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Addis Ababa

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Geography

   Addis Ababa cityscape Courtesy: whileseated.org
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   Addis Ababa cityscape Courtesy: whileseated.org

   Addis Ababa (sometimes spelled Addis Abeba, the spelling used
   officially by the Ethiopian Mapping Institute; 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. Addis Ababa
   is located about 2,500 m above sea level at 9.03° N 38.74° E).

   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
   Guenete Leul Palace to be the University main campus in 1961.
   Map of Ethiopia
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   Map of Ethiopia

History

   Addis Ababa was founded by the Ethiopian emperor Menelik II. 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, known
   to the local Oromo people as Finfinne, 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 1939. After the Italian army in Ethiopia was frustrated by
   Ethiopian patriots, and hugely defeated with British help 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 maintain 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.

   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 Amharas (48.3%), Oromo (19.2%), Gurage (17.5%), and Tigrean
   (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, and 0.6% followers of other religions (
   Hindus, Jews, Bahais, Jehovah's Witnesses, Agnostics, etc.).

Economy

   The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Addis Ababa had a
   total 20,700 head of cattle (representing less than 0.1% of Ethiopia's
   total cattle), 7,900 sheep (less than 0.1%), 3,150 goats (less than
   0.1%), 380 horses (less than 0.1%), 270 mules (0.18%), 4,780 donkeys
   (0.19%), 21,420 poultry of all species (less than 0.1%), and 170
   beehives (less than 0.1%).

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.
   Hager Fikir Theatre Addis Ababa (April 2006)
   Enlarge
   Hager Fikir Theatre Addis Ababa (April 2006)

   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 to 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 Organization for 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 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.

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.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addis_Ababa"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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