Phila Airport Parking Vacations

Ethiopia, located in Eastern Africa, is the oldest independent nation in Sub Sahara Africa. The country has very magnificent landscapes ranging from desert landscapes to mountain forests. The landlocked Ethiopia is bordered by Kenya on the South, Somalia and Djibouti on the East, Eritrea on the Northeast, and Sudan on the West. Ethiopia occupies an area of over 1,000,000 sq km, approximately five times the size of the United Kingdom.

The main point of entry for international visitors to Ethiopia is Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, the capital city. This airport is the fifth busiest in Africa, and is the main hub for Ethiopian Airlines. Currently operating flights between Ethiopia and over 48 world travel destinations, Ethiopian Airlines was among the very first airlines in Africa. Addis Ababa’s population is estimated at over 2 million. Situated at the bottom of the 3,000 metres high Entoto Mountains, the city has a pleasant landscape with many wooded hillsides, and several fast flowing streams in the gullies.

Ethiopia in deed hosts some of the most stunning sceneries in the African continent, including Simien Mountains and Danakil Depression among other places. The Jaggedly curved Simien Mountains are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while the Danakil Depression at 120 meters below sea level is one of the lowest dry land points on earth.

Ethiopia has more than twenty mountains towering more than 4,000 m high, led by Mount Ras Deshen that rises 4,620 m high. Ras Deshen is the fourth tallest mountain in Africa. Ethiopia is often referred to as the ?water tower? of eastern Africa because of the many rivers that pour off its high tableland. Some of the major rivers of Ethiopia include the Blue Nile, Omo River, Baro River and Awash River.

Blue Nile, comprising about 80 per cent by volume of the Great Nile River, originates from Lake Tana. Blue Nile and White Nile, originating from Lake Victoria, merge into the Great Nile River at Khartoum, the Sudan capital to form the longest river of the world draining to the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile Falls is one of the most popular tourist destination along the historic route. The Blue Nile Falls is situated near Tis-Abay town, 30 km to the east of Bahir Dar, which is 20-30 minutes walk from the town of Tiss Abey.

The largest lake in Ethiopia, Lake Tana, is located about 560 km from Addis Ababa and is home to 37 islands. Some of these Islands have churches and monasteries that contain many artifacts including paintings and murals, church crosses, ancient manuscripts, remains of emperors, crowns, icons, and other historical items.

There are plenty opportunities to enjoy the attractions of Ethiopia, while participating in a favorite pastime, making a holiday in Ethiopia even more fun. The Ethiopian highlands,for instance, offer superb trekking opportunities. The most popular well-established areas for trekking are the Simien and Bale Mountains National Parks. The west highlands region, east and west of the Omo valley, is also becoming popular among trekkers. Perfect climbs are also provided at the Simien Mountains and the Bale Plateau.

Birdwatching is one other Ethiopian tourist attraction. Of the 800 bird species found here, 16 are endemic. In the national parks, you get to spot a wider range of bird-life because of the minimal human activities. A record 161 bird species have been spotted in Bale National park alone. The season between early September and February is the best time for birdwatching. Many migrating bird species move into the country between November and February, increasing the species diversity, as well as raising the bird population.

Abyssinia, as Ethiopia was formerly called, has a long history with a culture and traditions dating back over 3,000 years. The country has over 80 different ethnic groups with their own languages, culture and traditions. The strong religious setting, celebrations and festivals play an important part in Ethiopian culture.

Ethiopia hotels provide good accommodation, with some international hotel chains having a presence in Addis Ababa. Top hotels include Sheraton hotel, Dagim Millennium Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Adot-Tina hotel, among others. Before you get into Ethiopia, you require at least a one-month Visa. The entry visa can be obtained at the airport at US$20. Visitors also need a valid health certificate for yellow fever. If having visited or passed through a region infected with Cholera six days or less prior to getting into Ethiopia, you will need to provide proof of vaccination against the disease (cholera).

