Debre Zeyit
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Debre Zeyit (var. Debre Zeit; Ge'ez ደብረ ዘይት; Amharic "Mount of Olives"; also known by its Oromo name, Bishoftu) is a town of Ethiopia, lying south east of Addis Ababa. The town is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, and has a latitude and longitude of .
Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Debre Zeyit has an estimated total population of 131,159, of whom 64,642 were males and were 66,517 females.[1] According to the 1994 national census, it had a population of 73,372.
It is a resort town, known for five crater lakes: Lake Bishofu, Lake Hara (a base for watersports, many water birds and an annual festival), Lake Bishoftu Guda, Lake Korfitu and the seasonal Lake Chelelako. Debre Zayit is also home to the Ethiopian Air Force and a commercial airport (ICAO HAHM, IATA QHR), as well as a station on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway. Nearby points of interest include Mount Yerer, Green Crater Lake and Lake Hora Kiloli. It was also the favored weekend retreat of Emperor Haile Silassie, who built a palace there named "Fairfield", after his wartime home in exile in the town of Bath, England.
[edit] Notes
- ^ CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.3
[edit] External link
- Cities of Ethiopia: Debre Zeyit by John Taylor (Addis Tribune, 2 November 2001)
