Artists also illustrated religious manuscripts with elaborate decorations. Writers created religious poetry and other sacred works in the Ge'ez language. Since the early 1900's, Ethiopian writers have produced novels, plays, and poetry in Amharic and other modern Ethiopian languages. Modern artists have created murals, paintings, and stained-glass windows that incorporate Western styles. The Ethiopian Plateau covers much of the western and central parts of the country.
Lowlands surround the plateau.
The Ethiopian Plateau spreads out over about two-thirds of the country. Most of Ethiopia's people live on the plateau, which has the country's best agricultural land. The Great Rift Valley, which runs north and south through eastern Africa, divides the plateau into two large sections. The sections are further divided by deep, spectacular river gorges and high mountain ranges. The Ethiopian Plateau slopes downward in all directions toward lowland regions.