Adigrat

Adigrat ዓዲግራት
City
Clockwise from top: Adigrat panoramic view, Cathedral of the Holy Savior, Debre Damo Monastery, typical street, downtown.
Flag
Adigrat Location within Ethiopia
Coordinates: 14°16′N 39°27′E / 14.267°N 39.450°E / 14.267; 39.450
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Tigray
Zone	Misraqawi (Eastern)
Woreda	Adigrat
Area
• Total	18.77 km2 (7.25 sq mi)
Elevation	2,457 m (8,061 ft)
Population (2013)
• Total	76,400[1]
• Density	3,703/km2 (9,590/sq mi)
Time zone	EAT (UTC+03:00)
Post Code	20[2]
Area code(s)	(+251) 34
Website	www.adigratcity.org.et

Adigrat (Ge'ez: ዓዲግራት) is a city and separate woreda in the Tigray Region (or kilil) of Ethiopia. It is located in the Misraqawi Zone at longitude and latitude 14°16′N 39°27′E / 14.267°N 39.450°E / 14.267; 39.450Coordinates: 14°16′N 39°27′E / 14.267°N 39.450°E / 14.267; 39.450, with an elevation of 2,457 metres (8,061 ft) above sea level and below a high ridge to the west. Adigrat is the last important Ethiopian city south of the border with Eritrea, and is considered to be a strategically important gateway to Eritrea and the Red Sea. Adigrat was part of Ganta Afeshum woreda before a separate woreda was created for the city.

History

Origins

Adrigrat first acquired importance when Ras Sabagadis made it his capital in 1818; it declined in importance after his death in 1831, although the missionary Samuel Gobat had joined countless Ethiopians in fleeing there for safety in the days immediately after Sabagadis' death.^[3] When the missionary Johann Ludwig Krapf passed through Adigrat in April 1842, "almost the whole is in ruins", and observed that a nearby village, Kersaber, was "much larger than Adigrat."^[4]

19th century

During the First Italian-Abyssinian War, the Italians occupied Adigrat on 25 March 1895, and used it as a base to support their advance south to Mek'ele. General Antonio Baldissera refortified the settlement after the Italian defeat at the Battle of Adowa, but Emperor Menelik II insisted on its surrender at the beginning of the peace talks that concluded the war; Baldissera was ordered to evacuate Adigrat, which he did 18 May 1896. Augustus B. Wylde a few years later described Adigrat as having a Saturday market of medium size.^[5]

20th century

The Italians again occupied Adigrat at the beginning of the Second Italian-Abyssinian War 7 October 1935. The Italians were met there on the 11th by Ras Haile Selassie Gugsa, who had been courted by the Italians to ignite a widespread defection of the Tigrayan aristocracy; instead, he had been soundly defeated a few days before by Dejazmach Haile Kebbede of Wag, and presented himself to the invaders with only 1200 followers. Anthony Mockler notes that despite the fact the young Ras shook Ethiopian morale, "this was the first and last open defection to the Italians of an important noble and his men."^[6]

Adigrat was captured by rebels in the Woyane rebellion 25 September 1943, forcing the Ethiopian government administrators to flee to neighboring Eritrea.

By 1958 the city was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First Class Township.^[3]

Street scene.

Durint the 1970s, Agazi Comprehensive High School, and together with the town's Catholic junior high school, they became centers of anti-government dissent.^[7] The presence outside of town of a large military base, served as a focus for protesting students, and also as a source for their hopes of a military coup.

Adigrat's dependence on merchandising and trade meant that the Derg's imposition of commercial and trnasport restrictions were strongly felt and resented.^[7] Under the Derg business licenses became progressively more difficult to get, and traders' trucks were requisitioned for the transport of war-related materials to army bases in Eritrea. Permits of travel were required; convoys were introduced by 1976; and the road links to Asmara were virtually broken, largely by the ELF, by the late 1970s.

During the first years of the Ethiopian Civil War, the fledgling Tigrayan People's Liberation Front drew support from these groups.^[3] Derg forces took Adigrat during their Operation Adwa in summer 1988. The same day that the Third Revolutionary Army was crushed at Battle of Shire, 19 February 1989, government troops and officials evacuated Adigrat.^[8] According to Africa Watch they caused widespread destruction in the town before they left.^[3]

Geography

Adigrat is located in northern Ethiopia. By road it is 864 km (537 mi) northeast of Addis Ababa and 118 km (73 mi) north of Mek'ele, and 191 km (119 mi) east of Shire. The Huga river runs through Adigrat.^[9] The city is spread widely on both banks of the river. Adigrat is located at altitude ranges from 2000 to 3000 m above sea level. The city has several prominent hills; one of the most prominent is Debre Damo which has a monastery at its peak.

