Ethiopia is the cradle of mankind, and the origin of Lucy or ‘Dinknesh’, a 3.2 million years old and the most complete early hominid skeleton. Traditionally, Ethiopians date their history from Adam and Eve. Modern archaeological research has identified a number of ancient settlements. The most important was at Yeha, the site of a remarkably fine temple erected to the sun and moon gods in the 7th or 8th century BC. The well documented history of Ethiopia begins in the 4th century BC, with the founding of Aksumite kingdom centered at the present Aksum. The great writer Mani mentioned Aksum, the capital of Abyssinian Empire as one of the greatest powers of its time along with China, Rome and Persia.

Ethiopia produced the most astonishing and numerous man-made monuments:The Yeha temple of the moon is the oldest living monument in the Black Africa; the gigantic stelae of Aksum are believed to be the largest monolith erected by man; the marvelous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela are considered by many writers as the 8th wonder of the world; the fairytale-like castles of Gonder and the walled city of Harar, are all registered in the UNESCO world heritage list. So much has yet to be explored. For instance monasteries and churches perched on the mountains of Gojam, Gonder, Wollo and Tigray provide astonishing trekking, art and antique relics.