US donation to help restore religious temple

The United States has donated US $25,000 to restore one of Ethiopia’s most important religious temples. Yeha Temple – in the first ever capital of Ethiopia, Yeha, – is more than two thousand years old and the birthplace of the country’s earliest civilization. US Ambassador Tibor Nagy said that restoring the sandstone shrine to its former glory might lead to a boost in tourism for the area. The pre-Christian temple, which dates back to 5th century BC, is now in ruins, but is the only remains of the former capital, which is close to Axum – Ethiopia’s holiest city. The money is part of a special scheme set up by the US State Department last year to help preserve the cultural heritage of developing countries. Nagy announced the donation during a recent tour of the northern Ethiopian Tigray region. During his tour, the ambassador visited Ethiopian demining teams in Zalambessa who were trained and funded to the tune of US $2.7 million by the American government. Zalambessa was hard hit by the fighting in the two-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Nagy's visit came as the UN peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea urged the international community to provide more funds for demining in both countries.