Climate

Adigrat has a Mediterranean climate. The overall climate throughout the year is mild and dry. The annual rainfall ranges between 400 to 600 mm, with most of the rain falling in the rainy season (June up to September).^[10]

Cityscape

Cathedral of the Holy Saviour

Adigrat, the capital of the Agamé district, has a rich aristocratic and political history. In town are the remnants of two castles from the Zemene Mesafint ("Era of Princes"),(ዘመነ መሳፍንት) one owned by Dej Desta, the other by the Ras Sebhat Aregawi. Other sites of interest:

• 19th century Adigrat Chirkos - was strategically built on a hill near Dej Desta's castle, so that Desta could see the church from his bedroom balcony.
• A few years after World War II land was obtained in the center of Adigrat at a site called "Welwalo". In view of the possibility that one day it might become a church, the "Holy Saviour" was built and used regularly as a parish church. After the establishment of the Ethiopian Catholic hierarchy in 1961 that church was destined to become the cathedral of the Eparchy of Adigrat. After appropriate modifications were made the formal and official consecration of the Cathedral Catholic of the Holy Saviour took place on 19 April 1969. It has an Italian design, but incorporates work by Ethiopian artist Afewerk Tekle.^[11]
• Italian War cemetery commemorates some 765 Italian soldiers who died between 1935 and 1938.^[11]
• Adigrat also hosts a market, and a newly constructed community park.

Demographics

Adigrat downtown

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 57,588, of whom 26,010 are men and 31,578 women. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 94.01% reporting that as their religion, while 3.02% of the population were Catholics, and 2.68% were Muslim.^[12]

The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 37,417 of whom 17,352 were men and 20,065 were women.

Economy

The largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Ethiopia, Addis Pharmaceuticals Factory SC, is located in Adigrat. The city has a branch offices of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia,^[13] Dashen, Awash, Wegagen, and Ambessa.^[14] Adigrat's Chamber of Commerce actively organizes many of the business in the town.^[15] A modern water supply system was built at a cost of 126.4 million birr and was innaugerated on 27 June 2017.^[16]

Arts and culture

Food

Tihlo is a dish unique to Adigrat. It is prepared by making kneading barley flour into soft balls and prepairing a meat stew with berbere, an Ethiopian spice, onions, tomato paste, water and salt.^[17] The dish is eaten using a fork shaped utensil, which is unique in Ethiopian cusine.

The beles, a cactus pear, grown in Adigrat is considered to be of high-quality.^[18]

The city is renowned for its white honey and tej, an Ethiopian honey-wine.^[19]

Sports

The city is represented in the Ethiopian premeir league by Adigrat University's Welwalo FC.

Transportation

Adigrat is located along Ethiopian Highway 2, which connects the city with Addis Abeba and Mekelle. In Adigrat, Ethiopian Highway 2, turns off the main highway to the west in the direction of Adwa. To the north of Adigrat, Ethiopian Highway 20 connects the city to Kokobay and to Asmara in Eritrea.^[20]

Education

The Adigrat University grounds

The education system in Adigrat engages thousands of students in public and private schools.The first high school in Adigrat is Agazi Comprehensive High School which was established in the 1950s.^[21] As of 2013 there were 13 public schools and 7 private schools.^[22]

Adigrat is home to the Adigrat University which serves over 14,000 students.^[23] The technical school in Adigrat include TVET and Industrial College. There are two private colleges, namely, Ethio-lmage and New Millennium College.^[22]

The city has a public library with approximately 20,000 books.

Notable inhabitants

• Yohannes Haile-Selassie, paleoanthropologist
• Miruts Yifter, Olympic gold medal winning long distance runner
• Seyoum Mesfin, politician and diplomat

See also

• Student Initiative Rahel, an educational project working together with the OVC project

Notes

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Adigrat.

Media related to Adigrat at Wikimedia Commons

• John Graham, "Tigray - Axum and Adua - Part 1" (Addis Tribune)

Woredas of the Misraqawi Zone
Adigrat Town Atsbi Wenberta Ganta Afeshum Gulomahda Hawzen Irob Kilte Awulaelo Saesi Tsaedaemba Wukro Town