In the recent past, Robben Island has undergone a great change from a place for banishment and imprisonment, to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated 12 km from Cape Town in the West Cape Province, the island was for more than three centuries used by rulers as an incarceration center for political prisoners. Many political and human rights activists were brought here in an attempt to thwart their quest for freedom.

Robben Island was also previously used as a military base during the second world war (1939-1945), and as a hospital center for people with diseases that require isolation e.g. lepers, the chronically ill and other outcasts (1846-1931).

Though Robben Island has existed for long, it gained international fame in the late 20th century, during the apartheid era. The apartheid years saw the imprisonment of such South Africa freedom fighters as Nelson Mandela, and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe (a founding leader of Pan Africanist Congress). Mandela was in this 6 sq km island for 27 years while serving a life imprisonment sentence passed on him in 1963.

Political prisoners in Robben Island were often jailed together with common-law prisoners, and the only contact they had with the outside world was limited to two letters a year. After the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990, the remaining political detainees were set free in 1991. In 1996, the common law prisoners were also transferred to the South Africa mainland.

In 1997, the island was changed into a museum, the Robben Island Museum, which is today a cornerstone of South Africa’s heritage. By running educational programs for schools and other visitors, and facilitating more research about the island, the museum promotes tourism development and archives South Africa historical information. In 1999, UNESCO declared Robben Island as a World Heritage Site.

According to UNESCO, the declaration of Robben Island as a world heritage site symbolizes the triumph of the human spirit, freedom, and democracy over oppression. South Africa has seven other world heritage sites including the Swartkrans, Sterkfontein, and Kromdraai environs, often known as “the cradle of humanity” due to the discovery of the famous Taung Skull fossil here in 1924.

Apart from the Museum, other attractions in Robben Island are the breeding colonies of bank cormorants, crowned cormorants and Hartlaub’s gulls. The island also hosts approximately 5 percent of the global population of African black oystercatchers.

Getting to Robben Island is easy by the ferries that operate from V&A waterfront in Cape Town. The ferries depart daily from the Nelson Mandela Gateway with schedules for 9am, 10am, 12pm, 1pm, and 3pm. On the island itself, visitors get to tour the former prison to get an overview of the former life of the political detainees imprisoned there from the 1960′s to the 90′s. Some of the tour guides in the Island are themselves former Robben Island prisoners. A standard Robben Island tour will take three and a half hours, including the two 30-minute rides to and from the island.

While on your Egypt vacation, there are several interesting activities you can undertake. Among these are luxury Nile cruises, or cruises in the the Red sea and Lake Nasser. River Nile has, since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, won the admiration of many people, more so visitors seeking the ideal Egypt holidays.

The Nile Valley allows you to enjoy the best of Nile Cruises while enjoying captivating neighbourhood and sampling best dishes of Egypt. Nile Cruises simply refer to cruise ships sailing between Luxor and Aswan. Typically, Nile cruises are three, four or seven nights long although shorter trips take a few hours to sail between Luxor and Aswan.

Egypt Nile Cruisers are often referred to as floating hotels. With such features as small swimming pools, hot bath tubs, exercise rooms/gymnasiums, small libraries, nice restaurants, and even nightclubs, the cruisers have all the amenities of land based hotels. Most cruisers operate throughout the year, though the period between October and mid April is the best time for a Nile cruise due to the fairly cool weather.

The Red Sea is the other fascinating destination for Egypt vacations. Over many centuries, the Red Sea – situated between Asia and Africa – has served as an important link between the East and the West. Every year, many people visit the Red Sea coast while on holiday in Egypt, among them thousands of scuba divers from all over the world.

The Red Sea’s coast stretches from the Gulf of Suez to the Sudanese boarder. The sea’s mineral-rich red mountain ranges inspired travelers of ancient times to name the sea Mare Rostrum, meaning the Red Sea. Thousands of migrating birds find themselves at the shores of the Red Sea throughout the year making it a paradise for birding enthusiasts. Red Sea has over 800 fish species, among them the deadly stone-fish and butterfly-fish.

