Well, the year 2000 actually if you’re a Coptic Christian living in Ethiopia. According to the calendar of the ancient Coptic Church, September 12 2007 is actually New Year’s Eve 1999. Based on the ancient Egyptian calendar the Coptic Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar (the one we now use) in 1582. The Coptic Church ignored Pope Gregory XIII’s unilateral decree and maintained their own timetable. More than four centuries later the gap between the two systems is now seven years.
Despite it being the end of the millennium, the residents of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have been surprised at the lower than expected number of visitors. Only 25,000 tourists are reckoned to have made the trip to one of Africa’s oldest cultures. A proposed food fair and a run by the great Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrelassie had to be cancelled because of the threat of terrorism. In the absence of tasty street food and jogging, the biggest gig in town has been a concert featuring the Black Eyed Peas.
Now if only they’d managed to get Prince…
Thanks to Rudy Neeser on Flickr for the pic of downtown Addis.
Via The Independent