Dear Mr. Heavens,
As a journalist coming from one of the well-developed countries, Briton and now living in one of the poorest countries in the world Ethiopia; you must have a good sense and judgment of what is going on in Ethiopia at the present time. From what we hear people are still being tortured and killed in some parts of Ethiopia, like in Wollo, Gondar and Somali regions. I think Andrew, as a journalist you have a moral responsibility to report the human abuse and be a voice to those who are suffering in silence. I don’t know may be you are in Ethiopia to enjoy the natural beauty and the 10 months sunshine instead of 13 months.

I don't agree. As a journalist writing in a UK newspaper certainly. But blogs are personal journals and this one has traditionally been based on the writer's own reflections and experiences. The election coverage, was if anything, a departure from the norm.

I am not an expert in Ethiopian politics, but I would have thought that one way for there to be more political openess would be for a lot more people to come and experience those ten months of sunshine and the natural beauty?

It makes sense to think in the mind of the tourists who as we have heard are afraid of 13(devil number!!!). But indeed we have 13 months and i think that sparks some curiosity for the curious tourits...but not every body is curious! I think the motive behind was to grasp attention for the simple reason that there are 13 months in Ethiopia and that is unique. But as you said it is time for a change. Even Ethiopian Airlines has changed it logo from 'going to great lengths to please' to 'your link to Africa'. It is just words and has nothing to do with our identity!

But indeed we have 13 months of sunshine. It should not be 'burning' as it is in Egypt or Libya or but we have enough sunshine for 10 months and rainy season for three months with some sparks of sunlight usually in the morning!
(unlike the european winter where you may not see the sun at all for some time!)

But for the 'unusual' ethiopian calender and timing, i think it is the european calendar and timing which is more 'weired' honestly. The Gregorian Calendar had been changed some time ago by some king..was it julius/or Gregori...i donot know!? The day starts at 1:00 and ends at 12:00 ethiopian time in ethiopia which is undisputably logical but it starts at 7:00 and ends at 6:00 western time...what is this?
It doesnot make sense but you just accept it, as politely as you can!

By the way 13 is not as bad for us as it is for westerns. But the month of May(Ginbot) is not as good. You donot see as many weddings in that month as you normally see. Many Ethiopian political turmoils occurred in this month.Plus when the start of the month of Sene(june) coincides with Monday, that is also a bad thing for habesha people. The last time it coincided, we went into a bloody war with little ('chachut') eritrea!

"Double the paperwork, double the fun" 
"Celebrate September 11th with an entire country" 
"The land plumbing forgot" 
"You'll never even know they're infected!" 
"Moving towards democracy for 14 years and counting" 
"Come see why they run"

Do Japanese tourists care whether the number 13 is unlucky? Even in the West 13 is no longer considered bad luck. I happen to live in a new Condo and on the 13th floor, #1313 to be exact.

The idea of 13 months of sunshine wasn't meant to describe just Addis Abeba, where you are located right now, but all Ethiopia, including the eastern and southern lowlands. Have you been to Metehara, Dupti, Gode or Dire-Dawa during the highland's rainy season? This is not a rainy season in those parts of Ethiopia, the sun still shines bright and hot.

All you have to do is, think of Ethiopia as the sum total of its different regions, not just Addis or the highland regions?

As to the number 13 and "bad luck", I don't even need to comment. But I will say this: I don't need to patronize other peoples' culture to make a point.

Mr. Heavens,

Although your point is well taken, the reason tourists are not coming to Ethiopia in sufficient numbers doesn't have much to do with the number thirteen.

There is quite a bit do and see in Ethiopia. As you may have seen though, not much is done to build the necessary infrastructure and to seriously promote tourism in any meaningful way.

Moreover, a majority of tourists have this funny attitude about avoiding wars and political unrest, which the country had in abundance in the last thirty years.

Therefore, the lack of tourists in Ethiopia, like many of the country’s problems has to do with the lack good governance and democracy.

