Gurage, Ethiopia

*Grin* 

Here is just one of the several gems that have arrived in my mailbox in the past few weeks. The credit for this diamond goes to Sean, who just recently came back from his trip to Ethiopia and was very kind and decided to surprise me with this card. Knowing what a hard-to-get country Ethiopia is, you can imagine my reaction when i saw it :D. If you want to, you can read more about Sean's trip here and here and the Fine Likeness is also worth to pay the visit.
The card says to portray the Gurage Landscape.
The Gurage are an ethnic group of people and they inhabit this semi-fertile, semi-mountainous region in southwest Ethiopia, around 240km southwest of Addis Ababa.
The Gurage culture is described as a combination of the Sidama culture to the south and the Amhara-Tigre culture to the north. The Gurage were independent for a hundred years or more but were conquered by the army of the Emperor Menilik II in the late 19th century, and have been part of the Ethiopian nation ever since. The religious affiliation of the Gurage is now evenly divided between the Orthodox Christians, Moslems and  the newer Catholic Mission.

two stamps from a set of 23 definitives issued in 2000, representing animals.

Thank you Sean once again!