Rich farming country in the Ethiopian Highlands between Debre Birhan and Ankober. Ethiopia is a land of vast horizons and dramatic scenery. The weathered mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands exhibit layer upon layer of volcanic material, which built the plateau into Africa's most extensive upland region. Strategically sited to guard the only route form Ethiopia's eastern lowlands to the Shewan Plateau, Ankober was the capital of feudal Ethiopia until King Menelik moved his court to Entoto and then to Addis Ababa in 1878. Thereafter, the importance of the place declined.