgate, London, N14 5LP

tel: +44 (20) 8361 2942, mobile: +44 79411 21458

E-mail: [email protected]

Advertising representatives in Ethiopia:

Camerapix magazines Ltd, Addis Ababa

mahlet Aklog +251 91 1202489

Printed in thailand.

©2008 CAmErAPIX mAgAZINEs LtD

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may

be reproduced by any means without permission

in writing from the publisher.

Publishers:

Editorial Director:

Editor:

Design:

Production managers:

Editorial Board:

Camerapix magazines Ltd

rukhsana haq

roger Barnard

sam Kimani

Azra Chaudhry, U.Krachel musyimi, Nairobi

rukhsana haqguenet BerheBelen DessalegnAddisalem Ambaye

20

50

VOLUmE 25, NUmBEr 1 • JANUArY - mArCh 2008

08

14

P A r I sC O N t E N t s

Volume 25, Number1January- December 2008

Cover Picture: made from rough hewn basaltic rock, this 17th century castle is found in gondar.

Page 4: 25no1

4 selamta January - march 2008 5

EthIOPIAN NEWs

miles and moreOn 28 October 2007, a partnership agreement was reached between Ethiopian’s shebamiles and Lufthansa’s miles & more reward programmes to allow their frequent flyers to enjoy privileges in both airlines’ services. members of the two frequent flyer programmes can now earn and spend award miles on all scheduled flights; both domestic and international. the partnership of the two airlines allows shebamiles members to accumulate their miles on Lufthansa’s flights and Ethiopian to issue award tickets for shebamiles members on Lufthansa flights.this follows a code-sharing agreement by Ethiopian and Lufthansa in June 2007.

Ethiopian leases two B747-200fs and one B757-200ErIn its endeavour to meet the ever-increasing demand for cargo transportation, especially from the expanding horticulture sector, Ethiopian has leased two B747-200 freighter aircraft. the lease agreement was signed with southern Air Inc, a company based in Kentucky, UsA on 12 October 2007 at Ethiopian’s headquarters in Addis Ababa. these two cargo freighters will partially satisfy the current cargo capacity requirements until the delivery of the two mD-11s in December 2008 and August 2009. In addition, Ethiopian launched a once-a-week freighter service to hong Kong from 4 January 2008, again placing Ethiopian as a pioneer African airline linking Asia with Africa in this sector.

Ethiopian has also leased one B757-200Er passenger aircraft from gECAs Aircraft Leasing Company. the lease agreement, signed on 27 August 2007 will remain valid for a period of six years. With a seat capacity of 175 passengers – 16 in Cloud Nine and 159 in economy class – this aircraft will be deployed in the African, middle Eastern and European routes.

New frequencies to BrusselsIn an effort to provide a consolidated service to Europe, Ethiopian has increased frequencies to Brussels from three to six flights a week, whilst pulling out of Amsterdam. Brussels has performed above expectations since its inauguration in June 2005, and the additional frequencies offer convenient connections to more African destinations, including Zanzibar.

In addition to passenger services, Brussels continues to be Ethiopian’s European cargo hub with daily services to Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian to fly greenerEthiopian Airlines and greener Ethiopia unveiled joint plans to plant two million trees throughout Ethiopia during the Ethiopian millennium year, launching a long-term environmental campaign to be known as fLY grEENEr.

Ethiopian Airlines will be supporting greener Ethiopia’s international campaign to mobilize funds from international and local sources as well as Ethiopian’s abroad to expand farmers’ activities from backyard planting to large scale reforestation of degraded lands and community woodlots. Apart from the reforestation and rehabilitation works, the campaign will also be engaged in primary forest protection and preservation activities of the existing forest cover.

mr. girma Wake, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian, commented: “While our primary mandate is to move passengers and cargo and to generate revenue, we cannot ignore the bigger picture of making the world we live in a better place by contributing our share. We have already started the move to make a difference in our decision to go for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the most environmentally friendly aircraft. In addition, greener Ethiopia has given us a credible way to pay back our environmental debt. the millennium year commitment to plant two million trees is a small step in this direction.”

World marathon record resetOn 30 september 2007, the world-famous Ethiopian athlete, haile gebrselassie shattered the world record in the Berlin marathon by finishing the 42 kilometres in 2 hours 4 minutes and 26 seconds. this time is 29 seconds faster than Paul tergat’s previous world record held in 2003. this record, the 23rd world record for the athlete ranging from two miles to 5,000 metres and the marathon, was the most satisfying for the athlete because, as haile put it: “marathon is the king of distance.”

miss tourism of the millennium Ethiopian sponsored the “miss tourism of the millennium” international beauty pageant held in Addis Ababa from 16th October to 3rd November 2007. A series of events including talent shows, fashion presentations, national costume and disco shows took place as part of the contest. the Beauty Queens also supported the environment by planting tree seedlings at the millennium Park.

Candidates from 50 different countries participated in the pageant and the trophy went to ms. Jennifer schell from Venezuela.

Ethiopian Cooperates with Lufthansa and gtZIn the coming three years Ethiopian Airlines will be working with Lufthansa technical training gmbh (Ltt), the Engineering Capacity Building Programme (ecbp) and two tVEt colleges, selam and tegbared, in a training project for aircraft technicians in Ethiopia.

the project, organized as a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), is part of the Ethiopian economic reform programme – the Engineering Capacity Building Programme that represents a long-term investment in Ethiopian’s future by giving young people opportunities in the job market to help them improve their living standards.

the ministry of Capacity Building (moCB), in cooperation with the federal government of germany, launched ecbp in November 2005 to achieve everything from reform of higher education to private sector development.

the “Beyonce Experience” and teddy Afrothe internationally-renowned r&B diva, Beyonce Knowles, joined the Ethiopian millennium celebrations with a spirited concert on 21st October 2007 at the multi-million dollar millennium concert hall. some 5,000 adoring fans turned out to see Beyonce who gave a two hour-long performance. the 26-year-old singer sang many of the ballads from her new album “B’Day”. Beyonce and her group also thrilled the attending crowd by performing the “Eskista” – the traditional shoulder dance of Ethiopia.

“I want to thank you”, Beyonce told the screaming crowd, “you have been one of the best audiences of my lifetime.”

On 17th November the young Ethiopian music sensation, tewodros Kassahun (teddy Afro) staged a concert at the ghion hotel attended by over 12,000 fans. teddy Afro has revolutionized contemporary Ethiopian music and is viewed as an icon by many of his devoted fans.

Agency seminarOn 13 November 2007, Ethiopian’s Lagos office conducted a successful seminar at the Kumberland hotel for 80 travel agencies in the area. guidance was given to participants on winter schedules, new routes introduced to the network, online payment facilities arranged with Zenith bank and the customer loyalty programme, shebamiles.

Page 5: 25no1

elcome to the award-winning Djibouti Palace Kempinski, where the impossible becomes a luxurious reality. This world-

class hotel, which opened its doors in November 2006, nestles within a breathtaking natural environment facing the magnificent Red

Sea. The rooms and suites all face the sea and the hotel’s state-of-the-art facilities include an infinity swimming pool, a grand casino, an elegant night club and the first wellness spa in Africa.

27th October 2007 was indeed a memorable day for Djibouti Palace Kempinski. The hotel was the proud recipient of the excellence hospitality award from the organization, 7 Stars & Stripes.

The 7 Stars & Stripes is a globally-renowned hospitality accreditation organization whose awards are considered to be an immense achievement and honour. The award presentation ceremony was held in conjunction with a celebration cocktail hosted by the hotel, graced by the presence of His Excellency, Mr Mohamed Dileita Mohamed, the Prime Minister of Djibouti, and many local and foreign dignitaries of the state. With this award, Djibouti’s hospitality has reached a new international level, comparable to some of the most well-known and established hotels in the world. Djibouti is the first country in Africa to receive this award for its excellence in hospitality and the publicity gained is certain to have a positive impact in the development of tourism of Djibouti.

Award Presentation by Mr Thorsten Buehrman, President & CEO of 7 Stars & Stripes to His Excellency Prime Minister of Djibouti, Mr Mohamed Dileita Mohamed with the General Manager, Mr Bugra Berberroglu.

Guests at the Award presentation President & CEO of Seven Stars & Stripes, Mr. Thorsten Buehrmann

Culinaire Award to the Team Foreign Dignitaries with the Sales Manager, Cem Kul

Page 6: 25no1

8 selamta January - march 2008 9

sand dunes; of the fierce code of honour, which prevailed along the so-called Pirate Coast.

Rather worthier than the Hash House Harriers was the Natural History Society, which welcomed anybody keen to forsake the clubs and swimming pools in favour of exploring the landscape around us. As Abu Dhabi locked up for the Muslim weekend, we Natural Historians set course for the hinterland.

Up the coastal highway from Abu Dhabi the older trading ports of the Pirate Coast offered a rich heritage to be discovered. Along Dubai’s Creek, traditional dhows still loaded cargoes for Gulf ports, Mombasa or Zanzibar down the East African coast or shipped gold bullion into Indian waters. Dual carriageways raced across the sabkha, the featureless coastal salt flats. Gently undulating pale, washed-out sand was dotted sparingly with tufts of salt resistant herbage. After dusk, stray camels were so numerous that most people avoided driving (some major highways have now been fenced). The inland town of Al Ain, a twin to the Omani town of Al Buraimi, was the ancestral seat of Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al Nahyan

They say paradise is a place of lush gardens, flowing water and seductive houris. The maidens must await the after-life, but greening the desert certainly has become a passion in

oil-rich Abu Dhabi, capital of the Emirate of that name as well as of the United Arab Emirates. Until the black gold began flowing, Abu Dhabi - Home of the Gazelle - was no more than a single mudbrick fort and a cluster of palm thatch huts. Today’s city bears the unmistakable stamp of one man, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding president of the UAE. The present Ruler, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his advisers have drawn up a massive development programme, which will soon transform Zayed’s Abu Dhabi beyond recognition. Duty-free shopping, endless sunshine and sparkling turquoise waters aren’t too hard to take; more specific attractions in this Manhattan of the Middle East include the waterfront Corniche, with the Breakwater reclamation to its west, including cafes, shops and a Heritage Village. Here too is the Emirates Palace Hotel, one of the world’s most opulent. The Dhow Harbour, as well as several Souks or

Gulf (never call it Persian!). Most people started work before 7:30, knocking off by early afternoon. The sound of unsynchronized electronic wails from a dozen minarets, interrupting an eerily quiet mid-afternoon to summon the faithful to prayer, will always recall Abu Dhabi to me. Across town were the vegetable markets, now supplanted by an air-conditioned market hall: gone elsewhere are the wicker trays of fresh dates, shrouded with buzzing flies. Summer was heralded by fresh mounds of melons and mangoes. Usually the Emirati Nationals remained aloof, keeping us guessing as to their private lives behind the tinted windows of those lavish villas. Across from Abu Dhabi Island stood the camel racetrack, so wide the far side was barely visible. The jockeys were young boys, the mounts bred and nurtured as carefully as any racehorse. The story of one older woman, reported in the local press, was a salutary reminder of much tougher times. Hamda Al Hamili gave thanks that the days of hard labour had gone forever, toiling under the blazing sun to refill the water tanks of the pearling dhows. She did treasure fond memories too: of traditional dancing in the moonlight amidst the

P A r I sD E s I t I N A t I O NPhotos by Philip game

Abu Dhabi was a nondescript fishing and pearling village until well into the sixties; in the Eighties a raw, adolescent city, but by the Nineties a more mature, settled metropolis. Philip game looks back on his two years as a resident in the fast-changing Emirate.

ABU DhABIPEArL Of ArABIA

produce markets, are at the northern tip of Abu Dhabi Island, whilst just inland from the Corniche stands Qasr Al Hosn or the Old Fort, built in 1793. Traditional boat-building skills are still fostered at the Al Bateen dhow-building yards. Large-scale construction should soon ease. Abu Dhabi Airport, too, with its distinctive blue-and-green palm tree motif, will undergo major expansion, but most visionary of all is the transformation envisaged for the low, sandy island of Saadiyat, just 500 metres offshore. On Saadiyat, a sprawling cultural and leisure precinct will incorporate a branch of the Louvre, to open by 2012; the world’s largest Guggenheim Art Museum, a Performing Arts Centre and two other venues, each to be designed by the world’s most acclaimed architects. Not surprisingly, the 27-square kilometre Saadiyat will also acquire marinas, resorts and extensive residential estates to house 150,000 people.

My Arabian home for two years was a lavish apartment above the main shopping strip of Abu Dhabi. The apartment revelled in views to Hamdan Street five floors below, reawakening from its torpor in the cool of dusk; and a glimpse of the glittering turquoise waters of the Arabian

Commercial street A stall selling artifacts in the souk

Photo: ADNEC Photo: ADNEC

Page 7: 25no1

10 selamta

Three hours drive or 200 kilometres west of Abu Dhabi, the Liwa Oasis forms the gateway to the world’s most formidable and inhospitable tracts of desert, the Empty Quarter. Freshwater pools and luxuriant date groves distinguished the ancestral home of Abu Dhabi’s pre-eminent Bani Yas tribe. Not surprisingly, the Liwa forms the base for an international off-road rally event, as well as desert camping tours. My friend David, a contract draftsman, was a regular participant in these weekend expeditions. He led a curiously nomadic life shuttling around the Gulf or to Das Island out in the Gulf on a few hours notice. Das, where women are completely banned, is the exclusive fiefdom of the Abu Dhabi oil field operators, a desolate patch of rock completely covered with pipelines and pumping stations. But life on Das was not as monastic as this suggests. This all-male community, some thousands strong, enjoyed a choice of catering ranging from mess halls to silver service restaurants, and superlative sporting and library facilities. David proudly sported the Club tie asserting his membership of a gentlemen’s club in the best British tradition, on this most exclusive island.

further informationCredit cards widely accepted but cash is king. Us$1= AED 3.67. Cash machines are widespread and money can be changed anywhere. tipping strictly optional. formalities: Check with you r travel Agent or Airline regarding Visas. getting around for car rental bring an international license as well as your normal one. metered taxi; fares are cheap. Climate is sunny year-round, mild November - April, scorching July - August. If possible, avoid the holy month of ramadhan. the spectrum guide to United Arab Emirates (Camerapix Publishers, Nairobi) is especially well illustrated.

Ethiopian flies 3 times a week to Abu Dhabi

family and had been developed as a showpiece: endless wide avenues going nowhere in particular. We explored the mountains running north from Al Ain along the Omani border, discovering verdant green oases, crumbling mudbrick forts and starkly beautiful landscapes of windblown sand and eroded rock. Dark metamorphic crags took on a lunar appearance as the dawn rose over the tracks of the desert grey fox and gerbil; in a great amphitheatre of limestone cliffs, rich veins of fossil shells and crustaceans protruded. Egyptian vultures soared, oblivious to the searing midday heat.

A B U D h A B I

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

salamata_ad_fnal_1.pdf 9/6/07 4:10:02 PM

SCANIA · VOLVO · MERCEDES-BENZ · DAF · MAN

DIESEL TECHNIC (M.E.) FZE · DUBAIDIESEL TECHNIC (M.E.) FZEDIESEL TECHNIC (M.E.) FZE

Tel. +971 4 883 6832 · Fax +971 4 883 7649 · E-Mail: [email protected] · www.dieseltechnic.com

Spare parts for trucks and bussesPièces détachées pour autobus et PLComplete range with more than 20,000 spare parts for commercial vehiclesGamme complète avec plus de 20.000 pièces aux véhicules industriels

Contact us: English, French, German, Arabic,Hindi, Urdu, Swahili ... – no problem!

Contactez nous: Français, Anglais, Allemand, Arabe, Hindi, Urdu, Swahili ... – pas de problème!

Abu Dhabi’s Waterside

Page 8: 25no1
Page 9: 25no1

14 selamta January - march 2008 15

D E s t I N A t I O N Z A N Z I B A rPhotos by Camerapix Ltd

14 selamta

Photos by Kate Nivison

Lusaka, the capital and largest town of land-locked Zambia, has long been known as one of Africa’s more pleasant cities, reports Kate Nivison

Like many African cities, Lusaka has experienced rapid growth in recent years, but this hasn’t destroyed its basically spacious and optimistic ambience. Nor has it become the kind of town where visitors fear to tread.

Far from it; Lusaka, with its well-defined central layout, planned suburbs, modern hotels, shopping malls and easily recognisable street names and landmarks, often comes as a revelation to newcomers – even more so now that a major road resurfacing programme has taken place.

Like any African city, Lusaka has its fair share of light industrial sprawl and high-density townships, but its position on a plateau at around 4,000 ft (1,200 m.) has given it some clear natural advantages. With no major rivers or natural barriers to cramp its growth, the city has been able to expand comfortably to accommodate a population of around one million people. In fact one tenth of Zambia’s population now lives here. The limestone bedrock, rare in Central Africa, guarantees not only good natural drainage, but has supported a local cement industry (at Chilanga, just south of the city) so that vital construction work doesn’t have to rely on costly imports. Best of all, its altitude ensures a comfortable climate all year, and a feeling that, even in the rainy season (November-March), it won’t be long before the sun appears again. October is the warmest month, but it’s never unbearably hot, and the flowering of the city’s many trees and gardens provides a colourful build-up to the approaching rains.

Lusaka has a lot in common with other African capitals, including the fact that it was never intended to be the capital – that honour going initially to Livingstone, much further to the south. Like Nairobi, Lusaka started life as a very rough and ready camp for workers and surveyors when the first railway track in the area came to temporary halt on its way up from the south in the early 1900s. Its original, simple layout, with both road and railway running parallel north-south through the town reflected this, and the name of the main thoroughfare, called Cairo Road even today, recalls that the road and railway were part of Cecil Rhodes’s great ‘Cape to Cairo’ dream.

When Lusaka was finally chosen as a more central capital for the then Northern Rhodesia in 1935, some inspired colonial town-planning insured that the town developed as a pleasant place to live, while still retaining a slightly ‘frontier’ feel with hitching rails outside its handful of single-storey banks and pan-roofed hotels. These are long-gone, replaced by gleaming, air-conditioned tower-blocks, but even now, some out-of-town farms have their pioneer wagon wheels at the gates, and the occasional building façade in Dutch-colonial or British style has survived among the more modern developments.

Today, Cairo Road still retains its central reservation planted with scarlet flamboyant trees, under which the curio sellers lay out their wares. Most of the banks, the main Post Office, travel agents, a few older hotels, specialist shops and eating place are found here. However, Cairo Road is now no longer considered the main shopping area. That function has been taken over by shopping malls such as a large Shoprite Wholesale Outlet a couple of kilometres along the Kafue Road south out of town, and also the Manda Hill and Northmeads complexes, both of which are off the Great East Road. At the north end of Cairo Road is the Kabwe Roundabout, where the Great North Road leads to the Copperbelt

towns of Ndola and Kitwe, and the Great East Road heads for the International Airport, and eventually Chipata and the Malawi border.

At the other end of Cairo Road, and now incorporating a fly-over, is the Kafue Roundabout, the southern traffic hub from which ‘Cecil’s dream road’ goes to Chilanga, the Kafue Bridge, Livingstone and the Zambezi Bridge/Victoria Falls, following the railway closely all the way. Running east from the Kafue Roundabout, and parallel to the Great East Road, is Independence Avenue, another of Lusaka’s well-known landmarks which rises gently to an area once known as Cathedral Hill, and The Ridgeway. In a pleasant, tree-shaded wedge of land between here and Addis Ababa Drive, and including Birdcage Walk, are to be found at the High Court, the Anglican Cathedral of Holy Cross, Lusaka’s Theatre and Central Sports Club, and its three largest hotels – the Intercontinental, the Taj Padmozi and the Holiday Inn (the old Ridgeway Hotel). A further triangle of trees and gardens between Haile Selassie Avenue and the continuation of Independence Avenue contains most of the embassies and consulates, the Lusaka Club and Golf Club, and, as you would expect, some good restaurants. The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and the University itself (a rather 1960s concrete

LIVELY LUsAKAZambia’s ‘garden City’

Out-of-town shopping mall

Page 10: 25no1

16 selamta

Those in search of something more adventurous than shopping malls might like to try the several local markets. The largest is the New City Market, on Lumumba Road, and the Central Market is still in its old position on the unforgettably named Chachacha Road. Both of these are near Cairo Road, while Kamwala Market is off Independence Avenue near the Kafue Road fly-over. As with many big cities, a little extra care is advised here over personal belongings.

Because Lusaka is so spread out, getting around can be a problem for those without their own transport. Using local taxis or the frequently over-crowded mini-buses which race between the suburbs, townships and markets is an option for the young and experimental who can deal with the noisy business of negotiating the admittedly very cheap fares. Other visitors may prefer to hire a car complete with driver, as provided by the more reputable firms, if transport is not provided. It is often best to settle for a local driver who understands both the locality and the traffic.

Out of town, for a free morning or afternoon, Munda Wanga Zoo and Botanical Gardens about 15 kilometres south on the Kafue Road is a favourite spot for families and picnickers. Its fortunes have come and gone over the years, but efforts are now being made to re-house the animals in better conditions and to pep up both the layout for the many interesting plants and recreational facilities. Art enthusiasts might prefer the Namwandwe Art Gallery about 15 kilometres out of town near the American School on Leopard’s Hill Road, where the pictures, carvings and ceramics from over a hundred Zambian artists are on display and for sale, making them interesting upmarket souvenirs.

L U s A K A

Ethiopian flies 4 times a week to Lusaka

affair) also have their own green and shady areas with plenty of room for expansion.

So it is true to say that the area most frequented by visitors to the country lies east of Cairo Road, and is convenient for the airport and most amenities. Leafy suburbs such as Roma and Garden lie to the north of this area, and the industrial part of town and some of the best-known townships such as Matero, are mainly to the north west of the Cairo Road axis. Big depots for agricultural, earth moving, construction, mining and drilling equipment figure largely here, reflecting Zambia’s all-important copper mining industry, and a rural economy based on maize, cattle, cotton and groundnut production.

Still within the city limits, there is the tall, copper-faced National Assembly building which glows attractively at sunset off Addis Ababa Drive. It is open to the public on Friday afternoons, but guided tours can be booked on the last Thursday of the month. Anyone interested in railways might like to look at the station, still with some of its early 20th century features, off Cairo Road, but photography is forbidden here, and in other places considered ‘sensitive’.

South of the Ridgeway area and not far from the University Teaching Hospital is Kabwata Cultural Village, where there are plenty of reasonably priced local artefacts if you haven’t already succumbed to the numerous freelance sellers elsewhere, together with displays of traditional dancing. For many visitors, this could be the nearest they will get to local culture unless they are prepared to drive for perhaps hundreds of miles to secluded villages where they have contacts, or when a festival such as the Kuomboka, based around Mongu, the capital of distant Western Province, is taking place.

New Development near the capital Kafue roundabout

Page 11: 25no1

Hilton Addis AbabaMenelik II Avenue

P.O. Box 1164 Addis Ababa Ethiopiahilton.com

And let you see things diff erently. Relax in the warm mineral water from a deep thermal spring. Experience the traditional Ethiopian hospitality ‘for business or pleasure’. The Hilton Addis Ababa has it all!

To make your reservation, call +251 11 517 00 00.

Travel is more than just A to B. Travel should relax you.

Hilton Addis Millen pool ad.indd1 1 12/11/2007 3:46:06 PM

Page 12: 25no1

20 selamta January - march 2008 21

Forget a mere evening of fun: how about fifteen days? Forget the little poppers of December 31 that people call fireworks: the Chinese light up the entire night sky with a dazzling

display, and throw in laser beams, illuminated skyscrapers and thousands of firecrackers as well. And don’t even blink at the idle superstitions of other New Years; the Chinese have knives, noodles, plum blossoms, red envelopes, dragons, gods, goddesses, ghosts and evil spirits to worry about.

If you’re going to celebrate New Year, do it loud and long. Celebrations continue over 15 days between late January and mid-February. Far from having run out of steam, the final day is the Lantern Festival and a good excuse for another round of partying. The whole affair is referred to as Spring Festival: a time of symbolic goodbyes and greetings, odd omens and legend, celebration and good fun. It’s all about making a fresh start, ushering out the old and welcoming in the new, accompanied by as much good luck as you can accumulate.

