Bahir Dar

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Church in Bahir Dar

Murals in a Bahir Dar church

Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia, and the capital of the Amhara Region (kilil).

Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities (astedader akabibi, equivalent to a kilil), and cities like Mek'ele and Dessie, which are organized as woredas.

1 Geography, transportation
2 Demographics
3 People and Culture
4 History
5 Sister cities
6 Notes

[edit] Geography, transportation

Bahir Dar is situated on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile (or Abay), in what was previously the Gojjam province. The city is located approximately 310 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa, having a latitude and longitude of 11°36′N 37°23′E and an elevation of 1700m above sea level.

The city is equipped with an airport with paved runways, identified by the ICAO code HABD and IATA BJR; Ethiopian Airlines operates scheduled flights between Bahir Dar and the capital as well as with Gondar to the northwest. The city is also connected through roads (and buslines) to these cities.

[edit] Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this city has an estimated total population of 167,261, of whom 86,355 were males and 80,906 were females. With an estimated area of 28 square kilometers, Bahir Dar has an estimated population density of 5,973.60 people per square kilometer.^[1]

According to the 1994 census, the latest official population count, its population was 96,140. As Philip Briggs notes, Bahir Dar "is not only one of the largest towns in Ethiopia, but also one of the fastest growing -- the western outskirts have visibly expanded since the first edition of this guide was published in 1994."^[2]

[edit] People and Culture

Bahir Dar is an important starting points for tours of the Blue Nile Falls

The city offers a small daily market and a very extensive weekly market. There are some music clubs in the city. The city is home to Bahir Dar University, which projects an enrollment of over 4,400 students in the academic year beginning in October 2006.^[3]

The Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay) are located about 30 km to the south.

[edit] History

Bahir Dar grew around a Jesuit settlement, founded in the sixteenth or seventeenth century; a building from this period and associated with Pedro Páez still stands.^{[citation needed]} One of Emperor Haile Selassie's palaces is located near the city, and the Emperor considered moving the national capital to the town.

As part of Operation Tewodros near the end of the Ethiopian Civil War, Bahir Dar was catured by the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front in March 1991.

The city announced 23 November 2006 that in honor of the Millennium celebrations, it would host a National Investment Bazaar and Trade Fair on 6-9 January 2007. Mulat Gezahegn, head of the Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion Coordination Office, told journalists that he expects more than 150 local and foreign companies will participate.^[4]