Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Classic Internet Cafe $
(mains Birr30-40)
This popular snack bar and internet cafe serves a variety of sand-
wiches, pizzas and burgers, and some token Ethiopian dishes.
INTERNATIONAL
Information
Besides the services listed below, Nekemte also has a post office, Commercial Bank and a
telecommunications office.
Culture & Tourism Office
(
0576-611315;
8am-12.30pm & 1.30-5.30pm Mon-
Fri)
Friendly although under-resourced.
Hiwot Clinic
(
0576-612036;
7am-12.30pm & 2-5.30pm)
A better bet than the loc-
al hospital.
Classic Internet Cafe
(per hr Birr18;
8am-9pm)
Not just internet, but also a proper
cafe.
Getting There & Away
Half a dozen daily buses serve Addis Ababa (Birr90 to Birr97 depending on bus quality,
eight to 10 hours). Other services include Ambo (Birr58 to Birr65, five hours) and Bedele
(Birr40, four hours), Dembidolo (Birr113, nine to 10 hours) and one bus a day to Jimma
(Birr98, seven to eight hours) at 6am.
KING SOLOMON'S GOLD
The Old Testament describes King Solomon's famous temple in Jerusalem as being overlaid with the purest of
gold brought from the mines of Ophir. Just where this mysterious Ophir was located has long baffled historians
and archaeologists and over the centuries provided grist to the mill of thousands of dreamers, writers and ex-
plorers.
The candidates for the title of the Biblical Ophir have ranged from India to Haiti and China to Zimbabwe. But
others claim that the real location of the gold mines of Ophir is close to modern day Nejo in western Ethiopia.
Certainly, there is some evidence to indicate that this might just be true. The Ancient Egyptians are known to have
mined gold in Nubia close to the border of western Ethiopia and we know that Ethiopia also has reserves of gold