A luxury cruise in the Lake Nasser is yet another natural extension to any Egypt vacation or Nile cruise adventure. Created in the 1960s after the construction of Aswan High Dam, the lake was named after the president of Egypt at the time, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Lake Nasser is about 498.9 km long and up to 600 feet deep.

The two temples at Abu Simbel are some of the greatest attractions around lake Nasser region. Ranking alongside the great pyramids of Giza as Egypt’s top tourist attractions, the Abu Simbel temples represent an amazing engineering accomplishment. The temples were relocated from their original site to a higher ground during the construction of the dam, to prevent them from being submerged in the resultant lake Nasser.

Lake Nasser is arguably one of the best places for freshwater fishing in the world. Nile perch and tiger fish are the popular catches there.

Getting to Egypt and traveling within the country is relatively easy by flight. EgyptAir is one of the several airlines that operate flights to Egypt. Most international flights to Egypt land at the Cairo International Airport, while others arrive at the Sharm el Sheik airport. While a self explanatory map of Egypt is available, you may require a tour guide to help you move around and explore the country.

Among the top holiday destinations in the world, few can rival the beauty of Zanzibar Islands. Lying in the Indian ocean 36 km off Tanzania’s coast, Zanzibar consists of the Unguja and Pemba islands. Of these two, Unguja island is the more developed and is what most people know as Zanzibar.

Zanzibar (meaning Land of the Blacks in Arabic)is particularly famed for its alluring white beaches majority of which are placed along the east coast, near the northern tip of the island, where fishing villages dot the landscape.

There are more than 30 pristine beaches in Zanzibar. Most of Zanzibar beaches are quiet and unspoilt that the only noise breaking the silence is likely to be the ocean. At the northern end of the island is Nungwi, arguably the best beach in Zanzibar and the island’s dhow building capital. Nungwi is accessed by a road lined by banana palms, mangroves and coconut trees and it is a good spot to see traditional craftsmen at work.

The other beaches worth visiting in Zanzibar include Mangapwani beach on the west coast, and Matemwe, Pwani Mchangani, Bwejuu, Jambianito, Uroa, and Kiwengwa beaches on the east coast. These have wide stretches of beautiful uncrowded sands, some of the highlights of a Zanzibar beach holiday.

Zanzibar has a number of smaller offshore islands with several attractions in addition to the pristine beaches. The most popular of these small islands is Prison island, which is situated just a short distance from Zanzibar’s capital town of Stone Town. The island’s giant tortoises are its major attraction. However, the clear waters surrounding Prison island provide ideal conditions for snorkeling, which attracts many visitors there annually.

Zanzibar’s population comprises of Africans, Persians, Asians, and Arabs. The majority of them are Muslim (95%), with the remaining being Christians, Hindus, and followers of other religions. The official and national language of Zanzibar is Swahili. English is also spoken in many places, and most residents have some knowledge of the Arabic language. Fishing and agriculture are the other main economic activities of Zanzibar, in addition to tourism.

Zanzibar island is not so big; you can actually explore the entire island in one day. Moving around in the Island is also made easy by Zanzibar’s self explanatory map, such that it is possible to move around without the assistance of tour guides. The best months to go for a Zanzibar holiday tour are from July through March when temperatures average at 25 degrees Celsius. With very little rainfall during that period, the air is usually dry and breezy. April and May in Zanzibar experience heavy rainfall, thus not a good time for a tour of the island.

Zanzibar can be reached by air, as well as the sea. Gulf Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Mauritius and KLM (in conjunction with Kenya Airways) are presently offering international scheduled flights to Zanzibar. Transport can also be arranged from Dar es salaam which is only a short trip by sea or by air from Zanzibar. Dar es Salaam has regular scheduled flights, small charters and fast boats to Zanzibar.