| Ethiopia spans back into history as if the
centuries were but moments, and the
geography mobile. Ancient Aethiopia
comprised a district of northeastern Aftrica
bordering Egypt and the Red Sea. In the
Homeric poems, the Aethipes are the furthest
of mankind; a people whose banquets are
attended by the gods and who live where the
sun probably sets.
Modern Ethiopia lies to the west of Saudi
Arabia along the southern end of the Ted Sea.
It is bounded on the north and west by the
Sudan, on the south by Kenya and Somalia,
and the southeast coast by French Somaliland.
Now a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea is the
most northern state of the country. One of
the two major seaports of Ethiopia, Massawa,
is located on the narrow coastal plain of
Eritrea. It is humid and generally regarded as
one of the world's hottest regions, where it
seldom rains. Recorded temperatures of 135
drees F. are not uncommon during summer
months.
Contrastingly, through the center of the
territory runs a spur of the high Ethiopian
tableland which forms a mountainous ridge in
the south from eight to nine thousand feet
high. To the west of the ridge, plateaus and
arid lowlands slope down to the Sudan.
Asmara - where Kagnew Station is located - is 41 air miles from Massawa at an altitude of 7,600 feet above sea level on a plateau. |
Temperatures during the day range from 65
to 80 degrees, never becoming
uncomfortably warm; during the evening,
temperatures drop rapidly to the low fifties.
The rainy season is normally from the end of
June to the middle of September, and you
may expect intermittent rains of about an
hour or two each day - generally in the
afternoon. The rains are followed by the
winter months from November to February
when the evenings are cool, and
temperatures often fall to about 40 degrees
at night.
Eritrea covers an area of about 45,000
square miles, approximating the size of New
York State. The provice has a population
of about one million, whereas the whole of
Ehtiopia has about 22 million. The local
language is Tigrinian, although about
Asmara Italian is also spoken. English is
rapidly becoming understood by the people
of Ethiopia, as it is now mandatory for
students beyond the sixth grade in school.
Because of Ethiopia's ancient Christian
heritage, and its modern political alliance
with the United States, its history is
important to us.
Two thousand years ago, this nation was ruled by the kings of Axum, whose capital was the city of Axum, fifty miles south of the Eritrea-Tegre boundry. The Kingdom lasted from 300 BC until the ninth century AD. In the late fourth and early fifth centuries, the Axumite kingdom was reached by Christian priests from Syria, who spread a new faith until it became the state religion of Ethiopia. This Christian creed was that of the primitive |
| Eastern Church which acknowledged the
supremacy of the Patriarch of Alexandria.
Subsequently for 1,500 years, the religion of
the highlands has been Coptic Christianity, the
bastion of which is the Ethopian Orthodox
Chruch. On the lowlands to the west and east
of the plateau, the people remained pagans for
many additional centuries, and finally were
converted to Islam.
From Axum, which still remained the sacred center of the Ethiopian Empire, close contact was maintained with the Arab countries and with ancient Greece. With the decline of the Byzantine Empire, however, foreign links vanished and Ethiopia slept nearly a thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten. But in 1541, a force of Portuguese explorers |
led by Christopher Da Gama re-established
contact with the Ethiopian people. The
Portuguese landed at Massawa and had to
fight their way through Moslem hordes before
reaching the Christian highlands. Da Gama,
himself, was killed in the first encounter, but
his followers succeeded in their efforts to rach
(sic) the plateau and permanently routed the
Moslems from the uplands.
During the next three centuries there was constant warfare with invading Somalis, Egyptians, Turks and Sudanese. Then in 1865, Massawa and the neighboring coast was acquired by Egypt, but the garrison was withdrawn in 1885. The following year, with the approval of Great Britain, an Italian force occupied Massawa. Various Italian possessions, used mainly for for refueling stations, were united into the Italian colony of Eritrea in 1890. |
| In 1896, Ehtiopia hit the modern headlines for
the first time during the battle of Adua. The
Italians were trying to expand the boundaries
of their Eritrean colony, but discovered that
the Ethiopians had other ideas. In a rare
moment of unity, the Ethiopians chieftains
joined forces under Menelik II (father of
Ethiopian's present emperor) and slaughtered
the overconfident Italian troops at Adua, a
small village near Axum. This battle was
extremely important because it saved Ethiopia
from European powers, and because it gave
rise to the first real Ethiopian nationalism.
By means of the Italo-Ehtiopian Treaty of 1900, the Italians did manage to retain their colony of Eritrea, but they could never forget their terrible defeat at Adua. Both to avenge the defeat and to establish for herselft a colonial empire, to which she could send her excess population and manufactured goods, Italy was constantly seeking means to increase her influence in Ethiopia. Finally, in 1935, the Fascist legions of Mussolini struck. |
The poorly equipped Ethiopians were no
match for the disciplined Italian regulars who
overran the country and captured its modern
capital, Addis Ababa, in May 1936.
This subjugation of the Ethiopian people came
to an end shourtly after Mussolini declared
war on Great Britain and France in June,
1940. In allied campaigns in East Africa,
British and Indian Troops enetered Eritrea
from the Sudan. After bitter fighting around
the mountain fortresses of Cheren, these allied
forces entered Asmara on April 1, 1941.
Today there is a cemetery for British war dead
just outside Asmara on the Massawa road.
The allies continued their pursuit of Italian
troops down into Ethiopia, and restored
Emperor Haile Selassie I to his place in Addis
Ababa on May 5, 1941.
From the time until September, 1952, Eritrea
was under either British Military
administration or a United Nations Mandate
|
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Local dress varies from western style to more traditional wear of East Africa, using a wrap-around shama. |
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<p>Downtown Asmara bears resemblance to moderate sized cities of the United Stats. Special local theatres show American films, and shops feature imported goods. |
| Administered by the British. On September
15, 1952, the United Nations voted tofederate
Eritrea with Ethiopia. On November 14,
1962, the federation was ended and Eritrea
was united with Ethiopia.
Some geographical points of interest in Ethiopia include: * Addis Ababa - (New Flower) The capital
city of Ethiopia is a bizarre mixture of old and
new, cultural and commercial center; the seat
of government. The U.N. Headquarters of
Economic Commission of Africa is located in
this developing African capital.
* Harar - Africa's foremost military academy
and modern agricultural college are in
Ethiopia's medieval walled city. Harar is also
the coffee center of Ethiopia.
* Gondar - The Home of Kings can be reached |
only by travelling through conuntry offering
tremendous scenery. The spiendors of ancient
Ethiopian civilization are located in Gondar,
including imposing castles dating back to the
16th century.
* Lalibela - A true wonder of the world, the
ancient cruciform temples of misterious origin
rival the monuments of ancient Greece and
Egypt. The temples are hewn and intricately
carved from virgin rock.
*Lake Tana - The lake is the source of the
Blue Nile, and the location of the famed island
monastries, dating back to the origin of
Christianity. From Bahar Dar you can sail in a
romantic "tanqua" or reed boat.
* Debre Damo - Climb a 60 foot rope to visit the world's oldest monastery, a never reduced fortress established by ancient monks. |
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Last Updated February 4, 1998 by James Boyce