Imbued with superstition and old beliefs, many of the observances of Chinese New Year have actually fallen out of favour in Mainland China. Although they’re now undergoing something of a renaissance, most mainland Chinese celebrate a very secularised New Year, with the emphasis mainly on family get-togethers, eating and holidays, since most Chinese get a two-week break for the occasion. You have to head elsewhere to enjoy Chinese New Year to the fullest.

Hong Kong goes all-out and has undoubtedly the best fireworks display, with the harbour and laser-lit skyscrapers as backdrop. Taiwanese families also still observe many traditional practices. In Taipei, four huge New Year’s markets are particularly renowned, combining street market with cultural activities in a wonderfully festive atmosphere. The holiday ends with a Lantern Festival marked by a giant parade of floats decorated with lanterns and displaying mechanized heroes from Chinese legend. Dragon and lion dances are performed, and the God of Happiness eventually makes an appearance and prays for prosperity and happiness for all in the coming year.

In Singapore, the God of Prosperity presides; the gigantic and much-loved figure sprinkles gold dust over the crowds, bringing fortune for the year ahead. Fireworks and a showcase of Chinese food and culture follow. Singapore’s Chinatown is full of bustle as local shops gear up for the festive season, which culminates in the Chingay Parade: 3,000 participants on floats or performing in the street. With a typically modern Singaporean twist, rock bands also participate, and laser beams pierce the sky. As firecrackers are banned in Singapore, people relay the sounds of exploding firecrackers through their stereo sets. Lots of noise frightens away the evil spirits and ghosts which often become restless at the turning of the year: this is why Chinese New Year everywhere is so loud with vigorous lion and dragon dances, clashing cymbals, booming drums and staccato bursts of firecrackers and fireworks.

f E A t U r E

Just about every culture in the world celebrates New Year, but none more heartily than the Chinese. As Brian Johnston explains, their New Year arrives with a bang!

20 selamta

Chinese New YearYear of the rat

Page 13: 25no1

22 selamta

Increasingly, Chinese New Year is also becoming a major event in Western cities with large immigrant populations, even if many of these are shortened occasions; few overseas Chinese get two weeks off for Spring Festival. Numerous American cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Chicago have parades and observances of the Lantern Festival, beauty pageants, dragon dances and fireworks. No firecracker ban here, so Chinese New Year is a very noisy affair. The parade in San Francisco takes place at night and is illuminated; the city hosts the largest Chinese New Year’s celebration outside Asia and includes the crowning of Miss Chinatown USA.

In London, there’s a parade of children and Chinese lions, as well as stage performances, market stalls and fireworks in Leicester Square. Sydney has a full three-week programme of events centred on its Chinatown and involving food markets, dragon boat races on the harbour and a parade that shuts down the main thoroughfare in the city centre.

A major feature of Chinese New Year everywhere is the emphasis on fine and abundant food. Plenty of everything now, the idea goes, will mean plenty of everything to come, and whatever comes to you on New Year’s Day will set the style for the rest of the year. The Chinese make merry over the dining table throughout the 15 days, the most important moment being a gargantuan family feast on New Year’s Eve. (Only on the 13 day of New Year does austerity creep in: simple rice congee and greens are supposed to cleanse the system after the excesses of the preceding two weeks.) Much of the food served has various symbolic associations: oysters for success in business, black seaweed and dried beancurd for wealth, abalone for abundance. Long noodles for a long life are also widely eaten.

Chinese homes are decorated with tangerines – symbolic of enduring friendship, so an ideal gift from visitors – and with ‘trays of togetherness’ containing peanuts (longevity), candied melon (good health) and other snacks for good fortune. Flowers and plants such as water lilies, narcissus and sprigs of pine and bamboo are also traditionally associated with Chinese New Year, making flower markets in Chinese cities at this time a sight to behold.

Red is the colour of choice for decorations, since it’s associated with good luck and happiness. Buildings and doors are pasted with strips of red paper inked with prayers for the coming year or elegant couplets celebrating spring, and giant red Chinese characters for ‘spring’ and ‘luck’ profilerate. Money in red envelopes is handed out to children and unmarried friends, with the token amounts of money being less important than the red envelope itself. There’s another very good reason for all this red: it’s said that the legendary monster known as Nian (or ‘year’) which comes out of the mountains and preys on people is not only afraid of loud noises, but the colour red as well.

Embrace red, avoid white – that would be the traditional colour of mourning. A whole host of other superstitions and beliefs permeate Spring Festival and is still observed, to a greater or lesser degree, by many Chinese. Avoid bad language, unlucky words such as ‘death’, and don’t speak of the past year. Don’t use knives and scissors on the first day of New Year, since that will ‘cut’ your good luck. Try not to fall or stumble for the same reason. And don’t cry, since it’s foretold that you’ll keep crying all year. (Worrisome enough to get many children off their punishments for the day!)

C h I N E s E N E W Y E A r

The second day of New Year is said to be the birthday of all dogs: be especially nice to your furry friends.

Chinese New Year is shared by the Vietnamese (where it’s called Tet) and by the Koreans (Je-Sok). Deeply influenced by Chinese culture, both Tet and Je-Sok are similar to the Chinese tradition, with local variations. In Vietnam, for example, the yellow blossom of the hoa mai flower is favoured for decoration. Families also ‘plant’ a tree or branch in front of their homes from which all the leaves have been removed; the tree is then wrapped or decorated with red paper. It remains there until the last day of New Year. At midnight on New Year’s Eve people head to the temples to pray, then to the parks to watch fireworks and dragon dances. In Hanoi, boys and girls gather outside the cultural centre dressed as kings and queens and perform as live pieces in a giant chess game, bringing a touch of intellectual effort to the festivities.

In Korea, families sit up all night on New Year’s Eve with lit torches, and in their bare feet, in order to defend the coming year against evil spirits. Footwear is hidden away, since ghosts are supposed to enter the house and take away the best pair of shoes – should they be able to find them. It’s also said that, if you fall asleep on the night, your eyebrows will turn grey. Chestnuts and pine nuts are the traditional snack, and rice wine is drunk chilled, whereas it’s generally enjoyed warmed at other times.

In Seoul, the striking of the giant Chonggak bell, the biggest and best-known bell in all Korea, is a significant moment. Vast crowds gather at midnight to hear it toll, an event that is also broadcast on television. On New Year’s Day, Koreans wear traditional costume and formally greet their parents and grandparents. Farmers perform dances in the fields, accompanied by gongs and drums. Happy new year indeed!

Page 14: 25no1

Increasingly, when leaders are looking for a convenient venue to hold serious discussions and take decisions that will impact millions of people, they choose the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Addis Ababa, Africa’s political capital.

UNCC is a fully integrated and secure complex with state of the art facilities for all kinds of meetings —whether for ten people or a thousand leaders! With its large meeting rooms, exhibition space, advanced audio-visual equipment, video editing suites, radio broadcasting studio, printing facilities, high-speed wireless internet connections and catering services, UNCC is the right choice for conference organizers.

Serviced by world-class professionals, multi-lingual interpreters and the world press resident in Addis Ababa, UNCC is minutes away from major five-star hotels. Choose UNCC for your next meeting and leave the planning to us.

United Nations Conference Centre

P.O. Box 3001

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: +251-11- 551-4945

Fax: +251-11-551-3155

E-mail: [email protected]

Web: http://www.uneca.org/uncc

There is a reasoN

leaders meeT here

Page 15: 25no1

26 selamta January - march 2008 27

Beautiful paintings in St. George’s church in Bahar Dar.

‘the land of a thousand smiles’, home of the Ark of the Covenant, custodian of some of the world’s oldest civilisations – this is Ethiopia. But how much do you really know about this amazing country? selamta fills

in a few fascinating gaps...

A Land of Timeless Appeal

Legend has it that Emperor Menelik I, the son of the Queen of Sheba

and King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem

to Axum, where he settled and established one of the world’s longest

known, uninterrupted monarchical dynasties.

This is only one example of Ethiopia’s magnificent history, which

encompasses legend and tradition, mystery and fact, from a powerful and

religious ancient civilization. The well-trodden path through Ethiopia’s

famous and fascinating historic sites takes you through a scenic, magnificent

world of fairy-tale names, such as Axum, Lalibela, Gondar, Debre Damo and

Bahar Dar.

Travelling the route by plane, car or both will offer you a glimpse into

a truly remarkable past. As well as many priceless historical relics, you will

also see the castles at Gondar, the churches of Lalibela hewn out of living

rock, the mysterious giant stelae at Axum, the ruins of the Queen of Sheba’s

palace, and the monastery at Debre Damo, whose access is limited to men

and then only by way of a rope lowered by the friendly monks above.

Debre markosTaking the historic route north from Addis Ababa, the first stop is Debre

Markos, 305 kilometres north of the capital. Here you will find the 19th-

century church of Markos (Saint Mark), with its pale but beautiful paintings

depicting scenes of biblical and religious history.

Bahar DarBahar Dar, the next stop, is 578 kilometres from Addis Ababa, has two

daily Ethiopian Airlines flights and a number of good hotels, and is located

on the southern shores of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, with its

ancient island monasteries and both the Blue and the White Nile’s most

spectacular feature, the Tis Isat falls.

On the island of Dega Estefanos you will find the church of Saint

Stefanos, which has a priceless collection of icons and manuscripts and

houses the mummified remains of a number of Ethiopian emperors.

For the modern traveller, the starting point of any visit to the Blue Nile

Falls, or to the islands of Lake Tana, is the bustling market town of Bahar

Dar on the lake’s south-eastern shore. The colourful markets

and a variety of handicrafts and weaving centres also make it a comfortable

base for excursion by land or water. Bahar Dar port provides access by boat

to a number of historic lakeside churches and monasteries near and far.

Most date from the 17th-century and have beautifully painted walls. Many

such places of worship now have fascinating museums, at which the visitor

can see priceless

illustrated manuscripts, historic crowns and fine royal

and ecclesiastical robes. Some monastic islands are forbidden to women, but

others can be visited by all.

Visitors to Bahar Dar can also see tankwas, locally made canoes, made

out of the papyrus reeds growing by the lake shore, as well as an historic

old building erected, in St. Georges church compound, by the 17th-century

Spanish Jesuit, Pero Paes.

gondarThe next stop on the historic route is the graceful city of Gondar,

founded by Emperor Fasilidas in 1636. The city was Ethiopia’s capital until

the reign of the would-be reforming Emperor Tewodros II, also known as

Theodore. During its long years as a capital, the settlement emerged as

one of the largest and most populous cities in the realm. It was a great

commercial centre, trading with the rich lands south of the Blue Nile, as

well as with Sudan to the west and the Red Sea port of Massawa to the

north-east.

Gondar is famous for its many medieval castles and the design and

decoration of its churches. The earliest of the castles was created by

Places & travel

Ruins Of Queen Of Sheba’s Palace.

Ethiopia

Battlements and turrets of Gondar’s castles.

Page 16: 25no1

28 selamta January - march 2008 29

A L a n d o f t i m e l e s s A p p e a l

Fasilidas himself and is

still in such an excellent state of repair that it is possible to climb its stairs

all the way to the roof, which commands a breathtaking view over much of

the city. Besides the famous palaces, visitors should inspect the Bathing

Palace of Emperor Fasilidas, which is used for the annual Timket or Epiphany

celebrations, and the abbey of the redoubtable 18th-century Empress

Mentewab at Qwesquam, in the mountains just outside Gondar.

YehaThe journey through Ethiopia’s historic route takes you on rough tracks,

through dramatic highland scenery and eventually ends in a beautiful and

serene agricultural hamlet. It is here that you may see the towering ruins of

Yeha’s Temple of the Moon, an imposing rectangular edifice built more than

2,500 years ago. The temple speaks eloquently of the works of an early high

civilization, although little is actually known about the people who built this

great edifice.

AxumMuch more is known about the historic highland city of Axum, once

a great commercial centre, trading via the Red Sea port of Adulis and

founded perhaps 500 years after the decline of Yeha. With daily Ethiopian

Airlines flights from Addis Ababa, Axum stands in the highlands of north-

western Tigray, commanding spectacular views over the nearby Adwa

hills. This ancient settlement is frequently referred to as “the sacred city

of the Ethiopians” – a description that adequately sums up its significance

in national culture as a centre of Orthodox Christianity. Many remarkable

monuments here attest to the great antiquity of religious expression in this

country, and as a former capital that has never lost its special appeal to the

hearts and minds of all Ethiopians.

Axum is renowned for its Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion where, legend has

it, the original Ark of the Covenant is housed. Axum is also famous for its

seven mysterious monolithic stelae, hewn from single pieces of solid granite.

The most notable are carved to resemble multi-storey houses; several weigh

more than 500 tonnes and stand 20 metres high. They seem less like prayers

of stone and more like lightning-rods to heaven.

Axum’s greatest significance, however, is as the epicentre of the Queen

of Sheba’s dynasty, upon which rests the notion of the sacred kinship of the

Semitic peoples of Ethiopia – a notion that links the recent past to ancient

times. The former Emperor Haile Selassie claimed to be the 225th monarch

of the Solomonic line. His death in 1975 marked the end of an era – and the

beginning of the end of an entire way of life.

Debre DamoSome four hours drive from Axum – plus a further two hours, stiff uphill

walk from the point where the road ends – lies the monastery of Debre

Damo, situated on a clifftop in one of the wildest parts of Tigray. Debre

Damo is unique and unforgettable. The bluff on which Damo stands is a

real-life Shangri-La. Remote and beautiful, far from the hustle and bustle

of the 21st century, the cool celestial island of rock offers panoramic views

over the surrounding countryside and complete seclusion and peace for the

hundred or so monks and deacons who live there. The monastery’s treasures

Ruins of Yeha’s Temple of the Moon.

Monastery of Debre Damo situated on a clifftop. The only way up is by rope – an unforgettable experience.

include an extensive collection of illuminated manuscripts and the intricate

carvings on the beams and ceiling of the ancient church around which the

monastery is built.

LalibelaHundreds of miles to the south and east of Axum with daily Ethiopian

Airlines flights from Addis Ababa, is another ancient settlement, Lalibela,

which is also 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

11 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 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 colour 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.

hararNo 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 has probably always had a great deal more in common with the

Horn’s coastal culture than with the life of the highlands – and it retains

to this day a certain redolence of the Orient. The most dominant features,

apart from its strong encircling walls, is its rich and exciting market place

– probably the most colourful in Ethiopia. With its 90 mosques and shrines,

Harar is considered to be the fourth-most sacred centre of the Islamic world.

Its Islamic character is best expressed in the Grand Mosque (Al Jami), which

dominates the town.

Rightly renowned for its intricately worked filigree jewellery of silver,

gold and amber, Harar’s Megalo Gudo market is also a centre for beautiful

baskets of woven grass, decorative wall-mats and bright shawls, as well

as all the fruits, vegetables, spices and grains of the province. Harar’s

five gates – the only means to enter or leave the city centre – have been

strongly guarded over the years. The fully restored Rimbaud house is well

worth a visit. Monk inside a rock-hewn church in Lalibela.

Page 17: 25no1

30 selamta January - march 2008 31

Nature & Wildlife

E thiopia boasts seven of the Great Rift Valley lakes. Some are alkaline

brown, yet surprisingly good for swimming; some are tropical in

setting; some are bordered or fed by hot mineral springs; some play

host to large flocks of flamingos, pelicans, cormorants, herons, storks and

ibises; with 831 recorded bird species, Ethiopia is a bird-watcher’s paradise.

Ethiopia’s Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile. The lake is dotted

with island monasteries, which house many treasures of medieval art. Only

30 kilometres from the lake, the river explodes over Tis Isat falls (meaning

‘smoke of fire’) – a sight that inspired wonder from the 18th-century

explorer, James Bruce. Before the Blue Nile joins the White Nile, which flows

north from Lake Victoria, it runs for 800 kilometres through one of the

world’s deepest and most dramatic gorges.

Ethiopia’s mountains rise up to a height of over 4,000 metres, with Mount

Batu, the second highest peak in Ethiopia, rising to 4,307metres. The national

parks enable the visitor to enjoy the country’s scenery and its wildlife,

conserved in natural habitats, and offer opportunities for travel adventure

unparalleled in Africa.

Awash National Park is the oldest and most developed wildlife reserve

in Ethiopia. Featuring the 1,800-metre Fantalle Volcano, numerous mineral

hot springs and extraordinary volcanic formations, this natural treasure is

bordered to the south by the Awash River and lies 225 kilometres east of the

capital, Addis Ababa.

The wildlife consists mainly of East African plains animals. Oryx, bat-

eared fox, caracal, aardvark, colobus and green monkeys,

anubis and hamadryas baboons, klip-springer, leopard, bushbuck,

hippopotamus, Soemmering’s gazelle, cheetah, lion, kudu and 450 species of

birds of all kinds live within the park’s 720 square kilometres.

The Bale Mountains, with their vast moorlands – the lower reaches

covered with St. John’s wort – and their extensive heathland, virgin

woodlands, pristine mountain streams and alpine climate, remain an

untouched and beautiful world. Rising to a height of more than 4,000

metres, the range borders Ethiopia’s southern highlands, whose highest peak,

Mount Tullu Deemtu , stands at 4,377 metres.

The establishment of the 2,400-square-kilometre Bale Mountains National

Park was crucial to the survival of the mountain nyala, Menelik’s bushbuck

and the Simien red fox. This fox is one of the most colourful members of the

dog family and more abundant here than anywhere else in Ethiopia. All three

endemic animals thrive in this environment, the nyala in particular being seen

in large numbers. The Bale Mountains offer some fine high-altitude terrain

for horse and foot trekking, and the streams of the park – which become

important rivers further downstream – are well-stocked with rainbow and

brown trout.

The Baro River area, accessible by land or air through the western

Ethiopian town of Gambela, remains a place of adventure and challenge.

Not far from where it leaves Lake Tana, the Blue Nile plunges over the Tis Isat falls into a 800-kilometre-long gorge on its way to the Mediterranean.

Hippo in one of the pools on a quiet reach of the Omo River

Page 18: 25no1

32 selamta January - march 2008 33

Travelling across the endless undulating plains of high Sudanese grass,

visitors can enjoy a sense of achievement in simply finding their way around.

This is Ethiopia’s true tropical zone and here are found all the elements of

the African safari, enhanced by a distinctly Ethiopian flavour. Nile perch

weighing 100 kilos can be caught in the waters of Baro, snatched from the

jaws of the huge crocodiles that thrive along the riverbank. The white-eared

kob also haunts the Baro, along with other riverbank residents that include

the Nile lechwe, buffalo, giraffe, tiang, waterbuck, roan antelope, zebra,

bushbuck, Abyssinian reedbuck, warthog, hartebeest, lion, elephant and

hippopotamus.

The Simien Mountain massif is a broad plateau, cut off to the north and

west by an enormous single crag over 60 kilometres long. To the south,

the tableland slopes gently down to 2,200 metres, divided by gorges 1,000

metres deep which can take more than two days to cross. Insufficient

geological time has elapsed to smooth the contours of the crags and

buttresses of hardened basalt.

Within this spectacular splendour live the Walia (Abyssinian) ibex,

Simien red fox and Gelada baboon – all endemic to Ethiopia – as well

as the hamadryas baboon, klipspringer and bushbuck. Birds such as the

lammergeyer, augur buzzard, Verreaux’s eagle, kestrel and falcon soar above

this mountain retreat. Twenty kilometres north-east of Gondar, the Simien

Mountains National Park covers 179 square kilometres of highland area at an

average elevation of 3,300 metres. Ras Dashen, at 4,620 metres the highest

peak in Ethiopia, stands adjacent to the park.

The Simien escarpments, which are often compared to the Grand Canyon

in the United States of America, have been named by UNESCO as a World

Heritage Site.

A magnificent greater kudu. They are found in rocky, hilly country in six of Ethiopia’s national parks.

Afro-alpine flora finds a craggy foothold on a rock bluff in the stunning wilderness of the Simien Mountains.

Saddle-billed stork on the shore of Lake Chamo – one of ten stork species found in Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa

With a population of more than three million people, Addis

Ababa is not only the political capital but also the economic

and social nerve centre of Ethiopia. Founded by Emperor

Menelik in 1887, this big, sprawling, hospitable city still bears the stamp of

his exuberant personality. More than 21,000 hectares in area, Addis Ababa is

situated in the foothills of the 3,000 metres Entoto Mountains and rambles

pleasantly across many wooded hillsides and gullies cut through with fast-

flowing streams.

There is more than enough to do in Addis. There are numerous restaurants

offering various exotic dishes from many parts of the world. Ethiopian food

is served at the majority and there are Chinese, Italian, French, Indian,

Armenian, Arabic, Greek and many other leading specialist restaurants.

Indeed, it is possible to eat your way round the world without ever leaving

Addis Ababa! On the entertainment side several cinemas show international

films with English dialogue or subtitles. Most of these cinemas also stage

dramas in Amharic depicting Ethiopian’s social and cultural life during

different historical epochs. Shopping in Addis is a delight and the shops

are fairly well-stocked with almost all consumer goods. The local jewellery,

sold by the weight of gold or silver, is in particularly high demand. The main

market-place, known as the Mercato, is the largest open market-place in

Africa and has a wonderful range of goods, items of local art and Ethiopian

curios and antiques. Here, haggling over prices is expected – and one should

allow ample time for this.

At the shops in town, however, prices are fixed, although a small discount

is often allowed on large purchases. If you have some spare time during your

stay there are a number of places that are well worth a visit. Addis Ababa

University, whose campus occupies a palace built by Haile Selassie before the

Italian occupation of Ethiopia, houses the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and

the Ethnological Museum. The St. George Cathedral was built in 1896 in the

traditional octagonal shape in commemoration of Ethiopia’s military success at

the Battle of Adwa (St. George is the patron saint of the soldier). The Menelik

Mausoleum was built in 1911 and the Trinity Cathedral in 1941. Both serve as

tombs of emperors, princes and Ethiopian martyrs of freedom. Menelik’s wife,

Taitu, and his daughter, Zewditu, are also entombed at the Mausoleum.

A L a n d o f t i m e l e s s A p p e a l

Page 19: 25no1

34 selamta

A L a n d o f t i m e l e s s A p p e a l

On 12 September 2007, or 1 Meskerem 2000, Ethiopia entered its third

millennium, a phenomenon unique to the country.

Had it not been for an act of history, the event would have been

celebrated worldwide. As it is, Ethiopia is now the only country to

adhere officially to the ancient Julian calendar which, until 1582, was used by

the entire Christian world. This calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC,

consists of 12 months of equal duration, plus a 13th month of five days (six days

in a leap year).

Ethiopia’s millennium is a result of its Orthodox Christian religion, although

other Orthodox countries such as Russia, Greece and Serbia, celebrated the

millennium eight years ago, along with much of the rest of the world. Many

Orthodox religious festivals still follow the dates of the “Old Calendar”, but the

nations themselves abide by the Gregorian calendar, or “New Calendar”.

The fact is that most of the Christian world began changing over to the

Gregorian calendar some 400 years ago, during the time of Pope Gregory XIII

after whom it is named. Even then, it was a gradual process and countries such

as Russia and Greece did not embrace it until 1918 and 1923 respectively. The

most recent nation to adopt the Gregorian calendar is Eritrea.

Ethiopian millennium

The Gregorian calendar, a modified version of the Julian calendar, is now

widely accepted as an international standard for measuring time and for

civil use. It came into being in 1582 because of a perceived need to regulate

Christian festivals, most importantly Easter which - due to the “shifting”

equinox over the centuries caused by accumulated inaccuracies in the Julian

calendar – was slipping away from its springtime position into summer.

January 1 was universally accepted as the beginning of the new year, and the

equinox was established around 21 March.

But, faithful to its long history as a Christian country, Ethiopia stayed

with the Julian calendar which is seven years and eight months behind the

Gregorian version. It was simply a matter of choice. New Year falls on 1

Meskerem, equivalent to 11 September (or 12 September every four year),

signifying the end of the rainy season and the beginning of spring.

The Ethiopian millennium which commenced with much enthusiasm

and celebration on the eve of 12 September 2007 and will continue until

September 2008 and has already showcased a number of special events,

some of which will leave a lasting legacy for the future. There has never

been a better time to visit Ethiopia!

