ADDIS MAYA

Erta Ale (or Ertale or Irta'ale; Amharic: ኤርታሌ) Known by the Afar as the “smoking mountain” and “the gateway to hell. is an active basaltic volcano containing multiple active pit craters in the summit and southeastern caldera. Volcanism has been characterized by lava flows and large lava flow fields since 2017.

It is one of the driest, lowest, and hottest places on earth. Located in the Danakil Depression (or Afar Depression)13.6°N / 40.66°E in (NE Ethiopia) which is centered over the East African Rift system.

There are only a handful of continuously active volcanos in the world, and Erta Ale is a member of an even more exclusive group: volcanos with lava lakes. Erta Ale often has two active lava lakes-making it a unique site

Erta Ale was discovered in 1906, 613m (2,011 ft) high, the volcano has a base with a diameter of nearly 30km, making it the longest existing lava lake. The summit caldera contains two large steep-sided pit craters, the N and S (or "central") pit craters.

Temperatures during the year range from 77°F to 118°F (25°C to 47.78°C). The area is beset by drought, bereft of trees, and has little in the way of roads.

The volcano itself has erupted in 1873, 1903, 1940, 1960, 1967, and 2005.. In 2007 lava flows once again.

The lake goes through cycles and will cool, form a black layer on top, and then suddenly convect back into liquid lava. Occasionally, due to pressure, “fountains” of lava will form, spewing lava in 6- to 13-foot-high plumes.

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Ethiopian languages

Ethiopians are ethnically diverse, with the most important differences on the basis of linguistic categorization.

Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups.

The vast majority of languages belong to the Semitic, Cush*tic, or Omotic groups, all part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. A small number of languages belong to a fourth group, Nilotic, which is part of the Nilo-Saharan language family.

The Semitic languages are spoken primarily in the northern and central parts of the country; they include Geʿez, Tigrinya, Amharic, Gurage, and Hareri. Geʿez, the ancient language of the Aksumite empire, is used today only for religious writings and worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The most prominent Cush*tic languages are Oromo, Somali, and Afar. Oromo is native to the western, southwestern, southern, and eastern areas of the country. Somali is dominant among inhabitants of the Ogaden and Hawd, while Afar is most common in the Denakil Plain.

Under the constitution, all Ethiopian languages enjoy official state recognition. However, Amharic is the “working language” of the federal government; together with Oromo, it is one of the two most widely spoken languages in the country.

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#100 *tic

Tihlo (Tigrinya: ጥሕሎ) is a dish of the historical Agame in Tigray province, which consists of dough balls of barley, covered with meat and berbere sauce. Its commonly consumed as a side dish or appetizer, especially in the Tigrayan communities.

Barley grain is completely shelled and milled. Tihlo is made with soaked roasted barley flour that is mixed to a uniform consistency. The dough is then broken into small balls and laid out around a bowl of stew. A two-pronged wooden fork used to spear a ball and dip it in the stew.

Barley flour, the main ingredient. The chili peppers used is "berbere"

Steps to prepare the tihlo

1- barley flour in a bowl
2- add room temperature water in a container (pours it bit by bit into the bowl) of barley flour until the water is equally distributed. Usually mixed by hand.
3-Rolls up pieces of the dough the size of a meatball and puts it on a large plate.
4-Then in the middle of this plate in a bowl is the stew.

Step to prepare the stew

1-Cut up half of an onion.
2-Stir the cut onions in a saucepan with vegetable oil.
3-Add about half a can of tomato paste.
4-Then add 2-3 tablespoon of chili powder/berbere
5- Add 1 cup of water.
6-Then cook for 20-30 minutes.
7- Add a quarter of tea-spoon sized salt

Use a fork to poke the Tihlo and dip it in the stew and enjoy eating it. There is a special tool to eat it with but a fork would be a reasonable substitution. The tool that we use traditionally is made of carved wood that has two poky ends.

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Berbere is a classic Ethiopian hot spice blend. Authentic berbere spice would use whole spice seeds/pods, toasted, and ground. This produces maximum flavor making

Berbere to be one of the most delicious and versatile spice mixes.

Every Ethiopian cook has their own version of this blend. Berbere is a wonderful all-purpose seasoning.

Berbere is the central ingredient in of the most famous Ethiopian dishes: Doro Wat, a spicy chicken stew.

Ingredient Checklist
½ cup ground dried New Mexico chiles
¼ cup paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions Checklist
Step 1
Place the ground chilies, paprika, and cayenne pepper into a bowl; stir. Add onion powder, ginger, cumin, coriander, cardamom, fenugreek, garlic powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Gently whisk together until thoroughly mixed.
Step 2
Store in an airtight container, preferably glass.

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