Cheers!

I cant say I am not surprised that you actually wrote this. I dont mean to sound rude but are you serious? Yes we know that every day is not a crisp spring day. But I think they use 13 months of sunshine as more of a catch-phrase and it simply refers to the semi-tropical weather as opposed to seasons with extreme weather conditions. Yes we know it rains in july yes we know it is hot in may yes we know january nights are cold and dry. But I think what we are pitching is that we dont have sub zero blizzards and heat waves, that there is atleast a day in every month where you could lay out at langano. I think if you could take it at face value as the rest of us did and not deconstruct it (I still cant believe you did that) the (remember, catch-phrase) you would save yourself from the risk of irritating the rest of us.

Have you seen that Graham Hancock has a new book out? I think Ethiopia will be figuring prominently!

Andrew,

I agree with you...13 months of sunshine is outdated. I think they new to come up with something catchy and trendy. As for the rest of those who are commenting above with your reporting...these are the sort of people who manage to keep Ethiopia backwards..they are to be ignored. cheers

Tyrel

Ethiopia - 'Where everybody is 8 years younger'

Andrew

I hope you didn't go to Ethiopia to impose your cultural beliefs on Ethiopians. We Ethiopians don't see anything wrong with number THIRTEEN. "Ethiopia: 13 months of sunshine" is a classic Ethiopian tourism slogan that should remain tourim Ethiopia's slogan.

Thank you

Dear Mr. Heavens

I am an Ethiopian living in the US and I should tell you that I follow your blog dilligently: it is not often that one gets to hear rational analysis of what happens back home.

My comments about the recent events nonwithstanding, I just wanted to share another possible reason for the prejudice against the number 13: It was the day of the month of 'Adar' at which Haman the Agagite decided to exterminate Jews. I have attached a link to where I found the info below.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=156&letter=H

regards
Leaelaf

Andrew,
I can't believe you came up with this story! We said 13 months of sunshine in 'Ethiopia', not in 'Addis Ababa'. For someone who has been here for quite some time now, I can't believe you deny that even if it is now raining in Addis, the sun still shines in brightly in some other parts of Ethiopia, hence the slogan. If the rain bores you in Addis, you don't have to go very far outside of Addis to find sunshine. Think Nazret,Debre Zeit to mention but a few.
As for number 13, well to begin with, that's your superstition, not ours, so we are not bothered by it. And I don't think that in this day and age, tourists would be turned off by something as silly as this. Really Andrew, I've been following your blog for a while now and that, coming from you, is really surprising. Maybe after all, I shouldn't be. That was really 'ferenj' of you.

Thank god! Someone else on my crowd's wavelength. It seems like everywhere I've been lately (in Addis and points north), everyone's been grumbling about "13 months..." (usually in terms of "13 months of sunshine, my a**"!).

Andrew -- not, I know, that the usual carpers will get you down, but do keep up the good work; the kind of atmospherics and lighter stuff you write are wonderful!

Easy people! This is just a blog. Why are my people so bitter and angry? Instead of writing hateful comments to a journalist’s blog, I wish these Ethiopians abroad would actually go and make some sort of a difference! I find it funny that this type of talk comes from either abroad or from the very rich in Ethiopia who manage to live in luxury in the face of such poverty. This angry talk all the time is getting old. Rome wasn’t built in one day as they say and the fact that you are able to ‘dispute’ an election is a far cry from this government’s predecessor. I don’t have to tell you what would have happened if you questioned Mengestu’s authority…so admit there’s a bit of change for the better, give constructive criticism if you must but roll up your sleeves and build a dam or something. Get to work, that’s what Ethiopia needs from you but for God’s sake stop talking toxic nonsense from America or Europe!

About the subject at hand, how about ‘Twelve months of sunshine and an extra one for good luck’? I’m no marketing genius but I’ll be thinking about this one. Ethiopia is amazing of course with all that early civilization and history, the religion and even sunshine for ‘ten months’as you put it but how to put that to a catchy phrase?

