Indeed Ethiopia is close to the equator - just slightly to the north of the equator. We use the same convention in most of East Africa. In Swahili, which is spo

Indeed Ethiopia is close to the equator - just slightly to the north of the equator. We use the same convention in most of East Africa. In Swahili, which is spoken in Tanzania, Kenya, etc, you begin counting the hours from daybreak up to dusk which is around 12 and then start over from just before till dawn again. Surprisingly, in Somalia, this convention is used in the southern parts that were colonised by Italy. In the north, noon is 12p.