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Overview of Ethiopia’s Tourist Attractions |
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Ethiopia is
an ancient country endowed with unique natural and cultural
heritage. As a land of multiple tourist attractions and a
visitor-friendly people, which is conscious of its historical
heritage and the natural endowments of its land, Ethiopia is
truly a country of great tourism potential.
In its considerably vast area (1,112,000 sq. Km.), Ethiopia
possesses numerous natural and manmade tourist attractions
appealing to a wide range of interests. The attractions include
historical, cultural, archaeological, anthropological, scenic,
climatic, therapeutic, and wildlife resources. |
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Ethiopia,
as one of the oldest country in the African continent, possesses
a legacy of valuable historical, cultural, and natural assets.
Not all of Ethiopia's attractions are very widely known, but
some are quite famous.
Very few of
these assets are recognized at national and global levels. As of
this date, eight of Ethiopia’s heritage sites are registered in
the World Heritage Sites List of UNESCO. Hence, the list of
UNESCO’s heritage sites includes the following heritage sites of
Ethiopia;
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» Lalibela
Rock-hewn Churches,
» Semen National Park,
» Fassil gibi and Surroundings of Gondar,
» Axum’s Monolithic Obelisks,
» Lower Awash,
» Lower Omo,
» Tia's carved standing stones, and
» The Walled City of Harar.E
Efforts are underway
to identify and register more heritage sites and the Ethiopian Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, which is the responsible organ, is working towards
that end. So far, Ethiopia is one of the four African Countries, which
have registered the highest number of world heritage sites by UNESCO. In
Africa, only Ethiopia, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa have eight World
Heritage Sites each registered by UNESCO. The rest of the African
countries have registered less than eight sites each, and even some of
them have registered none.
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The availability of numerous and world class man-made and natural tourist
attractions in Ethiopia has created a unique opportunity for the
development of tourism making the country one of the most preferred
destinations in the African continent.
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