Visitors Urge for Tourists to Explore the Oldest, Unique Heritage Festivities in Ethiopia

January 20/2020 Foreign visitors and diplomats urged for tourists to explore the oldest and unique heritage festivities in the vast nation of Ethiopia.

Visitors who attended Timket celebration, which is Ethiopian Epiphany, in Addis Ababa eulogized over the distinctive and breathtaking cultural and ritual festival views.   

Swedish Ambassador to Ethiopia, Torbjorn Petterson, told ENA that the oldest and the only church in Africa that was brought directly from Jerusalem and not by Christian missionaries has a unique feature that can offer to the rest of the world.

He urged for the country to promote and raise the awareness of the world community about Ethiopia’s unique heritage festivals like Timiket or the Epiphany.

The Ambassador also appreciated the inscription of Timket in the UNESCO’S Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which frankly justifies its inscription.

It is a good decision and of course significant as UNESCO recognized the spectacular celebration of Timket, that could increase the knowledge about Ethiopia and its unique feature, he stated.

“It is the celebration of the oldest church in Africa and the only church in Africa that was brought directly from Jerusalem and not by Christian missionaries and of course that is something unique for Ethiopia,” the ambassador said.

The ambassador attended Timket celebrations for the third time in Addis Ababa and push for people to come and see the wonders of the heritage festivals.

A Ghanaian visitor, Abeika Santana, who is celebrating Timket for the second time in Addis Ababa, thrilled that so many people turned up the epiphany festival in the city.

“Every Christian, every believer must come and see it, it is so spectacular, a wonderful and very colorful event, since yesterday, the procession of the arc of covenant-and today the baptism-it is such a beautiful thing,” he noted.

“Ethiopia is the cradle of human kind; Ethiopia is where we are come from and this is a major tourism attraction and boost that should bring all Africans to Ethiopia every year. Africans need to come here to experience Timket festival that is still relevant in our modern times,” Santana said.

An Australian tourist, Nick Deacock, impressed with the magnificent Timket festivity in Ethiopia, described the country as a fascinating destination.

Nick said that “I have seen most of Ethiopia now and I would come back again because there is always more to see in this beautiful country. It is a fascinating destination. This is our last event after our 23 days tour across Ethiopia.”

“Come and see Ethiopia for yourself it is a beautiful destination,” he suggested.

Timket deserves its inscription by UNESCO, he said adding that “but it needs more to be introduced and globally promoted to the rest of the world”.

Nine tangible and four intangible heritages including Ethiopian Epiphany have already inscribed in the UNESCO, and about six are in pipeline.