KTRAINDATW

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia

The Music

The Percussions

Ethiopia Shots & Itinerary

Baobab (Dima) Tree

Rock-Hewn Church

Abuna Yemata Guh

Abuna Yemata Guh, Ethiopia's 'church in the sky' is perched on a 2,500ft vertical spire of rock, with sheer, 650 feet drops on all sides. Worship here involves climbing barefoot six metres up a sheer wall of rock with no ropes, and crossing narrow ledges with 200m drops. This most inaccessible of churches in northern Ethiopia has been testing even the most faithful's devotion since the 5th century AD when an Egyptian priest, Father Yemata, is said to have walked to Ethiopia, climbed the mountains and quarried the church out of the rock .

Sof Omar Cave

Sof Omar Cave, the longest cave in Ethiopia at 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) long, is said to be the longest system of caves in Africa. It is situated to the east of Robe, in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region in southeastern Ethiopia, through which the Weyib River (Gestro River) flows. It sinks at the Ayiew Maco entrance and reappears at the Holuca resurgence 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away. According to tradition Sof Omar was the name of a Muslim holy man who lived in the area and Ayiew the name of his daughter. Long a religious centre, it is sacred both to Islam and the local Oromo traditional religion. The caves are known for their many pillars, particularly in the 'Chamber of Columns'.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Gondar

This location is part of the Roots 1: Africa Section

Ethiopia is an ancient land, where so much history can be found, musical or otherwise. As well as being the birthplace of coffee, and a religious mecca to many, Ethiopian music has a rich history as well.

As far as percussion instruments go, we will mainly focus on two principal drums, the Kebero and the Negarit.