Page 20: 25no1
Page 21: 25no1

38 selamta January - march 2008 39

f E A t U r E

LEt’s gO tO thE rItZ the ritz hotel in Paris first opened its doors in1898.

Cyril Bracegirdle takes a look at the rich history of one of

the world’s most famous hotels.

he world would never have heard the name of Ritz had it not been for the 13th son of a poor Swiss shepherd. There was no room on the farm for all those children so, at the age of 15, Caesar Ritz went to look for work in Paris.

He took a job as a waiter in the fashionable Voisin restaurant. Here he became friendly with the chef at another restaurant – a chef named Escoffier.These two were destined to form the most famous partnership in the history of cuisine and hotel management.

The former Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII of Great Britain, once said to Caesar: “You are not only the hotelier of kings, you are the king of hoteliers”.

From the Voisin, the shepherd boy had to temporarily interrupt his career with a spell in a Swiss sanatorium for TB, and that experience was to make him a fanatic about cleanliness and hygiene, which characterised his management of hotels thereafter.

Recovering, he ran a hotel in Vienna for a while, and it was there he met the kings, queens and princes of most of the royal families of Europe, and in the 1870s there were plenty of those.

Richard D’Oyly Carte, the famous English impresario who built the Savoy Theatre in London and produced the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, decided to construct an hotel adjoining the theatre. He sent for Caesar Ritz to manage it.

When the Savoy opened its doors, Caesar had brought with him his friend Escoffier as head chef, and it was at the Savoy that Escoffier set the guidelines for a nouvelle cuisine in hotel catering.

In 1880 there came into Caesar’s life Nubar Gulbenkian, the oil magnate. This man, with a group of other wealthy tycoons, decided to build a hotel that would be fit for kings. They formed a company for the purpose in London, but the hotel was to be in Paris, and who

better to manage it but Caesar Ritz, friend of kings?The company bought the empty palace of the Duke de Lauzan

in the Place Vendome, and engaged architect Charles Mews to refurbish and redesign the building. On 1st June 1898, the first Ritz Hotel, named after its manager, opened for business with 150 apartments, 60 of them with drawing rooms. The furniture was Louis XIV and the doorknobs were hand chiselled. Unlike any conventional hotel there was no lounge. “Lounges are common”, declared Caesar.

Gulbenkian owned a palatial mansion on the Avenue Lena, but he was so enchanted by the Ritz that he always slept in the hotel instead. Coco Chanel, the famous couturier, was another who took to sleeping there instead of her nearby apartment.

Royalty were, of course, the favourite customers until the first world war, which considerably reduced the ranks of European crowned heads. More frequent guests in the 1920s and ‘30s were the likes of Andrew Carnegie, F.W. Woolworth, and Pierpont Morgan. Garbo was often there, and Valentino could be seen smoking cigarettes through yard-long holders in Le Bar au Ritz from which ladies were excluded until 1936.

Author Graham Greene sat in a corner observing customers and making notes for his novels. Noel Coward came often, and Ernest Hemingway had his own table in the bar.

The Ritz thrived on welcoming the rich and famous. If a guest returned after a long absence he would be offered the same room. “We try to create the habit of returning,” said Claude Auzello, the manager who followed Caesar when he, sadly, had to go to a sanatorium in Switzerland in 1902, suffering from the illness which kept him there until his death in1918.

suite Channel.

Page 22: 25no1

40 selamta January - march 2008 41

The name of the Ritz is spelled out in letters of gold over the Vendome entrance. Through those revolving doors Diana and Dodi came to enjoy their last dinner on earth.

The siting of the building is superb with views on all sides. To the east is the Vendome Column, to the west the hotel’s gardens, to the north the Opera, to the south the Ministry of Justice. Trees, birds, a sense of tranquillity and the Paris rooftops enhance the natural beauty of this temple of luxury.

Inside are stately pink marble colonnades, stunning mirrored hallways and salons, sparkling candelabra and thick pile carpets. Sunshine filters through silken drapes. In winter, logs crackle in fireplaces and the strains of a harp can be heard from the bar at teatime.

Service, designed for kings and queens and still the same, even though many of the crowned heads have gone with the winds of change, is impeccable and unseen. By the time a guest leaves, the hotel will have stored his likes and dislikes on computer against his return.

There are 500 employees, a ratio of more than two per room, and magnificent menus can be served in the rooms if required, or taken in the starred Michelin restaurant.

When Caesar Ritz had taken over the new hotel he had called from London his friend Escoffier to add to the palace of luxury and comfort a restaurant that became a hymn to gastronomy

The Paris Ritz is the only hotel in the world with its own full-time school of cooking, offering a series of courses and demonstrations conceived for both professionals and amateurs. It is the L’Ecole de Gastronomie Francais Ritz-Escoffier, the legacy of the greatest of chefs.

Guests or visitors can have lunch or dinner in the Espadon Restaurant, in the more relaxed atmosphere of the Vendome Bar or the peaceful greenery of the private gardens. Elegant silverware, crystal and flowers adorn the tables, which are discreetly far enough apart to ensure privacy. In summer one can dine under the stars.

Conferences, banquets and cocktail receptions are held in the Salon Louis XV, or in the bright and spacious Salon d’Ete with its open-air terrace garden.

The workshops employ a battalion of skilled craftsmen. Masters of the tradition of excellence, they are responsible for furniture, upholstery, trimmings, carpets and chairs.

The kitchens are another exclusive part of the hotel. This hive of frantic activity is as attractively decorated as the reception areas. The colourful mosaics and gleaming copper pots cohabit with the most modern equipment, and the high-tech designs contrast with the Belle Epoque décor.

In the wine cellar 120,000 bottles are stored, including wines dating back to the 1940s and liqueurs to the 1920s. The oldest drink available on the Espadon menu is an 1812 cognac.

When the second world war came, many of the best suites were reserved for “guests of Hitler,” and Herman Goering took over the table where Hemingway had sat. What Goering and the other Nazi top brass did not know was that Georges, the head barman, was in contact with the resistance and kept them supplied with information about who was staying and leaving. Allied intelligence in London always knew who was at the Ritz.

On the day of liberation, the first American to walk in through the Vendome doors was the flamboyant Hemingway, now a war correspondent with the US forces, waving a gun, which he had no real right to carry. “I’m here to liberate the Ritz!” he announced. These days he is remembered not just by a ‘Hemingway table’ but a Hemingway Bar containing a bust of the author.

After the death of her husband, Marie-Louise Ritz managed the hotel until 1952 when her son Charles took over. In 1976 what was then a rather run-down hotel was sold to Mohammed Al Fayed for$30m. He invested $150m in a 9-year programme of renovation. Modernisation was introduced while still retaining the unique ambiance and tradition of the hotel of kings.

The most beautiful private swimming pool in Paris (16x7m) was dug out of the cellars; the pool is part of the Ritz Health Club and is equipped with the latest technology and decorated with trompe l’oeil drapes, warm hues and frescoes to create the style of Roman baths.

Today, the Ritz may sometimes seem like a remnant of that bygone age of kings for which it was built, but the super rich are still with us, and as long as there are enough of them to pay the bills, so there will be the Ritz on the Place Vendome.

As Ernest Hemingway said “When I dream of heaven and paradise, I am always transported to the Ritz.”

L E t s g O t O t h E r I t Z

mirrored hallway with sparkling Candelabra.

Page 23: 25no1

42 selamta

Page 24: 25no1

44 selamta January - march 2008 45

D r I V E N t O s A N I t Yt E C h N O L O g Y

DrIVEN tO sANItY

the much-vaunted American freeway system can be a boon – or a nightmare if you get lost on it, but the amazing technology if satellite navigation has now introduced a friendly new dimension to driving, whether on the freeway or a suburban back-road, says Leo Walter.

s I leave San Francisco behind and cross the seemingly never-ending Oakland Bridge, the tentacles of the Bay City’s freeway system stretch out ahead, each beckoning, yet each a booby trap if I should stray into the wrong

lane. The traffic around has a life of its own, forcing me

to keep up with the pace of the peak-period flow. San Francisco’s thin fog provides a backdrop from which road signs seem to leap at the last minute, so fast that there is hardly time to read them. If I hesitate or slow down cars behind me will blast their horns; drivers getting angry at my hesitancy. And if I take the wrong turn I will be lost, the bumper-to-bumper traffic propelling me along a road I do not want into a town or suburb I do not know.

In past years, such a journey might have been a nightmare for me, unaccustomed as I am to driving in a city that is oceans away from the country which I call ‘home’. But this time there is no pressure – no panic – and a marvellous feeling that I’m being taken care of and pointed in the right direction.

No, it’s not that I’ve discovered religion, but I am being guided from above. Next to me is a small device, little bigger than the average book that will guide me to my destination.

It is the SatNav – short for satellite-guided navigation system – and it will talk to me, guide me and show me the way, leading me to the exact street number which I have set into the system’s computer.

Now many top-of-the-line vehicles around the world are being assembled with satellite navigation as standard equipment. A small army of cartographers, computer programmers and navigation systems specialists are busy in new-to-the-system cities around the world, setting up maps and systems like the ones that are already in operation from Japan to USA and Germany to Australia.

Here in San Francisco I have hired an inexpensive, mid-sized car and paid the US$6 a day surcharge to avail myself of the company’s in-car satellite navigation system. It is money well spent.

When the doorman brought my car to the driveway of the hotel in the heart of that city, I pressed the ‘ON’ switch and set the system for Miner Road in Orinda, an elegant suburb some 45 minutes from downtown San Francisco.

I set the screen contrast control and waited for the options to be presented.

The first choice was whether I wanted the most use of freeways, the most direct way, or the quickest. The screen also asked whether I wanted to see the ‘points of interest’, but that was more for the visitor who wants a run-down on all the touristy sights and sites. Not me. My hosts were waiting. I just wanted to get there, and felt

the freeway was the way to go. So I clicked that option.

Then came ‘Select City’. I scrolled to Orinda, and clicked again. ‘Select Street Name’ was the next command. I moved to ‘Miner Road’ and clicked again. Then it really surprised me. It asked me for the street number. Could it possibly be that accurate? “Probably not,” I thought, but

entered my host’s street number anyway and clicked again.The screen instructed me to wait while the computer did its

arithmetic, and moments later a map of San Francisco showing me to be at Stockton Street at the very intersection where my hotel stood, appeared. An arrow pointed in the direction I should head. It looked easy. I did what I was told, and was on my way.

The unit interacted with the movement of the car and as I drove along, the arrow remained centred on the screen, but the map moved to show me precisely where I was. I just wished there was a passenger with me to read off the street names and help me keep on

many car dashboards now feature integrated satellite Navigation.

1. the satellite Navigation makes crossing bridges a breeze.

Page 25: 25no1

46 selamta January - march 2008 47

D r I V E N t O s A N I t Y

track. Yet my trusty computer did a pretty good job in that direction. As I came to a critical street, I heard a voice next to me. “NEXT

TURN ON RIGHT FOLLOWED BY LEFT TURN” it said, sounding quite sure of itself. Who was I to argue? I decided to obey orders, and as I did so a thick yellow arrow appeared on the screen, moving as I turned. Then the map reappeared, and the voice boomed again. “GO STRAIGHT ON THE CURRENT ROAD” it instructed. Turns, crossings, street names, more instructions, and I found myself on the ramp to the Bay Bridge. It was time to negotiate the freeway.

My friends had told me to follow the signs to Highway 24, but tantalisingly, not all the signs over the optional forks mentioned this highway, and at that point I would have been ‘flying blind’ if I didn’t have the guidance system. But even with this, a first-time user can get confused.

Becoming confused is something I have practised all my life, to the point where this has become second nature. And this drive was no exception.

Living in a right-hand drive country, it’s hard enough driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road. When your steering wheel is on the right, and suddenly you are in a car that has it on the left, driving requires a lot of extra concentration.

Add fast traffic, fog, an unfamiliar road system, and the fact that you cannot slow down to look at the screen, and it’s easy to make a mistake. That’s my excuse, anyway.

I misinterpreted the turnoff instructions by not paying quite enough attention when two off-roads followed in rapid succession. The computer told me to take the first. But I hesitated and was lost. I took the second!

I thought the computer would have a conniption, but it took the whole thing much more calmly than I did. It knew I had done the wrong thing, but it wasn’t prepared to get angry. No Sir! It just told me to press ‘ENTER’ and start again. I imagined I could hear its

little brain humming – and then, like the computer on the ‘Starship Enterprise’, its new instructions with their words of wisdom appeared. ‘MAKE A U-TURN’ it said, showing me the next turnoff. The problem was that it was 3.5 miles down the road. U-turns on freeways are not all that common.

As I approached the off-ramp for the U-turn a little graph appeared showing me the distance I would still have to travel. It wasn’t going to let me make the same mistake again! This time I got it right, swung round under the freeway, up the other side and I was back on track, with a mere ten minute delay. Without the computer I think I would have finished up in Alaska!

From that point it was getting easier. The computer and I had become friends. Now we understood each other. I drove through the tunnel, off-ramped at Orinda and was unerringly taken to Miner Road, where I was instructed to turn right. Mine was not to question. Mine was to obey!

By now my car was climbing up an often-winding, steep road that meandered past magnificent scenery and palatial million-dollar mansions. But the map next to me never failed to show me exactly where I was.

Now the street numbers were getting close to the one I wanted. And the computer knew it! As I arrived outside the little private road that would lead me to my friend’s home, it told me I had completed my journey. I blessed Hertz, I blessed the computer, I blessed the satellites that, spinning high above the earth had miraculously provided the unerring guidance.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) was launched in the 1980s by the US Department of Defence. More recently a civilian channel, accurate to within a radius of just one hundred metres, has been released for systems similar to that which I had been using. Within a few years I’m sure that SatNav will be as common as the car radio, cruise-control, or air-bag.

There are 24 NavStar GPS satellites positioned 20,200km above the earth, and each repeatedly transmits a radio signal that contains information on the satellite’s identification number, its orbital position and the exact time the message was broadcast.

The car’s computer picks up the signal from three or more of these satellites and automatically calculates exactly where the car is located by comparing the time each signal has taken to travel from the satellite to the receiver. The accuracy depends on how many satellites are being read by the receiver, and with perfect atmospheric conditions the system has been known to pinpoint a car to within 15 to 20 metres.

roundabouts are clearly marked on the satellite Navigation map.

Page 26: 25no1
Page 27: 25no1

50 selamta January - march 2008 51

quarrying for limestone, and the publication of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species in 1859 cast them into the evolutionary limelight. Neanderthal Man (as he was later dubbed) displayed just the mixture of features guaranteed to inspire controversy.

Fossils from Belgium and Gibraltar in due course confirmed the existence of the Neanderthal Man throughout Europe in early times, but did nothing to clarify his status as a missing link.

In the early 1900s, after many skeletons were found, the French paleontologist Marcellin Boule, determined that Neanderthals could not fully extend their legs, walked stooped over, and had his head thrust forward. This notion would be the popular image for about fifty years.

In 1957 researchers re-examined the skeleton Boule had examined and concluded that Neanderthals walked upright and that the stooped posture suggested by Boule’s specimen was due to a case of arthritis.

More evidence from various digs have shown that Neanderthals wielded simple tools, wore body ornaments, had religious rites and ceremoniously buried their dead. Today they are classified as totally human - Homo sapiens – but it seems that they became extinct when the modern race of humans moved into Europe from Africa within the last 100,000 years.

In 1887 a Dutch doctor of medicine, Eugene Dubois, sailed for Java with express intention of finding the ‘missing link’. In four years of excavation Dubois and his team unearthed more than 12,000 fossils – but just five specimens of early man: one jaw fragment, two teeth, one skullcap, and one thighbone.

This meagre evidence was enough to persuade Dubois that he had discovered the missing link. He named it Pithecanthropus erectus (upright apeman) but it was impossible to form from these scanty remains a complete and satisfactory reconstruction, and when similar, more complete specimens were found near Peking in the 1920s it was immediately clear that Dubois’ missing link was more man-like than intermediate.

The Java and Peking materials were named Homo erectus (upright man), and additional discoveries were soon unearthed in Africa. The collection as a whole dates from 1.6 million to 300,000

years ago, making Homo erectus the longest surviving, as well as the most widespread, of all the fossil hominids.

Fifty years after the search for the missing link had begun, Neanderthal man and Dubois’ Java Man were still the only candidates and questions were being asked. How did ape and man diverge from their common ancestor? Which of the three major features that distinguish man from ape evolved first – the upright stance, the large brain, or the differences in dentition? Here was fertile ground for hypothesis and argument which eventually resulted in two opposing points of view. Both camps were confounded by the fossil remains of Piltdown Man which were introduced to science in 1912.

Piltdown Man had a skull and braincase of modern human proportions and a jaw which could have belonged to a modern ape. The perfect missing link. Too perfect, it was eventually discovered. Piltdown Man was a fake – a modern human skull and a modern ape jaw knocked about enough to look like ancient fossils. But 40 years passed before the specimen was proven false and its “proof” that the large brain was an early feature of human evolution tended to dominate the study of fossil man during that time.

This was largely responsible for the rejection of a genuine missing link from South Africa described by Raymond Dart in 1925. The specimen consisted of a partially complete skull with the brain size of an ape and the jaw of a human. Dart named it Australopithecus africanus (the southern ape of Africa), and pointed to features which, he said, indicated the ancestral status of his find. In particular, the hole in the base of the skull through which the spinal cord joins the brain was set well forward, he pointed out, indicating that the head had been erect at the top of the spine, as in humans. This implied that the creature had walked upright on two feet, and if Australopithecus was accepted as a human ancestor then the upright stance must have preceded enlargement of the brain.

Over a period of 25 years, Robert Broom, a retired Scots medical doctor, accumulated evidence which eventually established the validity of Dart’s claim.

Australopithecine fossils from the sites which Broom excavated in the Transvaal included skulls with small brain-cases and skeletal remains of a creature that had quite definitely walked upright. It was now certain that the upright stance had preceded the large brain in the course of human evolution – and Australopithecus could be assigned missing link status.

In 1959 in Tanganyika (now Tanzania), Louis and Mary Leakey found australopithecine fossils at Olduvai Gorge in deposits which turned out to be 1.7 million years old. Geologists working with the Leakeys dated the Olduvai deposits by the newly refined potassium-argon method. This ability to determine the absolute age of a specimen shifted the emphasis of the search from the missing link to the earliest man.

The Leakeys disagreed with the belief that Australopithecus was an ancestor of mankind (they advocated the primacy of the large brain). Louis Leakey dubbed their specimen Zinjanthropus (East Africa Man; popularly known as Nutcracker Man on account of its enormous teeth) and promoted it as the world’s oldest specimen. But the Zinj skull was quietly relegated to a less prominent status when more human-like fossils of a similar age were discovered at Olduvai some months later.

f E A t U r EWritten & Photographed by John reader

The famous English naturalist did not say that people were descended directly from living apes; his carefully reasoned theory merely inspired the hypothesis that since apes and

humans are so similar, anatomically, they probably had descended from a common ancestor. But hypothesis was confused with fact by commentators of the day, and Darwin suffered much abuse as a result. Meanwhile, scientists looked for ways to test the hypothesis. If it was true that all living things had evolved from earlier forms, as Darwin proposed, then proof of that fact should be found among the fossilised remains of early man, for instance. They would link modern man to his ancestral form and thus reveal the intermediate stages of human evolution. So began the search for the “Missing Link”.

The study of fossil man has been restricted to a slowly accumulating collection of specimens – mainly skulls. By the end of the 19th century only five had been discovered. Another 25 years passed before a dozen were known, and even today the significant specimens – those which have contributed new information to the study of human evolution – could all be accommodated in a suitcase.

The fossils have come from Europe, the far East, and Africa; varying in age more than three million years, but representing a very small fraction of mankind’s potential ancestry during that time.

A fossilised skullcap and bones from Germany were the first serious candidates for consideration as a missing link between ape and man. The remains were found in a cave high on the precipitous face of the Neanderthal Valley near Dusseldorf in 1856 by workers

Way back in the 19th century Charles Darwin, author of the Origin of species, postulated that the African continent was ‘formerly inhabited by extinct apes allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee’. he declared that these animals were ‘man’s nearest allies’ and, writing of the origin of man, concluded that it was ‘more probable that our early progenitors lived on the African continent than elsewhere’.

the famous skeleton known as “Lucy” is just one of the discoveries made by researchers in the Afar region of Ethiopia. the fossils were described as a new species by Dr. Donald Johnson in 1978.

the famous Zinjanthropus boisei skull is offset by the skyline of Olduvai gorge, where it was discovered in 1959.

homo habilis, a new species of man, was announced in 1964 by loius Leakey in respect of more fossils found at Olduvai. here the type specimen is shown with the original publication and a National geographic spread of Leakey.

50 selamta January - march 2008 51

Page 28: 25no1

52 selamta

These fossils consisted of skull fragments, a lower jaw, and some hand bones. Leakey and his team assigned them to a new species, Homo habilis, colloquially translated as “handy man”. The brain size of Homo habilis appeared to be relatively large, and when a team led by Richard Leakey discovered a fossil of similar configuration (the famous 1470 skull) in deposits in Northern Kenya dated at 1.88 million years, it seemed that the oldest man must have had a relatively large brain.

But Leakey’s prize was demoted by the spectacular series of discoveries made by The International Afar Research Expedition in Ethiopia, at Hadar in the Afar region of the Awash Valley, in 1974. This was the finding, by a team led by Donald Johanson, of Chicago, of the bones of the oldest known hominid, i.e. erect-walking human ancestor. Believed to be 3.2 million years old, these important remains were known to scientists by the Hadar classification AL 288-1. They constitute well over half the skeleton of a fully-grown female hominid. She became popularly known as ‘Lucy’, so named after the Beatles’ song Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds which was being played on the day of her discovery. Some Ethiopians however call her Denkenesh.

Paleoanthropologists prefer to refer to her by the longer, but more scientific, name of Australopithecus afarensis. The first of these words means Southern Ape, while the second refers to the Afar area where she came to light.

Lucy, when alive, stood only three and a half feet high, and probably weighed only about 60 pounds. She is believed to have had a tiny brain, like an ape, but was of special interest in that, like human beings, she walked erect. Her pelvis and leg bones were likewise almost identical to those of modern humans. Her V-shaped jaw again resembled that of the human species - and differed markedly from the box-like tooth formation found on apes. She is

classified as a hominid because she reportedly walked erect - like humans.

Lucy’s discovery was of immense scientific importance, above all because it seems to indicate that man began to walk erect before evolving enlarged brains. This runs counter to the earlier widely held supposition that it was because they had larger brains that the species began to walk erect.

The practice of walking erect was important in that it gave human beings free hands which could be used to make - and use - stone, or other, tools, the earliest perhaps being no more than branches torn down from trees. Walking would also have been useful in enabling hominids to carry their infants as well as supplies of food in their arms.

Subsequent research in Ethiopia, carried out in the nearby Gona Valley, south-west of Hadar, as well as the Omo Valley further south, has led to the discovery of numerous stone tools, and fossils, thought to be around 2.5 million years old. Between 1996 and 1998 archeologist Giday WoldeGabriel and his colleagues discovered another new species, Australopithecus garhi, in the Afar region, also around 2.5 million years old. Although younger than Lucy, it appeared to have similarities with Australopithecus afarensis and could be another link in the chain of human ancestry.

Lucy, now touring the United States - which of course did not exist in her day, was, until recently, preserved in an Addis Ababa bank vault. An exact plaster copy, however, is - on permanent display in Ethiopia’s National Museum, in Addis Ababa. This institution is well worth a visit - though there are hopes of replacing it before long by a much larger, and more impressive, new institution dedicated to Ethiopian/African paleoanthropology.

Since Lucy was discovered, finds from other parts of Africa have led to claims of even older hominid remains, notably a skull six to seven million years old from the Djurab Desert of Chad. Those who found his skull in 2001 insist he is the oldest human ancestor, a small fellow (who they named Toumai) who lived by an African lake some 7 million years ago. Doubters have maintained that the skull belongs to an ancient chimpanzee or a gorilla.

