About The Region

    

BICHENA

The village of Bichena, home to 21,000 people, overlooks the Abay River in the Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region. The capitol city of Addis Ababa – a metropolis of almost 4 million – is about 125 miles away.

During the 18th century, Bichena was the capitol of the Gojjam Province, and the governor’s mansion was located there. In addition, the beautiful church of Weyname Kidane Mihret was located there, containing 18th century paintings of Christ as a child, Joseph and Mary’s flight into Egypt, and Adam and Eve, as well as many images of saints.

PROVICE OF GOJJAM

The Province of Gojjam is located entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from Lake Tana to the border of Sudan. Always considered a sacred place, the area includes the part of the Blue Nile that many believe flowed from the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis.

The capital city of the Eastern region, Debre Marqos, is one of the oldest cities in Ethiopia is named for St. Mark. Some of the finest liturgical schools were founded in Gojjam, and an advanced form of linguistic and philosophical theological thought developed there.

The ancient Amharic, a Semitic language related to Arabic and Hebrew, is the official language in the area. It is related to Ge’ez, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which dates back to 330 AD and possibly as early as the first century. A unifying force among the diverse peoples of Ethiopia, almost half of the population of the nation belongs to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world, and the oldest independent country in Sub Saharan Africa. The Queen of Sheba is said to have visited King Solomon in 1000 BC. Scientific evidence suggests that what is now Ethiopia may have been home to the earliest humans. The skeleton of “Lucy,” an Australopithecus afarensis of the Hominid species, was discovered in the Hadar region of Ethiopia in 1974; the species is believed to have lived in the area about 4 million years ago – and perhaps even earlier.

Fragments of more than 300 other individuals of the species have been discovered in the region. The King James Version of the Bible contains the word “Ethiopia” 45 times, usually in reference to all the land south of Egypt. The wife of Moses is said to have been Ethiopian. St. Philip baptized the first person into the Christian faith – an Ethiopian eunuch – in the Gazan desert.

The land of Ethiopia is geographically diverse, with lakes, rivers, savannahs and mountains. The country has 24 major wildlife preserves as well as a variety of rare indigenous animals. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee – considered by many the finest in the world. Coffee derives its name from the Kaffa province of Ethiopia, and generates 60 percent of the country’s total export earnings. Its flavor is uniquely smooth and savored for its high acidity and rich, full body.

The Ethiopians are a hospitable people, and coffee is part of that tradition. An elaborate coffee ceremony is an integral part of the cultural and social life in Ethiopia, and a visitor invited to the ceremony considers it an honor.

 



Clinic at a Time Inc. graciously thanks Phil Rowley and Mark Rutter for the use of their photographs.