Everything about Addis Ababa totally explained
Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled
Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority;
Amharic,
Āddīs Ābebā "new flower," ;
Oromo Finfinne) is the
capital city of
Ethiopia and the
African Union and its predecessor, the
OAU. It is also the largest city in Ethiopia. With a population of 3,627,934 as of 2007, Addis Ababa is the world's largest city that's in a landlocked country. As a
chartered city (
ras gez astedader), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. It is often called the capital of Africa or the "African Capital" due to its historical, diplomatic and political significance for the continent. The city is populated by people from different regions of Ethiopia. The country has as many as 80 nationalities speaking 80 languages and religious communities including Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. Addis Ababa is a grassland biome. The city is located at . From its lowest point, around
Bole International Airport, at above
sea level in the southern periphery, the city rises to over in the
Entoto Mountains to the north.
The site was chosen by Empress
Taytu Betul and the city was founded in
1886 by her husband, Emperor
Menelik II, and now has a population of around four million, and an eight per cent annual growth rate.
The city lies at the foot of
Mount Entoto, and is home to
Addis Ababa University.
History
Addis Ababa(Finfinnee) was founded by the Ethiopian emperor
Menelik II. The name of the city was taken from Other parts of the city were called
hora Finfinnee ("hot springs") in
Oromo. Menelik, as initially a King of the
Shewa province, had found
Mount Entoto a useful base for military operations in the south of his realm, and in 1879 visited the reputed ruins of a medieval town, and an unfinished rock church that showed proof of an Ethiopian presence in the area prior to the campaigns of
Ahmad Gragn. His interest in the area grew when his wife Taytu began work on a church on Entoto, and Menelik endowed a second church in the area. However the immediate area didn't encourage the founding of a town due to the lack of
firewood and
water, so settlement actually began in the valley south of the mountain in
1886. Initially, Taytu built a house for herself near the "Filwoha" hot
mineral springs, where she and members of the Showan Royal Court liked to take mineral baths. Other nobility and their staffs and households settled the vicinity, and Menelik expanded his wife's house to become the
Imperial Palace which remains the seat of government in Addis Ababa today. The name changed to Addis Ababa and became Ethiopia's capital when Menelik II became Emperor of Ethiopia. The town grew by leaps and bounds. One of Emperor Menelik's contributions that's still visible today is the planting of numerous
eucalyptus trees along the city streets.
On
5 May,
1936,
Italian troops occupied Addis Ababa during the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War, making it the capital of
Italian East Africa from 1936 to 1941. After the Italian army in Ethiopia was defeated by the British army and the
Ethiopian patriots) during the
East African Campaign, Emperor
Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa on
5 May,
1941—five years to the very day after he'd departed—and immediately began the work of re-establishing his capital.
Emperor Haile Selassie helped form the
Organization of African Unity in
1963, and invited the new organization to keep its headquarters in the city. The OAU was dissolved in 2002 and replaced by the
African Union (AU), also headquartered in Addis Ababa. The
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa also has its headquarters in Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa was also the site of the
Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in
1965.
City of humankind’s origins?
Ethiopia has often been called the origin of human kind due to various hominid fossil discoveries like the Australopithecine
Lucy. North eastern Africa, and the
Afar region in particular was the central focus of these claims until recent DNA evidence suggested origins in south central Ethiopian regions like present-day Addis Ababa(Finfine). After analyzing the DNA of almost 1,000 people around the world, geneticists and other scientists claimed humans spread from what is now Addis Ababa 100,000 years ago. The research indicated that genetic diversity declines steadily the farther one's ancestors traveled from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which is roughly the site of the exit turnstile for the "out-of-Africa" migration.
Demographics
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) published in 2008, Addis Ababa has an estimated total population of 3,147,000, consisting of 1,511,000 men and 1,636,000 women. The CSA estimated that presently there are no rural parts to the city, so 100% of the inhabitants are considered urban dwellers; Addis Ababa contains 23.8% of all urban dwellers in Ethiopia. With an estimated area of, this chartered city has an estimated density of .
These estimates are based on the 1994 census, in which the population of Addis Ababa was reported to be 2.3 million of which 28,149 lived in the rural parts of the city. 51.6% were females, while 48.4% were male.
Almost all the Ethiopian ethnic groups are represented in Addis Ababa due to its position as capital of the country. The major ethnic groups represented are the
Amhara (48.3%),
Oromo (19.2%),
Gurage (17.5%), and
Tigray (7.6%), while others constitute 7.4% of the population.
82% of the population are Orthodox Christians, 12.7% Muslims, 3.9% Protestants, 0.8% Catholics, while the remaining 0.6% are followers of other religions (for example Hindus, Jews, Bahá'ís, Agnostics, etc.).
Economy
The economic activities in Addis Ababa are diverse. According to official statistics from the federal government, some 119,197 people in the city are engaged in trade and commerce; 113,977 in manufacturing and industry; 80,391 homemakers of different variety; 71,186 in civil administration; 50,538 in transport and communication; 42,514 in education, health and social services; 32,685 in hotel and catering services; and 16,602 in agriculture. In addition to the residents of rural parts of Addis Ababa, the city dwellers also participate in animal husbandry and cultivation of gardens. Currently 677 hectares of land is irrigated annually, on which 129,880 quintals of vegetables are cultivated.
Many poor Ethiopians from the rural areas come to Addis Ababa as beggars and fill some of the streets. Recently, the number of beggars declined after a government and NGO attempt to move some of them and provide education and jobs. It is a relatively clean and safe city, with the most common crimes being pick pocketing, scams and minor burglary. The city has recently been in a construction boom with tall buildings rising in many places. Also, various luxury services have become available and the construction of shopping malls has recently increased. Some people have labeled the city, "the spa capital of Africa."