More recent findings, however, include teeth and jaw fragments unearthed in Toumai’s neighbourhood. Together with a reconstruction of his cracked skull, they support the idea that he was more man than ape.

t h E D I s C O V E r Y O f L U C Y

the famous 1470 skull, found at East turkana in 1972 and presented to the world as the ultimate confirmation of leakey view of human evolution.

Intensive work at Laetoli in northern tanzania during the late 1970’s uncovered atrail nearly 70 metres long of two individuals, with possibly a third walking in the steps of the larger. the material in which the footprints lie has been dated at 3.6 million years old.

Page 29: 25no1

Ethiopia through the Millennia

Prelude to the Battle of Adwa, 1896Ethiopia’s famous victory over the

Italians at the battle of Adwa, fought on 1 March 1896, was one

of the great turning-points in the country’s long history.

The conflict had its origins almost seven years earlier, in 1889, when the Italians had - misguidedly - claimed a Protectorate over the whole of Ethiopia. The then Ethiopian ruler, Emperor Menelik, whom the Italians had not troubled to inform of their claim, rejected it as soon as he learnt of it. Adapting a famous Biblical reference to his country, he declared, ‘Ethiopia has need of no one - she stretches forth her hands to God’.

Long negotiations between the two countries followed - but the Italians obstinately refused to withdraw their Protectorate claim.

Menelik, for his part, was actively importing firearms with which to face the impending invasion.

By the end of 1894 it was clear to the Italians that Menelik would not surrender Ethiopian sovereignty - and that their Protectorate claim could be established only by force of arms. They therefore decided to undertake an unprovoked invasion of Ethiopia. Italian troops accordingly advanced from their Colony of Eritrea in the north, and overran the Ethiopian province of Tegray. There they were confronted in January 1895, by the local ruler, Ras Mangasha, who was in no position to resist them for very long. Consequently, they soon made themselves the masters of all Tegray.

At this point Menelik finally decided to act. On 17 September 1895 he issued a proclamation mobilising his soldiers, and ordering them to march northwards to prepare for war against the invaders of their country, and the enemies of their faith. Hundreds of men responded to his call.

The first clash of arms between Menelik’s soldiers and those of the invader took place early in December of that year at the

By Dr. Richard Pankhurst

natural fortress of Amba Alagi. The Ethiopians were victorious, after which they advanced – and confronted the enemy at Enda Iyasus, near Meqele, where the Italians were surrounded for 40 days. A truce was eventually arranged, after which one of the principal Ethiopian commanders, Ras Makonnen (father of the later Emperor Haile Sellassie), allowed the surrounded enemy force to rejoin their compatriots further north. This pacific gesture failed, however, to deflect the Italians from their bellicose intentions.

Two local chiefs, Ras Sebhat and Dajazmach Tafari, who had both been collaborating with the Italians, at this point declared that, if they had to die, they preferred to do so fighting for their Ethiopian Motherland and against its invaders. They therefore began threatening Italian communications with Asmara and the north.

Negotiations between the two sides were at

this point resumed – but were soon abandoned because the Italians continued to insist on their mischievous Protectorate claim – and demanded immediate military control wherever the Italian flag had been hoisted, i.e. over virtually the whole of Tegray. These terms Menelik, not surprisingly, rejected.

The Italian commander, General Oreste Baratieri thereupon withdrew to a new site at Sawaria where he prepared to continue the war. His hope was that the Ethiopians would continue to advance, and thus incur the heavy casualties which would inevitably result from such a move.

The Ethiopians, by then increasingly short of food also waited, without resuming their offensive.

The big question at the end of February 1896 was who would throw the final dice – which might decide the fate of the war.

Page 30: 25no1

56 selamta January - march 2008 57

According to ancient belief, henna is a symbol of blood and fire and represents the

ambiguous nature of all things holy. Above all, it was for early man a token of beauty and life. Historically, its impact has been so profound that humans have used it in their religious services since time immemorial. Ancient Egyptians, Buddhists and later Muslims have all employed henna to some extent in various aspects of their religious services. No other pigment has been so important to man for such a long period of time.

Long before recorded history, henna leaves were utilised to adorn the body and make the hair glitter. Today, the black hair of many Asian and African women, conditioned with henna, is but a continuation of a tradition from the remote past. Anyone who visits the historic metropolises of Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Fez or the ultramodern cities of the Arabian Gulf countries will notice the shining black hair of their women, inheriting the use of henna from the days of antiquity.

Yet, despite the fact that henna has been known in the Asiatic and African worlds since the dawn of history, this ancient hair colouring was, until a few decades ago, hardly known in the western world. However, in recent years, henna has been making inroads as a hair tint and conditioner in countries far away from its former homelands.

Today, it is a Hollywood craze and can be found in trendy shops right across North America. Many customers are teenagers who usually use it as an alternative to painful tattoos. The use of henna by well-known people, like Madonna, has helped to make this ancient beautifier popular.

The first known use of this organic colouring was in ancient Egypt where it was employed to tint the fingernails and other parts of the body. From Egypt, the plant was introduced into Greece and North Africa. The Greeks used its flowers as head decorations in funeral ceremonies, but the North Africans employed it chiefly for adorning the body.

For thousands of years, in the Arabian Peninsula and the lands along the southern edge of the Mediterranean, henna has been used as ornamentation for parties, circumcision ceremonies, and especially for weddings. The hands, feet and toenails of young brides are beautifully decorated with this natural healthy dye a night before the wedding in what is called ‘Henna Night”.

The ladies of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa employ henna for special events. Boiled tea water mixed with henna and/or other natural materials like almond

oil, eggs, eggplant peels, camomile, lemon, dry red onion peels, vinegar or yogurt are applied to the bodies of brides before wedding feasts or to a lady before she goes out for an important evening.

On other occasions, the soles of the feet and the palms of women’s hands are covered with artistic designs of henna. This is said to bring good luck and happiness and decrease sweat secretions, bringing comfort to tired bodies – a remedy also employed in many hot climate countries.

Among the peoples of ancient civilisations, henna was used as a purifying agent, playing a variety of healing roles. The ancient Egyptians discovered its potency in killing fungal infections and, hence, employed it in preserving the dead. Through the centuries, this medical attribute has made it a much sought-after medication for burns, skin irritations, ulcers, and treatment of smallpox and for

neutralising fungi, which creep into cracks of feet. Also, since the dawn of history, the leaves of the henna plant have been dried and made into a tea, which is drunk to minimise headaches, and gargled as an astringent for curing mouth sores.

Above all, from the era of the ancient Egyptians and before, henna has been employed as a natural colouring for the hair and, at times, as a dye for men’s beards. Its basic use is to tint the tresses to degrees of reddish hue or just to magnify the hair’s natural colour. Many women believe that after a few treatments, their curls will become thick, scalp dryness will be eliminated and falling hair will cease to be a problem. Unlike a number of dyes in use today, pure henna is harmless to the hair or scalp. Its carbohydrate and protein ingredients penetrate into the hair roots, preventing fraying at the ends while at the same time nourishing and strengthening the hair.

To be truly effective, only the natural product should be used. Today, henna is often marketed and mixed with other materials. The leaves of the plant, sold in a liquid, powder or paste form are used in a whole variety of modern cosmetics. Purchasers should beware that there are many henna compounds on the shelves containing metallic substances. These blends are not the famous natural henna and should be avoided. They could very well damage the hair or scalp. One must make sure to only purchase the pure product.

Employed to decorate the body, henna gives the skin smoothness and strengthens the nails. As a hair conditioner natural henna was much sought after in the ancient lands for at least five millennia. Today, it is used worldwide.

thE mIsWAK A natural toothbrush

Visitors travelling in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula will often see men in offices or walking the streets chewing or brushing their teeth with a small stick. Yet, in that part of the world and in the neighbouring lands, the miswak, a bacteria-repelling toothbrush has been around since the beginning of civilization. However, its utilisation was greatly enhanced after the dawn of Islam when the Prophet Muhammad recommended its use.

Archaeological evidence has established that some 5,000 years before the birth of Christ, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia were using miswak for oral hygiene. In the ensuing centuries its use

spread to the Greek and, later, Roman worlds. However, its use in Europe ended in the medieval ages, while

in the Islamic countries its utilisation flourished. Today, in these lands, it remains one of the most favourite instruments for cleaning the teeth.

The main source of miswak is the root of the Arak (Salvadora Persica) tree, known also

as the ‘toothbrush tree’. It thrives in the Arabian Peninsula and in parts of North Africa and India.

Even though the trunk and branches of the tree are, at times, used, the root is the chief and best source of the true miswak. In places where the Arak tree is not to be found, the miswak is made from other trees such as bamboo, jasmine and myrtle; in India

from the Neem tree, and in West Africa, from lime and orange trees. However, in healthful qualities, miswaks made from these trees cannot compare with those made from the Arak tree.

The Arak tree is a shrub-like plant with myriad branches and grows up to 3 m (10 ft) high. The crust of the roots is dark brown in colour, covering an inner core of white fibres which, when chewed, give out a fresh and sharp flavour.

From the roots, cinnamon-coloured miswaks are cut – six to eight inches long and half an inch in diameter. Before use, half an inch at the end of the miswak stick must be peeled with a sharp knife and gently chewed until the fibres become brush-like. Because these fibres are parallel to the ‘handle’, it is much easier to clean between the teeth with miswaks than by the use of conventional toothbrushes.

Miswaks are at their best when fresh and flexible. After a period of time they dry up and have to be soaked in water, preferably rose water, for several hours. Also, miswaks are renewable. As the end fibres dry out, they can be cut off, then soaked and new ends prepared.

More practical than traditional toothbrushes, the miswak is environmentally friendly and can be used any time and anywhere. Its use dispenses with the need for toothpaste, vigorous brushing, foaming of the mouth and spitting. A natural multi-purpose stick, it combines the features of a toothbrush and toothpaste to clean the mouth, remove bad odours and sweeten the breath, whiten the teeth and keep the gums strong and healthy.

Perhaps, the greatest benefit of this natural toothbrush is its medicinal attributes. The miswak does not need cleaning. It contains natural antiseptics and because of these, bacterial harmful micro-organisms in the mouth are killed. This healthful stick also helps in the elimination of plaque and yellowness and, hence, aids in the prevention of tooth decay.

Researchers have analyzed the chemical composition of the Arak tree and found that it contains at least 19 substances useful for oral hygiene. From these are aromatic oils which increase salivation; fluoride (a compound used in the manufacture of toothpaste which helps in the strengthening of the teeth’s enamel); tannic acid which has astringent qualities and protects the gums from disease; and also a good amount of calcium, phosphates, sulphur and vitamin C.

Strangely, in most countries where the miswak is used, only in the last few years has it been available manufactured and packaged in retail outlets. Usually, it cannot be found in modern markets or pharmacies but they are sold in the souks (peoples’ markets) or hawked by street vendors.

Today, the use of the miswak is more popular among the older generations. From India, across the Middle East and North Africa, among the males of these lands – very few females use this stick – the earth’s natural toothbrush remains a favourite way of cleaning the teeth. The brightness and brilliance of the teeth one sees in the countries of the East, in the main, is due to this mouth purifier, as old as time itself.

The saying of the Prophet Muhammad, as quoted by the 9th century Imam al-Bukhari: “Make a regular practice of miswak for verily it is the purification of the mouth and a means of pleasure of the Lord”, is still as relevant today as it was in the past.

C U L t U r E h E E N A & m I s W A K

HENNA&MISWAK Nature’s gift for health And Beauty

habeeb salloum looks into two natural

products that have been used since ancient times.

Page 31: 25no1

Tel: (251-11) 439 14 44, 439 10 46, 439 14 29 • Fax: (251-11) 439 14 28Email: [email protected]

P.O. Box 100135 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Hotel Facilities Include:• Guest Rooms • Bar & Restaurant • National Restaurant

• Jabena Bet (Coffee House) • Multi Purpose Functional Hall• Garden • Gym & Steam Bath • Saba VIP Lounge

The best Cultural Music & Dance Show in townSeven days a week!

I n e x p e n s I v e L u x u r y r o o m s

Page 32: 25no1

60 selamta January - march 2008 61

Kenenisa Bekele, Sileshi Sihine, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Tirunesh Dibaba, Abebe Dinkessa, and most recently Deriba Mergia are some of the names who first made their mark on this event before launching their international career on a bigger stage. Kebede and Ayalew, who respectively won this the men’s and women’s races this year, hope that they too can go on and represent their country with distinction in international competition and make a name for themselves.

“I did not expect to win this race and I am very happy,” said Kebede. “My event is usually the marathon and I thought I would find the 10km difficult.”

The 20-year old, who was born and bred in Sendafa, 42kms outside the capital, Addis Ababa, comes from an area which has been earmarked for the future national athletics centre.

Kebede, who won the 23rd Abebe Bikila International Marathon in Addis Ababa in June 2007, only has 15 months to call upon in professional running. Yet the manner in which he toyed with a strong field of experienced runners suggests that his best days could yet be ahead of him.

The organizers’ decision to arrange a separate start for the elite men and women may have avoided the chaotic start that has been the hallmark of the annual road race extravaganza, but the men’s elite field in this year’s race got things going from the very beginning.

A leading group of six, including Kenyan Sammy Karanja and late entrant Eshetu Wondimu, second in the Seven Hills 15km race at Njimegen in the Netherlands, a week before the great Ethiopian run, moved clear of the rest at the head of the pack in the scramble to assume strategic positions.

As the runners pounded the streets under the bright Addis Ababa sunshine, Wondimu became the first casualty of the race when he dropped out just short of 4km, while Kebede and Ayele Abshiro powered forward into a commanding lead, leaving others to fight it out for minor places.

s P O r t s

In the last seven years no one-day event in Ethiopia has been able to bring a running nation closer together than the great Ethiopian run. But, as Elshadai Negash reports, the race is now building a reputation for turning average runners into potential world-beaters

Before they crossed the finish line at the end of ten punishing kilometres on the streets of Addis Ababa, both Tsegaye Kebede and Wude Ayalew were virtually unknown to the

majority of their compatriots, let alone to an international athletics following.

But that is just one of the things the Great Ethiopian Run does for the long distance running scene in Ethiopia. “It is the perfect launching pad for up and coming runners in Ethiopia,” says event coordinator Richard Nerurkar. “The winners of the Great Ethiopian Run enter a prestigious club of winners who have gone on to beat world class runners.”

The front pair exchanged the lead between themselves throughout the race when Abshiro tried to open up a gap at the 7.5km point. Kebede quickly closed down the increasing gap, but when he responded with his own thrust at the 8.5km mark, Abshiro had little left to fight back.

While Abshiro struggled and was eventually caught and passed by other runners, Kebede powered forward, taking victory in 29m 06.50 with Tola Bane and Feyisa Lelisa edging Abshiro out of the top three positions.

In contrast, the women’s race got off to a pedestrian start with none of the top contenders showing any enthusiasm to hit on the accelerator in the early stages. The race even settled to a walking pace after the first kilometre with the scramble that ensued flooring Abebu Gelan, 3rd in the junior race at the 2007 Ethiopian world cross trials, on the asphalt and three other runners tripping over her in order to escape the potential mayhem.

By the end of the 3rd kilometre, the runners were bunched up and appeared to be saving their best for the final moments of the race. However, the run will now be remembered as the result of four dramatic kicks at various points in the race.

The first push came from race winner Ayalew at the 4km point which reduced the pack to 20. The second came from pre-race favourite Derebe Alemu which further reduced the challengers to 12 at the half way point, while Ayalew’s penultimate launch at the 7km point reduced the race into a three way battle among herself, Asselefech Mergia, winner of the 2007 Confidence Women First 5km in April, and Koreni Jelila, 19th in the 2007 world cross-country in Mombasa.

With Jelila tiring, Ayalew finally saw off Mergia’s challenge with another impressive spurt of energy that clinched her victory with only one kilometre of the race left.

“Cross country and road running are easy for me and I enjoy them,” said Ayalew after her victory. “I was sure I would finish in the top three before the race. The race was great, but the weather was

difficult. I had difficulty breathing because of the altitude.”

Virtually unknown barely 18 months ago, Ayalew emerged onto the international scene in the 2006 world cross country championships in Fukuoka, Japan, when she finished fifth in the long race. She then ran 31m 30 (fourth fastest in the all-time Ethiopian lists) for the 10km in Freibourg, Germany ,weeks later before finishing fifth over the 5000m at the 2006 world junior championships in Beijing, China.

Yet for all her international experience, Ayalew acknowledges the importance of winning the Great Ethiopian Run. “It is a race held in Ethiopia and yet it is international,” she says. “I know that I will be famous after this victory.”

the making of heroes

Ethiopian Chief Operating Officer, mr. tewolde gebremariam, presents the award (two business class tickets) to mr. Jens-Petter Kjempurd, Norwegian Ambassador for winning the Ethiopian Airlines’ Ambassador’s race for men.

Ethiopian Chief Operating Officer, mr. tewolde gebremariam, presents the award (two business class tickets) to ms. Vera fernandes, Ambassador for Portugal for winning the Ethiopian Airlines’ Ambassador’s race for women.

Page 33: 25no1

62 selamta January - march 2008 63

to cater for over 10,500 participants during the Games as well as thousands of officials and judges. Over 20,000 accredited journalists from all around the world will be working from Beijing during the Games to produce content for their audience of millions around the world. A modern media centre and venue media centres, complete with the tools of modern technology, will cater for their needs.

Apart from on-site preparations, the Chinese are also making every effort to control the city’s air pollution with many experts including Jacques Rogge, President of International Olympic Committee (IOC), warning the rescheduling of certain events should the effects of pollution prove too difficult to manage. As a remedy, the city authorities demonstrated that car emissions, which account for 40 percent of the city’s air pollution, could be brought under control during a four-day project in August, when 1.3 million cars were taken out of circulation according to their license plate numbers.

And in case bad weather affects competition in Beijing, officials are ready for that too.

“We have already had a scheme to cope with various weather conditions during the Games period,” says Yang Shu’an, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee. “At least six additional observation points have been set up around the Olympic Green, where a cluster of Olympic venues are located, and other Olympic-related sites for weather surveillance. Weather forecasts will be updated every three hours during the games period so that we can make timely decisions on whether the contingency plan should be put into force.”

China’s national meteorological bureau has promised extreme accuracy of weather forecasting during the August 8-24 Games, saying weather forecasts would tell people when and where rain is to happen while vague words like the rainfall probability are absolutely banned.

r E A C h I N g f O r t h E s t A r ss P O r t s

With a little over six months to go before the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing already smells, feels, and sounds like a city gearing up to host

the world’s showpiece sporting event. China’s big-time corporate sponsors proudly display banners around the city indicating their proud affiliation with the Games. Souvenirs bearing ‘Beijing 2008’ are already flying off the shelves of shops around the city. Even the Great Wall, the largest structural continuous wall on earth, bears a large banner with the official Games emblem ‘One World, One Dream’.

Organizers are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to make the Games a memorable experience for all those involved. Armed with sufficient budget and a work force unmatched by no other country on earth, the Chinese have chosen the path of fusing art with technology.

The design for the new Beijing National Stadium, the venue for athletics events and football matches, provides the perfect example of how artists and engineers have turned a raw concept into a reality. Made from 42,000 tons of steel and with the help of a labour force of nearly 10,000 employees, the stadium, dubbed ‘Bird’s Nest’, is an architectural site to behold.

The steel structure, completed in December 2006, will have a seating capacity of 91,000 and covers a total area of 258,000 square metres. Built from scratch, the venue will be trimmed down to 50,000 seats after the Games.

Perhaps the most exhilarating aspect of the design is the development of a method in which the concrete is filled in from

for the first time in 42 years the summer Olympics will be staged on Asian soil when Beijing hosts the games in August 2008. But, as Elshadai Negash reports, preparations are well underway for what organizers hope will be the best games ever.

the bottom of the steel tubes and elevated gradually upwards. The construction team has earned patent rights for this outstanding technique.

The National Stadium is just one of 12 venues that are being built from scratch for the Games, while there are 11 others which will be upgraded and expanded. In total, there will be 37 competition venues and 63 training facilities for the Games. Six of the venues are located outside Beijing, including the Hong Kong Equestrian Venue, the Quingdao International Sailing Centre, and the stadiums for the preliminary football matches in Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Qinhuangdao.

The opening and closing ceremonies, two core mainstays of the Olympics Games, are being prepared well in advance with American Oscar Academy Award winner Steven Spielburg (Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan) among the star cast of ‘helpers’ who will assist the internationally acclaimed Chinese filmmaker and chief director Zhang Yimou in portraying the Olympic Slogan and the three concepts of the Games- “Green Olympics, Hi-tech Olympics and People’s Olympics” to an estimated global audience of four billion people.

Organizers are also hoping to set new standards in providing high quality services to participating athletes, Games officials, VIPs, and the large media entourage expected for the Games.

More than 100 official hotels have been chosen by the organizers in an effort to standardise services and keep hotel rates at a reasonable level during the Games. The athletes’ village is expected

One World, One DreamBeijing gets ready for Olympics

the stadium, dubbed ‘birds nest’ will have a seating capacity of 91,000

Page 34: 25no1

64 selamta

PO Box 45048, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 20 4448923/4/5 Fax: +254 20 4448818 or 4441021E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.camerapix.com

I M A G E M A T T E R S

Camerapix Publishers International

has built an international reputation

for its growing range of quality books

& magazines on stunning landscapes,

colourful cultures, rich and varied

wildlife.

These books make your reading a real

adventure. Camerapix dedication to

excellence is displayed in the quality

of its photography, writing and the

finished product.

Camerapix also offers designing &

high resolution scanning services

equipped with state-of-the-art

equipment and experienced team of

creative designers.

PUBLISHING • COPY WRITING • GRAPHIC DESIGN • HI-RES SCANNING • IMAGE LIBRARY • BOOK DISTRIBUTION

Page 35: 25no1

66 selamta January - march 2008 67

want to achieve and when the audience can ask questions. You can use humour, stories or a challenging fact to start, however do be careful with humour, as you never know who may be offended.

Don’t forget your ending; many nervous presenters are fine with the middle, but let themselves down with the front and back – and often lose the potential impact because of this. Work out how you want to summarise and then close things off. If all else fails, use the basic rule: Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em; tell ‘em and tell ‘em what you told ‘em.

“Begin at the beginning and go on until you come to the end, then stop.” (Lewis Carroll)

Handle your nerves by realising it’s OK to have them as they trigger a chemical reaction which, harnessed properly, will help make your presentation a success. The trick is to use them to your advantage and not let them take over.

Visualisation (or “imaginisation”) – put yourself in the presentation and see it going well, you in control of the room and the audience. Experience yourself handling questions, making your points, generally enjoying it. Feel how good it will be at the end of the presentation when you realise that you have achieved your objectives.

Breathing – this is one of the most effective ways of handling the adrenalin buzz that comes with heightened nervousness. Take a deep, slow breath – feel your diaphragm moving out as you do this. Hold the breath for several seconds (approx 7) – then let it go (approx 4). If you repeat this three times you will notice your heart rate slowing and begin to feel the oxygen levels rise in your blood. Don’t overdo it otherwise you may start to hyperventilate!

When you move to start your presentation, take a deep breath as above, step to where you will deliver from, look around the audience as you breathe out and establish eye contact. Now you are ready to begin.

This is just a start to cover some of the basics as there are many ways you can develop your presentation and speaking skills through organisations such as The Professional Speakers’ Association, www.professionalspeakers.org You can also find a local branch of Toastmasters International, who will offer encouragement and training – although in a different style.

For more information visit www.solutions4training.com

B U s I N E s s

Nervous about public speaking?

graham Yemm, founding partner of solutions 4

training Ltd., provides some words of comfort.

“the human brain starts working the moment you are born

and never stops until you stand up to speak in public.” (sir george Jessel)

Familiar feeling? Rest assured you are not alone. You might be one of the many who would rate your fear of public speaking alongside, or ahead of, death! Your fear may translate itself to “FEAR” – Forget Everything And Run!

Having the ability to present yourself and your message to an audience, whether internal or external, is a necessary skill for a good manager and leader. Most people, when asked to make a presentation, imagine it will go wrong but if you follow the following basic ideas on how to improve your skills it will build your confidence.

