Top 10 East Africa facts

King Solomon. The House of Solomon was the former Imperial House of Ethiopia. Its members claim lineal descent from Solomon of Israel and the Queen of Sheba, the latter of whom tradition asserts gave birth to Menelik I after her Biblically described visit to Solomon in Jerusalem. These claims of Solomonic descent make the Ethiopian royal house among the two oldest in the world (the other being the Imperial Dynasty of Japan)

Ras Tafari. Haile Selassie was born as Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael. As Governor of Harer, he became known as Ras Tafari Makonnen (Ras means Duke). Among the Rastafari movement, which began in Jamaica in 1930s, Haile Selassie is revered as the returned messiah of the Bible, God incarnate. Currently, the movement has between 200,000 and 800,000 followers worldwide.

Kingdom of Aksum (Africa). In about 316 AD, Frumentius and his brother Edesius from Tyre were taken to the Ethiopian court as slaves. They were given positions of trust by the monarch, and converted members of the royal court to Christianity. Ethiopia, a major empire at the time, was the second country to officially adopt Christianity (after Armenia).

Hippos. Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive and tend to be very territorial. They commonly attack humans (as well as other animals) whether in boats or on land with no apparent provocation. Zulu warriors preferred to be as brave as a hippopotamus, since even lions were not considered as brave and deadly.

In Ethiopia. Fasil Ghebbi is a fortress-enclosure located in Gondar, Ethiopia. It was built in 1636 by Emperor Fasilidies, who broke with the old tradition of the Ethiopian Emperors to travel around their possessions, living off the produce of the peasants and dwelling in tents. The unique architecture of Fasil Ghebbi shows diverse influences, including Nubian, Arab, and Baroque styles.

AK-47. The flag of Mozambique was adopted on 1 May 1983. It is based on the flag of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the leading political party in Mozambique, which used to be a partisan organisation before the country gained independence from Portugal. Today, there is an ongoing debate whether the gun should be removed from the flag or not.

Water storage. The swollen trunk of the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallons (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions. Indigenous Australians used baobabs as a source of water.

Ethiopia. Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. When other African nations gained their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several global organizations focused on Africa.

In Madagascar. The aye-aye is a lemur. Like all other lemurs, it is native to Madagascar.

Islam. 99.8% of Somalia's population are Muslim and Islamic sharia is the basic source for the national legislation. Islam entered the region very early on, as a group of persecuted Muslims had, at Prophet Muhammad's urging, sought refuge across the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. Islam may thus have been introduced into Somalia well before the fight even took root in its place of origin.