Ethiopia trivia: 48 questions and answers

Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa, founded by Menelik II in 1886, has been the capital since he became emperor in 1889. Aksum and Gondar were royal capitals in earlier centuries.

False. False. Ethiopia has had no coastline since Eritrea became independent in 1993, and it trades mainly through the port of Djibouti.

Eritrea. Eritrea voted for independence in April 1993. Djibouti became independent from France in 1977, and South Sudan from Sudan in 2011.

Nigeria. By UN estimates, Nigeria has the most people in Africa, and Ethiopia, with about 135 million, is second. Egypt comes third.

Italy. Emperor Menelik II defeated an Italian army at Adwa on 1 March 1896, and Italy had to recognise Ethiopia's independence.

Islam. Early followers of the Prophet Muhammad fled Mecca and were sheltered in Aksum. This First Hijra is remembered in Islam as a story of Ethiopian kindness.

True. True. Italian troops entered Addis Ababa on 5 May 1936, and Haile Selassie returned to the city on 5 May 1941, exactly five years later.

Rastafari. The Rastafari movement takes its name from Ras Tafari and honours Haile Selassie as a divine figure. Garveyism is named after Marcus Garvey, Négritude was a French-language literary movement, and the Mau Mau fought in Kenya.

False. False. Haile Selassie was overthrown by the Derg on 12 September 1974. It was the Derg government itself that fell in 1991.

Teff. Teff is one of the smallest grains in the world and is naturally gluten free. Quinoa comes from the Andes, and rye and buckwheat are not native to Ethiopia.

Chicken. Doro means chicken. Doro wat is chicken slowly cooked with onions, berbere and spiced butter, with whole hard-boiled eggs added at the end.

True. True. Kitfo is traditionally raw. It can be ordered lightly warmed (leb leb), which is still partly raw, or fully cooked, which is the safe choice for anyone pregnant, very young, older or unwell.

Meat, eggs and dairy. On fasting days many Orthodox Christians avoid meat, eggs and dairy, so lentils, chickpeas and vegetables are eaten instead.

Three. A full ceremony has three rounds, called abol, tona and bereka, and it is polite to stay for more than one cup.

False. False. It is a legend, first written down in 1671, about two centuries after coffee drinking is first recorded. What is true is that the Arabica coffee plant grows wild in Ethiopia's forests.

Honey. Tej is a honey wine, like mead, made from honey, water and the leaves of the gesho shrub.

Gursha. Gursha is feeding someone a mouthful by hand, a sign of friendship and respect. Genfo is a porridge, beyaynetu a mixed platter and a jebena a clay coffee pot.

Firfir. Firfir, also called fit-fit, uses up yesterday's injera. Kitfo is minced beef, tibs is fried meat and ayib is a fresh cheese.

New flower. Addis Ababa means 'new flower'; Empress Taytu chose the name. Forty springs is Arba Minch, sea shore is Bahir Dar, and great smoke is Tis Abay, the Blue Nile Falls.

Bahir Dar. Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara Region, stands where the Blue Nile leaves Lake Tana. Hawassa lies on a different lake, Lake Hawassa, in the Rift Valley.

Carved out of solid rock. The eleven churches of Lalibela were carved out of solid rock, from the top downwards, and are linked by trenches and tunnels.

Rome. Italian troops took the obelisk to Rome in 1937. It came back to Aksum in 2005 and was put up again in 2008.

Walia ibex. The walia ibex lives only in the Simien Mountains. The Nubian ibex lives in the Middle East and northeast Africa, the Alpine ibex in the Alps, and the markhor in Central and South Asia.

False. False. Fasil Ghebbi is in Gondar, the capital of the emperors from 1636. Harar is the walled city in the east.

True. True. Visitors see a replica, while the original 3.2 million-year-old bones are kept safely in a vault.

Harar. In Harar, the hyena men feed wild hyenas outside the walls of the Jugol, the old walled town, after dark.

13. There are 13 months: twelve of 30 days and a short thirteenth month, Pagume, of 5 or 6 days.

11 September. Enkutatash, the New Year, falls on 11 September, or on 12 September in the year before a Western leap year. 7 January is Ethiopian Christmas.

True. True. The Ethiopian calendar runs 7 years behind the Western one from September to December and 8 years behind from January to early September.

1 o'clock. Ethiopian time counts from about 6 in the morning, so 7 am is 1 o'clock and noon is 6 o'clock.

The Beatles. The Beatles song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was playing in the camp the night she was found. In Ethiopia she is called Dinkinesh, 'you are marvellous'.

Barefoot. Abebe Bikila ran barefoot and became Ethiopia's first Olympic champion. In 1964 he won the marathon again, in shoes.

True. True. Wild Arabica coffee grows in the highland forests of southwestern Ethiopia, which is why the country is often called the home of coffee.

False. False. The gelada lives only in the Ethiopian highlands, where it grazes on grass on high meadows and cliffs.

Coffee. Buna means coffee. Bread is dabo, water is wuha and honey is mar.

Peace. Selam means peace and is used to say hello. Friend is gwadegna and market is gebeya.

The Ge'ez script (fidel). Amharic is written in the Ge'ez script (fidel), in which each letter stands for a whole syllable.

False. False. Doro means chicken, as in doro wat, the chicken stew.

Ameseginalehu. Ameseginalehu means thank you. Yikirta is sorry, ebakih is please (to a man), and tena yistilign is a polite hello.

How much is it?. Sint new? means 'How much is it?'. Where is the toilet is 'Shint bet yet new?'.

Thanks be to God. Egziabher yimesgen means 'Thanks be to God', the usual reply to 'how are you?'.

True. True. Chaw comes from the Italian 'ciao' and is used between friends.

9 am. Ethiopian hours start at dawn, about 6 am, so 3 o'clock in the morning is 9 am. Always ask which clock is meant.

June to September. The main rains usually fall from June to September, and the dry season from October to February is the most popular time to visit.

2,355 m. Addis Ababa lies at about 2,355 m, so take it slowly for the first days. 4,550 m is the height of Ras Dashen, the highest mountain.

True. True. Shoes come off at the door of Orthodox churches and mosques, and visitors should dress modestly.

False. False. In 2024 the birr was allowed to float, so its value changes often. Change money at banks or official exchange offices.

Fasting food with no animal products. Yetsom means 'of fasting': fasting food with no animal products, served on Wednesdays, Fridays and during the long fasts.