The secret is to remember that when you see good presenters you are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. A great deal has gone on beneath the surface to enable them to be the person you see, so don’t let this put you off. To prevent the paranoia – make time to do the fundamentals! Plan and prepare. Also, have a realistic level of expectation. Too many people, when preparing a presentation, spend too much time focusing on themselves. There is a balance to be met – and the secret to a good presentation is to keep the focus on the audience and your subject and objective. Get the first two right and the third will take care of itself!

To get your planning underway, ask yourself some simple questions:WHAT: Consider the purpose of the presentation, to inform, influence, inspire or generate action? Ask yourself what the objectives are from this and what are the key things you want the audience to take away with them – or to do?WHO: Put your focus on the people you will be presenting to. how many will there be? What are their objectives? What is their level of knowledge? Will they be a “willing” audience or were they sent? When you have the answers to these points, you have some idea of the level at which to pitch your presentation.WHERE: Is the presentation going to be made in a meeting room, an office or large venue? What will be the layout? how flexible is it? (you can always ask to have it set-up to suit you). What equipment is available? What do you need to take?WHEN: What time of day are you presenting? Are there other presenters before and after you? Ask yourself how this will make an impact on your presentation.HOW: how long have you got? remember, longer is not necessarily better! It is harder to plan and prepare a brief, effective presentation than to organise a longer one.

Put the answers to these together and you are in a position to begin the preparation of the presentation itself. Some areas to consider are:• Pull together the broad content – what is it you want to say? think about the headlines for each part by using mindmapping, or just Post-it notes rather than pages of notes.• gather information – get facts, opinions, research and anything else that might help.• Check back with your objectives – and the audience’s. make sure there is a match.• Organise all of this into a sensible sequence. have a beginning, middle and end, preferably building up the emphasis of your message.• Develop a story – make sure that there is a flow to the overall presentation. Look to build in hooks for key points or messages. People often recall stories and anecdotes more than dry facts.• Check the plan against the time you will have. (You will speak at around 100-120 words a minute when your nerves are under control. A 15-minute presentation is around 1,700 words or so, which is only 4-5 pages of A4.) Also remember, you are speaking so choose your language with this in mind, especially when making notes.

You can support your story or message with material such as visual aids and props. Remember, these things are there to support you, not to take over, therefore if using Powerpoint use slides sparingly and make sure they are easy to read.

When you are comfortable that you have the overall structure which flows, meets the objectives and is supported by relevant material, you may even start to look forward to the presentation. However do look at one vital part – your opening!

By concentrating on getting the opening right, you can achieve several aims in one. It is important to create your own opening; it can become your “anchor” to help you manage yourself. Practice introducing yourself, stating your reason for being there, what you

Page 36: 25no1

68 selamta January - march 2008 69

h E A L t h

DIsCLAImEr: Neither Ethiopian Airlines, nor the publishers of selamta accept any liability for the information or advice given in these health notes.

One of the world’s earliest processed foods – the yoghurt – has long been popular in the alternative health community. It is only in the recent past that compelling

scientific evidence has persuaded doctors to give these “living drugs” a second look.

Isn’t it fun to find 25 billion good bacteria thriving in a single capsule or 250,000 million probiotic bacteria being consumed per serving of yoghurt?

Yes, it is all about the teeming bacteria. Life on earth would be impossible without these tiny chemical wizards. Nothing would biodegrade, there would be no nitrogen and in fact countless chemical reactions would come to a grinding halt. There would be no butter, cheese, yoghurt or even wine !

Probiotics are defined as “a live microbial food ingredient that is beneficial to health.” The word ‘biotic’ refers to life and alludes to the components of complex living systems. But it’s not just any life to which this term specifically refers – it’s gastro-intestinal life.

How it works: Trillions of bacteria (referred to as microflora), weighing no less than three pounds, dwell in our intestine. Some of them are trouble makers, some are neutral, while most are friendly and they help to keep the bad ones at bay (meaning less bloating and gas).

The body maintains a balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria in the intestine. It is a symbiotic relationship that relies on balance and when this is disrupted by factors like illness, aging, medication, it can give bad bugs the edge.

Probiotics in the shape of supplements (capsules, tablets, powders and drinks) or food (like yoghurt, acidophilus milk, etc) tend to restore the balance by replenishing beneficial bacteria. These ‘good’ bugs use up some of the food and other resources that symptom causing bacteria need in order to thrive.

Besides rectifying the imbalances, yoghurt (particularly cow’s milk yoghurt) is packed with calcium, protein, and vitamin D and also assists in the production of vitamins K and the B group of vitamins. The neutral and friendly bacteria further help in food digestion, stimulating the immune system and preventing carcinogens from forming.

Probiotics are believed to reduce diarrhoea, particularly when antibiotics have swept away the bad as well as good bacteria. Probiotics have also been claimed to lower the blood pressure and cholesterol.

According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a newly characterised strain of probiotic bacteria may have potential to kill Listeria monocytogenes, an often lethal pathogen in pregnant women.

According to the journal BMC Microbiology, supplements of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG probiotic bacteria may provide added protection against gastro-intestinal infection and diarrhoea in infants.

If you are lactose (natural milk sugar) intolerant, consider yoghurt, because the live bacteria will have consumed some of the lactose. Another option is to consider non-milk soy-based yoghurt.

At the same time, probiotics create healthful pH levels in the gut and produce germ fighting compounds.

Availability : Probiotics can be found either in food sources or supplements sold in health food stores as well as most pharmacies. Only a few bacterial strains have been thoroughly studied and the optimal doses haven’t been determined. Studies on diarrhoea and other conditions suggest that most people need a daily dose of at least 10 billion organisms.

Good quality yoghurts contain more varieties of bacteria. More is better because different bacteria do different jobs.

CAUtION 1. Yoghurts that are heat treated after fermentation do not contain live bacteria.2. Premature infants should not be given probiotics.3. Calcium in dairy foods can interfere with the absorption of certain antibiotics. seek medical clarification before proceeding with probiotics. 4. some of the yoghurts are full of sugar. Keep away from them and prefer plain yoghurt where you can add fruits and natural sweetners (maple syrup).5. there are no regulations to ascertain the number of organisms mentioned on the label. some commercial probiotics have been tested to contain bacteria not mentioned on the label while some contained no living bacteria at all. 6. Effectiveness and safety of probiotics for different medical conditions have not yet been clearly established.

ADD YOghUrt tO YOUr mEALsEveryone may not like the simple, plain yoghurt. Consider the following options to make it more appealing :1. Prepare a smoothie by blending yoghurt with fresh fruits and soy milk.2. Consider adding garlic or other herbs to make a dip.3. replace the use of cream by yoghurt wherever possible.

by shaheen Perveen

The era of chocolate guilt is over. Today everyone knows that chocolate does not contribute to tooth decay, chocolate causing acne is now discounted as a myth, the fat in

chocolate does not boost cholesterol, chocolate is not a major source of caffeine and there’s nothing bad about chocolate. Compelling new evidence from the science almanac have elevated the star status of chocolates. It no longer occupies a grey area between food and medicine. Future trends envisage the launch of “chocaceuticals” that may be targeting diverse preventive health mainstream needs.

The reason for chocolate’s newfound respect? From cardiovascular health to glowing skin complexion, chocolates have gained accolades and certificates of recognition. It all began with the ancient Mayans and later the Aztecs, who pounded the beans of Theobroma cacao tree into a bitter beverage, which they prized for its mystical and medicinal qualities. The Spanish invaders who visited the court of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma observed that the emperor was the first choco-holic, consuming fifty flagons daily plus a golden goblet-full whenever he entered the harem. Mixed with water, maize, honey and spices (including chili pepper), the ground cocoa beans were considered an aphrodisiac, served with ceremony at weddings and said to be permitted only to the Aztec nobility – who referred to it as “food of the gods.”

The heavenly food has been found to be a perfect storehouse brimming with more than 600 chemical components and more than one-third of these are believed to have possible health benefits. Cocoa’s antioxidant chemicals - the polyphenols or flavonoids are a bunch of compounds that prevent cell damage and inflammation. One such key compound ‘epicatechin’, is hailed for its numerous health benefits. Though bitter in taste, epicatechin, has been found to help blood vessels relax and thus improve blood flow. This leads to improvement of cardiovascular health; the increased flow of blood to the brain will translate into reduction in risk of Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. Extracted from natural cocoa, epicatechin will be the dietary supplement with various public health benefits. It can also be blended with multivitamins and other nutritional supplements.

• The journal, Chemistry & Industry, speculates that ‘epicatechin’ would potentially rid the world of some of the biggest killer diseases.

• The Journal of Neuroscience suggests that a diet rich in flavonoids could help reduce the effects of neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer’s or cognitive disorders related to aging.

• The Journal of Nutrition quoted a study based on a 16th century remedy that confirmed the role of flavonoids in limiting the development of fluids that cause diarrhoea. Children below the age of five and elderly are most likely to develop serious health problems if their condition leads to dehydration.

• The European Journal Nutrition and Metabolism examined over 100 studies on cocoa and found that they boosted heart health,

Will Chocolate give us the next “Pencillin” ?increased blood flow, caused less platelet stickiness and clotting and reduced bad cholesterol.

• The Journal Hypertension mentioned the merits of dark chocolates. Laboratory tests revealed that hyperactive people

who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for the minimum of 15 days saw a significant drop in blood

pressure as well as bad cholesterol. Earlier issues of the Journal of the American

Medical Association and American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also supported the belief that people with high blood pressure can trust the dark chocolates to lower their blood

pressure and improve insulin sensitivity.

• The Journal of Sexual Medicine published a survey by Italian scientists that approved the

ancient recipe of Emperor Moctezuma claiming that chocolate promoted sex drive. Scientists in the

US have discovered traces of psychoactive compound in chocolate called anandamide (found in marijuana and

hashish) which stimulates the brain. However the quantity is too low to give you a buzz. What caffeine is to coffee and theophylline is to tea, theobromine is to chocolate. Scientists suggest that lovelorn women binge on chocolate because it is a source of phyenlenthylamine – the chemical released in the brain when people become infatuated or fall in love.

Which chocolate?A number of chocolate manufacturers simply use mass produced chocolates and melt them in machines but these chocolates may not melt in the mouth. A good quality chocolate uses cocoa butter which has a melting point of 97 degrees fahrenheit – the exact temperature of the human mouth. good chocolates contain as much as 70% cocoa butter. Comparatively, cheaper chocolates may be poor in cocoa butter content. rather they are often filled with creams which send cholesterol level climbing. Inferior brands substitute cocoa butter for oil which has less intense taste and all this is covered up by extra amount of sugar or vanilla.

good chocolates makers give more time to couching (thorough mixing) which can be identified by its smooth and shiny surface; when broken, the chocolate will snap and break clean; when eaten, it will feel smooth, not gritty, and will have a rich chocolate flavour with no cloying aftertaste. Comparatively, a good chocolate will not be too sweet. Usually, the darker the chocolate, the more phenolics it contains and the more bitter the flavour. A 100% cocoa-rich chocolate will be bitter in taste. milk chocolates don’t come with the same bundle of benefits because milk inhibits the absorption of the flavonoids in chocolate. White chocolates contain no real chocolate at all – it’s just cocoa fat, sugar and the flavour.

swiss chocolates are known for their high quality and rich milk and cream content but Belgian chocolates are unique for their quality of ingredients. Belgian chocolates are guided by stringent rules regarding the roasting, grinding and minimum levels of cocoa that go into chocolate making.

What Probiotics Can Do for You

Page 37: 25no1

70 selamta January - march 2008 71

When a second Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system was installed in Addis Ababa in September 2006, Dr. Grum Teklemariam knew his lifelong

dream of helping his country had finally been fulfilled. Ever since Dr. Grum Teklemariam emigrated to the US with

his family in 1979, he has dreamed of returning to Ethiopia and doing something beneficial for his country. This dream materialized in September 2006 with the installation of the second Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system in Addis Ababa. What makes this MRI system special is that it was co-designed by Dr. Grum, a principal physicist at XinAoMDT Technology Co. (XMDT) based in Beijing, China. He is primarily responsible for the magnetics portion of the system which is the main basis by which the scanner operates. Dr. Grum is one of the three principal designers and partner of XMDT.

Similar to pictures taken by a digital camera, this device uses a variety of magnetic fields to obtain digital images of internal organs by stimulating the hydrogen nuclei in the body. What makes MRIs different from typical scanners like CAT scans and X-rays is that it uses no radiation. Moreover, after 30 years of

use there are no known side effects. MRI scanners are considered to be the most advanced diagnostic scanners due to the exquisitely detailed images they are able to take and they are the preferred

scanners for soft tissue diseases. A doctor can obtain very detailed information, even the type of disease a patient has.

About 80 million MRI scans were conducted last year on approximately 20,000 MRI scanners worldwide. A country of 70 million people, Ethiopia, currently has just two of these devices, underscoring the need for such a high-end diagnostic scanner.

The new MRI system is installed and operational at Pioneer Diagnostic Center (PDC) in the new Alem Building, owned by the famous Ethiopian runner Haile Gebreselassie. The center is the brainchild of Dr. Grum and was opened with the backing of local investors, Mr. Bekele Gebre-Michael and family and Mr. Brook Fekadu who is also the GM for the center and played a critical role in opening the unit. In the first year of operation, about 300 patients were scanned and over 95% had positive findings, often with very advanced diseases.

PDC now plans to expand the center with additional scanners such as CAT scanners and ultrasound machines. It

also plans to augment the MRI scanner with an interventional MRI scanner. This capability allows doctors to perform surgical procedures with the guidance of real-time images from the MRI device, making the surgery both minimally invasive and highly accurate. Thus, together with the diagnostic capability of PDC, state-of-the-art treatment will also be available in the very near future. The interventional MRI system is also a product of XMDT, a system that Dr. Grum helped pioneer and design.

Ethiopian physicist helps his country ‘One mrI scanner at a time’

s C I E N C E

Dr. grum with mr. Wu Bang guo, Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and second top leader of China (second from right).

Page 38: 25no1

72 selamta January - march 2008 73

DEAr rEADErWe have made substantial efforts over the past 24 years to give you a better, brighter and more useful magazine. Now we need your help to improve it even further. It is for this reason that we ask you to spend a few minutes of your time to send us an email. Your opinions are invaluable to help us assess your information needs, as well as help the editorial, advertising and marketing departments to continue to develop the magazine in ways that we hope you find useful, interesting and informative.Any information will be treated in the strictest confidence. thE PUBLIshEr. [email protected]

thANKs fOr sUCh AN INfOrmAtIVE AND WELL WrIttEN mAgAZINE

this is in response to your request for feedback on your excellent magazine, selamta.I have been reading it since march 2004, and found it such good read that on my

return made a trip to the Airline offices in, London, to obtain back copies. As the offices are not able to send copies out I try to collect copies whenever I can. however, as the offices are on the opposite side of, London, to where I live I am seldom able to get there and have therefore only read about 5-6 copies.

I found the, “Ethiopia Axum obelisk comes home” Article in the July-september, issue very informative and quite moving. my favourite sections and features include; Ethiopia through the millennia, cultural matters, traditional matters, up to date sporting matters, the latest in politics, restaurants, general tourism info such as heritage sites, information on festivals etc, stolen treasures updates.

I have kept all of my copies and read them from time to time. the special articles on diverse issues such as It, new technology or simply tourism or matters in other countries are educational. I often stumble on articles and facts that I had previously missed.

things I would have to read are as follows:• statistics on tourism and it’s growth/decline in Ethiopia, of recent years • Details on policies, drives, agenda etc by the government to promote tourism in the country • Investment opportunities for entrepreneurs • Interviews with ordinary people such as traders at merkato, shopkeepers.

I hope this has been useful.

finally, thanks for such an informative and well written magazine. Please can you tell me if there is any way of subscribing to the publication?

Kind regards,Colin JulyPartners for Improvement in Islington Limited

Answer: for copies of selamta contact, [email protected]

L E t t E r s t O s E L A m t A

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs WINs mY “mILLENNIUm” ADmIrAtION AND mY rEsPECt.

In september Ethiopians ushered in a new “millennium”. for those of us who can’t remember much beyond the last 50 or so years, I have often wondered what it is that has impacted

on me during these years (other than those very personal events of joy and sorrow). One such national “event” that I have grown to respect and admire is the “great Ethiopian Event” which has indeed grown up to be a truly “World Class Airline”!

Our parents of 90 years, their children of 65 and their grand children in their 30s and 40s, their great grand children in their teens or may be even their great, great, grand children in their infancy, will all say, “Yes,” I admire this great phenomenon – Ethiopia’s greatest success story… EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs!

I have had the great privilege of experiencing this great airline’s service since the early 60s when I flew, in 1962, for the first time to Cairo on my way to school in the Us. since then I have continued to fly Ethiopian virtually to this day. During the last 10 years particularly, I have been a virtual “household item” on Ethiopian flights. With he exception of “losing” my suitcase for a few days now and then, I hAVE NEVEr BEEN DIsAPPOINtED BY thE sErVICEs; the airline always gave me my money’s worth.

Ethiopian modesty shuns talking in praise of what is your own. But, when the event is the only one we can talk about, we have no reason to shy away from showing Ethiopian the “millennium tip off the hat!”

I have gone around the world; been to many African countries… I have not seen anything like this airline anywhere. Definitely, I have seen that there is focus, there is personal commitment, and there is leadership and also prudent management of resources because there are so many airlines that have much more resource than Ethiopian. But they are not achieving that. the kind of prudent management, focused leadership and professional dedication of its employees, which has produced this success, is unprecedented!

On this great event of the millennium, Ethiopians can be proud of this truly AfrICAN phenomenon known as Ethiopian Airlines! You have done a great job of tackling headlong the daunting task of creating and recreating the virtually collapsed airline infrastructure in Africa, training airline personnel at a variety of levels and empowering them to emulate your success. this in itself is inspiration to many in Africa.

the vast network of flights in Africa alone has enabled Africans to move around from their home base to virtually anywhere in the world. this has won the airline the recognition to be Africa’s BrIDgE to the world!

Ethiopian Airlines and its 100% Ethiopian management and professional staff at all levels make the millennium a cause for justifiable celebration, even at an event when food and other vital necessities of livelihood are the highest priorities.

LONg LIVE EthIOPIAN – “thE AfrICAN WOrLD CLAss AIrLINE”

Dr. menkir Esayas teklehaymanotst. Louis, missouri, UsA

fEED BACK

bishangari

Page 39: 25no1

74 selamta January - march 2008 75

(Noon GMT) (-1) (-2) (+10) (+1) (+2) (+3) (+4) (+5) (+6) (+7) (+8) (+9) (-9) (-8) (-7) (-6) (-5) (-4) (-3)

South Pacific Ocean

South Atlantic Ocean

North Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

INTERNATIONAL ROUTE MAP Ethiopian Destinations Destinations with Special Agreements

Juba

1200 1100 1000 2200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 0300 0400 0500 0600 0700 0800 0900

Yaoundé

Vancouver

San Francisco Colorado Springs

Denver Omaha

Kansas City

Klahoma City

Minneapolis

Chicago

St. Louis

Indianapolis Dayton

Toronto Detriot

Ottawa

Cleveland

Rochester Syrac.

Columb. Cincinnati Bashville

Memphis

Atlanta New Orleans Orlando

Fort Lauderdale

Havana Miami

Tampa

Jacksonville

Little Rock

Montréal

Quebec

Portland

Washington D.C. Norfolk

Columbia

Boston

Las Vegas

San Antonio

Dallas

Houston

Albuquerque Phoenix Tucson San

Diego

Ontario San José

Los Angeles Santa Ana

Seattle

Portland

Salt Lake City

Douala

Abuja

Bangui

N‘Djamena

Brazzaville

Kinshasa

Luanda

Lagos

Niamey Kano

New York Philadelphia

Bamako

Dakar

Lomé Accra

Abidjan

Libreville

Malabo

Bujumbura

Kigali Entebbe

Nairobi Kilimanjaro

Zanzibar

Dar es Salaam Dodoma

Lusaka

Windhoek

Gaborone Pretoria Maputo

Mbabane Johannesburg

Maseru Durban

Cape Town

Lilongwe

Harare

Dire Dawa

Asmara

Jeddah

Cairo

Tel Aviv

Palermo

Rome

Geneva

Paris

Frankfurt Brussels

Amsterdam

Oslo Helsinki

Stockholm

London

Milan

Beirut

Alexandria

Riyadh

Kuwait

Dubai Bahrain

Muscat

Mumbai (Bombay)

Kolkata (Calcutta)

Yangon (Rangoon)

Bangkok

Vientiane

Hong Kong

Beijing (Perking)

Manila

Jakarta

Haiphong

Guangzhou (Canton)

New Delhi

Abu Dhabi

Djibouti Hargeisa

San’áKhartoum

ADDIS ABABA

© C

amer

apix

mag

azin

es L

td

Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)Abu Dhabi (UAE)Accra (ghana)Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)Bamako (mali)Bangkok (thailand)Beijing (China)Beirut (Lebanon)Brazzaville (Congo)Brussels (Belgium)Bujumbura (Burundi)Cairo (Egypt)Dar es salaam (tanzania)Dakar (senegal)Delhi (India)Dire Dawa (Ethiopia)Djibouti (rep. of Djibouti)Douala (Cameroun)Dubai (UAE)Entebbe (Uganda)frankfurt (germany)guangzhou (China)harare (Zimbabwe)hargeisa (somaliland)hong Kong (China)Jeddah (saudi Arabia)

Johannesburg (s. Africa)Juba (sudan)Khartoum (sudan)Kigali (rwanda)Kilimanjaro (tanzania)Kinshasa (D. r. of Congo)Lagos (Nigeria)Libreville (gabon)Lilongwe (malawi)Lomé (togo)London (United Kingdom)Luanda (Angola)Lusaka (Zambia)mumbai (India)Nairobi (Kenya)N’Djamena (Chad)Paris (france)rome (Italy)san’á (UAE)stockholm (sweden)tel Aviv (Israel)Washington D.C. (UsA)Zanzibar (tanzania)

Cape town (south Africa)Dorval, montréal (Canada)gaborone (Botswana)helsinki (finland)Jarkata (Indonesia)Kolkata (India)manila (Philippines)Oslo (Norway)Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)Palermo (Italy)stockholm (sweden)toronto (Canada)Vancouver (Canada)Windhoek (Namibia)United states of America:Albuquerque, New mexicoAtlanta, georgiaBoston, massachusettsChicago, IllinoisCincinnati, OhioCleveland, OhioColorado springs, ColoradoColumbia, s. CarolinaColumbus, OhioDallas, texasDayton, OhioDenver, ColoradoDetroit, michiganfort Lauderdale, floridahouston, texasIndianapolis, IndianaJacksonville, floridaKansas City, Kansas

Las Vegas, NevadaLittle rock, ArkansasLos Angeles, Californiamemphis, tennesseemiami, floridaminneapolis, minnesotaNashville, tennesseeNew Orleans, LouisianaNew YorkOklahoma City, OklahomaOmaha, NebraskaOntario, CaliforniaOrlando, floridaPhiladelphia, Pa.Phoenix, ArizonaPortland, OregonPortland, mainerochester, New Yorksaint Louis, missourisalt Lake City, Utahsan Antonio, texassan Diego, Californiasan francisco, Californiasan Jose, Californiasanta Ana, Californiaseattle, Washingtonsyracuse, New Yorktampa, floridatucson, Arizona

DEstINAtIONs WIth sPECIAL AgrEEmENts

Ethiopian DEstinations

INtErNAtIONAL rOUtE mAP

Page 40: 25no1

76 selamta January - march 2008 77

ET 804 -2-456- B73W Dareselaam 17:35 Addis Abeba 20:15

ET 807 1-3456- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Kigali 11:45

ET 807 1-3456- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Bujumbura 13:00

ET 806 1-3456- B757 Bujumbura 15:45 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 806 1-3456- B757 Kigali 17:00 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 811 -2-67 B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Entebbe/Kampala 13:30

ET 810 -2-67 B73W Entebbe/Kampala 18:25 Addis Abeba 20:25

ET 811 1-3-5-- B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Entebbe/Kampala 13:30

