Travel Information
Name: The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Ethiopia)
Location: With an area of above 1.1 million sq kms, Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea(north), Djibouti and Somalia(east), Sudan and South Sudan(west) and Kenya(south
Population: 84.73 million (World Bank, 2011)
Entry Points: Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (capital city), Bahir Dar, Mekelle, Dire Dawa Airports are entry points by Air. There is a railway called “Ethio-Djibouti Railways” which runs from Addis Ababa to Djibouti via Awash and Dire Dawa.
Time: GMT+3 hours. Ethiopians calculate time in units of 12 hours. The day starts in the morning at 6 o’clock. 7 o’clock in Europe is 1 o’clock in Ethiopia. Summer time is not utilized.
Calendar: Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar, which consists of 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th months of 5 days (6 days in leap year). The calendar is 7 years and 8 months behind Western calendar.
Currency: Ethiopian Birr (ETB)
Energy: Ethiopia uses 220V and 50Hz. Round two-pring adaptor and transformer.
Main holidays: The major religions are Christianity and Islam. Each religion has own holidays. When you travel on Ethiopian Christmas, Epiphany or New Year’s day, you may encounter special events. -January 7: Ethiopian Christmas -January 19 (Leap year January 20): Epiphany -March 2: Victory at Adwa Day-Commemorates Ethiopia’s victory over Italy(1896) -April 13 (movable): Good Friday -April 15 (movable): Easter -May 1: Labour Day -May 5: Patriots’ Day-Commemorates Ethiopian patriots who resisted Italian invasion and occupation(1936-1941) -May 28: Derg Downfall Day-Commemorates the end of the Derg junta(1991) -September 11 (Leap year September 12): New Year’s Day -September 27 (Leap year September 28): Finding of the True Cross