Hey Andrew,

I found your post light-hearted and funny. Unfortunately, some of my people are ultra-sensitive, or use every forum to engage in politics for or against the govt (2 cases in point above). Political activity is great but each subject where it belongs please people! Focus, focus, focus...the issue is the tourism slogan.
Now back to the slogan..how about the ubiquitous (at least in North American advertizing) asterisk, followed by a disclaimer in tiny, tiny fonts "some months may actually be full of torrential rain, however, we are sure that in at least one part of the country the sun is out and playing on any given day, therefore it is your responsibilty to be where the sun is out. The Ethiopian tourism commission assumes no liability for your failure to avoid the rain and be present only at the sites where the sun is shining"...?

from the comments i read, the slogan should be "ethiopia: take it or leave it"

Man guys, I love Ethiopia. I'm sorry if my suggestions seemed mean-spirited. I could just as honestly have written: 
 
"Smiles to never forget" 
"Africa's wellspring" 
"Come back where it all began" 
"A proud Africa of its own" 
"Rediscover the source" 
"Unspoiled majesty" 
 
But these just seem so boring!

And as for Jacob- I admit some of it was tastless but it's funny that we all complain about the red-tape, inadequate infrastructure and farcical elections (whether pro or con EPRDF/ CUD)- but when someone points out the obvious we get testy. That's why we're not moving forward, only want to see the good side of our Itiyopiayee but forget to work on improving what's bad and holding us back. Jacob's sense of humour is what's needed in the face of such a dire situation- laugh at yourself! And no, I'm not abroad, nor part of the rich elite.

Dina, I have been all over the world and I can tell you that while laughing at your self is sometimes healthy, NO ONE laughs at their citizens with HIV/AIDS. I believe most of the anger was directed at that part of Jacob’s comments and not at the ‘red tape’ one which had he stopped there, wouldn’t have gotten much of a response. Jacob would have gotten the same reaction anywhere because while AIDS is more of a problem in some places, it’s a sore subject everywhere. HIV is not funny!

I just had to delete a load of the above comments again. Be nice everyone. It's only a blog.

My intention was not to laugh at people with AIDS but to criticize the practice of hiding them and politely avoiding the topic, which I think does them a lot of harm. Anyway instead of arguing about my lousy slogans why not get back to Andrew's idea and suggest some better ones of your own?

Adrew your story was a great departure from the norm and I appreciate all of the topics you persue. I have enjoyed your blog for sometime now.
But one thing that seem to ruin it all is the comments section. Although you do some good work 'weeding out' comments you seem to miss some.
May I politely suggest you erase comments of the one who calls himself 'Jacob' for his comments are definently not ment to contribute anything positive.
I would also like to caution anyone who follows the link attached to the name 'Jacob'. That website may not actually be his.

Andrew,

Remember "The Sun Never Set on the British Empire"? I hope you didn't take that literally.

Oh boy... I doubt you've got to have been "all over the world" to know the deal, no-one laughs at HIV/AIDS... but hey. Sometimes it feels those responsible are not doing enough (except call everyone to all-day work-shops and talk) and that comes close to laughing at the illness and those who have it.
Anyhow, Mr. Heavens, don't mean to be offensive, I apologise so roll on the next issue over which we can tear ecah others' flesh- (oooohh, no offence!)

Oh boy... I doubt you've got to have been "all over the world" to know the deal, no-one laughs at HIV/AIDS... but hey. Sometimes it feels those responsible are not doing enough (except call everyone to all-day work-shops, talk and thus waste millions of aid money to redundnacy, replication, inefficency and corruption) and that comes close to laughing at the illness and those who have it.
Anyhow, Mr. Heavens, don't mean to be offensive, I apologise -so roll on the next issue over which we can tear ecah others' flesh- (oooohh, no offence!)

