Ulli, DL9WVM will be active from Ethiopia again until 9 December 2014 as ET3AA.
He will operate on HF bands CW.
QSL via N2OO.
Ethiopia-The Most Popular Landlocked Country
A Brief Introduction:
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia or commonly known as Ethiopia, is the most popular landlocked country in the world. It’s in the Horn of Africa (shortened to H.O.A.) with Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Eritrea to the north and northeast, Kenya to the south, and Sudan and South Sudan to the west. It’s the second most populated country in Africa with approximately 93,000,000 inhabitants. It consists of an area about 1,126,829 square kilometres (435,071 sq mi) and its largest city and capital is Addis Ababa.
Geographical Aspects:
The total area, the country occupies in the African continent is about 1,126,829 square kilometres (435,071 sq mi) which makes it the 27th largest country in the world. It lies between 3° and 15° North latitudes and longitudes 33° and 48° east. It’s a landlocked country with Djibouti and Somalia in its east, Kenya to its south, Sudan and South Sudan in its west and Eritrea to its north and northwest. Ethiopia is situated amidst the Horn of Africa, a big portion of the country lies in the Horn, which is the eastern most part of the land area.
Ethiopia is a highland having many plateaus and complex mountain ranges. The Great Rift Valley, which runs from southwest to northwest and is a midst of many lowlands, steppes or semi deserts, divides the plateaus and mountain ranges. The diversity in the terrain explains and also causes the great difference between the soils, climates, the settlement patterns and the natural vegetation.
Ecologically diverse, Ethiopia ranges from deserts on its eastern borders to tropical forests to the south. It is also the home to Lake Tana which is said to be the source of the Blue Nile.
Climatic Conditions:
Tropical monsoon is the dominant season type but also is subject to certain variations. The highlands have a generally cooler climate than the other regions of the country. The capital Addis Ababa has a mild climate all the year around, slightly rainy season from March-May, heavy rainy season from June-September and a dry season from October-February.
An average of 7 hours a day of sunshine has been recorded meaning 60% of available time is sunny. Most major cities and tourists points located have the same season as the capital but the lower east lands of the country face a much drier and hotter climate, the world highest annual temperature of about 34 °C (93.2 °F) annually was recorded in Dallol, in the Danakil Depression in the eastern zone.
Demographics:
The current population was recorded about 87.9 million in 2014. And it is estimated that the population will be till 210 million in 2060. The population growth rate ratio was about 2.6% in 1994-2007. Currently, the growth rate is among one of the top ten countries in the world.
The country’s population is highly diverse and contains over 8 different ethnic groups. OROMO is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia as according to the census conducted in 2007 consisting of about 34.4% of the population.
Among the followers of Sid: Getnet (KB3WWU), Tsegaye (KB3WWJ), Hailemelekot (AB3OX), and Dawit (KB3WWI) [from left to right]
Language, script and religion:
You would be amazed to find out that about 90 different languages are spoken in the country all around. Most of the people speak Afro-Asiatic languages. The most spoken languages are the Oromiffa, Somali and Amharic languages spoken respectively by the Oromo, Somali and the Amhara groups that form three quarter of the population of the country hence the most spoken languages. But the people are given the right to determine their own working languages as respective of the needs of the area.
The principle script is Ge’ez or Ethopic. It first came to use in the 5th or 6th century. Other writing systems are used by ethnic groups as well.
Christianity is the official religion of Ethiopia. But other religions are also followed there. The Christian population is about 62.8%, Muslims are about 33.9%, tradition faith and practitioners are about 2.6% and followers of other religions are about 0.6% of the total population.
Time and Calendar:
Several local calendars are followed in Ethiopia but the most widely used and known one is the Ethiopian calendar or Ge’ez calendar. It’s based on the Alexandrian or the Coptic Calendar. Time is also taken into account differently as in case of names, the Ethiopian day starts at 6 am rather than at 12 am.
Agriculture and Exports:
The principle crops of the country include oilseeds, cereals, pulses, vegetables, potatoes, sugarcane and different varieties of chickpeas as well. It accounts for 41% of the GDP, 80% of exports and 80 % o its labour force.
The main exports of Ethiopia are oilseeds, livestock, leather goods, gold and coffee products.
Sports, Cuisine and Music:
The mist popular Ethiopian cuisine is various meat stews and vegetables as side dishes, served atop on and Injera (a sort of flat bread).
The music is also very diverse due to the different ethnic groups and their following, the most different trait is that the intervals between the lyrics and notes are longer than the average song.
The most played sports are Football and athletics (mostly long distance running).
ET3AA-Ethiopian Amateur Radio:
Sid May was the Trusty of EARS (Ethiopian amateur radio society) and was the driving force for the ET3AA’s establishment at the Addis Ababa University, Institute of technology. In 2012 Sid May passed away but his legacy and the efforts he did for the amateur radio were then took on by his students and the member of the radio club of the institute. It is run by the students of the club and is run locally by them. The students enthusiastically and running the club and legacy creator to which they are very thankful to, to continue his efforts and dreams.
Some Interesting facts about Ethiopia:
·Ethiopia is the 10th largest livestock producer in the world.
·Ethiopia’s large and potential water supply is also regarded as ‘white oil’ and the coffee resources as ‘black gold’.
·Reference from the Ethnologue, there are about 90 different languages being spoken in Ethiopia.
·Ethiopia only has 1 doctor to tend up to 100,000 patients.
·Ethiopia does not follow the basic western naming system. The children add their father’s and grandfather’s names with their own given names.
·In case of compatibility like passports, the grandfather’s name is treated as the surname and the father’s and their own given name as their first name.
·The Ethiopian day starts from 6 am and not 12 am like the basic western time.
