Ethiopia, Destination For The Bold
An old saying that the greatest achievements were at first only
dreams could well apply to Ethiopia. Some Ethiopians are
dreaming big. Our correspondent visited the Ethiopian town of
Harar and tells the story of dreamers who see adventure,
excitement, and a possible tourist bonanza where others see only
rocks and bones.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09 December 2009 | Peter Heinlein (VOA)
Harar is considered Islam's fourth holiest city. It boasts 82 mosques
and more than 100 shrines. Its medieval Old Town has been recognized
by UNESCO as unique in East Africa.
The surrounding region is turning out to be a treasure trove for
archeologists, anthropologists and speleologists, or cave explorers. It is
not far from where remains of the oldest known human ancestors, Luci
and Ardi were found, shedding light on the origins of humanity.
But as a tourist destination, these sites are practically off the map. Harar
is a day's drive east of Addis Ababa so getting there can be an
adventure in itself.
That hasn't stopped dreamers, like Italian scholar Marco Vigano, from
looking past the obstacles to the potential.
it's getting wider every year and the area could eventually become a
new ocean.
new crack in the earth, this landlocked country could become a beach
resort within, say, a few hundred thousand years.
Courtesy
An old saying that the greatest achievements were at first only
dreams could well apply to Ethiopia. Some Ethiopians are
dreaming big. Our correspondent visited the Ethiopian town of
Harar and tells the story of dreamers who see adventure,
excitement, and a possible tourist bonanza where others see only
rocks and bones.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
09 December 2009 | Peter Heinlein (VOA)
- An old saying that the greatest
achievements were at first only
dreams could well apply to Ethiopia.
Some Ethiopians are dreaming big.
Our correspondent visited the
Ethiopian town of Harar and tells the
story of dreamers who see
adventure, excitement, and a
possible tourist bonanza where
others see only rocks and bones.
Harar is considered Islam's fourth holiest city. It boasts 82 mosques
and more than 100 shrines. Its medieval Old Town has been recognized
by UNESCO as unique in East Africa.
The surrounding region is turning out to be a treasure trove for
archeologists, anthropologists and speleologists, or cave explorers. It is
not far from where remains of the oldest known human ancestors, Luci
and Ardi were found, shedding light on the origins of humanity.
But as a tourist destination, these sites are practically off the map. Harar
is a day's drive east of Addis Ababa so getting there can be an
adventure in itself.
That hasn't stopped dreamers, like Italian scholar Marco Vigano, from
looking past the obstacles to the potential.
- "It's the cradle of humanity," said
Marco Vigano. "If we don't show
the people more than Lucy. It's the
bits that come after Lucy that
interest us now, and there is so
much to be discovered."
- Discoveries are a regular occurrence
here. A few kilometers outside
Harar, a guide leads visitors up a
mountainside to a cave chiseled by
the Harla people who lived here for
centuries. He splashes water on the
- "The people were living with goats
and cows. Yes, you can see horns."
- These 500 to 1000-year-old cave
paintings are young compared to the
skeleton of Ardi, an upright hominid
more than 4 million-years-old -
discovered in Ethiopia's Great Rift
Valley . The area is a two-day drive
from Addis without much in the
way of inns or guest houses.
- Also a nearby volcano erupted four
it's getting wider every year and the area could eventually become a
new ocean.
- Professor Ahmed Zekaria, a cultural
anthropologist at Addis Ababa
University, says Ethiopia still holds
many secrets.
"The Rift Valley gives you a
scenario of human evolution," said
Ahmed Zekaria. "Paleontologists are
telling us every season they're
coming with stones and bones that
catapult us back into the nebulous
past."
- Scientists say Ethiopia is a work in
new crack in the earth, this landlocked country could become a beach
resort within, say, a few hundred thousand years.
Courtesy
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Italian scholar Marco Vigano
Rock paintings near Harar
Rock paintings near Harar
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