Andrew, you seem to be adopting a zero tolerance approach to insulting, offensive posts, like that of Jacob's juvenile trash above. The least you can do is remove it.
We come to your blog to discuss Ethiopia and related topical issues and have a laugh too, we do have a great sense of humour but we also have a passion for our country. So please...

correction, you "should be" adopting a zero tolerance approach...etc...(not seem to be) was in a hurry!!!

How come Jacob's original post is still there but all others are removed? What are you thinking, man? Can't you see it is irritating people? May be we should boycott your blog. What do you think, fellas?

So you say, "Sometimes it feels those responsible are not doing enough (except call everyone to all-day work-shops, talk and thus waste millions of aid money to redundnacy, replication, inefficency and corruption) and that comes close to laughing at the illness and those who have it."

Hmmmm, what else can be done then? …besides repeat redundantly over and over again until people get it? Teach is all that can be done and as you can see, the whole Africa hasn’t been able to get a handle on it at all. It’s in America as well but we can learn from them how to really keep new cases to a minimum (and how to treat infected ones if the drug companies allow us but that’s another ‘corruption’ story). It’s really breaking our hearts by taking the best of us (the youth and most productive) and we don’t need comments like "You'll never even know they're infected!" from a Canadian living in my country.

That said, we all make mistakes. He says he meant we are too secretive and he’s right we are. If we misunderstood his ‘dry’ humor then I’m willing to get over it. I will admit though, that comment really, really got to me.

Having a tourism slogan “13 months of sunshine” is not marketable in the Western world. Thus, I totally agree with the Author that Ethiopian tourism slogan should be changed to a more none superstition slogan. Such as Ethiopia origin of Homo spines!

Although the people in Western society is civilized they still believes in superstition, especially the number 13, which is associated with bad luck. So why not change the tourist logo to a more appropriate logo to the target market, in this case the Westerners.

As I read most of the comment written by the readers of the article most of the readers have shifted the argument to political motives rather than the actual argument presented by the author.

In my opinion, the article has a point and should be taken as a face value, but do not interpret it into political and moral issue.

Having just come back from a two-week trip in Afar, I can testify that there is at least one place in Ethiopia where sunshine is abundant -- a bit too abundant, if you ask me.

The funny thing is that both Andrew and Jacob come from places where the sun shines for only 2 or 3 months, specially in the case of Andrew 12 months of rain and fog, which I heard leads to high rates of depression and suicide...

We all know there are no "13 months of sunshine," so why are people being so sensitive and hostile to a simple topic raised in a private blog? Even the supposed "always" dry areas of Ethiopia have people washed away by flash floods due to heavy rains.

Jacob, damn hilarious!

Teddy, so what does that make? an original? please find another way to boost your fragile ego, somewhere where the Jacobs of this world live

Oh my god people! stop being so sensitive about every little comment by a non ethiopian. I love my country just like any of you here but laughing at ourselves does not hurt once in a while. For those of you interested in politics there are lots of other sites solely dedicated to politics. Not every medium has to be a political one!

All those brothers and sisters who think we are being too sensitive here, i just have one thing to say: that is precisely why we have never been colonised. By the way, most of the negative reaction was against Jackass' sick comments, not Andrew's. In case you have not noticed, we like him. He is most of the time fair in his comments, opinions etc...

your website has help me to complete my task . thanks alot

Hi Andrew
Found you blog very interesting. I am in Addis in February and would like to meet you. I run a small magazine called the Eye in Uganda and Rwanda and am looking at launching one in Ethiopia.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Charlie Case
Kampala

i think u should put more imformation on the site like does ethiopia have a national animal and a natoinal flower

13 is not an unlucky number. superstition is not the way. my sister was born on 1-13-1977. i have nothing but good luck on friday the 13th including finding money.

jesus had 12 disciples. jesus + 12 = 13

I think Ethiopia should be proud to follow such an unique calender system.People here use local time and rather than getting shy, please carry on with your OWN system. copying the west for each and every thing is not advisable.

Dear Charlie Case,
Find more about Ethiopia at ethio2k.com