There is something about the City of Peace. Harar found some 500km outside of the capital, not far from Dire Dawa, is a mixture of color, diversity and history. Influenced by India and the Middle East and unique local culture, it’s known as one of the holiest Islamic cities, often referred as the City of Saints.

Together with his communist leadership circle, which was close to Ethiopia’s military regime at the time, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev wrote a book, some 41 years ago, which begin with a saying: “Only let there be grain, and the songs will come of themselves”.

The city of Axum, in the Tigray Regional State with its magnificent obelisk overshadowing a city in need of direction and support, the historic city, despite its historical worth is still a hidden treasure of Ethiopia that has not received the respect it rightly deserves.

In recent times, a suit and a tie or formal business attire has been the chosen style of fashion by Ethiopian diplomats and those in foreign missions when they present their credentials to the head of state of their respective missions.

There is no place that is as humbling as Badme. It is hard to imagine the many thousands that have died for it fighting in one of the world’s bloodiest wars. There are few that live here and many are entering the uncertain prospect of joining Eritrea with no local input.

There is something overwhelming, perhaps defeating but mostly mesmerizing about the border town of Zalambessa. The no-war-no-peace mantra has totally crippled it, its population has dwindled and a once in a lifetime chance to bring it back from ruins earlier this year has totally disappeared as Eritrea has chosen to close its borders with Ethiopia.

“Nothing enriches you like a journey”, the famous Russian philosopher, Nicholas Roerich once quipped.

An African woman with hoe in hand is the default symbol of agriculture in Africa, according to the late Calestous Juma, African academic and former Harvard Kennedy School professor. Professor Juma used that image to convey the drudgery-filled farming that women on the continent face.

Askal Berihun, a 32 year old resident of Werk Dengaye, a suburb of Lalibela is set to wedge an international battle against her elderly ex-husband, Takeda Kazu Shige,  the father of her children with Japanese citizenry who she feels are not adequately supported and are receiving the education they are otherwise are entitled to.

There is much to love about Mesrake, an-hour-and-a-half outside of the capital Addis Ababa. Unlike the capital where farmers have been pushed to make ways for construction projects and that helped change its narratives, this unique place has stayed the same and kept its old-self untouched.