ABOUT TRUST ONLINE
Land, Climate and Topography
Ethiopia covers an area of 1.14 million square kilometers (944,000) square miles. Its borders with Eritrea on the North, Sudan on the West, Kenya on the South and Somalia and Djibouti on the East side of the country.
There are two seasons: the dry season prevails from October through May; the wet season runs from June to mid September.
Ethiopia is a land of contrasts in terms of topography. The rugged Semien Mountains, Northern part of the country, go over 4,000 meters above sea level while the Danakil depression, Eastern part of the country, drops to 100 meters below sea level, which is known to be one of the lowest dry land points on earth.
The Blue Nile (or Abay), which runs 1,450 kilometers from its source in Lake Tana is one of the most famous rivers in Africa. Abbay joins the White Nile at Khartoum.
Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic state with 83 ethnicities having 200 dialects. Amharic is the working language of the Federal government while Oromigna, Tigrigna and Guragigna are widely spoken. English is the most used foreign language in the country followed by Arabic.
Ethiopia still follows the Julian Calendar which is seven years behind the Western or Gregorian Calendar. Ethiopian year consists of twelve months of thirty days each and a thirteenth month of five days (six days in leap year) the new year falling in the month of September.
The public holidays are:
|Ethiopian New Year||September 12|
|The finding of the True Cross (Meskel)||September 27|
|Id Al Fater||December 6 (movable date)|
|Ethiopian Christmas||January 7|
|Ethiopian Epiphany||January 19|
|Id Al Adaha||Feberuary 19 (movable date)|
|Victory of Adwa||March 2|
|Ethiopian Good Friday||April 25|
|Ethiopian Eastern||April 27|
|International Labor Day||May 1|
|Moulid (Birthday of the Prophet Mohamed)||May 13|
|Downfall of the Dergue Regime||May 28|
Telephone, fax and Internet access is available and expanding rapidly all over the country. Internet cafes too are growing in number especially in the capital Addis. In most places you will find dialup internet but some cafes have broadband connections.
Currency, Banking, Money Transfers and CourierVisitors may import an unlimited amount of foreign currency in to Ethiopia but are required to declare on arrival to the customs authorities. The visitor may exchange the foreign currency brought only at authorized banks and hotels.
The local currency, Ethiopian Birr (ETB) or simply Birr, is available in denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100. Exchange transactions must be kept to show at exit if/when asked by customs officials. Any surplus Ethiopian Birr may be changed back to foreign currency in cash at the airport before departure.
Banking services, including foreign exchange services, are provided by more than 10 private banks and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the government owned and operated bank. Only Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and Dashen Bank have debit cards and ATM machines in main hotels like Sheraton and Hilton as well as prominent shopping centers in Addis.
Banking hours are:
Most banks work through lunch hours (12:00noon – 1:00pm) but foreign exchange service is not available during this time.
DHL, FedEx, UPS, TNT and EMS provide courier services in Addis Ababa and few other towns.
Visitors may export souvenirs. But some, such as antiques, animal skin, etc require export permit from National Bank of Ethiopia.
Visa, Immigration, and Health RequirementsAll Ethiopian diplomatic missions overseas provide visa services. However, nationals of more than 30 nations are now allowed to receive their tourist visas on arrival in Ethiopia at the regular charge. Please consult the nearest Ethiopian embassy if this applies to your country.
Visitors should obtain a valid yellow fever certificate prior to entry. Vaccination against cholera is also required for visitors who have visited or transited a cholera-infected area within six days prior to arrival to Ethiopia.
Bole International Airport
Bole International Airport is considered to be one of the best terminals in Africa. Security at the airport is tight. Since it is located inside the city, it is close to the center of the city and most of the hotels. Customs clearance is required for all travelers to reach the post-customs part of the building.
The following services are available inside and outside the terminal:
Inside the terminal
If you want to get a product or service to use during your stay in Ethiopia, let us know.
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