Ethiopia is one of Wild Frontiers’ most popular destinations in Africa, but it is still relatively seldom-visited.

The country has worked hard to overcome negative perceptions over the years, and it is slowly gaining a reputation as one of the most varied and fascinating destinations in Africa.

 

Here are eleven things you may find surprising about Ethiopia:

1. Ethiopia is Home to the Cruelest Place on Earth

National Geographic named the Danakil Depression “the cruelest place on earth”. This forbidding desert basin lies in northeast Ethiopia, and has year-round temperatures of 95 degrees, which sometimes hit a high of 145 degrees. The salt deposited when the Red Sea flooded this region many millennia ago provides a much-needed source of income for the Afar people, who risk dangerous conditions to mine the plentiful salt.

 

2. Ethiopia was Home to a Living God, According to the Rastafari Movement

Emperor Haile Selassie was Ethiopia’s regent from 1916 to 1930 and emperor from 1930 until 1974, when he was overthrown by the Marxist dictator Mengitsu Haile Mariam. Haile Selassie was heir to a dynasty that reportedly dated back to Menelik I, the child of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. As such he was seen as the returned messiah of the bible, God incarnate, by the Rastafari movement. His name is frequently dropped into reggae songs, and Bob Marley’s “War” was based around a speech given by Haile Selassie to the United Nations in 1963.

 

3. Ethiopia has an Extremely Diverse Music Scene

Many of Ethiopia’s different tribes are associated with different styles of music. Undoubtedly the most popular musical export is Ethio-Jazz.  Traditionally, Ethiopian music is based around five notes, but in the 1970’s musician Mulatu Astatke began fusing these five tones with the 12 tones of jazz, and Ethio-Jazz was born. You can hear Ethio-jazz today in one of Addis Ababa’s many live music venues.

 

4. One of Ethiopia’s Most Famous Residents is 3.2 Million Years Old

AL 288-1 (more commonly known as Lucy) is an Australopithecus Afarensis found in the Afar Depression in 1974. Her skeleton was found 40% complete, an astonishing discovery which excited anthropologists worldwide, providing invaluable insight into the evolution of modern humans.

Despite having an upright walk similar to that of humans, Lucy has a small skull capacity similar to that of apes, supporting the view that bipedalism preceded increase in brain size in early humans. Despite being a fully-grown adult, Lucy would have stood at just 3 and a half feet tall and weighed 63 pounds. After six years touring the US, Lucy returned to Ethiopia in May 2013, and now resides in the National Museum at Addis Ababa.

 

5. The Omo Valley is One of the Most Diverse Tribal Places in Africa

The remote Omo Valley in Southwest Ethiopia is home to some of Ethiopia’s most fascinating and diverse ethnic groups, including the Hamer, the Banna, the Mursi and the Surma. Amongst the Mursi it is still common for women to wear large pottery or wooden plates in their lower lips.

 

6. The Queen of Sheba Hailed from Ethiopia

According to the legend, the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba journeyed to Israel to visit King Solomon. After serving a meal of spicy food, the sneaky king left a drink of water by the queen’s bedside, who awoke in the night to drink from it. In a cunning move, Solomon vowed not to take anything from the queen, if she didn’t take anything from him.  

Solomon then demanded his part of the bargain, and the Queen was shortly returning to Ethiopia carrying Solomon’s child, the future king Menelik. Menelik is later said to have visited his father in Israel, where he made off with the Ark of the Covenant, explaining its supposed current location in Axum.

 

7. Shoulder Dancing is a Popular Form of Dance

This unique form of dancing has its origins in tribal life in Ethiopia. Eskesta, meaning “Dancing shoulders”, is practiced to a variety of war songs, love songs, hunting songs and shepherd songs.

 

8. Ethiopia is Seven Years Behind the Rest of the World

Ethiopia continues to use the Julian calendar, which most of the rest of the world stopped using in 1582. The Julian calendar is made up of 13 months – 12 months lasting 30 days, and one lasting 5 days. The country celebrates New Year on 11 September.

 

9. Ethiopia is Home to a Unique Wildlife

Ethiopia has a variety of unique wildlife, the most famous being the Gelada Baboon, which lives in the Ethiopian highlands. Another famous animal is the Simien Fox, or Ethiopian Wolf. Similar to the coyote in size and build, it has red and white fur and is Africa’s most endangered carnivore. The best place to see the Simian Fox is in the Bale Mountains.    

 

10. Stunning Scenarios Abounds

Ethiopia has an amazing variety of stunning scenarios, from mountains like the Bale and Simien ranges, to the volcanic landscape of the Danakil Depression, to the fertile Omo Valley. The country’s varied scenarios are one of the biggest surprises to visitors who still associate the country with the famine appeals of the 1980’s.   

 

11. Ethiopia is a Christan Stronghold

Ethiopia has a fascinating mixture of traditional religions and ancient spiritual beliefs. Over 60% of the population is Christian, with the majority of those being Ethiopian Orthodox. The long history of Christianity in Ethiopia can be seen in the fascinating ancient rock-cut churches of Lalibela,  and the church claims to possess the ark of the Covenant, in Axum. The country’s most popular festival is the annual Timkat Festival, a noisy and colourful afair where a model of the Ark is paraded through the streets and priests use powerful hoses to spray the crowds with holy water. 

Welcome to China’s Temple of Heaven!

1. Many books, magazines, and travel websites prefer to use the photos of the triple-gabled circular temple in the Temple of Heaven to represent Beijing. It has become one of Beijing’s truly prized landmarks.
 
2. Together with the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven is another supreme example of the imperial architecture in Ming Dynasty. All the architectures were decorated with colorful red to represent the dignity of the imperial court in ancient China. 
 
