A Handy Guide to Ethiopia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is the name given to the peninsula on the eastern side of the continent that includes territory belonging to the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia in addition to Ethiopia. It is surrounded by the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to the north, the Arabian Sea to the north-east and the Indian Ocean to the east. The name is descriptive of the shape of the area, which particularly resembles the horn of a rhinoceros (you can always study the picture clue to see if you agree with this).

The area has had a range of names over the long period that humans have inhabited it. It is believed to have been called 'Punt' by the ancient Egyptians from around the 25th century BC and it was known as 'Bilad al Barbar' ('Land of the Berbers') during the Middle Ages.

The Ivory Coast and the Gold Coast are both in western Africa. Ivory Coast is also known by its French name, Côte d'Ivoire, while the Gold Coast is the former name of the country of Ghana. The Kalahari Desert can be found in southern Africa.

Answer: Eritrea

Ethiopia's six neighbours are (clockwise from the north) Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. The country's border with Eritrea was fixed in the mid-19th century during the period of European colonisation known as the "Scramble for Africa". Eritrea became an Italian colony, while Ethiopia remained an independent nation. Following the Second World War, the two countries joined the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, Eritrea was quickly annexed by its larger neighbour in a move that triggered the Eritrean War of Independence, which lasted for nearly 30 years before Eritrean independence was re-established in 1993.

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War, that took place from May 1998 to May 2000, resulted from an ongoing border dispute that remained unresolved post-Eritrean independence. It cost the lives of tens of thousands of people on both sides (estimates of casualties differ widely) but resulted in only a minor border amendment related to the town of Badme - which was awarded to Eritrea, but remained occupied by Ethiopia after the end of the war.

Answer: Ras Dashen mountain

The Simien Mountains National Park is located in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1978. The mountain range from which the park takes its name has almost unique geology formed from the remnants of a shield volcano and the effect of millions of years worth of lava flows. The mountains - shown in the picture clue - consist of several high plateaus and associated peaks separated by valley areas. The highest peak in the range is Ras Dashen (also known as Ras Dejen or Ras Dashan), which is also the highest mountain in Ethiopia at just over 4,500 metres (or almost 15,000 feet) above sea level. The first European explorers to climb Ras Dashen were the Frenchmen Pierre Ferret and Joseph Galinier in 1841.

The Dabbahu Volcano is located in the Afar Depression of north-east Ethiopia; the Awash River flows from central Ethiopia to Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti; and the Sodere hot springs are located in the spa town of Sodere, which is almost in the dead centre of the country.

Answer: Blue Nile

Although famously associated with Egypt and the area around the pyramids, the River Nile is the longest river in the world and stretches around 6,850 kilometres (4,260 miles) south into the African continent. It has two main tributaries known as the White Nile and the Blue Nile.

The Blue Nile forms the sole outflow of water from Lake Tana and initially flows south before executing a wide 180 degree turn and flowing north to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, at which point it becomes part of the main Nile River. While its name might suggest beautiful clear blue water, it is actually the main source of the Nile's silt thanks to the eroded soil it carries from the Ethiopian Highlands. As a result it has usually has a less-than-picturesque brown appearance as evidenced by the photo of the river shown in the picture clue.

The Orange River and Groen (or Green) River can both be found in South Africa, although there are quite of number of both Green and Orange Rivers located in different places around the world. The Red River flows from the northern US into Canada and is often referred to as the Red River of the North to differentiate it from another Red River in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Answer: Bale Mountains National Park

The Bale Mountains National Park is located in the southern part of the Ethiopian Highlands. The mountainous region is home to a wide range of fauna, including mammals and birds, that are found only in Ethiopia and some that are found only in the Bale Mountains. Some particularly notable species include the Ethiopian wolf, Bale Mountains vervet, balbok (a type of antelope), big-headed mole-rat, blue-winged goose and Abyssian owl.

The mountains are also home to well over a million people, most of whom are of Oromo ethnicity - one of the two major ethnic groups of Ethiopia. The people living in the park tend to be dependent on agriculture and farming, which unfortunately is one of the main causes of environmental damage to the area and a significant factor in the declining populations of some of the beautiful and rare creatures that inhabit it.

The incorrect options are all national parks of South Africa. The photo clue shows a mountain of bales.

