What is Addis Ababa?

Addis Ababa
Skyline of Addis Ababa
Map of Ethiopia Map of Ethiopia
Coordinates:
Chartered city	Addis Ababa
Government
- Mayor	Berhanu Deresa
Area
- City	530.14 km  (0 sq mi)
- Land	530.14 km (0 sq mi)
Population (2007)
- City	3,627,934
- Density	5607.96/km (0/sq mi)
- Urban	2,993,719
- Metro	2,973,004

Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used by the official Ethiopian Mapping Authority; Amharic አዲስ አበባ, Āddīs Ābebā "new flower"; Oromo Finfinne) is the capital city of Ethiopia and the African Union, as well as its predecessor, the OAU. As a chartered city (ras gez astedader), Addis Ababa has the status of both a city and a state. The city has as many as 80 nationalities speaking 80 languages, and Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities. The city is located at .^[1] From its lowest point, around Bole International Airport, at 2,326 metres above sea level in the southern periphery, the city rises to over 3,000 metres 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. Addis Ababa University was formerly known as Haile Selassie I University, after the former Emperor of Ethiopia, who donated his Genete Leul Palace to be the University main campus in 1961.

History

Addis Ababa was founded by the Ethiopian emperor Menelik II. However, ethnic Oromo Ethiopians had lived on the land before the foundation of Addis Ababa, in a small settlement known under the Oromo name Finfinne. Other parts were called Fil wiha ("hot springs") in Amharic. Menelik, as King of Shewa, 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 did not 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. Addis Ababa 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 is 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. Addis Ababa was governed by the Italian Governors of Addis Ababa from 1936 to 1941. After the Italian army in Ethiopia was defeated by the British army (with the help of the Ethiopian patriots), during the Liberation of Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa on 5 May, 1941—five years to the very day after he had 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.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA) published in 2005, Addis Ababa has an estimated total population of 2,973,004, consisting of 1,428,001 men and 1,545,003 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 24% of all urban dwellers in Ethiopia. With an estimated area of 530.14 square kilometers, this chartered city has an estimated density of 5,607.96 people per square kilometer.^[2]

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 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.^[3]

82% of the population are Orthodox Christians, 12.7% Muslims, 3.9% Protestants, 0.8% Catholics, and 0.6% followers of other religions (Hindus, Jews, Bahais, Jehovah's Witnesses, Agnostics, etc.).^[4]

Economy

The economic activities in Addis Ababa are diverse. According to an official statistics from the Federal government of Ethiopia, some 119,197 people in the city are engaged in trade and commerce; 113,977 in manufacturing and industry;80,391 home makers 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.^[5]

Addis Ababa is dominated by poverty, with many beggars lining the streets. However, it is relatively clean and safe, with the only major crime being pickpocketing.

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 did not 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.

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 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.

Transportation

Public transportation is through public buses or blue and white share taxis, locally known as "blue donkeys". 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

Notes

External links

• Addis Ababa City Administration
• Support for Mayor’s overhaul of Addis Ababa
• Addis Ababa City Council
• Introduction to Addis Ababa
• Best pictures of Addis Ababa
• Picture of Addis Ababa
• Picture Gallery of Addis Ababa

Coordinates:

Subdivisions of Ethiopia
Regions
Afar | Amhara | Benishangul-Gumaz | Gambela | Harari | Oromia | Somali | Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region | Tigray
Chartered cities
Addis Ababa | Dire Dawa
Provinces prior to 1995
Arsi | Bale | Gamu-Gofa | Gojjam | Begemder | Hararghe | Illubabor | Kaffa | Shoa | Sidamo | Tigray | Welega | Wollo

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Cities of Ethiopia

Abomsa | Adama (Nazret) | Addis Ababa | Addis Zemen | Adet | Adigrat | Adwa | Agaro | Alaba Kulito | Alamata | Aleta Wendo | Ambo | Arba Minch | Areka | Asaita | Asebe Teferi | Asosa | Awbere | Awasa | Axum | Bahir Dar | Bati | Bedele | Bichena | Boditi | Bure | Butajira | Chagni | Debarq | Debre Berhan | Debre Marqos | Debre Tabor | Debre Zeyit | Degehabur | Dembidolo | Derwonaji | Dessie | Dila | Dire Dawa | Dodola | Dolo | Fiche | Finote Selam | Gambela | Gebre Guracha | Gimbi | Ginir | Goba | Gode | Gondar | Goro | Guduru | Hagere Miriam | Harar | Hart Sheik | Holeta Genet | Humera | Inda Selassie | Irgalem | Irgachefe | Jijiga | Jimma | Jinka | Kebri Dahar | Kebri Mangest | Kobo | Kombolcha | Korem | Maychew | Mek'ele | Meki | Mendi | Metu | Mojo | Mota | Moyale | Negele Arsi | Negele Boran | Nekemte | Robe | Sawla | Sebeta | Shakiso | Shambu | Shashamane | Shewa Robit | Sodo | Softu | Waliso | Weldiya | Welenchiti | Welkite | Wenj Gefersa | Wereta | Wukro | Ziway