Ikechi Uko, a passionate travel and tourism expert, Chief Executive Officer of Jedidah Promotions, and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market (AfTM), told this story to Special Correspondent, RENN OFFOR.
A visit to Ethiopia, the country they call the Land of Enchantment, was all I needed to fulfil one of my greatest dreams.
Since my first visit, my love for East Africa has increased tremendously, and this is evident in the frequent visits I’ve made to that part of Africa.
Bread and butter
Ethiopia is one of the few African countries without oil and other mineral resources. Trade depends highly on the export of agricultural produce, coffee being the main one, and accounting for about 65 per cent of foreign exchange.
Coffee production engages almost 25 per cent of the working population and contributes 10 per cent to the national production data.
Livestock is another major export sector, with Ethiopia holding the 10th position in livestock production in the world.
Floriculture has also risen due to massive investment. Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest exporters of flowers and plants.
While I was growing up, we were taught many stories, and we watched many of such films that depicted eclipses of historical times. Many of the stories were either from Bible days or Islamic epic battles.
From those stories, I made images and continuously wondered how it would have felt to live in those times. Adulthood has not diminished that childhood quest of living in those legendary times.
Ancient civilisation
Ethiopia, formerly called Abyssinia, has a history extending to three millennia or even more, based on paleoanthropological findings, to the origin of mankind itself.
A land of remote and wild places. Some of the highest and most stunning locations on the African continent are found here. One of them is the ruggedly-carved steeples and spires of the Simien Mountains, a world heritage site of UNESCO.
Ethiopia is home to one of the world’s ancient civilisations – Aksum. It is also among the world’s earliest Christian nations and has produced the astounding churches of Lalibela, hewn from bedrock in one solid piece.
The northern mountainous region boasts waterfalls and high plateaus. Being in the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest and hottest places on earth, is like finding oneself on another planet.
I travelled on Ethiopian Airlines, and soaked up the country for five full days. This was not my first time of flying Ethiopian Airlines.
I was among the few Africans aboard the maiden Ethiopian Airlines B787 that came to Nigeria and flew us around major cities in Africa. That flight flew over Kilimanjaro Mountain, one of the few free standing mountains in the world.
From Enugu to Addis Ababa
Ethiopia is doing great things in Africa, Nigeria in particular.
Ethiopian Airlines flies to most major cities on the continent, including Lagos, Enugu, and Kano.
The airline maintains three weekly flights from Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu to Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa.
My flight from Enugu to Addis Ababa took about five hours.
Take-off was 1.45pm. But considering the uncertainty of traffic on our roads, and to make sure I checked in on time, I left my country home in a chattered taxi straight to the airport in Enugu. It cost N6,000
I left home at 7.30am and got to Enugu airport at 10.10am.
I checked in and had a few hours of sleep before the captain’s voice announcing take-off jerked me out of sleep. It was a brand new Boeing 777 aircraft with capacity for 321 passengers.
Once on board I gathered so much information about the size, magnitude, and services of Ethiopian Airlines.
The airline has about 62 airplanes, including five of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner 787; nine Boeing 777-200ERs; 12 Boeing 767-300ERs, seven Boeing 757-200ERs, 14 Boeing 737-200ERs; and 13 Bombadier Q400s.
Young and beautiful Ethiopian flight attendants; very well-mannered and very proficient; served Nigerian meals. The food, which tasted excellent, included rice with chicken, rice with beef, and pasta.
There was even a sort of open bar at the back with a variety of soft drinks, apple juice, orange juice, pine apple juice, among others. All one had to do was just go there and help oneself.
I think Ethiopian Airlines serves better. Try flying with it and make your own conclusions.
A taste of Ethiopian dishes
When we landed in Addis Ababa and went to the city, we were welcomed with traditional food and drinks from Ethiopia. Their food and drink reflect the many different cultures of the country.
A typical dish is wot, a hot spicy stew of meat or vegetables, seasoned with a blend of berbere (chillie powder). It may also be made with doro (chicken) and served with injera, a traditional spongy pancake made from fermented teff flour batter.
Ethiopia produces its own wines. Dukam and Gouder are fine reds, while Axumite is sweeter. Crystal is a dry white wine. The famous honey wine or Tej is found all over the country; as is Tela, a local beer, and Katikala, distilled liquor.
In the foothills of Entoto Mountains
Bole International Airport is five kilometres from the city centre and is undergoing major extensions, with a new international passenger terminal building under construction.
Ethiopian Airlines runs a free shuttle bus to the city. Taxis and ‘contract taxis’ also run to and fro. Once we were in the city, we took a taxi straight to the Hilton Addis Ababa Hotel. We quickly settled in.
Addis Ababa means “New Flower”. It was founded by Menelik II in 1887. The city is situated in the foothills of the Entoto Mountains and is 2,400 metres above sea level.
It is the third highest capital in the world, and has a population of about two million.
Addis Ababa is an important administrative centre not only for Ethiopia but also for the whole of Africa. The headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established here in 1958 and it is also the headquarters of the African Union.
Fables and facts
This very land is the home of the fabled queen of Sheba; the birthplace of coffee; and is believed to be the home of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant.
A trip to Ethiopia is literally a home-coming for all peoples of the world. It was in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, a volcanic scar that bisects this great land, where hominids were said to first walk on two feet.
Known to many as the enchanted land, or in some quarters as the gifted land, it is easy to see why. Ethiopia is a land of contrasting landscapes, ancient civilisations, unique cultural traditions, and boasts revered religious sites in both the Christian and Muslim faiths.
A land where revered emperors heralded some of the earliest civilisations in Africa. Mighty lakes and rivers dot its landscape as do roaming unique wildlife, and wild game not seen anywhere else on earth.
These are some of the reasons why Ethiopia is one of the rarest countries on earth that seems to have little something for everyone. And this is why you need to visit.