Information supplied by the Bradt Guide To Ethiopia third edition
A true feeling for the country one is in and the expected awareness involved for foreign travellers are difficult to identify in a brief page of writing.
Here is at least a bulleted list of some points that have been gleaned by GondarLink visitors to Ethiopia during the past six years. It is in no way a definitive or complete picture and the points are in a random order.
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Shake hands frequently on meeting people, accompanied by a forward bending of the body and repeated questions as to the health and welfare of that person and his family.
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Trousers for men are much preferable to shorts, as are shirts to T-shirts. In official surroundings, a standard collar and tie is the expected norm.
- Ladies should wear skirts well below the knee and likewise avoid shorts. The upper body should be demurely covered, including the shoulders.
- There are many monasteries in Ethiopia where lady travellers may not enter.
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Shoes are removed to enter all churches and monasteries.
- If invited into homes, visitors can expect to eat and drink on every occasion (unless a regular friendship is involved). The guests and the master of the house will eat first, while the women and older children serve the food and keep to the background.
- Try to use your right hand alone for eating (no knives and forks will be used in a home.). The washing of hands, usually at table, precedes a meal.
- Expect the children in a home to speak quietly and shyly to visitors (unlike the bolder kids out in the street!).
- Give a ten-cent coin or two to street beggars. Offer the children some bread or a drink. Do not give excessively as if money is no object.
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Tipping in ordinary local restaurants is not common and should be limited to a birr or two if you wish. Likewise in taxis.
- Don't expect special treatment in queues or while mounting buses. Behave as everyone else does and find your seat.
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Bargaining is acceptable in markets, taxis, garis (horse drawn carts) and hotels. But don't be stingy when it comes to driving down prices. Restaurants and public transport have fixed prices.
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Eating out in the street is generally not common. Eat your snack in quieter surroundings.
