Adama 1447425 225287265 2008-07-12T22:09:35Z Gyrofrog 52387 /* History */ copyedit {{alternateuses}} <!-- Infobox begins here; main text of article is below --> {{Infobox Settlement |official_name = Adama |other_name = Nazret |native_name = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English --> |nickname = |settlement_type = |motto = |image_skyline = GariAdama.jpg |imagesize = |image_caption = A [[Gari (vehicle)|gari]] crossing the [[Addis Ababa]]-[[Dire Dawa]] Road in Adama |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |city_logo = |citylogo_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Ethiopia |pushpin_label_position = right<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none --> |pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ethiopia |pushpin_mapsize = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = [[Ethiopia]] |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_name1 = [[Oromia Region|Oromia]] |subdivision_type2 = Zone |subdivision_name2 = [[Misraq Shewa Zone|Misraq (East) Shewa]] |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |leader_title1 = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager --> |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = <!-- Incorporated (town) --> |established_date2 = |established_title3 = <!-- Incorporated (city) --> |established_date3 = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = <!--Enter: Imperial, if Imperial (metric) is desired--> |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = <!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion--> |area_land_km2 = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion--> |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2005 |population_footnotes = |population_note = |population_total = 228,623 |population_density_km2 = |population_density_sq_mi = |population_metro = |population_density_metro_km2 = |population_density_metro_sq_mi = |population_urban = |population_density_urban_km2 = |population_density_urban_sq_mi = |population_blank1_title = |population_blank1 = |population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi = |timezone = [[East Africa Time|EAT]] |utc_offset = +3 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |latd=8 |latm=33 |latNS=N |longd=39 |longm=16 |longEW=E |elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags--> |elevation_m = 1712 |elevation_ft = |postal_code_type = <!-- enter ZIP code, Postcode, Post code, Postal code... --> |postal_code = |area_code = 22 |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes = }} <!-- Infobox ends; main text of article begins on next line --> '''Adama''' ([[Oromo language|Oromo]] ''Adaama'', [[Ge'ez alphabet|Ge'ez]] ኣዳማ ''ādāmā''), better known<ref>Alain Gascon, "Adaama" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'', Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, p.70.</ref> as '''Nazret''' or '''Nazreth''' (ናዝሬት ''nāzrēt''), is a [[city]] in central [[Ethiopia]] and the previous [[capital]] of the [[Oromia Region]]. It is located in the [[Misraq Shewa Zone]] of Oromia, at {{coor d|8.55|N|39.27|E|type:city}} at an elevation of 1712 meters, approximately 100 [[Kilometre|km]] southeast of [[Addis Ababa]]. The city sits between the base of an [[escarpment]] to the west, and the top of the [[Great Rift Valley]] to the east. Based on figures from the [[Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)|Central Statistical Agency]] in 2005, this city has an estimated total population of 228,623 of whom 114,255 were males and were 114,368 females,<ref>[http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics], Table B.3</ref> although other estimates confirm that the current population exceeds 200,000.<ref>{{cite web | author = Butler, Rhett A. | year = 2004 | url = http://www.mongabay.com/igapo/2005_world_city_populations/Ethiopia.html | title = 2005 population estimates for cities in Ethiopia | work = Mongabay.com | accessdate = February 28 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 127,842 of whom 61,965 were males and 65,877 were females. ==Overview== Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects [[Addis Ababa]] with [[Dire Dawa]]. A large number of trucks use this same route to travel to and from the [[port|seaport]]s of [[Djibouti]] and [[Asseb]] (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the [[Eritrean-Ethiopian War]]). Additionally, the [[Ethio-Djibouti Railways|Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad]] runs through Adama. [[Adama University]] (formerly Adama Technical Teachers College) is located in Adama. [[Adama Stadium]] is the home of [[Adama City FC]], a member of the [[Ethiopian Football Federation]] league. ==History== [[Emperor]] [[Haile Selassie of Ethiopia|Haile Selassie]] renamed the town after [[Nazareth|Biblical Nazareth]], and this name was used throughout the [[twentieth century]]. In [[2000]], the city officially reverted to its original [[Oromo language]] name, Adama, though "Nazareth" is still widely used. In 2000, the Ethiopian government moved the regional capital of Oromia from [[Addis Ababa]] to Adama, sparking considerable controversy. Critics of the move believed that the Ethiopian government wished to deemphasize Addis Ababa's location within Oromia.<ref>{{cite web | author = Hameso, Seyoum and Tilahun Ayanou Nebo | year = 2000 | url = http://www.sidamaconcern.com/books/ethiopia_a_new_start.html | title = Ethiopia: A New Start? | work = The Sidama Concern | accessdate = February 25 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author = Mosisa, Abraham T. | year = January 13, 2004 | url = http://oromostudies.org/lettertoUNSecretaryGeneral.htm | title = Letter to U.N. Secretary-General | publisher = Oromo Studies Association | accessdate = February 25 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> On the other hand, the government maintained that Addis Ababa "has been found inconvenient from the point of view of developing the language, culture and history of the Oromo people."<ref>{{cite web | year = July 13, 2000 | url = http://www.telecom.net.et/~walta/ennews/html/jul/ed130700/html/newsitem_3.html | title = Nazareth Selected as Oromiya's Capital | publisher = Walta Information Center | accessdate = February 25 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> On [[June 10]], [[2005]], the [[Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization]] (OPDO), part of the ruling [[Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front|EPRDF]] coalition, officially announced plans to move the regional capital back to Finfinne (the Oromo name for Addis Ababa).<ref>{{cite web|date=2005-06-11|url=http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:9D8m64qV_awJ:www.waltainfo.com/EnNews/2005/Jun/11Jun05/Jun11e11.htm+Adama+Finfinne+site:waltainfo.com&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1| title=Chief Administrator of Oromia says decision to move capital city based on study|publisher=Walta Information Center|accessdate=February 25|accessyear=2006|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050613234040/http://waltainfo.com/EnNews/2005/Jun/11Jun05/Jun11e11.htm|archivedate=2005-06-13}}</ref> This announcement occurred during the aftermath of Ethiopia's most democratic elections to date, in which the governing coalition lost all of its seats in Addis Ababa's municipal administration (see [[Ethiopian general elections, 2005]]). The opposition parties speculated that the move was intended as a way to split them along ethnic lines by inciting the largely non-Oromo residents of Addis Ababa to oppose the return of the Oromia government to the Ethiopian capital.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The only comments from the opposition that the move inspired, however, was that the original move to Adama had been a massive waste of money, not to mention lives, as the government had cracked down on Oromo students who had protested the move from Finfinne to Adama. In any event, non-Oromo groups did not oppose the return of Oromia government offices to Addis Ababa. == References == {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *Briggs, Philip. ''Guide to Ethiopia.'' Old Saybrook, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 1995. ISBN 1-56440-814-0 ==External links== *[http://www.adamachamber.com Adama Chamber of Commerce] *{{wikitravel}} {{Cities of Ethiopia}} [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in the Oromia Region]] [[am:አዳማ]] [[ca:Adama]] [[de:Nazret]] [[es:Adama]] [[fr:Adama (Éthiopie)]] [[he:אדאמה]] [[jv:Adama]] [[pl:Adama]] [[ro:Adama]]