May 31, 2014
When Ethiopian Firew Ayele was nine years old, he was captured by soldiers from neighbouring Somalia, and spent more than 10 years as a prisoner.
Today, he is 43 years old and one of the most respected tourist guides in Ethiopia. The company he owns and runs with wife Senait employs up to 50 people and he leads groups from all over the world, explaining Ethiopia’s extraordinary history and introducing them to its vibrant culture.
He’s a geographer, a historian, and a great and knowledgeable story teller.
A measure of his professionalism is that he looks after, researches for and guides perhaps 90 per cent of the film crews which visit Ethiopia, including the BBC, Al Jazeera and documentary makers.