Skip to content
TiruList
Sign in

The TiruList reader

Learn

The faith and the books Ethiopia kept, where the DMV eats, and how we build a life here, told plainly and sourced.

An Ethiopian Orthodox monk seated beside an open illuminated manuscript at the monastery of Na'akuto La'ab

Culture & Faith

The Book of Enoch

A book of fallen angels and giants, older than the Dead Sea Scrolls, quoted in the New Testament, and left out of nearly every Bible on earth. One church never let it go.

7 min read

Culture & Faith

The church, the calendar, the coffee, and the books Ethiopia kept.

A huge crowd in white with colorful ceremonial umbrellas filling a street in Gondar

Ethiopian and Eritrean holidays

A guide to the major Ethiopian and Eritrean holidays, including Enkutatash (New Year), Meskel, Genna (Christmas), Timket, and Fasika (Easter), and why the Ethiopian calendar runs years behind.

2 min read

A black clay jebena beside a tray of small white cups and a bowl of roasted coffee beans, set on fresh grass and flowers

Ethiopian coffee, from the place coffee began

Ethiopia did not just grow coffee; it gave the world the drink. The regions and their flavors, the buna ceremony, and where to buy the beans.

7 min read

Bright yellow daisy-like Bidens flowers growing in green grass

Ethiopian New Year, Enkutatash

Enkutatash is the Ethiopian New Year, celebrated in mid-September when the rains end. Here is when it falls and how families mark it.

2 min read

A tall conical demera of bound poles and green leaves standing at night before a crowd dressed in white

Meskel and the Demera

Meskel celebrates the finding of the True Cross, marked by the Demera bonfire. Here is when it falls and what it means, a UNESCO-recognized festival.

2 min read

An open handwritten Ethiopian manuscript with columns of black and red Ge'ez script on worn parchment

The Ethiopian Bible, explained

It has 81 books, not 66. It is written in a language almost no one speaks anymore. And it still holds Scripture that the rest of the world quietly lost more than a thousand years ago.

8 min read

Tall Meskel bonfires blazing at night with sparks rising over a large crowd

The Ethiopian calendar, explained

Thirteen months, a new year in September, and a count of years that sits seven behind the rest of the world. It is simpler than it looks once you see why.

4 min read

Ethiopian Orthodox priests in white robes and turbans dancing with prayer staffs and a drum during Timkat

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, explained

One of the world's oldest churches: what Tewahedo means, its 180 fasting days, the tabot and the Ark, Timkat, and the chant of Yared.

7 min read

Ethiopian Orthodox priests in embroidered robes under ornate umbrellas at a Timket celebration

Timket, the Ethiopian Epiphany

Timket is the colorful Ethiopian celebration of Christ's baptism, with processions behind the tabot. Here is when it falls and what happens.

2 min read

A large round of injera covered in a ring of vegetable stews, lentils, greens and salad

Tsom: Ethiopian fasting, and where to eat it in the DMV

No meat, no dairy, no eggs, for around 180 days a year. What the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox fast means, whether today is a fasting day, and the DMV kitchens that cook for it.

4 min read

Food & Dining

Where the DMV eats, and the dishes worth crossing town for.

A beyaynetu platter of small mounds of vegetable stews on injera, with rolled injera on the side

A guide to Ethiopian and Eritrean food

New to Ethiopian and Eritrean food? Learn injera, the spicy stews (wot), grilled meats like tibs and tire sega, fasting dishes, and how to eat it all with your hands.

2 min read

A spread of Ethiopian dishes on a red table: stews, greens, lentils, a whole fried fish, and rolled injera

Best Ethiopian & Eritrean in the DMV

The community votes on the DMV's best restaurants, markets, tire sega, and veggie combos. Vouch for the places you actually go, no account needed.

2 min read

A woman bending over sacks of red berbere and other spices at an open-air market

Best Ethiopian market in the DMV?

Berbere, shiro, teff, coffee, and the freshest injera. The community ranks the Habesha markets it shops at across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

3 min read

A round tray of injera topped with small mounds of lentil, chickpea, beet, tomato, and vegetable dishes, with rolled injera

Best Ethiopian restaurant for a veggie combo?

Shiro, misir, gomen, and the rest on one round of injera. The community ranks the DMV's best beyaynetu, the fasting-day favorite that vegans love too.

3 min read

A large Ethiopian combination platter on injera with meat stews, lentils, greens, beets, and salad

Best Ethiopian restaurant in the DMV?

The food, the injera, the buna, the welcome. The community ranks the Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants it actually goes back to, and you can add your vote in seconds.