ET 811 1-3-5-- B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Juba 15:30

ET 810 1-3-5-- B73W Entebbe/Kampala 18:25 Addis Abeba 20:25

ET 810 1-3-5-- B73W Juba 16:25 Addis Abeba 20:25

ET 809 1234567 B73W Addis Abeba 09:00 Johannesburg 13:35

ET 808 1234567 B73W Johannesburg 14:35 Addis Abeba 21:00

ET 851 1-3-5-- B763 Addis Abeba 09:30 Luanda 12:20

ET 850 1-3-5-- B763 Luanda 13:40 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 871 -2-4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 09:30 Harare 12:45

ET 871 -2-4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 09:30 Lusaka 14:40

ET 870 -2-4--7 B73W Lusaka 15:30 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 870 -2-4--7 B73W Harare 13:30 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 873 1-3-56- B73W Addis Abeba 09:30 Lilongwe 12:10

ET 873 1-3-56- B73W Addis Abeba 09:30 Lusaka 14:10

ET 872 1-3-56- B73W Lilongwe 13:55 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 872 1-3-56- B73W Lusaka 15:10 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 831 1-34567 B763 Addis Abeba 09:45 Brazzavile 11:55

ET 831 1-34567 B763 Addis Abeba 09:45 Kinshasa 13:15

ET 830 1-34567 B763 Brazzavile 12:55 Addis Abeba 20:35

ET 830 1-34567 B763 Kinshasa 14:15 Addis Abeba 20:35

ET 831 -2----- B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Kinshasa 12:10

ET 830 -2----- B757 Kinshasa 13:40 Addis Abeba 20:00

ET 306 1-3-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Djibouti 12:30

ET 306 1-3-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Sanaa 14:15

ET 307 1-3-5-7 B73W Sanaa 16:45 Addis Abeba 19:45

ET 307 1-3-5-7 B73W Djibouti 18:45 Addis Abeba 19:45

ET 402 1--45-7 B757 Addis Abeba 00:55 Jeddah 03:35

ET 403 1--45-7 B757 Jeddah 04:35 Addis Abeba 07:15

ET 450 1-3-5-- B73W Addis Abeba 09:15 Khartoum 11:00

ET 450 1-3-5-- B73W Addis Abeba 11:30 Cairo 13:20

ET 451 1-3-5-- B73W Cairo 14:20 Addis Abeba 20:35

ET 451 1-3-5-- B73W Khartoum 18:55 Addis Abeba 20:35

ET 452 -2--5-- B73W Addis Abeba 22:15 Cairo 01:05+1

ET 453 --3--6- B73W Cairo 02:10 Addis Abeba 07:00

ET 470 -23-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 00:10 Khartoum 01:55

ET 471 -23-5-7 B73W Khartoum 04:40 Addis Abeba 06:20

ET 408 1234567 B73W Addis Abeba 21:50 Beirut 01:45+1

ET 409 1234567 B73W Beirut 02:30 Addis Abeba 08:10

ET 600 1234567 B763 Addis Abeba 22:30 Dubai 03:15+1

ET 601 1234567 B763 Dubai 04:45 Addis Abeba 07:30

ET 602 12-4567 B763 Addis Abeba 10:45 Dubai 15:30

ET 603 12-4567 B763 Dubai 18:00 Addis Abeba 20:45

ET 620 --3-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 22:15 Bahrain 02:00+1

ET 620 --3-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 22:15 Abu Dhabi 04:45+1

ET 621 1--4-6- B73W Abu Dhabi 05:30 Addis Abeba 08:15

ET 621 1--4-6- B73W Bahrain 02:45 Addis Abeba 08:15

ET 404 -2-4-67 B757 Addis Abeba 02:05 Tel Aviv 05:40

ET 405 1-3-5-7 B757 Tel Aviv 00:20 Addis Abeba 06:00

ET 604 12-4-67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:40 Delhi 09:00

ET 604 12-4-67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:40 Beijing 18:40

ET 605 12-4-67 B763 Beijing 20:10 Addis Abeba 06:50+1

ET 605 123-5-7 B763 Delhi 02:45 Addis Abeba 06:50

ET 606 12345-7 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 Bangkok 13:20

ET 606 12345-7 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 Guangzhou 18:30

ET 607 12345-7 B763 Guangzhou 22:00 Addis Abeba 06:35+1

ET 607 123456- B763 Bangkok 01:40 Addis Abeba 06:35

ET 608 -2-4-6- B763 Addis Abeba 00:40 Bangkok 13:35

ET 608 -2-4-6- B763 Addis Abeba 00:40 Hong Kong 18:45

ET 609 -2-4-6- B763 Hong Kong 21:50 Addis Abeba 06:25+1

ET 609 --3-5-7 B763 Bangkok 01:30 Addis Abeba 06:25

ET 610 1234567 B757 Addis Abeba 21:40 Mumbai 04:45+1

ET 611 1234567 B757 Mumbai 05:45 Addis Abeba 08:20

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs WOrLDWIDE tImEtABLE hIghLIghtsEthiopian Airlines Worldwide Timetable Highlights

*Times in local

Carrier Flt No. Frequency A/C Type From STD To STA

ET 500 -2-4567 B763 Addis Abeba 22:15 Washington(Dulles) 07:20+1

ET 501 1-3--6- B763 Washington(Dulles) 20:30 Addis Abeba 19:40+1

ET 503 ----5-7 B763 Washington(Dulles) 09:30 Addis Abeba 08:35+1

ET 700 1-345-- B757 Addis Abeba 12:00 London(Hethrow) 18:55

ET 700 1-345-- B757 Addis Abeba 12:00 Rome(Fiumicion) 16:30

ET 701 1-3-5-- B757 London(Hethrow) 21:00 Addis Abeba 07:30+1

ET 710 -----67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 London(Hethrow) 07:15

ET 710 -----67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 Rome(Fiumicion) 04:45

ET 711 ---4-67 B763 London(Hethrow) 20:20 Addis Abeba 08:10+1

ET 711 1--5-7 B763 Rome(Fiumicion) 00:35 Addis Abeba 08:10

ET 702 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 00:40 Rome(Fiumicion) 05:00

ET 702 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 00:40 Stockholm(Arlanda) 09:00

ET 703 1-3-5-- B757 Stockholm(Arlanda) 20:00 Addis Abeba 07:40+1

ET 703 -2-4-6- B757 Rome(Fiumicion) 00:05 Addis Abeba 07:40

ET 704 1-3-5-- B763 Addis Abeba 23:55 Paris(deGaulle) 05:45+1

ET 704 1-3-5-- B763 Addis Abeba 23:55 Brussels 07:55+1

ET 705 -2-4-6- B763 Paris(deGaulle) 22:25 Addis Abeba 07:20+1

ET 705 -2-4-6- B763 Brussels 20:25 Addis Abeba 07:20+1

ET 706 -2-4--7 B763 Addis Abeba 23:50 Frankfurt 05:15+1

ET 706 -2-4--7 B763 Addis Abeba 23:50 Brussels 07:15+1

ET 707 1-3-5-- B763 Brussels 20:40 Addis Abeba 07:45+1

ET 707 1-3-5-- B763 Frankfurt 21:40 Addis Abeba 07:45+1

ET 901 1234567 B763 Addis Abeba 09:15 Lagos 12:40

ET 900 1234567 B763 Lagos 13:40 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 905 --3--6- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Douala 11:35

ET 905 --3--6- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Libreville 13:25

ET 904 --3--6- B763 Libreville 14:10 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 904 --3--6- B763 Douala 12:30 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 915 -2--5-- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Douala 13:15

ET 915 -2--5-- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Libreville 11:35

ET 914 -2--5-- B763 Libreville 12:20 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 914 -2--5-- B763 Douala 14:10 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Lome 11:55

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Accra 13:20

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Abidjan 15:00

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Lagos 23:30 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Accra 20:20 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Abidjan 18:30 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 907 -----6- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Lome 13:00

ET 907 -----6- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Accra 14:35

ET 906 ------7 B757 Accra 10:15 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 906 ------7 B757 Lome 11:45 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 909 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Bamako 13:35

ET 909 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Dakar 16:20

ET 908 -2-4-6- B757 Dakar 08:05 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 908 -2-4-6- B757 Bamako 10:50 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Lagos 05:00

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Accra 05:45

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Abidjan 07:30

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Abidjan 09:15 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Accra 11:00 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Lome 12:25 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 937 -2-4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 22:30 N'Djamena 00:10+1

ET 936 1-3-5-- B73W N'Djamena 01:30 Addis Abeba 07:15

ET 939 ---4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 10:45 N'Djamena 12:30

ET 938 ---4--7 B73W N'Djamena 14:30 Addis Abeba 20:00

ET 308 1-34-6- F50 Addis Abeba 14:10 Dire Dawa 15:10

ET 308 1-34-6- F50 Addis Abeba 14:10 Hargessa 16:15

ET 309 1-34-6- F50 Hargessa 16:35 Addis Abeba 18:40

ET 309 1-34-6- F50 Dire Dawa 17:40 Addis Abeba 18:40

ET 801 1234567 B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Nairobi 12:00

ET 801 1234567 B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Kilimangaro 13:25

ET 800 1234567 B757 Kilimangaro 16:45 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 800 1234567 B757 Nairobi 18:10 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 805 --3---7 B757 Addis Abeba 10:30 Dareselaam 13:10

ET 805 --3---7 B757 Addis Abeba 10:30 Zanzibar Iseland 14:25

ET 805 -2-456- B73W Addis Abeba 10:30 Dareselaam 13:10

ET 805 -2-456- B73W Addis Abeba 10:30 Zanzibar Iseland 14:25

ET 804 --3---7 B757 Zanzibar Iseland 16:20 Addis Abeba 20:15

ET 804 --3---7 B757 Dareselaam 17:35 Addis Abeba 20:15

ET 804 -2-456- B73W Zanzibar Iseland 16:20 Addis Abeba 20:15

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs WOrLDWIDE tImEtABLE hIghLIghts*times in local *times in local

Ethiopian Airlines Worldwide Timetable Highlights

*Times in local

Carrier Flt No. Frequency A/C Type From STD To STA

ET 500 -2-4567 B763 Addis Abeba 22:15 Washington(Dulles) 07:20+1

ET 501 1-3--6- B763 Washington(Dulles) 20:30 Addis Abeba 19:40+1

ET 503 ----5-7 B763 Washington(Dulles) 09:30 Addis Abeba 08:35+1

ET 700 1-345-- B757 Addis Abeba 12:00 London(Hethrow) 18:55

ET 700 1-345-- B757 Addis Abeba 12:00 Rome(Fiumicion) 16:30

ET 701 1-3-5-- B757 London(Hethrow) 21:00 Addis Abeba 07:30+1

ET 710 -----67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 London(Hethrow) 07:15

ET 710 -----67 B763 Addis Abeba 00:25 Rome(Fiumicion) 04:45

ET 711 ---4-67 B763 London(Hethrow) 20:20 Addis Abeba 08:10+1

ET 711 1--5-7 B763 Rome(Fiumicion) 00:35 Addis Abeba 08:10

ET 702 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 00:40 Rome(Fiumicion) 05:00

ET 702 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 00:40 Stockholm(Arlanda) 09:00

ET 703 1-3-5-- B757 Stockholm(Arlanda) 20:00 Addis Abeba 07:40+1

ET 703 -2-4-6- B757 Rome(Fiumicion) 00:05 Addis Abeba 07:40

ET 704 1-3-5-- B763 Addis Abeba 23:55 Paris(deGaulle) 05:45+1

ET 704 1-3-5-- B763 Addis Abeba 23:55 Brussels 07:55+1

ET 705 -2-4-6- B763 Paris(deGaulle) 22:25 Addis Abeba 07:20+1

ET 705 -2-4-6- B763 Brussels 20:25 Addis Abeba 07:20+1

ET 706 -2-4--7 B763 Addis Abeba 23:50 Frankfurt 05:15+1

ET 706 -2-4--7 B763 Addis Abeba 23:50 Brussels 07:15+1

ET 707 1-3-5-- B763 Brussels 20:40 Addis Abeba 07:45+1

ET 707 1-3-5-- B763 Frankfurt 21:40 Addis Abeba 07:45+1

ET 901 1234567 B763 Addis Abeba 09:15 Lagos 12:40

ET 900 1234567 B763 Lagos 13:40 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 905 --3--6- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Douala 11:35

ET 905 --3--6- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Libreville 13:25

ET 904 --3--6- B763 Libreville 14:10 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 904 --3--6- B763 Douala 12:30 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 915 -2--5-- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Douala 13:15

ET 915 -2--5-- B763 Addis Abeba 09:00 Libreville 11:35

ET 914 -2--5-- B763 Libreville 12:20 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 914 -2--5-- B763 Douala 14:10 Addis Abeba 20:50

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Lome 11:55

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Accra 13:20

ET 907 -2-4--7 B757 Addis Abeba 09:00 Abidjan 15:00

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Lagos 23:30 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Accra 20:20 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 916 -2-4--7 B757 Abidjan 18:30 Addis Abeba 06:45+1

ET 907 -----6- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Lome 13:00

ET 907 -----6- B757 Addis Abeba 10:15 Accra 14:35

ET 906 ------7 B757 Accra 10:15 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 906 ------7 B757 Lome 11:45 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 909 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Bamako 13:35

ET 909 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Dakar 16:20

ET 908 -2-4-6- B757 Dakar 08:05 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 908 -2-4-6- B757 Bamako 10:50 Addis Abeba 20:30

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Lagos 05:00

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Accra 05:45

ET 917 1-3-5-- B757 Addis Abeba 01:40 Abidjan 07:30

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Abidjan 09:15 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Accra 11:00 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 906 1-3-5-- B757 Lome 12:25 Addis Abeba 20:55

ET 937 -2-4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 22:30 N'Djamena 00:10+1

ET 936 1-3-5-- B73W N'Djamena 01:30 Addis Abeba 07:15

ET 939 ---4--7 B73W Addis Abeba 10:45 N'Djamena 12:30

ET 938 ---4--7 B73W N'Djamena 14:30 Addis Abeba 20:00

ET 308 1-34-6- F50 Addis Abeba 14:10 Dire Dawa 15:10

ET 308 1-34-6- F50 Addis Abeba 14:10 Hargessa 16:15

ET 309 1-34-6- F50 Hargessa 16:35 Addis Abeba 18:40

ET 309 1-34-6- F50 Dire Dawa 17:40 Addis Abeba 18:40

ET 801 1234567 B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Nairobi 12:00

ET 801 1234567 B757 Addis Abeba 10:00 Kilimangaro 13:25

ET 800 1234567 B757 Kilimangaro 16:45 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 800 1234567 B757 Nairobi 18:10 Addis Abeba 20:10

ET 805 --3---7 B757 Addis Abeba 10:30 Dareselaam 13:10

ET 805 --3---7 B757 Addis Abeba 10:30 Zanzibar Iseland 14:25

ET 805 -2-456- B73W Addis Abeba 10:30 Dareselaam 13:10

ET 805 -2-456- B73W Addis Abeba 10:30 Zanzibar Iseland 14:25

ET 804 --3---7 B757 Zanzibar Iseland 16:20 Addis Abeba 20:15

ET 804 --3---7 B757 Dareselaam 17:35 Addis Abeba 20:15

ET 804 -2-456- B73W Zanzibar Iseland 16:20 Addis Abeba 20:15

Page 41: 25no1

78 selamta January - march 2008 79

Domestic flight schedules*Times in local

Carrier Flt No. Frequency A/C Type From STD To STAET 100 1234567 B73W Addis Abeba 06:30 Mekele 07:30ET 101 1234567 B73W Mekele 08:15 Addis Abeba 09:15ET 104 1--4--- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Axum 08:50ET 104 1--4--- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Shire 09:45ET 104 1--4--- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Mekele 10:15ET 105 1--4--- F50 Axum 09:10 Addis Abeba 12:05ET 105 1--4--- F50 Shire 09:45 Addis Abeba 12:05ET 105 1--4--- F50 Mekele 10:35 Addis Abeba 12:05ET 106 --3-5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Mekele 08:40ET 106 --3-5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Axum 09:20ET 106 --3-5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:20 Shire 09:55ET 107 --3-5-- F50 Mekele 09:00 Addis Abeba 11:55ET 107 --3-5-- F50 Axum 09:40 Addis Abeba 11:55ET 107 --3-5-- F50 Shire 09:45 Addis Abeba 12:05ET 120 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 07:30 Bahir Dar 08:30ET 121 1234567 F50 Bahir Dar 08:50 Addis Abeba 09:50ET 122 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 07:10 Bahir Dar 08:10ET 122 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 07:10 Gondar 08:50ET 122 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 07:10 Lalibella 09:40ET 122 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 07:10 Axum 10:40ET 123 1234567 F50 Axum 07:20 Addis Abeba 14:35ET 123 1234567 F50 Lalibella 07:20 Addis Abeba 14:35ET 123 1234567 F50 Gondar 07:20 Addis Abeba 14:35ET 123 1234567 F50 Bahir Dar 07:20 Addis Abeba 14:35ET 124 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 13:20 Bahir Dar 14:20ET 124 1234567 F50 Addis Abeba 13:20 Gondar 15:00ET 125 1234567 F50 Gondar 07:20 Addis Abeba 17:00ET 125 1234567 F50 Bahir Dar 07:20 Addis Abeba 17:00ET 126 ----5-7 F50 Addis Abeba 13:00 Bahir Dar 14:00ET 126 ----5-7 F50 Addis Abeba 13:00 Lalibella 14:50ET 127 ----5-7 F50 Lalibella 15:10 Addis Abeba 17:00ET 127 ----5-7 F50 Bahir Dar 16:00 Addis Abeba 17:00ET 128 -23-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 06:30 Gondar 07:20ET 128 -23-5-7 B73W Addis Abeba 06:30 Axum 08:30ET 129 -23-5-7 B73W Axum 09:10 Addis Abeba 10:10ET 129 -23-5-7 B73W Gondar 08:00 Addis Abeba 10:10ET 200 1-34--7 F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Dire Dawa 08:00ET 200 1-34--7 F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Jijiga 08:40ET 200 1-34--7 F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Gode 10:10ET 201 1-34--7 F50 Gode 10:30 Addis Abeba 13:40ET 201 1-34--7 F50 Jijiga 11:50 Addis Abeba 13:40ET 201 1-34--7 F50 Dire Dawa 12:30 Addis Abeba 13:40ET 202 -2--5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Dire Dawa 08:00ET 202 -2--5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Kebridahar 09:40ET 202 -2--5-- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Gode 10:25ET 203 -2--5-- F50 Kebridahar 10:00 Addis Abeba 13:25ET 203 -2--5-- F50 Gode 10:45 Addis Abeba 13:25ET 203 -2--5-- F50 Dire Dawa 12:25 Addis Abeba 13:25ET 204 -----6- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Dire Dawa 08:00ET 204 -----6- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Shilavo 09:45ET 204 -----6- F50 Addis Abeba 07:00 Gode 10:35ET 205 -----6- F50 Shilavo 10:05 Addis Abeba 13:35ET 205 -----6- F50 Gode 10:55 Addis Abeba 13:35ET 205 -----6- F50 Dire Dawa 12:35 Addis Abeba 13:35ET 206 1-3---7 F50 Addis Abeba 16:00 Dire Dawa 17:00ET 207 1-3---7 F50 Dire Dawa 17:20 Addis Abeba 18:20ET 139 --3-5-- F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Jimma 11:55ET 139 --3-5-- F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Gambela 13:10ET 138 --3-5-- F50 Gambela 13:30 Addis Abeba 15:30ET 138 --3-5-- F50 jimma 14:45 Addis Abeba 15:30ET 139 -2-4--- F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Jimma 11:55ET 139 -2-4--- F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Assosa 13:25ET 138 -2-4--- F50 Assosa 13:45 Addis Abeba 16:00ET 138 -2-4--- F50 jimma 15:15 Addis Abeba 16:00ET 139 -----67 F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Jimma 11:10ET 139 -----67 F50 Addis Abeba 11:10 Gambela 13:10

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs DOmEstIC tImEtABLE hIghLIghts*times in local

Red Sea

Gulf of Aden Tana

Shire Axum

Makale

Lalibela

Akaki

Dire Dawa

Jijiga

Kabri Dar

Shilavo

Gode

Gondar

Bahar Dar

Asosa

Gambella Gore

Dembidollo

Mizan Teferi

Jimma

Arba Minch

Jinka

Denakil Depression

Simien Mountains

Amhara Plateau

Choke Mountains

ADDIS ABABA

Mendebo Mountains

Ogaden Region

Ahmar Mountains

Shala

Abaya

Shamo

Abiata Langano

Zwai

Koka

Ras Dashan (4,620m)

DOMESTIC ROUTE MAP Destinations

ADDIs ABABAmain City ticket OfficeChurchill roadPO Box 1755tel: 251-11-5517000fax: 251-11-5513047/5513593

ArBA mINChtel: 251-46-8810649 (CtO)

AssOsAtel: 251-47-7750574/1197

AXUmtel: 251-34-7752300 (CtO) 251-34-7753544 (APt)

BACO (Jinka)tel: 251-46-7750126 (CtO & APt)

BAhAr DArtel: 251-58-2200020 (CtO) 251-58-2206900 (CtO) 251-58-2260036 (APt)

DEmBIDOLLOtel: 251-57-5550033

DIrE DAWAtel: 251-25-1113317 (APt) 251-25-1111766/1147 (CtO) 251-25-1113017 (CgO)PO Box 176

gAmBELLAtel: 251-47-5510099

gODEtel: 251-25-7760015 (CtO) 251-25-7760030 (APt)

gONDArtel: 251-58-1110129 (CtO) 251-58-1117688 (CtO) 251-58-1117602 (CtO) 251-58-1140735 (APt)PO Box 120

gOrEtel: 251-47-5540048

JIJIgAtel: 251-25-7752030 (CtO) 251-25-7754300 (APt)

JImmAtel: 251-47-1117271 (CtO) 251-47-1110030 (CtO) 251-47-1110207 (APt)

LALIBELLAtel: 251-33-3360046 (CtO)

mEKELLEtel: 251-34-4400055 (CtO) 251-34-4404052 (CtO) 251-34-4420437 (APt) 251-91-4700910 (Cell)PO Box 230

mIZAN tEfErItel: 251-47-3360014

shIrEtel: 251-34-4442224

CtO – City ticket OfficeAPt – Airport OfficeCgO – Cargo Office

© C

amer

apix

mag

azin

es L

td

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs DOmEstIC OffICEs

NO

tE: g

raph

ics re

pres

enta

tion

only.

Not

to sc

ale. t

he a

ctua

l flig

ht p

aths

may

var

y.

Page 42: 25no1

80 selamta January - march 2008 81

fokker 50seat Capacity: (Et-AKr, Et-AKs, Et-AKt, Et-AKU, Et-AKV) Economy Class, 52. total: 52. max. gross Weight: take Off, 20,820 kgs; Landing, 19,730 kgs; Zero fuel, 18,600 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 12,970 kgs.total Cargo Volume: (7.01m3).fuel Capacity: 4,121 kgs.Engines: P/W 127B — turbo prop. engine. sea Level thrust: — shP: 2,750.

Boeing 757-200 Erseat Capacity: (Et-AKf, Et-AKE, Et-AKC) Cloud Nine, 16; Economy Class, 144. total: 160. max. gross Weight: take Off, 108,862 kgs; Landing, 89,811 kgs; Zero fuel, 83,460 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 61,179 kgs. total Cargo Volume: 1,670 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 34,271 kgs.Engines: PW2040.sea Level thrust — LB: 40,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-ALY) Cloud Nine, 16; Economy Class, 153. total: 169.max. gross Weight: take Off, 115,666 kgs; Landing, 89,812 kgs; Zero fuel, 83,485 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 60,942 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 1,670 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 34,271 kgs.Engines: PW2040.sea Level thrust — LB: 40,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-ALZ) Cloud Nine, 16; Economy Class, 154. total: 170.max. gross Weight: take Off, 115,699 kgs, Landing, 89,812 kgs; Zero fuel, 83,485 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 60,942 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 1,670 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 34,271 kgs.Engines: PW2040.sea Level thrust — LB: 40,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-AmK) Cloud Nine, 16; Economy Class, 159. total: 175.max. gross Weight: take Off, 115,852 kgs. Landing, 89,811 kgs; Zero fuel, 83,460 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 61,072 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 1,670 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 34,271 Cu.ft.Engines: rB211-535E4.sea Level thrust — LB: 40,000.

