The eyes of the world are on east Africa again today just as they were 40 years ago but as I have discovered for myself, Ethiopia is so much more than Live Aid.
It would be safe to say that Ethiopia was on the radar of very few of us before the famine of 1984.
When, of course, that catastrophe was but a moment in time, albeit tragic.
Made worse by the rich heritage of a region with a very real claim to be the Cradle of Humanity, the Cradle of Civilisation.
Ethiopia’s women from history
The First Woman, Lucy, originated here 3.2million years ago and was discovered in Hadar ten years before the famine.
So unknowingly we have more insight into Ethiopia beyond the famine than we thought.
And any time we heard growing up a grannie or grandpa (it was usually them) call a flashy woman a Queen of Sheba.
They were really referencing an Ethiopian monarch, Makeda.
Who showered King Solomon with lavish gifts, considered huge even by the standards of the day, on her visit to his court.
And her modern marvels
Regular readers, my loyal Bandanini and Bandanettes, will be familiar.
With how one particular Ethiopian powerhouse and an Irish Ethiopiaphile crossed my path.
The magnificent Meseret Tesalign Berkeley, who championed her country in Ireland and Caroline Smith who promoted Ethiopian Airlines.
Who invited us out to Addis Ababa on an all-female crew to mark International Woman’s Day.
And left it to me to decide to go myself, well I do rock a Scottish kilt, or send a female colleague.
And I chose the latter to avoid a mutiny in the office.
Breaking injera bread and coffee beans
Mesalign, Caroline and I broke injera (a type of sourdough flatbread).
Scooping up the doro wat spicy chicken stew for the Enkutatash New Year.
And coming away seven years younger and check it out and it is a thing because of the difference in our calendars.
Although we’d maintain it is the magical qualities of the food, dancing and the coffee with Ethiopia its birthplace.
When a goat herder Kaldi saw his goats energised from eating coffee cherries.
Out of Africa
Of course Ethiopia is so much more than Live Aid
Boasting the most UNESCO sites of any country in Africa.
Take in the splendours of the Simeon Mountains, where someone tell Midge Ure there is regular snowfall.
And Simeon wolves and Gelada monkeys.
While the Denakil Depression (don’t be put off by the name, it’s a geological feature) boasts the Dallol hot springs and the Erta Ale volcano.
And the Blue Nile is a stunning waterfall and the largest lake in Ethiopia, offering boat trips and scenic views.
Yes, Ethiopia is so much more than Live Aid.
And the best we can do for this vibrant country and its people is to invest in its present and future and visit for ourselves.
