| Teferi Ber Āwberē |
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| Awbere (Teferi Ber) | |
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Teferi Ber
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Region | Somali |
| Zone | Jijiga |
| Elevation | 1,551 m (5,089 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| • Total | 35,977 |
| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) |
Āwberē, officially known as Teferi Ber[1] is a town in eastern Ethiopia. Located in the Jijiga Zone of the Somali Region, near the Somali border on the main trade route between Jijiga and the sea. It is the administrative center of Awbere woreda. It was one of the biggest towns of the Adal Empire.[2] It is also known as The Gate of Fear hence the name Teferi Ber. According to Ethiopian Christian folklore, this town was the only gateway that has caused fear for the Ethiopian Christian Kingdom.[3]
The main trade route between Jijiga and the sea passes through Āwuberē; an ancient route to Zeila almost always went through Awubere. In 1962 it was described as a dry weather road. The Ethiopian News Agency reported in early 1998 that much khat was illegally smuggled out of Ethiopia by this route.[4]
When emperor Haile Selassie inspected the Ogaden in 1935 prior to the outbreak of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Haile Selassie made a secret two-day excursion to Āwuberē.[4] The Italian Giuda described Āwuberē in 1938 as a Somali village with about 1,000 inhabitants, whose houses were partly built of masonry, and possessing a mosque; a little to the west of the village was the tomb of Shek Barek.[5]
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Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Āwuberē of 35,977 inhabitants 18,978 are men and 16,999 are women.[6] The 1997 census reported this town had a total population of 24,125 of whom 12,538 were men and 11,587 women. The two largest ethnic groups reported in this town were the Somali (64.72%), and foreigners from Somalia (34.83%); all other ethnic groups made up the remaining 0.45% of the residents.[7]
Awbere is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Ethiopia, officially known as Teferi Ber [8] which in Amharic denotes the name of Ras Tafari Makonnen's (Ge'ez ልጅ፡ ተፈሪ፡ መኮንን) Gate of Fear, the only threat for the Abyssinian Christian Empire during the peak of power for the Muslim State of Adal.[9]. Awbere was one of the biggest cities of the former Adal Empire. It is the final resting place of Sheikh Awbare whose tomb is located west of the town. [10] It was also the first town that was settled by Shiekh Abadir Omar Al-Rida ibn Muhammad ibn Shamsadin Al-Bakri Al-Siddiqi who is the common ancestor of all Siddiqi families of The Horn of Africa.[11] The tradition of the Siddiqis tells that it was this Shiekh who came from Yemen and settled at the town of Awbere, on the border of Ethiopia and Somalia, and gave birth to his six sons whom the Siddiqis count as their fathers.
One of the geographic areas where Siddiqis are commonly found is Horn of Africa in the Countries of Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti. However, in these countries they are not called Siddiqi rather they are known by other local names. Siddiqis in East Ethiopia are usually called Qallu. Some of them speak Arabic still now. But most of them speak the local Oromo, Harari or Somali languages. The tradition here is that the Siddiqis made themselves part of the indigenous African ethnic group accepting the name given to them, but maintaining their own identity. So, in Ethiopia, they are Usually known as Qallu. And in Somalia, they are commonly known as Sheikhal or Aw-Qutub.[12]
Awbere is situated over 1,000 m above sea level. The old town contained over 200 houses, each built with stone walls and mason ranging from single room to multi-roomed courtyard houses. Niches were cut in the walls for storage, and they were roofed with brushwood laid over wooden rafters. The mosques were built much more ambitiously.[13]