Boeing 757-260 freighterCargo Capacity: (Et-AJs & Et-AJX) 15 (88” x 125“) pallets. max. gross Weight: (Et-AJs) take Off, 115,892 kgs; Landing, 95,254 kgs; Zero fuel, 90,718 kgs.(Et-AJX) take Off, 109,316 kgs; Landing, 89,811 kgs; Zero fuel, 83,460 kgs.Operating Weight: (Et-AJs) 53,010 kgs. (Et-AJX) 54,176 kgs.Cargo Volume main: 6,600 Cu.ft.Lower: (Et-AJs) 1,829 Cu.ft. (Et-AJX) 1,762 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: (Et-AJs) 34,348 kgs. (Et-AJX) 29,306 kgs.Engines: PW2040.sea Level thrust: 40,000 lbs.

Boeing 737-700seat Capacity: (Et-ALK, Et-ALQ, Et-ALU, Et-ALm & Et-ALN) Cloud Nine, 16; Economy Class 102. total: 118.max. gross Weight: take Off, 70,080 kgs; Landing, 58,604 kgs; Zero fuel, 55,202 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 41,015 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 966 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 20,896 kgs.Engines: Cfm 56-7B26.sea Level thrust — LB: 26,300.

Ethiopian Airlines Current Commercial fleetLong range Passenger servicesj 9 Boeing 767-300 Er: Et-ALC, Et-ALh, Et-ALL, Et-ALJ, Et-ALO, Et-ALP, Et-AmE, Et-Amf, Et-Amgj 1 Boeing 767-200 Er: Et-AIf

medium range Passenger servicesj 1 Boeing 737-200Adv: Et-AJB 6 Boeing 757-200Er: Et-AKC, Et-AKE, Et-AKf, Et-ALY, Et-ALZ, Et-AmKj 5 Boeing 737-700: Et-ALK, Et-ALQ, Et-ALm, Et-ALU, Et-ALN

Domestic Passenger servicesj 5 fokker 50: Et-AKr, Et-AKs, Et-AKt, Et-AKU, Et-AKVj 2 De havilland Canada DhC 6 twin Otters: Et-AIt, Et-AIX

Cargo and Non-scheduled servicesj 1 Boeing 757-260 freighter: Et-AJsj 1 Boeing 757-200PCf: Et-AJXj1 AN-12

BOEINg 767-300 Erseat Capacity: (Et-ALL) Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 213. total: 237.max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,879 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 133,809 kgs.Operating Empty Weight: 91,367 kgstotal Cargo Volume: 3,770 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-ALC) Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 210. total: 234.max. gross Weight: take Off, 185,065 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 130,634 kgs.Operating Empty Weight: 90,416 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 3,770 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000

seat Capacity: (Et-ALh) Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 213. total: 237.max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,880 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 133,809 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 90,058 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 3,770 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-ALJ)Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 211. total: 235. max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,880 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 133,809 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 93,277 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 3,770 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

CO

mIN

g s

OO

N

BOEINg 787-8 DrEAmLINErA super-efficient airplane with new passenger-pleasing features. It will bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market, using 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size.seating: 210 to 250 passengers range: 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,700 kilometres) Configuration: twin aisle Cross section: 226 inches (574 centimetres) Wing span: 197 feet (60 metres) Length: 186 feet (57 metres) height: 56 feet (17 metres) flight deck size: similar to that of a 777Cruise speed: mach 0.85 Cargo Capacity After Passenger Bags: 5 pallets + 5 LD3s maximum take Off Weight: 476,000 lbs Program milestones: Authority to offer Late 2003 Assembly starts 2006, first flight 2007 Certification/Entry into service 2008

seat Capacity: (Et-ALO)Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 211. total: 235. max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,880 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 133,809 kgs.Operating Empty Weight: 93,499 kgs.total Cargo Volume: 3,770 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-ALP) Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 208. total: 232. max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,880 kgs; Landing, 148,149 kgs; Zero fuel, 133,809 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 93,277 kgs. total Cargo Volume: 3,370 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-AmE) Cloud Nine, 30; Economy Class, 190. total: 220. max. gross Weight: take Off, 181,436 kgs; Landing, 137,892 kgs; Zero fuel Weight, 130,634 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 92,087 kgs. total Cargo Volume: 3,370 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: Cf6-80C2B6f.sea Level thrust — LB: 60,000.

seat Capacity: (Et-Amf, Et-Amg) Cloud Nine, 24; Economy Class, 221. total: 245. max. gross Weight: take Off, 186,880 kgs; Landing, 145,149 kgs; Zero fuel Weight, 133,809 kgs. Operating Empty Weight: 91,700 kgs. total Cargo Volume: 3,370 Cu.ft.fuel Capacity: 73,369 kgs.Engines: PW4062.sea Level thrust — LB: 62,000.

EthIOPIAN fLEEt

Page 43: 25no1

82 selamta January - march 2008 83

ABU DhABIsalem travel Agencytel: (009712) 6215600/6218000fax: (009712) 6211155ALgErIAAir Algeriatel: 213-643731ANgOLAreino, Comercio geral, transitariosIndustrias e representacoes Comerciais Limitadarua marques Das minas No. 4Luanda, Angolatel/fax: 244-222-335-713E-mail: [email protected]: 54-1148933003fax: 54-114893005AUstrALIAWorld Aviation system (WAs)Level 11403 george st.sydney NsW 2000 Australiatel: 02-9244-2111fax: 02-9290-3641E-mail: [email protected] Airline management services gmBhtel: 431 585 363 019fax: 431 585 363 088AtC Aviation Cargo AgentObjekt 262, Entrance 08floor 3, room A03.0851300 Vienna Airport, Austriatel: 43-1-7007-38852/54E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Int’l traveltel: (973) 17223315fax: (973) 17210175BANgLADEshmAAs travels & tours Ltd.tel: 8802-717 0517/956 8388/956 5380fax: 8802-956 5378BELgIUm & LUXEmBOUrgPark hill, mommaertslaan 20Atel: 32 (0) 22750175/24034476fax: 32 (0) 24034479Aviarepstel: 32 (0) 27120586fax: 32 (0) 27258392BENINVitesse Voyage (speed travel)tel: 229-2131-0718mobile: 229 9713-7791BrAZILAviarepstel: 5511-3123-1800fax: 5511-3259-8440CANADAAirline services Internationaltel: (905) 6294522fax: (905) 6294651ChILEAviarepstel: 562-2362748/2362749fax: 562-2362750COLOmBIAAviarepstel: 571-317 2805/257 1818fax: 571-317 2890CZECh & sLOVAK rEPUBLICstal Aviation Czech & slovak republicsmala stupartska 7, 11000 Prague 1tel: 224-815-372/77fax: 224-815-379DENmArKKhyber Internationaltel: 4533934455fax: 4533933799

DhAKA (Bangladesh)mAAs travels & tours Ltd.tel: (8802)7170517/9568388/9565380fax: (8802) 9565378DUBAIAsia travel & tour Agencytel: (009714) 2951511fax: (009714) 2955315fINLAND & EstONIAmatkantekijat oy(tour Planners Ltd.)tel: 358 9687 78940fax: 368 9687 78910grEECEgold star Ltd.tel: (030) 2103246706fax: (030) 2103246723hUNgArYAviareps1132 Budapest, Borbely u. 5-7hungaryINDIAAhmedabadsheba travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (079) 27544056fax: (079) 27542317Bangalorestic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (080) 22267613/22202408/22256194fax: (080) 22202409Cochinstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (0484) 2367476/477/478fax: (0484) 2367476Bodhgayastic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (0631) 2201166Jaipurstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (0141) 2372997/998/965fax: (0141) 2373059Chandigarhstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel : (0172) 2706562/67fax: (0172) 2702770trivandrumstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (0471) 2310919/1548/1554/3509fax: (0471) 2310919Kolkatastic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (033) 22297112/105fax: (033) 22266588hyderabadstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (040) 23235657/1451/101277fax: (040) 55612966Jallandharstic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (0181) 2232056/58/59fax: (0181) 2230961PuneLeonard travelstel: (9520) 26131647/7690fax: (9520) 26130782Chennaistic travels Pvt. Ltd.tel: (044) 24330211/098/255/841fax: (044) 24330170INDONEsIAPt Ayubergatel: 62-218356214/15/16/17/18fax: 62-218353937IrANIran National Airlines Corp.tel: (009821) 6002010fax: (009821) 6012941IrELANDPremAir marketing services Ltd.7 herbert At, Dublin 2tel: 353-1663-3933fax: 353-1661-0752E-mail: [email protected]

IsrAEL-tEL AVIVOpensky Cargo LtdExport terminalPO Box 61570151Ben gurion Airporttel: 972-3-972-4338E-mail: [email protected] system Inc.toranamon tBL Building, 8f1-19-9 toranamon minatu-KUtokyo 105-0001 JapanE-mail: [email protected] Karmel traveltel: 9626 5688301fax: 9626 5688302KUWAItAl-sawan Co. W.L.L.tel: (965) 808020 EXt 1603/1604fax: (965) 2453130/2462358LIBErIAtrade management Int’ltel: 002316 524452mALAYsIAPlancongan Abadi sDN BhDtel: 2426360/2484313fax: 2412322/2486462

mADAgAsCArAir madagascartel: 222-22mALtABajada Enterprises Limitedtel: (356) 21237939fax: (356) 21237939mAUrItANIAAgence megrebine de Voyagestel: (222) 254852/250584mEXICOAviarepstel: 5255-5212-1193toll free: 01800-510-8212 (mEX)fax: 5255-5553-5867mOrOCCOskyline Internationaltel: 00212 2368322/23fax: 00212 2369775mOZAmBIQUEglobo tours LDAtel: (2711) 308067fax: (2711) 303596NEPALgurans travel & tours Pvt. Ltd.tel: 977-1552 4232fax: 977-1552 6926NEW ZEALANDWorld Aviation systemstel: 64 9 308 3355OmANNational travel & tourismtel: 968-2466 0300fax: 968-2456 6125PAKIstANtrade Winds Associates Pvt. Ltd.Islamabadtel: (9251) 2823040/2823350fax: (9251) 2824030Karachitel: (9221) 5661712-14/5661716fax: (9221) 566175Lahoretel: (9242) 6365165/6305229fax: (9242) 6314051PErUAviarepstel: 511-2418289/2416767fax: 511-8278

PhILIPPINEstravel Wide Associated4th floor metro house Building345 sen gil Puyat Avenuemakati City, Philipines 1200tel: 632-8970683fax: 632-8906631E-mail: [email protected] Aviation Poland Ltd., Al.Ujazdowskie 20 00-478Warsaw, Polandtel: 48-22-627-2259fax: 48-22-625-3146email: [email protected] [email protected] / Air mattel: 351-217-817-47fax: 351-217-817-979QAtArfahd travelstel: 974-4432233fax: 974-4432266rWANDAsatguru International (rwanda) sArLBP 2111Avenue Du Commercetel: 250-573079e-mail [email protected], rwandasAUDI ArABIAAl Zouman AviationJeddahtel: (966-2) 6531222fax: (966-2) 6534258Alkhobertel: (966-3) 8642084/8642432fax: (966-3) 8991539Alqatiftel: (966-3) 8520513fax: (966-3) 8520022Dammamtel: (966-3) 8328572fax: (966-3) 8349383hofuftel: (966-3) 5924637fax: (966-3) 5929917Khamis mushayattel: (966-2) 5375081fax: (966-2) 5373484 Makkahtel: (966-4) 5492222fax: (966-4) 5422258tabuktel: (966-4) 4221064fax: (966-4) 4221816Yanbutel: (966-4) 3227325/3213819fax: (966-4) 3213926madinatel: (966-4) 8275469fax: (966-4) 8275484sEYChELLEsmason’s travel Pty. Ltd.tel: 248 324173fax: 248 288888sIErrA LEONEIPC traveltel: 221481/2/3/226244fax: 227470sINgAPOrECitiair & holidays Pte. Ltd.48 serangoon road, #01-10Little India Arcadesingapore 217959tel: 65-6297-1213E-mail: [email protected] AfrICAholiday Aviationtel: 2711-289-8077/800fax: 2711-289-8072

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs gENErAL sALEs AgENts

ANgOLALargo 4 De fevereirohotel meridien PresidenteLuanda, Angolatel: (2442) 310328/310615fax: (2442) 310328BAhrAINChamber of Commerce BuildingP. O. Box 1044manama, Kingdon Of Bahraintel: 973-17-215-022/29fax: 973-17-210-175Email: [email protected] 704, BP31BrUCArgO, B1931CgO tel: 3227-535-229CgO fax: 3227-535-226APt tel: 3227-535-228/043APt fax: 3227-535-043BUrUNDIAvenue De La Victorie No. 09P.O. Box 517, Bujumburatel: 257-226820/226038fax: 257-248089APt: 257-229842mobile: 257-841844E-mail: [email protected] Avenue general Charles De gaulleB.P 1326 Douala, CamerounCtO tel: 237-33-430246Am Direct Line: 237-33-430264CtO fax: 237-33-430167Am mobile: 237-77-937929LD transportn Agt: 237-33-034625sales rep: 237-33-034625E-mail: [email protected] Charles De gauleP.O. Box 989, N’djamenatel: 235-523143/523027fax: 235-523143APt: 235-522599ChINAL203 China World tower 2,China World trade CentreNo.1 Jianguomenwai Ave. Beijing(100004)tel: 8610-65050314/5 / 65069692fax: 8610-65054120APt tel: 8610-64591156APt fax: 8610-64599445E-mail: [email protected] World trade Centre Complex13th floor, room No. 1303-1305huan shi Dong road, ChinaCtO tel: 8620-87621101/0120/0836fax: 8620-87620837APt tel./fax: 8620-36067405E-mail: [email protected], DEmOCrAtIC rEPUBLICBoulevard du 30 Juin No. 1525Aforia Building - 1st floorgombe, KinshasaCtO tel.: 243-817-006-585/810-884-000Apt. mobile: 243-817-006-589E-mail: [email protected]@[email protected], rEPUBLIC OfAvenue foch, BrazzavilleP.O. Box 14125tel: 242-810761/810766mobile: 242- 528-1059E-mail: [email protected] D’IVOIrEAvenue ChardyImmeuble Le ParisP.O. Box 01 BP 5897 ABJ 01, Abidjantel: 225-20219332/20215538/20215884/20219179fax: 225-20219025mobile: 225-05061583

APt: 225-2021278819APt mobile: 00225-05063294E-mail: [email protected] De marseillesP.O. Box 90, Djiboutitel: 253-351007/354235fax: 253-350599APt: 253-341216E-mail: [email protected] hilton hotelP.O. Box 807, Ataba, Cairotel: 202-2574 0603/785/852/887/911fax: 202-2574 0189APt: 202-2265 4398CgO: 2654346E-mail: [email protected] City ticket OfficeChurchill roadP.O. Box 1755, Addis Ababatel: 251 11 5517000 251 11 6656666 (reservation) 251 11 5178320 (Apt)fax: 251 11 6611474Yekatit 66 AvenueP.O. Box 176, Dire Dawatel: 251 25 1113069 251 25 1112546frANCE66 Avenue des Champs Elysees75008 ParisCtO tel: 331-5376-4153 /338-258-26135fax: 331-537-71303/60537APt: 331-4862-6632APt fax: 331-4862-6634APt (mobile): 0607616375E-mail: [email protected] Londonrue Ogouarouwe Plaque No. 14PO Box 12802, Librevilletel: 241 760144/45APt tel: 241 443255fax: 241 760146gErmANYAm hauptbahnhof 660329 frankfurt Am mainCtO tel: 49-69-274-00727CtO fax: 49-69-274-00730APt tel: 4969-032-391 / 4969-690-5192APt fax: 4969-691-945CtO E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Nkrumah Avenue, Cocoa house,ground floortel: 233-21664856/57/58fax: 233-21673968APt: 233-21775168/778993/776171E-mail: [email protected] KONgrm 1803 ruttonjee house11 Duddell street, Central hong Kongtel: 852-21171863/21170233fax: 852-21171811APt: 852-31508122APt fax: 852-31508125E-mail: [email protected] World trade Centre, Cuffe,Cuffe Parade, mumbai 400005CtO tel. 22166066/67/68/69CtO fax: 22153725APt tel: 26828626/27APt fax: 26828628CgO tel: 26828415/16CgP fax: 26828417E-mail: [email protected]

Alps Building, 1st floor56, Janpath, New Delhi 110 001tel: 9111-23312302/03/04fax: 9111-23329235APt tel: 9511-256-53739/40APt fax: 9111-11256539/40E-mail: [email protected] Ben Yehuda streetroom 2016, tel AvivCtO tel: 972-3-5100501/5160564fax: 972-3-5160574APt: 972-3-9754096APt fax: 972-3975-4097CgO: 972-3975-4096E-mail: [email protected] Barberini 5200187 rome, Italytel: 3906-4200-9220fax: 3906-481-9377APt: 3906-6595-4126APt fax: 3906-6501-0621CgO: 3906-65954113E-mail: [email protected] Albricci 9 - 20122 milantel: 3902 8056562fax: 3902 72010638E-mail: [email protected]

KENYABruce house muindi mbingu streetP.O. Box 42901-00100, Nairobitel: 254-20 247508fax: 254-20 219007APt: 254-20 822236/311CtO: 254-20311507/311544mobile: 254-722518532E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] st. gefinor Center,Block (B)Beirut, Lebanontel/fax: 961-1752846/7APt: 961-1629814E-mail: [email protected] Drive, Bisnowaty CentreCtO tel: 01 771 002/ 308 01 772 031fax: 01 772 013AtO: 01 700 782Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Patrice LumumbaP.O. Box 1841, Bamakotel: 00 223-2222088fax: 00 223-2226036APt mobile: 00 223-6795819E-mail: [email protected], Idowu taylor, Victoria Island,Lagos, NigeriaP.O. Box 1602tel: 2341-7744711/2fax: 2341-4616297APt: 2341-7744710/7751921/3E-mail: [email protected] house, ground floorP.O. Box 385, Kigalitel: 250-575045/570440/42fax: 250-570441APt: 250-514296E-mail: [email protected] ArABIAmedina road, Adham CenterP.O. Box 8913, Jeddah 21492

tel: 9662-6512365/6614/9609fax: 9662-6516670APt: 9662-6853064/196APt fax: 9662-685316CgO tel/fax: 9662 6851041E-mail: [email protected] Airporttel: 9662-6853064/6853196/6853527APt (mobile): 009662-54301354E-mail: [email protected] AirportAl Zouman Centre, Old Airport roadPO Box 7543, riyadh 11472tel: 966-1-4782140/4789763/4793155fax: 966-1-4793155sENEgALImmeuble La rotonde, rue Dr. thezePO Box 50800, CP 18524 DKr rPtel: 221-823 5552/54fax: 221-823 5541E-mail: [email protected] tel: 221-820-9396/5077E-mail: [email protected] hotel, hargeisatel: 252-2-52844/2138607mobile: 252-2-427575E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] AfrICA156 hendrick Verwoerd Drive2nd floor holiday house - randburgCtO tel: 27-11-7815950CtO fax: 27-11-7816040APt tel: 27-11-3903819APt fax: 27-11-3943438CtO Email: [email protected] [email protected] 37, sE-11156 stockholmtel: 459-440-2650fax: 46 8206622APt: 46 859360170E-mail: [email protected] street, El-Nazir BuildingNo. 3/2gP.O. Box 944 Khartoumtel: 2491-83762063/88fax: 2491-83788428APt: 2491-8790991E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]: 249-811-823600/20fax: 249-811-823600tANZANIAt.D.f.L Building Ohio streetP.O. Box 3187, Dar-es-salaamtel: 255-22 2117063/4/5/2125443fax: 255-22 2115875APt tel: 255-27 2554159E-mail: [email protected] roadP.O. Box 93 Arusha, tanzaniatel: 255-27 2504231/2506167CgO: 255-27 25075112APt: 2554252 Ext. 221E-mail: [email protected] One Pacific Bldg, Unit 180718th floor, sukhumvit roadKlongtoey, Bangkok 10110tel: 662-6534366/7/8fax: 662-6534370APt tel: 662-1343061/64APt fax: 662-1343060CgO: 662-2379207fax: 662-2379200E-mail: [email protected] Palm Beach, 1 rue KomoreP.O. Box 12923

tel: 228 2217074/2218738fax: 228 2221832APt: 228 2263029/228 2261240Ext. 4313/4517E-mail: [email protected] Kimathi AvenueP.O. Box 3591, Kampalatel: 256 41 254796/97/345577/78fax: 256 41 321130/231455APt: 256 41 320570/321130/ 320555/320516 Ext. 3052/98E-mail: [email protected] ArAB EmIrAtEsflat 202, Pearl Bldg., Beniyas streetP.O. Box 7140, Dubaitel: 9714-2237963/87fax: 9714-2273306APt: 9714-2166833/1833/2161833APt fax: 9714-2244841/2822655CgO: 9714-2822880/2163813CgO fax: 9714-2822655CtO E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] KINgDOm1 Dukes gate, Acton LaneLondon W4 5DXtel: 44-020-89879172fax: 44-020-87479339APt tel: 44-020-87454234/5/6APt fax: 44-020-87457936CgO tel: 44-020-89872471E-mail: [email protected] stAtEs Of AmErICAAtlanta, tel: 800-4452733; Boston,tel: 800-4452733; miami, tel: 800-4452733; Dallas, tel: 800-4452733;Denver, tel: 800-4452733; houston,tel: 800-4452733; Los Angeles, tel:800-4452733; Chicago, tel: 800-4452733; san francisco, tel: 800-4452733; seattle, tel: 800-4452733

Washington DCDulles International AirportP.O. Box 16855Washington, DC 20041tel: 703-572-8740fax: 703-572-8738mobile: 202-255-8399Ethiopian Airlines277 south Washington streetsuit 120Alexandria, VA 22314tel: (01) 703-6820569fax: (01) 703-6920573YEmENmarib travel & tourismDamascus (haddah) st.CtO tel. 9671-427993/6833CtO fax: 9671-427992/6836E-mail: [email protected] tel. 9671-348188E-mail: [email protected] Zambia Bank BuildingOff Cairo road, Plot No. 6907P.O. Box 38392tel: 260 1 236402/3fax: 260 1 236401APt: 260 1 271141 or 260 1 271313 Ext 473E-mail: [email protected] Center, 4th floorCNr Jason moyo Avenue 2nd st.P.O. Box 1332, hararetel: 263 4790705/6/700735fax: 263 4795216APt: 263 4575191E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

EthIOPIAN AIrLINEs OffICEs

sOUth KOrEAWooree Express12th floor, Dong hwa Bldg58-7, seo so moon-Dongseoul, Koreatel: 82-2-777-9850fax: 82-2-774-7765E-mail: [email protected] Air travel managementtel: 0034-914 022718fax: 0034-914 015239srI LANKA & mALDIVEsVms Air services Pvt. Ltd.tel: 9411-244 7370/72/232 3929fax: 9411-243 7249sWEDENgsA scandinivatel: 468-797 9840fax: 468-797 9842sWItZErLANDAirnautic (Cargo only)tel: 41-61 227 9797 fax: 41-61-227 9780 Airline Center (Airline management gmbh)tel: 41 44 286 9968fax: 41 44 286 9978sYrIAAl tarek travel & tourismtel: (963-11) 2211941/2216265fax: (963-11) 2235225tAIWANApex travel5th floor 259 Nanking E. rd.sec.3 taipei, taiwan, rOCtaiwantel: 886-2-2713-1900fax: 886-2-2718-1057E-mail: [email protected] Airtel: 785100/288100tUrKEYPanoramatel: 90 212 2964120/1fax: 90 212 2964158VENEZUELAAviarepstel: 58-212-2866951fax: 58-212-2866951YEmENmarib travel & tourist Agencytel: 9671-426 831/832/833/834/835fax: 9671-726 836YUgOsLAVIAJugoslovenski Aerotransporttel: 683164

Page 44: 25no1

84 selamta January - march 2008 85

Land Ethiopia covers an area of 1.14 million square kilometres (944,000 square miles).