3 min read

A kitfo house on a street in Ethiopia, with its sign in Amharic and English and people standing outside

Best Ethiopian tire sega market in the DMV?

Freshness is everything. The community ranks the DMV markets and butchers it trusts for tire sega, and you can add your vote in seconds.

3 min read

Two trays lined with injera, one topped with red lentil stew and one with collard greens

Guides for Habesha life in the DMV

No jargon, no run-around. How to send money without getting burned, what to order and how to eat it, when the holidays fall, and how an equb and idir actually work.

3 min read

A plate of Ethiopian stews, greens and vegetables with a glass of red wine at Das Ethiopian in Georgetown

The Most Recognized Ethiopian & Eritrean Restaurants in the DMV

From a Michelin Bib Gourmand to the first Ethiopian restaurant to win a RAMMY: the DMV's most decorated Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants, counted down to No. 1.

8 min read

A round of injera topped with colorful vegetable dishes: lentils, greens, beets and potatoes

What is injera?

Injera is the soft, sour teff flatbread at the center of every Ethiopian and Eritrean meal. Here is what it is made of, why it is tangy, and how to eat it.

2 min read

Bowls of minced kitfo, red sauce and fresh cheese laid out with rolls of injera

What is kitfo?

Kitfo is minced beef seasoned with mitmita and spiced butter, served rare, warm, or cooked. Here is what it is and how to order it.

2 min read

A large metal platter lined with injera and topped with several meat and vegetable dishes on a restaurant table

What is tire sega?

Tire sega is fresh raw beef, an Ethiopian delicacy served with awaze and mitmita. Here is what it is, how it is eaten, and where it fits in a meal.

2 min read

Diaspora Life

Settling in, sending money home, and the circles that hold us together.

Women selling grain and goods from open sacks on market day in Oromia, Ethiopia

Equb, the savings circle

The oldest savings plan we have, minus the notebook. What an equb is, where it comes from, how it works, and a free tool to run your own. TiruList never touches the money.

5 min read

Glass office towers and traffic along Bole Road in Addis Ababa

How to choose the best way to send money to Ethiopia

There is no single best money transfer to Ethiopia. Here is how to compare licensed services on total cost, delivery method, speed, limits, and support so you get the most birr home safely.

2 min read

An Ethiopian one birr banknote issued by the National Bank of Ethiopia, with a portrait of a young girl

How to send money to Ethiopia from the US safely (2026 guide)

A plain guide to sending money to Ethiopia from the US: use a service licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia, understand cash pickup vs bank and mobile money, know what affects the cost, and avoid unlicensed transfers.

4 min read

The brick front of Debre Hail Kedus Gabriel and Kedus Yohannes Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Petworth, Washington, D.C., with a large icon of the Crucifixion above the doors

Idir, the community that shows up

When a family faces a death or a hardship, the idir pays out and shows up, so no one grieves or carries the cost alone. What it is, where it comes from, and a free tool to keep the book.

4 min read

The round headquarters building of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, behind trees and a flag

Is my money transfer service licensed in Ethiopia?

How to check whether a money transfer service is licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia before you send, and why sending through an unlicensed operator puts your money at risk.

2 min read

The front of an Ethiopian one birr banknote from the National Bank of Ethiopia, showing a young girl and cattle

Is your money transfer service licensed?

The National Bank of Ethiopia licenses every company allowed to move money into Ethiopia. Search the official list before you send, and see the licensed services people in the DMV actually use.

3 min read

A wide street in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, lined with apartment and office towers

Just arrived in the DMV?

Welcome. The first few months are mostly paperwork. Here is the order most Ethiopian and Eritrean newcomers do it in, what each step is for, and where to get help in your own language.

5 min read

The Ethio Telecom office building in Addis Ababa with blue city buses parked in front

Sending money to a telebirr wallet in Ethiopia

How mobile money like telebirr works for receiving money in Ethiopia, when it is a good choice, and how to send through a licensed service that delivers to a wallet.

2 min read

The U.S. Department of State's Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C., with its sign on the lawn

The DV Lottery, explained

The green card lottery gives away up to 55,000 U.S. immigrant visas a year, chosen at random. It costs nothing to enter, and it is one of the most targeted by scams. Here is how it actually works, and how to stay safe.

4 min read

A busy street in Addis Ababa with minibuses, pedestrians and shops along the sidewalk

Ways to send money to Ethiopia

Compare the main ways licensed services deliver money in Ethiopia: bank deposit, cash pickup, and mobile money like telebirr, so you can pick what your recipient can actually use.

2 min read