Abiy Addi

ዓብዪ ዓዲ

Older houses in Abiy Addi

Abiy Addi

Location within Ethiopia

Coordinates: 13°37′23″N 39°00′06″E

Country Ethiopia

Region Tigray

Zone Maekelay (Central)

Elevation 1,950 m (6,400 ft)

 Population
(2007)

• Total 16,115

• Estimate 34,176
(2022)[1]

Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)

Abiy Addi (also spelled Abi Addi; Tigrigna ዓብዪ ዓዲ "Big town") is a town in
central Tigray, Ethiopia. Abiy Addi is at the southeastern edge of the Kola Tembien woreda, of
which it is the capital.

Overview[edit]
The town is divided into two parts by the Tanqwa River, the lower part being the more
respectable part while the upper part "is where you'll find the marketplace ... and the seedier bars
in which you're most likely to see Awri dancing as the tej hits the mark." Briggs notes that Abiy
Addi is known in Tigray for the frenetic style of dancing called "Awri", as well as the quality of
its honey.[2]: 270

Having visited Abiy Abbi in the mid-1940s, David Buxton thought that "perhaps the best thing
about Abbi Addi was the panorama of the Simien mountains standing to the west beyond the
deep valley of the Tekezé." Buxton notes that the entire height of that mountain range was
visible, from the southern foothills to the summit. "And round about the lower slopes, dimly seen
through the haze, were many fantastic outlying peaks, square or spiky, like the mountains of a
child's imagination."[3] As for the town itself, Philip Briggs describes it as "a reasonably
substantial settlement, set in a dusty valley below an impressive cliff."[2]

Abiy Addi is connected to Mekelle to the east in 90 km and Adwa to the north-northwest in 90
km by asphalt roads.

History[edit]
Abiy Addi owed its importance in the 19th century due to its location on the "King's Road", at
the point where the road south from Adwa split, one branch taking travellers to Debre Tabor and
the other to the Lake Ashenge region.[4] The British explorer Charles Beke passed through this
town (which he called "A'biyad") 15 April 1843, and described it later as "the principal place of
Tembien, and a large market-town."[5] However, in later years the fortunes of the town varied. By
1890, visitors described Abiy Addi as a small market town which handled various imported
goods, such as mirrors made in France, cotton cloth from Manchester and Mumbai, as well as the
usual local produce.[6] Writing a few years later, Augustus B. Wylde described the Abiy Addi
market, held on Saturdays, as of medium size.[7]
On 5 December 1935, during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Abiy Addi was occupied by
the Italian Eritrean Corps. the town was evacuated later that month. Then, after having been
headquarters of Ras Kassa Haile Darge and Ras Seyoum Mengesha, it was definitely reoccupied
by the Italians on 28 February 1936. A rock-hewn church served as the shelter of Ras Kassa.[6]

In 1938, there were shops and restaurants in Abiy Addi, a telephone and telegraph office, a
health post and a school. There was also an important market. At May Lomin, there were
gardens with bananas, coffee and lemons.[8]

The Derg attacked the town twice in 1988, once with helicopters, killing and wounding 48
people.[9]

Demographics[edit]
In 1867, Abiy Addi was described as a "Mahomedan place" with, on market days, "about 2,000
people assembled in the market place".[10][verification needed] In 1938, the town counted approximately
20,000 inhabitants (which was very large for that time).[8]

Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia
(CSA), this town has a total population of 16,115, of whom 7,826 are men and 8,289 women.
The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 88.59%
reporting that as their religion, while 11.31% of the population were Muslim.[11] The 1994 census
reported it had a total population of 7,884 of whom 3,545 were men and 4,339 were women.

Geology[edit]
Abiy Addi has an elevation ranging from 1917 to 2275 meters above sea level. From the higher
to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present: Ashangi Basalts, Amba
Aradam Formation, Adigrat Sandstone, and Edaga Arbi Glacials.[12]

Tourism[edit]
Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle makes Abiy Addi fit for tourism. The high
variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invite for geological and
geographic tourism or "geotourism".[12] Geosites in the tabia include:

 Geramba Sillasie, rock-hewn church

 Chege forest
 May Lomin gorge and springs
 Arefa, reputedly birthplace of the Queen of Sheba
See also[edit]
 History of Tembien
 First Battle of Tembien
 Second Battle of Tembien
References[edit]
1. ^ "Population Size by Sex, Zone and Wereda" (PDF). statsethiopia.gov.et. July 2022.
Retrieved 7 May 2023.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Briggs, Philip (2002). Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide, 3rd
edition. ISBN 1841620351.
3. ^ Buxton, Travels in Ethiopia, second edition (London: Ernest Benn, 1957), p. 123
4. ^ Richard Pankhurst, Economic History of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie University,
1968), p. 284
5. ^ Charles T. Beke, "Abyssinia: Being a Continuation of Routes in That Country", Journal of the
Royal Geographical Society of London, 14 (1844), p. 62
6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Local History in Ethiopia" Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine The
Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 11 December 2007)
7. ^ Augustus B. Wylde, Modern Abyssinia (London: Methuen, 1901), p. 494
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Consociazione turistica Italiana. Guida dell'Africa orientale Italiana. Milano.
p. 281.
9. ^ Africa Watch, Ethiopia: "Mengistu has Decided to Burn Us like Wood": Bombing of Civilians
and Civilian Targets by the Air Force, 24 July 1990, p. 10
10. ^ Anthony Charles Cooke (1867). Routes in Abyssinia.
11. ^ Census 2007 Tables: Tigray Region Archived 2010-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Tables
2.1, 2.4, 2.5 and 3.4.
12. ^ Jump up to:a b Nyssen, Jan; Jacob, Miro; Frankl, Amaury, eds. (2019). Geo-trekking in
Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.