Yet, even mentioning the prospect of visiting Ethiopia is enough to shock friends and acquaintances. Recounting the wonders of the country its ancient culture, the proud and friendly people, a wild, romantic countryside and a capital city with a pulsating nightlife is usually encountered with sheer amazement. TV footage of parched land and the Live Aid concerts has fostered an image of Ethiopia as “famine country”.

But despite those prejudices, a growing number of western tourists are discovering Ethiopia as a place to visit discovering a country that is home to some of the world’s oldest Jewish and Christian cultures. The origins of the Ethiopian Orthodox church go so far back that it claims to have the original Ark of the Covenant that contained the Ten Commandments.

Ethiopia’s wildlife is not as diverse and rich as other safari countries in Africa as there are no elephants or tigers, but the country is a paradise for ornithologists. It is also of interest to anyone on the trail of the evolution of mankind.

Part of the Great Rift Valley is located in Ethiopia and is the place where some of the most important fossil discoveries to throw light on the early development of the human species have been made.

“Ethiopia is completely different from the rest of Africa,” says Martin Hauptmann, 28, after a two-week visit to the country.

“For a long time, I’ve been very interested in getting to know the only African country that has been influenced by Christianity since the Fourth Century and by Judaism before that,” says Alexander Graewe, a 52-year-old doctor.

Both men are from Berlin and are celebrating the end of their trip with two friends at the Zebra Grill, one of the latest restaurants to open in Addis Ababa. Their journey took them to the town of Lalibela and its churches hewn from solid rock. They also travelled to Aksum in the north and saw the town’s famous stelae.

From there they travelled by jeep, which they rented in the capital along with a driver, to the source of the Blue Nile, before going south to Lake Langano in the Rift Valley.

The best mountain scenery is to be found in Semien National Park located between Aksum and Gondar in the north. Even someone on a tight schedule cannot miss Ethiopia’s absolute “must see”.

Lalibela is the holiest city in Ethiopia for Christians and is the place where Alvarez asked whether the world would believe his description of the country.

Even today, it is almost impossible to imagine how people in the 12th century managed to carve 11 churches from the rock.

The churches are as impressive as the buildings constructed by the Pharaohs of Egypt and Petra in Jordan and are considered by some to be the “Eighth Wonder of the World”. The churches are not museums, but places of worship where the faithful gather every day to pray. Tourists are accepted guests as long as they don’t interrupt proceedings.

It’s not unusual to see priests wearing colourful garments and bearing lavishly decorated crucifixes blessing tourists. The priests also fondly recount the story of when King Lalibela was given the divine task of creating an “African Jerusalem” in this royal city, formerly known as Roha. Just as Ethiopians firmly believe in the divine origins of Lalibela, most people here share the view that King Solomon, who ruled over Israel in 10BC, also played an important role in Ethiopia’s history.

According to legend, Queen Makeda, who ruled northern Ethiopia, gave birth to a boy named Menelik whose father was King Solomon. When Solomon declared Menelik to be King of Ethiopia, Menelik took with him from Jerusalem not just hundreds of rabbis, but also the Ark of the Covenant and the tablets with the Ten Commandments.

Between Ethiopia’s impressive countryside and rich cultural heritage, most study-group organisers allow only a short time for a stopover in the capital, Addis Ababa.

If you only have a few hours to spend in Addis then visit the National Museum and view “Lucy”, a hominid skeleton 3.5 million years old discovered by scientists in 1974 in the Danakil Desert in northeast Ethiopia.

The skeleton was nicknamed “Lucy” because the Beatles’ hit, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, was playing on a recorder in the archaeologists’ camp as the skeleton was being recovered. The discovery was a sensation at the time as “Lucy” was the first complete skeleton of the species Australopithecus afarensis that walked upright on two legs.

Addis also has plenty to offer in terms of entertainment and is deemed the nightclub capital of northeast Africa. Venues cater to all tastes including reggae, jazz, pop rock, blues, disco and traditional music with its erotic shoulder-shaking dance.

“If you don’t try out the nightlife, you’ve missed a part of the real Ethiopia,” says tourist Martin Hauptmann.

Accommodation covers the range from basic, but comfortable hotels for about US$20 a night to more luxurious places for US$200 a night, and plenty of choices for good food. DPA