Ethiopia | Food
Traditional Ethiopian cuisine can be an acquired taste, though some take to it instantly. The most common meals you’ll find are a variety of meat or vegetarian stews served on injera, a soft, sour, almost pancake-like bread. Injera really is a love-it-or-hate-it culinary experience. One guidebook compared it to a damp dishcloth. But whatever your take on injera, the incredibly flavourful stews of curried beef, lentils, okra, or chickpeas are indisputably delicious. For those a little less bold in their appetites, it may come as a pleasant surprise that, as a result of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia during the Second World War, pasta options can be found on most menus.

https://www.gadventures.com/blog/top-5-ethiopia-experiences/

Travel to Ethiopia: First Impressions
When I was growing up, I remember Ethiopia having a long run on the nightly news. Unfortunately newscasts all pointed to the grim. Newsreel images featured fly-ridden babies with distended bellies, drought-ruined landscapes and a ravaging famine made only worse by civil war.
Sounding familiar?

Prior to our visit, we figured some distance between the Ethiopia of the 1980s and the Ethiopia of today — yet not quite to the extent we’d found. If our visit to Ethiopia proved nothing else, it proved this: though countries remain themselves at heart, they can emerge from perilous circumstances. When they do, stereotypes can slowly be cast aside and the historical, cultural and natural contours – which had always existed yet never been highlighted – can more clearly be revealed.

As we shared photos of unexpected castles, remarkable mountain landscapes, ancient churches and colorful plates of local food during our trip, readers would ask: “Is that really Ethiopia?”

Yes it is.

Our unpacking of our travels in Ethiopia begins with a few first yet lasting impressions of the country.

Ethiopia is everyone’s homeland
Going to Ethiopia is kind of going home, as archaeological digs increasingly link this area with the birth of humans between two and three million years ago.

Previously one of the most famous is the 3.2-million-year-old “Lucy,” an ape-like Australopithecus afarensis, which is believed to be an ancient forerunner to homo sapiens. Named for the Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” she stood just over 3ft (36 in) tall. You can see her at Addis Ababa’s National Museum of Ethiopia, along the somehow less-heralded “Ardi,” a forerunner of Lucy’s who’s actually a million years older.

And Ethiopia’s role in our ever-changing history continues to become clearer. In 2015, a 2.8-million-year-old jaw was found in northeast Ethiopia, believed to mark an important gap as hominids like Lucy transitioned to blokes like us.

Travel expert and founder of the Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko has clinched the 2016 MICE East Africa’s Tourism and Hospitality Personality Award. The award was part of the 2017 MICE East Africa Forum and Expo held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and was presented to Uko by the Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Tourism Organisation, Yohannes Tilah.
The award was given to Uko for his unrelenting passion towards tourism and hospitality in Africa. “This award is presented as recognition for your invaluable contributions for the overall advancement of tourism and hospitality businesses in Africa. Your tireless effort to promote African tourism has greatly helped domestic hospitality becoming sources of economic growth and social development as well as building international reputations.

Therefore, on behalf of MICE East Africa Forum and Expo and the Hotel Show Africa Hospitality Investment Trade show we are grateful to honour you and acknowledge your continued works throughout African tourism and hospitality industry,” said Kumneger Teketel WG, Managing Director of Ozzie Business & Hospitality GP.

In his response Uko acknowledged the sustained efforts of African working hard to uplift tourism on the continent. “I dedicate the award to Africa and all Africans promoting Travels within Africa,” Mr. Uko said.

Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, has won the 2016 Airline Reliability Performance Award for the 6th year in a row from Bombardier Aerospace.
The Airline Reliability Performance Award recognizes operators of Bombardier CRJ Series regional jets and Q Series turboprops who have achieved the highest rates of dispatch reliability.
Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked: ‘We are honoured to receive Bombardier’s Airline Reliability Performance Award for the 6th consecutive year. In line with our continuous effort to provide our customers a seamless travel experience, Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircrafts has enabled us offer the best on board experience on our regional and domestic routes. Moreover, through our strategic partnerships with ASKY Airlines in Togo and Malawian Airlines in Malawi, the Q400 airliner has played a vital role in availing convenient connections, as well as increasing frequencies to support air travel growth in Africa and successfully create a missing link. I wish to thank our Engineering team at Ethiopian MRO, Turbo Prop and Light A/C team as well as the Bombardier Field Service representatives for this notable milestone‘.
Ethiopian flies their Q400’s to 20 domestic destinations and regional routes such as Djibouti, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Entebbe, Kigali, Juba, Khartoum and Hargeisa.
Ethiopian has recently been handed the ‘African Airline of the Year 2017 Award’ and was also named ‘Cargo Airline Award for Network Development at Brussels’ in June and March respectively.

Angelina Jolie gave her estranged husband, Brad Pitt, a wonderful Father’s Day gift: time with his children.

According to E! News, some of Jolie and Pitt’s children spent time with their dad at his home in Los Angeles over the weekend. They were spotted being dropped off in a Suburban. After a few hours of bonding with Pitt, his children were picked up and went back to Jolie’s home. All six traveled with their mom to the LAX to go on a trip to Ethiopia. Zahara, 12, was adopted from the country in 2005.

Read: Angelina Jolie credits her late mother Marcheline Bertrand for her parenting skills

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September 2016, two years after getting married to the actor. They were together for over a decade before finally deciding to tie the knot. After getting into a custody battle over their children, Pitt and Jolie reached a temporary agreement that states that the kids will be living with Jolie, while Pitt could have therapeutic visitation with them. The actor was also required to attend weekly individual therapy sessions.

Last month, “The Inglorious Basterds” star opened up to GQ Style about his split from Jolie. The actor shared that he loves going to his individual therapy sessions, but only managed to find the right therapist after meeting with two professionals. Pitt also acknowledged some of his shortcomings and made a vow to become a better father.

Prior to Jolie’s divorce filing, news broke out that Pitt was involved in an altercation with his 15-year-old son, Maddox. There were claims that Pitt physically assaulted the teenager, and FBI investigated the incident. It was later closed with no charges.

“I was really on my back and chained to a system when Child Services was called. After that, we’ve been able to work together to sort this out. We’re both doing our best. I heard one lawyer say, ‘No one wins in court – it’s just a matter of who gets hurt worse.’ And it seems to be true. You spend a year just focused on building a case to prove your point and why you’re right and why they’re wrong, and it’s just an investment in vitriolic hatred,” he said....

Owing to the sound Diaspora policy, government's incentives, sustainable peace and security, ever growing tourism flow, among others, international brand and Diaspora involvement in hotel business in the country have shown a marked rise, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Ministry Diaspora Coordination Office Head Muluneh Mathios told The Ethiopian Herald that members of Ethiopian Diaspora investment in hospitality industry have been steadily growing. However, their engagement in such business varies from state to state.

He noted that Diaspora led-investments into the domestic economies surge 50 per cent annually.

According to him, currently, a large number of Diaspora communities are actively engaging in hotel construction at various tourist destinations of the states. "They have so far created over 50,000 permanent and temporary jobs across the country."

Pointing out the attributing factors for the active Diaspora involvement in the national development, Muluneh said Diaspora policy, government's incentives, peace and security, existence of affordable labor, among others are mentionable....