3. Occupying an area of 2,700,000 square meters (3,529,412 square yards), the Temple of Heaven is 4 times larger than the Forbidden City.
 
4. The main structures in the Temple of Heaven lie along the south-north axis as with all temples in China.
 
5. The most striking building in the Temple of Heaven is the tall, circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Its location was determined by the emperor’s Fengshui masters as the exact point where heaven and Earth met. 
 
6. Seen from above, all the temple halls round and the base square, shapes also respectively symbolizing the heaven and earth. The wooden pillars support the ceiling without any nails or cement. 
 
7. In the south of the park lies the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It’s a round hall tiled in blue and standing on a white platform. Just north of the altar is the Echo Wall. Here, a whisper can travel clearly from one end to your friend’s ear at the other.
 
However, the Echo Wall will not work if there’s a bellowing tour group in the middle. Make sure to get here early if you want to experience it properly. 
 
8. The Circular Altar to the south was for astronomical use in ancient China. It also served as the sacred place to hold the annual winter solstice ceremony. The mound consists of 3 tiers that represent Earth, the mortal world and heaven.
 
The upper tier in the Circular Altar is adorned with 9 stone rings. the number 9 has special significance in Chinese cosmology, for there are 9 layers to heaven.
 
9. The temple park is generally accessed via its west gate. However, there are 4 gates at each side of the place. The traditional ceremonial route approached the altar through the south gate.
 
10. The Temple of Heaven used to served as the sacred place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. First built in 1420, it is China’s largest and most representative existing masterpiece among China’s ancient sacrificial buildings.
 
Together with the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven is the must see in Beijing. It offers you a great chance to learn about the Chinese ancient philosophy, history and religion.

Travelling is a great opportunity to rediscover you and explore places to its best.

Travelling pumps in some great energy in you and offer you a great escape from the monotonous routine. Vacations for singles over 60 are surely a delight, after spending a fruitful work-life it gives you a chance to pursue your passion and visit your dream destinations. Planning senior singles vacations requires lots of research, look out for places to visit, check out amazing destinations, stay options and much more. Seniors’ single travel can be full of excitement and thrill.

If you are a senior single and travelling is your passion then, this article is sure to help you with great information concerning senior singles travel.

 

How to prepare for a solo trip?

One of the most important things that one needs to do for planning a senior single vacation is preparing for the trip. Here are some of the factors that one must consider to prepare for a senior single trip.

 

Research:

One of the most important things is to basic research. This involves shortlisting some destinations for your vacation and digging some more information on them. Decide where you want to go, for how many days, what are the available staying options, which are the places you would like to visit and much more. 

 

Find the right time for senior single travel:

After shortlisting a few vacation destinations for travel, find the best time to visit the destination. Timing is a very prominent factor, if you happen to visit a place at the wrong time, then you may end up wasting a lot of money. You can save a lot of money by traveling outside of the main season, but still in the good weather period.

 

Budget:

Fix a tentative budget for your trip. Based on the budget you can proceed with the reservations and ticket booking. Make sure to do a good amount of research on the web to find out the best deals and discounts on flight tickets and hotel reservations.

 

Plan it out:

Make a detailed plan of your each and every day. If you are planning a senior single vacation, chart out a complete day-wise itinerary. Include all the important places to visit such as monuments, heritage sites, beaches, activities, cruise etc. This will give you a clear plan of action during your vacation. A single senior journey with a well-planned itinerary will offer you great peace of mind and help you explore all the vital places during your expedition. 

 

The top destination for single senior travellers

San Antonio:

This place offers great diversity. It is apt for those looking out for nature, city life and activities too. Some of the best places to visit in San Antonio include Hemis fair park, River Walk, Fiesta Texas, La Villita and much more.  

 

Thailand: 

Thailand is one of the best destinations for seniors single travel. This place has everything right from beaches, national parks, beautiful landscapes and some of the stunning views. Thailand is known for its energetic cities and ample opportunities to indulge in some fun and enthralling activities. Also, check out some senior single cruise to add more fun and make your journey memorable. Some of the best places to visit in Thailand include Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Krabi and much more. 

 

California’s Pacific Coast Highway: 

A road trip to California’s Pacific Coast Highway can be full of fun and exhilarating too. The wide roads are a delight to drive especially for those senior single who love driving. This place is known for its beautiful landscapes and wonderful views. 

 

Canadian Rockies: 

View the beauty of nature like never before with the amazingly beautiful and spectacular Canadian Rockies. This place boasts some a Yoho national park, Takakkaw Falls and ice-capped peaks. The breathtaking landscape is sure to mesmerize you with all its beauty and splendour.  

 

South African Safari:

If you are a nature lover and looking out for a thrilling and exciting safari trip then South Africa is an ideal destination for you. Known for its exotic African Safari this place is a sheer delight offering you a view extensive wildlife species. Witness the beauty of nature in the most extravagant way with a typical South African Safari. 

 

Cruises for senior singles:

A cruise trip can be full of enjoyment and fun. There is no reason to miss out a cruise holiday just because you are single a Cruiser journey can provide you some of the best experiences and help you explore some of the most amazing places. Make sure you just check all your travel details such as destinations, journey duration and much more. 

 

Travel for seniors singles gives them a chance to meet some new people and found a connection too. It can help one connect with people of similar interests and build a strong bond too. Senior singles travel is a great way to connect with some interesting personalities from across the globe. There are many instances when travel for seniors singles has provided them with some of the best experiences and travel buddies too.  

 

Just pack your bags and be ready for a wonderful voyage!