I visited North Africa a number of times; first Morocco and then Ethiopia, twice. I was absolutely overwhelmed by Ethiopia. It was not only the impressive wildlife and the extraordinary stunning landscapes – I found another important element to Ethiopia too – the spiritual dimension that is so prevalent in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian connection to Christianity started very early, when Philip the Evangelist converted an Ethiopian court official in the 1st Century AD (Acts 8:26-38). Islam in Ethiopia also started early when Muslim refugees, fleeing from the Bnei Quraysh of Mecca, arrived in Ethiopia, shortly before the Hijira (about 9 BH [613 CE]) and were granted asylum by the Christian ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum.
The Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) oral history takes as their origin the account of Menelik's return to Ethiopia. Menelik I according to this account was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (see: 1 Kings 10:1–13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1–12).
And now connect all this to “Lucy” the Australopithecus, a hominin and forerunner of homo-sapiens – whose skeleton was found in the wilds of Northern Ethiopia.
There is some mysticism, folklore and tradition in the very air you breathe in Ethiopia. The people are very friendly and quite beautiful and smiling seems to be part of their nature. This I think is the reason why people visit Ethiopia again and again.
Information about the Album ...
Title: NORTH ETHIOPIA
Photographer: Deniz Bensason
Width: 28 cm
Height: 24 cm
Number of Pages: 130
Cover: Hard cover. Cloth covered spine. Inner bevel for cental picture.
Additional Information: Printed on high quality gloss paper. Laminated in matt silk to maintain maximum protection for the album.
Design & Layout: Nili Glick Studio.
Mainly an album of northern Ethiopia. Primarily pictures of people and not of places, of spirituality and not materialism.
Excerpts from the North Ethiopia Album
Front and Back Covers
Pages 4-5: Acadia Trees
Page 6: Ethiopian Jews
Page 7: The Falashmura
Page 32: A Farmer
Page 33: A young lady
Page 46: A Girl at the Market
Page 47: A Woman at the Market
Page 62: Arches in courtyard
Page 63: Two black buzzards on roof
Page 70: Preparing injera
Page 71: Cooking beans
Page 78: Children in the Marketplace
Page 78: Children in the Marketplace
Page 104: Young boy
Page 105: Ethiopian family
Page 112: Bete Giyorgis at Lalibella
Page 113: Man with umberlla watching ceremony