Answer: Addis Ababa Bole International Airport

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport first opened in the early 1960s, replacing a smaller airport at Lidetta that then transferred to military control. Expansion and upgrade projects in the 1990s and 2000s later improved its capacity and increased the range of destinations available.

Bole is one of ten boroughs of Addis Ababa that are generally referred to as 'subcities'. It is the largest of these areas, covering around 122 square kilometres, and as a result one of the least densely populated parts of the city (although having a large airfield probably helps as well). It is located to the east of Addis Ababa's central Kirkos subcity, as well as the Arada and Addis Ketema subcities, which are home to famous sights such as Menelik II Square, St. George's Cathedral and the largest open-air market place in Africa.

The term 'bole' is also another name for the trunk of a tree - particularly the section below the branches.

Answer: Coffee

The majority of the world's coffee comes from the Coffea arabica plant, which originated from south-western Ethiopia and areas of the Yemen, although it is now grown worldwide. Coffee plays an important role in Ethiopia's economy as a large number of jobs are reliant on the industry and it accounts for a significant proportion of exports. However, the country is itself a major market for the coffee it produces, with the drink (see the picture clue if you really don't know what it looks like) being particularly popular amongst Ethiopians compared to the inhabitants of other African countries.

As well as coffee that is marketed internationally as 'Ethiopian', the country also produces a number of regional varieties that are sold under their local names. These beans include Guji, Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, which were the subject of a controversial deal between the Ethiopian government and the US coffee giant Starbucks in the mid-2000s.

Despite coffee being a major part of the country's economy, Ethiopia is not internationally famed for its production of pottery coffee cups or the spoons needed to stir the drink. Tea is produced, but in much lower quantities than its rival hot beverage.

Answer: False

The bed of Lake Shala contains sulfur-producing springs that result in the water having a pH level of around 9.5. Therefore it is alkaline rather than acidic. Alkaline lakes are often known as soda lakes (the picture clue shows the chemical structure of baking soda or sodium bicarbonate) and in general they are not environments that would appeal to tourists wanting to go for a swim. The high pH levels tend to result in them being home to significant concentrations of algae and specialist bacteria and, in the case of Lake Shala, the surrounding area is foggy thanks to the presence of nearby springs of boiling water.

Lake Shala has a depth of approximately 270 metres (870 feet) - which makes it by far the deepest of those located in the Ethiopian Rift Valley - and can be found south of the nation's capital, Addis Ababa, at around 1,560 metres (5,110 feet) above sea level. Despite the nature of the water, it is home to a fairly varied bird population that includes the great white pelicans who live on some of the lake's islands and the flamingos who inhabit its southern section.

Answer: Harar

Harar (which is also known as Gçy) is an ancient city that is believed to date back to around the 13th century. Its distinctive defensive walls were constructed in the mid-16th century during the period when the area was under the rule of an Emir known as Nur ibn Mujahid. The walls are called the "Jugol" and as a result the old part of the city that is contained within them is generally known as Harar Jugol. UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage Site in 2006 citing its cultural importance and its well-preserved mix of Islamic and African architecture.

The city is known for its large number of mosques and is often called the "'fourth holy city' of Islam" or the "City of Saints". It is the capital of Ethiopia's smallest region, the Harari Region, and has a warm climate that is fairly consistent throughout the year, although the period from November through to February tends to be drier.

The picture clue shows the flag of Zimbabwe, whose capital city is Harare. The incorrect options are all capital cities of African nations with their final vowel removed. Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, Luanda is the capital of Angola, and Maputo is the capital of Mozambique.

Answer: Sunrise and sunset

Official time in Ethiopia is set at UTC+03:00 - three hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time - and this is what a traveller to the country would most commonly observe in heavily populated, urban areas such as the capital city, Addis Ababa. However, in rural and provincial areas of the country, the local people often use the local Ethiopian time system that is based on the timing of sunrise and sunset. This consists of two periods of 12 hours, with 12 o'clock of the night time period being equivalent to 6am East Africa Time (sunrise) and 12 o'clock of the daytime period being 6pm East Africa Time (sunset).

This system is made possible by Ethiopia's location between 3 and 15 degrees north of the equator, where the times of sunrise and sunset do not vary significantly throughout the year. Just in case you were wondering, the picture clue shows a sunset, not a sunrise.