10 Fun Facts about Ethiopia

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HEATHER ON TEN MORE TOES

Here are some interesting tidbits that I have read on other websites:

1. Ethiopia is almost twice the size of Texas.
2. It is the birthplace of coffee and they have official coffee ceremonies in the home. If you are offered coffee, it is very rude to decline. (what am I going to do?)
3. They claim the final resting place of the Ark of the covenant at a chapel in the holy city of Aksum, which used to be the capital of Ethiopia.
4. Ethiopia has 63 airports. Only 17 of them have a paved runway. YIKES, I hope we pick the right one :)
5. Often women feed the men with their fingers as a mark of love and devotion to them.
6. There are 13 months in the Ethiopian Calendar. Each month has 30 days and the last month has only 5 or 6. New Year is celebrated on September 11th and they are almost eight years behind our western calendar.
7. Homes are a traditionally a round hut called a Tukul. The floor is dirt, the walls are either sticks and/or mud, and the roof is made out of a long grass called Tef. Families like to use magazines or newspapers as “wallpaper” in their homes.
8. Traditionally, parents and children do not share a last name. Most kids take their father’s first name as their last name.
9. Did you know that a large portion of the Ethiopian population claims descent from King Solomon of Jerusalem and Makeda, the queen of Sheba?
10. Ethiopian television consists of just one channel. (Glad we are not taking Adrian :)