Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a densely-populated country. The majority of inhabitants subscribe to an early form of Christianity, the Abrahamic faith. The largest ethnic groups are Oromo and Amhara; the latter speak the official language, Amharic, which is in the Semitic family along with Arabic and Hebrew. Ethiopia has jungles, rivers, and the largest cave in Africa, Sof Omar. You can see strange, amazing churches built from rock at Lalibela and a somewhat different sort at Tigray.

Ethiopian cuisine usually features vegetables, legumes, and spiced meats served on a large piece of spongy injera bread, which is made from fermented teff flour. In some areas, the false banana plant is used to make the starchy, bready kocho, which is eaten with kitfo, rare beef mince with mitmita spice. Some frequently-eaten vegetables are cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes, and collard greens. Vegan food is common, largely to conform with religious principles at times like Lent. Nonetheless alcohol is available and often potent. The meadlike honey wine, tej, is offered at a special type of bar known as a tej bet (meaning tej house).