Contribution of Geology to the Growth of the Tourism Industry in Ethiopia: Phase I
(Archaeological and Ancient Cities, Religious and Cultural Centers: Yeha, Axum, Wukro, Lalibela)

ABSTRACT
Ethiopia, often described as the land of thirteen months of sunshine, the cradle of mankind and the source of the Blue Nile, is one of the African countries that possess a tremendous tourist attraction sites. It is greatly endowed with both natural and cultural attractions. The favorable climate, magnificent water falls, magnificent lakes, high mountains, variety of fascinating landscapes, national parks with endemic fauna and flora, are parts of Ethiopian natural attractions. The country is also a museum of many a mosaic of cultural features such as archaeological and palaeontological sites, historical monuments, religious and ethnographical objects. The pleasant holidays, the unsophisticated (traditional) way of life, hospitability and friendly attitudes of people are also among the intangible cultural attractions of the country. Ethiopia has also eight outstanding cultural and natural sites that are recognized in the world cultural heritage list by UNESCO, including the Lalibela rock-hewn churches, the stelea of Axum, the Castles of Gondar, the Simien National Park, the Lower Awash valley, the Omo Valley, the Tiya prehistoric site and the ancient city of Harrar.

Many tourist sites around the world are there for geological reasons. Geology is often the most important factor controlling natural scenery and landforms. This fact cannot be most expressed in Ethiopia than elsewhere: to site but a few, the still active Great Ethiopian Rift Valley which encompasses many of the national parks and wild life sanctuaries, the chain of rift valley lakes and the world-famous archaeological and anthropological sites; the unique Afar rift where active volcanic activities in Erta’ale and formation of new oceanic crust can be witnessed; the Simien and Bale massifs, the Tis-Isat fall along the mighty river, Blue Nile, the Sof-Omar cave etc. are all there because of unique geological processes. Ethiopia is also one of the few places in the world where its cultural history, religious manifestation and civilization are imprinted in rocks: the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Central and Eastern Tigrai, the obelisks of Axum, etc. are all there because of the unique geological materials (rocks) available. This culture has continued to this day and many of the local housing and modern architectural works make use of the numerous stone deposits in the country including limestone, marble and granite, an indication that rocks play an important role in the country’s industrial evolution and tourism development in the future.

The major tourist attractions in Ethiopia, which have direct or indirect link to geological processes, can be classfied into the following four groups: (i) Archaeological and ancient cities, religious and cultural centers: including Yeha and Axum, in Tigrai, Lalibela and the rock-hewn churches of Wukro; (ii) Natural sceneries: including the Ethiopian Rift Valley (Northern, Main & Southern) along with the Rift Valley lakes, wildlife sanctuaries and related sceneries.Tthe plateau lakes and main river basins, the Tis-Isat fall and other natural falls, the Simien and Bale massifs, and natural caves and excavations like the Sof-Omar cave; (iii) Archaeological and anthropological Centers: including all the archaeological centers like Hadar, Omo, Afar, Melka konture, Tiya, Porc-epic (Dire-dawa), Modjo and Lake Langano; and (iv) Modern and historical cities: including the cities of Addis Ababa, Gondar and Harrar.

This work presents the geological significance of the geotouristic sites in the first category (Archaeological and ancient cities, religious and cultural centers: including Yeha and Axum, in Tigrai, Lalibela and the rock-hewn churches of Wukro) which will be published in the form of a coffee-table book (“Geotourism in Ethiopia”).

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