Climatethere are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through may; the wet season runs from June to september.

topographyEthiopia has an elevated central plateau varying in height between 2,000 and 3,000 metres. In the north and centre of the country there are some 25 mountains whose peaks rise over 4,000 metres. the most famous Ethiopian river is the Blue Nile (or Abbay), which runs a distance of 1,450 kilometres from the source in Lake tana, to join the White Nile at Khartoum.

EconomyAbout 90 per cent of the population earn their living from the land, mainly as subsistence farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and the principal exports from this sector are coffee, oil seeds, pulses, flowers, vegetables, sugar and foodstuffs for animals. there is also a thriving livestock sector, exporting cattle on the hoof, hides and skins.

LanguageEthiopia is a multi-ethnic state with a great variety of languages spoken in the country, of which there are 83 with 200 dialects. Amharic is the working language of the federal Democratic republic of Ethiopia while Oromigna, tigrigna and guragina are widely spoken.

Electric supplyEthiopia uses 220 volts 50 cycles AC.

timeEthiopia is in the gmt + 3 hours time zone. Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar.

Peoplethe population is estimated at 71 million (as of 2004), over 50 per cent of whom are under 20 years old.

ExcursionsExcursions within Ethiopia, whether for a day or for a month, may be organized for you by any of the travel agencies or by the National tour Operation.

hotelsAddis Ababa has hotels that cater for all pockets, from the luxurious sheraton and hilton hotels to the tourist-class hotels such as the ghion, the Ethiopia and the Wabi shebelle. All tourist resorts offer a choice of modern hotels.

Banking hours Banking hours are usually from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm from monday to friday and from 8:00 am – 11:00 am on saturdays. Closing times may be an hour longer in some private banks. most banks work through lunchtime; however foreign exchange services are closed during lunch hours (12:00 noon – 1:00 pm).

Communicationstelephone, fax and Internet access is available in Addis Ababa in most hotels, at the Ethiopian telecommunications Authority main office and at private Internet service centres situated around the city.

Courier and money transfer servicesmoney transfers can be made through Western Union and money gram. Both have representative branches in Addis Ababa and also make their services available from private and national banks. for courier services, DhL, fedex, UPs, tNt and Ems have offices in Addis Ababa.

Currencythe local currency is the Ethiopian Birr (EtB), made up of 100 cents. Birr notes are available in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100. Visitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency but this must be declared on arrival to the customs authorities on the appropriate blue-coloured form. foreign currency may only be exchanged at authorised banks and hotels, and a receipt must be obtained. the currency declaration form must be retained as this will be required by customs on departure. Visitors may change back any surplus Ethiopian Birr to cash at the

airport before departure. In addition to any Ethiopian Birr, along with the currency exchange form you must bring with you all receipts for exchange transactions.

Public holidaysPublic holidays are celebrated according to the Ethiopian (Julian) Calendar which consists of twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six days in a leap year). the calendar is seven years behind the Western or gregorian Calendar, with New Year falling in the month of september.

september 11 – Ethiopian New Yearseptember 27 – the finding of the true Cross (meskal)Otober 2 – Id ul fitr (ramadhan)December 9 – Id ul Ahda (sacrifice)January 8 – Ethiopian ChristmasJanuary 20 – Ethiopian Epiphanymarch 2 – Victory of Adwamarch 20 _ Birth of Prophet mohammed (mauwlid)April 25 – Ethiopian good fridayApril 27 – Ethiopian Eastermay 1 – International Labour Daymay 5 – Ethiopian patriots’ victory daymay 13 – moulid (Birthday of the Prophet muhammad s.A.W.)may 28 – Downfall of the Dergue regime

*the holidays of Id ul fater and Id ul Adaha and the Prophet muhammad (s.A.W.) are subject to moon sighting.

Customs Duty-free imports are permitted for up to:a) 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 1/2 lb of tobaccob) 2 litres of alcoholic beveragesc) half-litre or two bottles of perfume.Visitors may export souvenirs, although some articles (such as animal skin and antiques) require an export permit.

health requirementsPrior to entry, visitors should be in possession of a valid health certificate for yellow fever. Vaccination against cholera is also required for any person who has visited or transited a cholera-infected area within six days prior to arrival in Ethiopia.

Visa and immigration requirements:Visa applications may be obtained at Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions overseas. however, nationals of 33 countries are now allowed to receive their tourist visas on arrival in Ethiopia at the regular charge. the list includes Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, finland, france, germany, greek, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, republic of Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, mexico, Netherlands, Newzealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, russian federation, south Africa, spain, sweden, switzerland, thailand, citizens of United Kingdom and United states. for China including passports issued in hong Kong (sAr China) and mACAO (sAr China), Visa is available on arrival.

Bole International Airportthe New Bole International Airport is situated 8 kilometre from the centre of the city (a 15 minute drive under normal conditions). Paid parking, luggage carts and uniformed porters are available at the airport terminal.taxis are readily available. the National tour Operator (NtO) has yellow mercedes sedans which can be ordered at their airport desk. the rates for these taxis are fixed and receipts will be given if requested. Privately-owned blue cabs and yellow cabs are also in abundance, but do not have fixed rates; establishing their fare is advisable before getting into the vehicle.foreign exchange service is available at the arrivals lounge.security at the airport is tight and travellers need to produce their air ticket and passport to enter the terminal building. All other visitors are required to pay a fee of two Ethiopian Birr at the booths located in the parking lot and need to show identification cards at the guard post.

tIPs fOr thE trAVELLEr IN EthIOPIA

these gentle exercises, which you can carry out easily during your flight, will help blood circulation and reduce any tiredness or stiffness that may result from sitting in one place for several hours. Check with your doctor first if you have any health conditions which might be adversely affected by exercise.

Ankle circles: Lift feet off the floor, draw a circle with the toes, simultaneously moving one foot clockwise and the other foot counterclockwise. reverse circles. Do each direction for 15 seconds. repeat if desired.

foot pumps: start with both heels on the floor and point feet upward as high as you can. then put both feet flat on the floor. then lift heels high, keeping the balls of your feet on the floor. Continue cycle in 30 second intervals.

Knee lifts: Lift leg with knees bent while contracting your thigh muscles. Alternate legs. repeat 20 to 30 times for each leg.

shoulder roll: hunch shoulders forward, then upward, then backward, then downward, using a gentle, circular motion.

Arm Curl: start with arms held at a 90-degree angle: elbows down, hands out in front. raise hands up to chest and back down, alternating hands. Do this exercise in 30-second intervals.

Knee to chest: Bend forward slightly. Clasp hands around the left knee and hug it to your chest. hold stretch for 15 seconds. Keeping hands around knee, slowly let it down. Alternate legs. repeat 10 times.

forward flex: With both feet on the floor and stomach held in, slowly bend forward and walk your hands down the front of your legs towards your ankles. hold the stretch for 15 seconds and slowly sit back up.

Overhead stretch: raise both hands straight up over your head. With one hand, grasp the wrist of the opposite hand and gently pull to one side. hold stretch for 15 seconds. repeat on the other side.

shoulder stretch: reach right hand over left shoulder. Place left hand behind right elbow and gently press elbow toward shoulder. hold stretch for 15 seconds. repeat on the other side.

Neck roll: With shoulders relaxed, drop ear to shoulder and gently roll neck forward and to the other side, holding each position about five seconds. repeat five times.

• for your own comfort try and travel light.

• Wear loose clothing and elasticated stockings made of natural fibre.

• Increase your normal intake of water and only if need be drink alcohol but in moderation.

• Use moisturising cream to keep your skin from drying out.

• take off shoes in the plane to prevent your feet from swelling up or wear shoes that will cope with expanding ankles.

• Avoid heavy meals during the flight.• short walks once every two hours are

excellent for circulation.

• try to touch your toes when waiting in the aisle to stretch your hamstrings.

• On arrival at your destination, have a hot shower or a relaxing bath.

• On arrival a quick jog, brisk walk, or a vigorous scrub will help stimulate your circulation.

sEAtED EXErCIsEs

Other tips for a Comfortable flight

hEALthY trAVELLINg

Ethiopian Airlines disclaim any responsibility in the unlikely event that you may suffer any injury as a direct result of these gentle exercises.

Page 45: 25no1

86 selamta January - march 2008 87

simple pronunciation guide:a as the a in fathere as the e in seti as the i in shipo as the o in gou as the oo in bootgn as the gn in compagne (french)

Amharic spellings that follow are phonetic as per the above guide to aid in pronunciation.

m-masculine, f-feminine & P (Plural and can be used for older people)

mEEtINg AND grEEtINghello halogood morning Endemn adderu/

k(m)/sh(f)good afternoon Endemn walu/k(m)/

sh(f)good evening Endemn ameshu/

eh(m)/esh(f)goodbye Dehna hunu/

hun(m)/hugne(f)how are you? tenayistillign

/endemen not? eh(m)/esh(f)

I am well Dehna negnthank you (very much) (Betam)

amesegenallehuYou’re welcome (don’t mention it) minim aydelPlease come in Yigbu/giba(m)/

gibi(f)Please sit down Yikemetu/

tekemet(m)/tekemechi(f)

What is your name? simewo man no?h(m)/sh(f)

my name is . . . sime . . . noWhere do you come from? Keyet metu? ah(m)/

ash(f) hagero yet

no?eh(m)/esh(f)I come from . . . Ke . . . metahumy country is . . . hagere . . . noCan you speak Amharic? Amaregna

yenageralu? tenageraleh(m)/tenageriyalesh(f)

Only a little tinishI want to learn more Yebelete memar

ifelegalehuhow do you find Ethiopia? Itiyopiyan endet

agegnuat? hat(m)/shat(f)

I like it here Itiyopiya tesmamtognal

UsEfUL WOrDstoday Zaretomorrow NegeYesterday tilantNow AhunQuickly toloslowly Kesmr Atomrs Weyzeromiss WeyzeritI EneYou Ersewohe, she Essu, EssoaWe Egnathey EnnessuWhat? min?Who? man?When? metche?how? Endet?Why? Lemin?Which? Yetignaw?Yes (all right) EshiNo Aydelem / AyhonemExcuse me YikirtaI am sorry Aznallehugood tiru / melkamBad metfo

DIrECtIONs/EmErgENCIEsWhere? (Place) Yet?Where is it? Yet no?Where? (Direction) Wodet?street/road mengedAirport Awiroplan marefeyaWhere is the hotel? hotelu yet no?Where are you going? Yet iyehedu no? eh(m)/

esh(f)I am going to . . . Wede... iyehedku noturn right Wede kegn yitatefu/

tatef(m)/tatefi(f)turn left Wede gra yitatefu

tatef(m)/tatefi(f)go straight Ketita yihidu/hid(m)/

higi(f)Please stop here Ezih Yikumu/kum(m)/

kumi(f)Come Na (m)/Ney(f)/

Nu(P)go hid (m)/higi(f)/

hidu(P)stop Kum(m)/Kumi(f)/

kumu(P)help Irdagn(m)/irgegn(f)/

Irdugn(P)hospital hospital/hakem betPolice Polis

rEstAUrANts/shOPs/hOtELshotel hotelroom KifilBed Algato sleep metegnatto bathe galan metatebWhere is the toilet? metatebiya betu yet

new?Where may I get Yemiteta neger yetsomething to drink? agengalehu?Coffee BunaOne (cup of) coffee And (sini) bunaBeer BirraCold Kezkazahot muktea shayfood migibmeat sigafish AssaBread DaboButter Kebesugar sikuarsalt ChowPepper Berbereshop sukto buy megzatto sell meshetmoney genzebCent santimehow much does this cost? Wagaw sint no?that is quite expensive Betam wood no

NUmBErsOne Andtwo huletthree sostfour Aratfive Amistsix sidistseven sebatEight semmintNine Zetegnten AsserEleven Asra-andtwelve Asra-huletthirteen, etc. Asra-sost, etc.twenty hayatwenty-one, etc. haya-and, etc.thirty selasathirty-one, etc. selasa-and, etc.forty Arbafifty AmsaOne hundred And metoOne thousand And shi

DAYs Of thE WEEKsunday Ihudmonday segnotuesday maksegnoWednesday Erobthursday hamusfriday Arbsaturday Kedame

ENgLIsh–AmhArIC

Learn some basic Amharic so that you can interact with the locals and enjoy your stay in Ethiopia by experiencing the rich culture of the ethiopian people.

ARABIC & MEDITERRANEAN

Al Baraka(5155903BoleRoad,nexttoBolePrintingPressKnownfor:Hannid,KebabsAlBaraka7daysaweek

Al Mendi(5512143OntheroadbetweenOlympiaandBambis,oppositeGreekSchoolKnownfor:AlMendimeat7daysaweek

Serenade Restaurant(091-1200072NearMasterPrintingPressAmistKiloKnownfor:Finehomecooking,dinneronlyClosed:Mondays,Tuesdays,andSundays

ARMENIAN

Aladdin Restaurant(6614109OffBoleRoad,neartheJapaneseEmbassy’sResidenceKnownfor:Grilledmeat,houmus,taboulleh7daysaweek

Ararat Club(1113572Piazza,behindNazarethSchoolKnownfor:SheshkebabandManteSoupClosed:Sundays

ASIAN

China Bar and Restaurant(5513772NexttoGhionHotelKnownfor:OneoftheoldestrestaurantsinAddis7daysaweek

Rainbow Seoul(5512311OnBoleRoad,nexttoOromiaBureauKnownfor:Koreandishes7daysaweek

Shanghai(4655290OnDebreZeitRoad,nexttoOmedadBuildingKnownfor:ExceptionalvarietyofChinesedishes7daysaweek

CONTINENTAL/EUROPEAN

Addis Ababa Golf Club(3201892OldAirportinfrontofSwissEmbassyKnownfor:BBQatweekends7daysaweek

Amsterdam Bar & Restaurant(6613493NexttoBoleMiniKnownfor:RoastBeef7daysaweek

Antica Restaurant(6634841/6615815OnBoleRoad,nexttoHararMesobRestaurantKnownfor:BrickOvenPizzaandHotRockBBQ7daysaweek

Blue Tops (1232463/64AmistKiloinfrontoftheNationalMuseumKnownfor:Pizza,icecreamClosed:Mondays

Breezes (Sheraton Addis)(5171717Ext.6998/6103Knownfor:BBQonSundays7daysaweek

Family Restaurant(5528413InfrontofIbexHotelKnownfor:MexicanFoodandWarmChocolateCakewithIcecream7daysaweek

Gazebo (Hilton)

(5518400Ext.953BesidethepoolKnownfor:SaladsandHamburgers7daysaweekHamlet Steak House(0114-168691MeskelFlowerStreetKnownfor:Steak7daysaweek

Jacaranda (Hilton)(5518400Ext.986IntheGardenWingofthehotelKnownfor:uniquemenuthatcontinuouslychangesClosed:Sundays

Kaffa House (Hilton)(5518400Ext.962InthemainlobbyoftheHiltonKnownfor:SeafoodeveryFriday7daysaweek

Les Arcades (Sheraton Addis)(5171717Ext.6604Knownfor:GourmetmenuClosed:Sundays

Rodeo Bar and Restaurant(5510294OnBoleRoad,nexttoDStv.Knownfor:BBQonThursdays,Fridays,andSaturdays7daysaweek

Summerfields (Sheraton Addis)(5171717Ext.6089Knownfor:Hamburgers,BuffetandIce-Cream7daysaweek

The Cottage(5516359Nextto7thDayAdventistChurchKnownfor:Fondue&IrishCoffeeinbar7daysaweek

Top View(6511573/77UpthehillfromMeganagnaRoundabout,AsmaraRoadKnownfor:PastaClosed:Mondays

ETHIOPIAN

Abasha Restaurant (5518358BoleRoad,nexttoSabitBld.Knownfor:KwantaFerferandBozenaShiro7daysaweek

Agelgil Restaurant(4653299/091-1222105InsideVillaVerdiKnownfor:Agelgel(combinationofdifferentEthiopiandishes)7daysaweek

Dashen Restaurant(5529746BehindthemainPostOfficeKnownfor:MelasseTibsandlivemusiconweekendnights7daysaweek

Enesra Traditional Bar & Restaurant (091-1653611OnMickeyLelandRoad,OppositeNyalaInsuranceKnownfor:SpecialTibs7daysaweek

Fasika National Restaurant(5509912/5514193OffBoleRoad,infrontofSunshineBuildingKnownfor:EnfeleandlivemusicClosed:Mondays

Gursha Restaurant(6632545OppositeSilverBulletKnownfor:BozenaShiro&Kitfo7daysaweek

Shangri La Restaurant & Bar(091-1223489MickeyLeylandRoad,adjacenttotheEuropeanCommissionKnownfor:Ethiopiandishes,includingTejandrawmeat7daysaweek

Yod Abyssinia Culture(6612176NexttoDesalegnHotelKnownfor:Ethiopiandishes,includingTej&rawmeat7daysaweek

FRENCH

Loti Restaurant(0911411066/0115531313TebaberBertaBusinessCenter,3rdFloorEthio-ChinaFriendshipStreet(WolloSefer)Knownfor:French,Spanish&Africandishes7daysaweek6pm-11pm

INDIAN

Ajanta Restaurant(6611049NeartoRwandaEmbassyOppositeBoleClinicKnownfor:SouthIndian,NorthIndiancuisine&Indiansweets7daysaweek

Jewel of India(5513154OffBoleRoadfromOlympia,towardsMeskelFlowerHotelKnownfor:Tandooris,Tikkas7daysaweek

Sangam’s (5518976/5516579NexttoCityCaféKnownfor:TandooriChickenandfreshNaans7daysaweek

Shaheen (Sheraton) (5171717Ext.3633Knownfor:Livecooking,delicateflavoursandexpresslunchmenu7daysaweek

ITALIAN

Arcobaleno(3713257InMekanisa,infrontofMidrocHeadOfficeKnownfor:Antipasto,NilePerchandGorgonzolaCheeseSauce7daysaweek

Castelli(1571757/1563580OffPiazzaAradaRoad,infrontofMohmoudMusicShopKnownfor:Pastas,GrilledFish,ChickenandSaladsClosed:Sundays

Don Vito(4653809/4655389OnDebreZeitRoad,beforeConcordeHotelKnownfor:FreshPasta&PizzaClosed:Tuesdays

IL Caminetto(6625587OffBoleRoad,thestreetinfrontofBrassClinicKnownfor:Pastas&RavioliClosed:Sundays

Makush Italian Restaurant(0115-526848/55BoleRoadMegaBuilding1stfloor7daysaweek11:00am-11:00pm

Pizzeria (Hilton) (5518400Ext.962ThroughtheKaffaHouseKnownfor:AntipastoandPizzas7daysaweek

Pizzeria Italia (5156553OffBoleRoadKnownfor:Pizza7daysaweek

Stagioni (Sheraton Addis)(5171717Ext.6097Knownfor:Regionalmenus7daysaweek

CAFES / PASTRY SHOPS

Bole Mini(0116639898BoleRoadKnownforBurgers,FreshFruitJuice,Waffles&Donuts7daysaweek

City Café & Pastry(5151807OnBoleRoad,nexttoMegaHouseKnownfor:Millefogli,BlackForestandIcecream7daysaweek

Enrico’s Pastry(1571490OffChurchillRoad,nexttotheItalianLibraryacrossfromMegaBookStoreKnownfor:MillefogliandCreamPuffs7daysaweek

Fantasy CafeOnBoleRoadMedhanialemRoadnearAtlasHotelKnownfor:Cinamondanish7daysaweek

IL Penguino Gelateria(5505298OffBoleRoadatOlympiatowardsHaileGebreSelassieAvenueKnownfor:SundaeIcecreamClosed:Wednesdays

Kaldi’s Cafe(6638455/6638456InfrontofBoleMedhanialemKnownfor:CaramelMacchiato7daysaweek

La Parisienne(5528820/5156174OffBoleRoad,atOlympiaKnownfor:Croissants&Breads7daysaweek

London Café(6620197OnBoleRoad,nexttoSatelliteRestaurantKnownfor:Melewah(Yemenipastry)7daysaweek

Roby’s(5518808OnBoleRoadoppositeMegaHouseKnownfor:ItalianPastryandFruitCake7daysaweek

Saay Pastry(6188000OnBoleRoad,nexttoFantuKnownfor:Croissants7daysaweek

Temptations (Sheraton)(5171717Ext.3633Knownfor:Awideselectionofbreads7daysaweek

Tomoca(1112498OffChurchillRoad,onthesameroadasBookWorldKnownfor:Manyvarietiesofcoffee7daysaweek

Village CaféInfrontofEstifanosChurch,cornerofMeskelSquareKnownfor:Mini-pizzas7daysaweek

LATE NIGHT

Heri’s Cigar Bar & Lounge(0911648212Boleroad,WolloSefer,BertaBuilding,1stFloorKnownfor:CigarandCocktailDrinks7daysaweek

The Mask Pub (6631102BoleRoadbehindPalestinianEmbassyKnownfor:Snacks,Decor7daysaweek

Memo Club(5519887OffBoleRoad,behindExhibitionCentreKnownfor:BozenaShiroandGrill,Dancing7daysaweek

Savanna Safari Pub & Grill(091-1210610BoleRoad,closetoairportKnownfor:SnacksandDancing,JazzonWednesdays7daysaweek

LEArN AmhArICDININg OUt

Page 46: 25no1

26 27

29 30

31

32

33

28

24 252322212019

1615

141312

11

9

7

8

1 2 3 54 6

10

17 18

CLUEs ACrOss5. No standing at this company tV show (6)

8. Do flagging race horses suffer this injury? (8)

9. Well-cooked bread, red oxide in the small county (6)

10. One with hurried run goes south by boat, left inside (8)

11. tear the novel, you may need this as a tenant (4,4)

12. the feeling off-colour, colour? (4)

14. A period within the pageant (3)

15. Deliver and cover with plaster (6)

16. Decent gets ad for the morally corrupt (8)

19. Left in increasing animal noises (8)

23. right with love affair gives body protection (6)

26. stirred tea, to ingest but not to drink (3)

27. Current month, in an old-fashioned way (4)

28. mali pier constructed for an empire (8)

29. mild company that is mixed together for dwelling place (8)

31. Is a sheep robbed for this? (6)

32. month with broken stile makes a story writer (8)

33. skilled crafts for Indian ocean winds (8)

CLUEs DOWN1. throw the french laughter (7)

2. saw the leopard’s appearance (7)

3. have a trip in autumn? (4)

4. reach rd in turmoil. It’s burned. (7)

5. top layer of paint useful for the winter? (6,4)

6. the dumb shaken up and touched digitally (7)

7. Needing replacement, or french pair with royal Navy (7)

12. Brighten half the sailing ship (4)

13. United Nations joins half town for a preposition (4)

14. I trace firs for skilled craftsmen (10)

17 Note up British public school (4)

18. Contortions hold a civil wrong in Law (4)

20. What the walker rose to be? (7)

21. Little Kenneth does initially get a period of r & r. (7)

22. gg led in confused – but it’s still a horse! (7)

24. 50 claims wrongly make a spoken error (7)

25. Looks like a call for thrift. that’s no good! (7)

30. make one in the steam oven, and go places (4)

Answers across5. sitcom 8. Whiplash 9. Crusty 10. scuttler 11. rent book 12. Blue 14. Age 15. render16. Decadent 19. growling 23. Armour 26. Eat 27. Inst 28. Imperial 29. Domicile 31. fleece 32. Novelist 33. trades

Answers down1. Chuckle 2. spotted 3. fall 4. Charred 5. second coat 6. thumbed 7. Outworn 12. Brig13. Unto 14. Artificers 17. Eton 18. tort 20. rambler 21. Weekend 22. gelding24. miscall 25. Useless 30. move

Place a number from 1 to 9 in every empty cell so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains all the numbers from 1 to 9. No number can appear twice in a row, column or 3x3 box. Do not guess - you can work it out by a process of elimination.

good luck!

7 2

1 78

4

63

5 415

74

8

67

818 5

9

91

3

5

42 6

87

58

33

6

take time and relax ...have some fun by testing your wit!

Having

Fun!

sudoku

CrOssWOrD PUZZLE & sUDOKU