Government
Arkebe Oqubay was a Mayor of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. He held office from early
2003 to May of
2005. On March 31, 2005, Arkebe Oqubay was named
"African Mayor of 2005" by
Broadcasting Network of Africa. Mayor Oqubay lost the mayorship of Addis Ababa in May of 2005 to
Berhanu Nega, but after boycotting the parliament Berhanu Nega's C.U.D. or
Kinijit party didn't take control of the city government. The leaders of the
CUD, his opposition party which swept the election in the capital, were later imprisoned and not permitted to assume control of the city. They were pardoned and released after two years in prison.
Though most of the CUD refused to join the parliament, factions of CUD and all the rest of opposition parties joined parliament in 2005. The government has appointed a provisional city government with Berhanu Deresa the acting Mayor.
Education
Addis Ababa University was founded in 1950 and was originally named "University College of Addis Ababa", then renamed in 1962 for the former Ethiopian emperor
Haile Selassie I who had donated his Genete Leul Palace to be the University main campus in the previous year. It received its current name in
1975. Although the university has six of its seven campuses within
Addis Ababa (the seventh is located in
Debre Zeit, about away), it also maintains branches in many cities throughout Ethiopia. It is the home of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and the Ethnological Museum. The city also has numerous private colleges including
Admas College,
Ethiopian Civil Service College and
Unity University College.
Other features
Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the
African Union.
The fossilized skeleton, and a plaster replica of the early hominid
Lucy (known in Ethiopia as
Dinkinesh) is preserved at the
Ethiopian National Museum in Addis Ababa.
The city is home to the
Ethiopian National Library, the
Ethiopian Ethnological Museum (and former
palace), the
Addis Ababa Museum, the
Ethiopian Natural History Museum, the
Ethiopian Railway Museum and the
National Postal Museum.
Notable buildings include
St George's Cathedral (founded in
1896 and also home to a
museum),
Holy Trinity Cathedral (once the largest
Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral and the location of
Sylvia Pankhurst's tomb) as well as the burial place of Emperor
Haile Selassie and the Imperial family, and those who fought the Italians during the war. There is also
Menelik's old Imperial palace which remains the official seat of government, and the
National Palace formerly known as the Jubilee Palace (built to mark Emperor Haile Selassie's Silver Jubilee in
1955) which is the residence of the President of Ethiopia. The
Hager Fikir Theatre, the oldest theatre in Ethiopia, is located at the Piazza district.
Africa Hall is located across Menelik II avenue from this Palace and is where the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is headquartered as well as most UN offices in Ethiopia. It is also the site of the founding of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) which eventually became the
African Union. Near Holy Trinity Cathedral is the Parliament building, built during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie, with its clock tower. It continues to serve as the seat of Parliament today. Across from the Parliament is the Shengo Hall, built by the
Derg regime of
Mengistu Haile Mariam as its new parliament hall. The Shengo Hall was the world's largest pre-fabricated building, which was constructed in
Finland before being assembled in Addis Ababa. It is used for large meetings and conventions. Near Bole International Airport is the new Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral, which is the second largest in Africa. In the Merkato district, which happens to be the largest open market in Africa, is the impressive Anwar Mosque, the biggest mosque in Ethiopia. Few meters to the southwest of the Anwar Mosque is the Raguel Church, porterying centuries-old magnificent religious harmony and tolerance between Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia. The Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family is also in the Merkato district.
Other features of the city include the large
Merkato market, the
Jan Meda Race Ground racecourse,
Bihere Tsige Recreation Centre and a
railway line to
Djibouti. Sport facilities include
Addis Ababa and
Nyala Stadiums. The
2008 African Championships in Athletics were held in Addis Ababa.
The
Entoto Mountains start among the northern suburbs. Suburbs of the city include
Shiro Meda and
Entoto in the north,
Urael and
Bole (home to Bole International Airport) in the east,
Nifas Silk in the south-east,
Mekanisa in the south, and
Keraniyo and
Kolfe in the west.
The city hosts since the We Are the Future center, a child care center that provides children with a higher standard of living. The center is managed under the direction of the mayor’s office, and the international
NGO Glocal Forum serves as the fundraiser and program planner and coordinator for the WAF child center in each city. Each WAF city is linked to several peer cities and public and private partners to create a unique international coalition.
Launched in
2004, the program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Glocal Forum, the
Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation and Mr. Hani Masri, with the support of the
World Bank,
UN agencies and major companies.
Climate
The city possesses a complex mix of
highland climate zones, with temperature differences of up to 10°C, depending on elevation and prevailing wind patterns. The high elevation moderates temperatures year-round, and the city's position near the
equator means that temperatures are very constant from month to month.
Transportation
Public transportation is through public
buses or blue and white
share taxis. The taxis are usually
minibuses that can sit at least twelve people. Two people are responsible for each taxi, the driver and a
weyala who collects fares and calls out the taxi's destination.
The city is served by
Bole International Airport, where a new terminal opened in 2003. The old Lideta Airport in the western "Old Airport" district is used mostly by small craft and military planes and helicopters. Addis Ababa also has a
railway connection with
Djibouti City, with a picturesque French style railway station.
Sister cities
Beersheba, Israel
Leipzig, Germany, since 2004
Notable people
Nikos Papatakis (1918) Greek film directorFurther Information
Get more info on 'Addis Ababa'.
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