Take A Pilgrimage To Ethiopia with Zodi: Zeweoita Feseha EsacNYC.Com [email protected]

Of all the African powers, only the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia remained completely free from European domination by the end of the 19th century. This was no accident of history; Ethiopia secured its sovereignty by inflicting a decisive and humiliating defeat upon the Italian invaders at Adowa (or Adwa) on March 1, 1896. Christianity came to the Ethiopians in the 4th century AD and was adopted with a fanatical passion. A rich, sophisticated and thriving culture developed among the Ethiopians, producing among its many treasures beautiful illuminated Bibles in the ancient language of Geez, the only written language native to Africa.

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Ethiopia has existed as a political entity since biblical times. The ancient Greeks gave the name 'burnt face' to the peoples who inhabited the little known regions south of Egypt, and it is from the Greek that the name Ethiopia is derived. Bisected by the great Rift Valley that runs the length of the African continent, Ethiopia encompasses fertile mountainous highlands of moderate climate and unbearably hot lowlands that fall below sea level in some places.

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A Church built into a cave in Egypt, is home to 70,000 Weekly worshipers. Saint Simon,is one of the world's oldest Christian Communities. One of the more populous groups are Egyptians who have retained their Coptic beliefs and established the largest Christian church in the Middle East.

Other nearby caves have also been built into separate church spaces, and all of them have been linked to create a massive Christian complex.

Since tourism through the scavenger’s village is not a thriving industry, reaching the Monastery of St. Simon is no small feat, yet as the largest Christian church, hundreds of thousands of people make the pilgrimage each year.

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