Tahir's Notes

It was my friend Wilfred Thesiger who first suggested I go to Ethiopia, the country of his birth. He said I would find a society that had changed little in the way of its traditions in millennia. He was right. From the first moment I spent in that magical land, I was transfixed by the extraordinay beauty, and by the grace of the people.

We have all seen Ethiopia on the nightly news. We have heard of the famines, the wars, the struggle for life. But not until you plant your own two feet upon its soil, can you understand all that the television news segments do not show.

Ethiopia has been shrouded from the rest of the African continent for decades. Visiting it is like passing into a realm that lies parallel to our own world.

In my travels in Ethiopia, I was constantly toughed at the extraordinary generosity and friendship of the people. I encourage anyone with the time and ability to drop what they are doing, and to get themselves to the what is the secret heart of Africa.