Adama

For other uses, see Adama (disambiguation).

"Nazreth" redirects here. For other uses, see Nazareth (disambiguation).

Adama (Oromo: Adaamaa, Amharic: አዳማ), formerly Nazreth (Amharic: ናዝሬት),^[3] is a one of the cities of Oromia Region of Ethiopia.^{[4][5][needs update?]} Located in the East Shewa Zone 99 km (62 mi) southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.

Adama Adaamaa (in Oromo) አዳማ (in Amharic) Nazareth
City
From top: Addis Ababa-Dire Dawa Road; Saint Mary's Ethiopian Orthodox Church; Oromia Martyrs Monument; Adama City; Addis Ababa–Adama Expressway
Adama Location within Ethiopia Show map of Ethiopia Adama Location within the Horn of Africa Show map of Horn of Africa Adama Location within Africa Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 08°32′29″N 39°16′08″E
Country	Ethiopia
Region	Oromia
Zone	East Shewa
Elevation	1,712 m (5,617 ft)
Population  (2007)[1]
• Total	220,212
• Estimate  (2021)[2]	435,222
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Area code	(+251) 22
Climate	Aw

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 seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway runs through Adama.^[5][6][7][8]

Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) (formerly Nazareth Technique College) is located in Adama. Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.

History

The city name Adama may have been derived from the Oromo word adaamii, which means a cactus or a cactus-like tree.^[9] More specifically, adaamii means Euphorbia candelabrum,^[10] a tree of the spurge family, while hadaamii would mean Indian fig.^[11] Following World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie renamed the town after Biblical Nazareth, and this name was used for the remainder of the twentieth century.^[7] In 2000, the city officially reverted to its original Oromo name, Adama,^[7][12] though Nazareth is still widely used.^[13]

In 2000, the government moved the regional capital of Oromia from Addis Ababa to Adama,^[7] sparking considerable controversy. Critics of the move believed that the Ethiopian government wished to deemphasize Addis Ababa's location within Oromia.^[14][15] 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".^[13]

On 10 June 2005, the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO), part of the ruling EPRDF coalition, officially announced plans to move the regional capital back to Addis Ababa.^[16]

Demographics

Languages spoken in Adama as of 2007^[update][1]

  Amharic (59.25%)

  Oromo (26.25%)

  Gurage (6.28%)

  Other (8.22%)

Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), this city has a total population of 220,212, an increase of 72.25% over the population recorded in the 1994 census, of whom 108,872 are men and 111,340 women. With an area of 29.86 square kilometers, Adama has a population density of 7,374.82; all are urban inhabitants. A total of 60,174 households were counted in this city, which results in an average of 3.66 persons to a household, and 59,431 housing units. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Adama were the Oromo (39.02%), the Amhara (34.53%), the Gurage (11.98%) and the Silte (5.02%); all other ethnic groups made up 9.45% of the population. Amharic was spoken as a first language by 59.25%, 26.25% spoke Oromo and 6.28% spoke Guragiegna; the remaining 8.22% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 63.62% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 24.7% of the population were Muslim, and 10.57% were Protestant.^[1]

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.

Transport

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 seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway runs through Adama.^[5][6][7][8]

Education

The Adama University was founded in 1993.

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, they are predominantly found Christian churches and temples (Oriental Orthodox: Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Muslim mosques and madresas (jame'al habib:(imam shafi islamic universityProtestant: Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Evangelical Christian: Kale Heywet Word of Life Church, Full Gospel Believers Church, Catholic: Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Abeba).^[17]

Sport

Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).

Climate data for Wenji Gefersa/Adama, elevation 1,540 m (5,050 ft), (1971–2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	26.3 (79.3)	27.3 (81.1)	28.9 (84.0)	29.0 (84.2)	30.0 (86.0)	29.2 (84.6)	26.1 (79.0)	25.6 (78.1)	26.8 (80.2)	27.2 (81.0)	26.2 (79.2)	25.6 (78.1)	27.4 (81.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	11.5 (52.7)	13.1 (55.6)	14.8 (58.6)	15.3 (59.5)	15.5 (59.9)	16.7 (62.1)	16.3 (61.3)	16.1 (61.0)	15.4 (59.7)	12.0 (53.6)	11.0 (51.8)	10.8 (51.4)	14.0 (57.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	11.0 (0.43)	20.0 (0.79)	43.0 (1.69)	52.0 (2.05)	62.0 (2.44)	67.0 (2.64)	189.0 (7.44)	196.0 (7.72)	96.0 (3.78)	24.0 (0.94)	13.0 (0.51)	5.0 (0.20)	778 (30.63)
Average relative humidity (%)	55	54	51	56	54	55	70	70	68	56	55	56	58
Source: FAO[18]

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Ethiopia

Adama is twinned with:

• Aurora, United States^[19]
• Sivas, Turkey^[20]

References

• Africa portal

1. Central Statistical Agency. 2010. Population and Housing Census 2007 Report, National. [ONLINE] Available at: http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3583/download/50086. [Accessed 10 January 2017].
2. "Population Projection Towns as of July 2021" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
3. Alain Gascon, "Adaama" in Siegbert Uhlig, ed., Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003, p.70.
4. 2009 CIA map marks Nazrēt (Adama) as an administrative (regional) capital.
5. Eritrea and Ethiopia (Map). 1:5,000,000. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009. Map #803395.
6. bing Maps (Map). Microsoft. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
7. Lindahl, Bernhard (2005). "Naader - Neguz" (PDF). Nordic Africa Institute. pp. 8–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-09-20. The name was changed from Adama (Hadama) to Nazret (Nazareth) a little before 1948. This belonged to a general pattern of introducing Christian names instead of traditional Oromo names.
8. Lindahl, Bernhard (2005). "Dil Amba - Djibiet" (PDF). Local History in Ethiopia. The Nordic Africa Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2011-09-20. The Franco-Ethiopian railway company in 1960-1963 carried out surveys for extending the railway with a 310 km line from Nazret to Dilla.
9. "Origin and Development of Adama City". Adama City Administration. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
10. Workineh Kelbessa (2001). "Traditional Oromo Attitudes towards the Environment: An Argument for Environmentally Sound Development" (PDF). Social Science Research Report Series (19): 44. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
11. Ayele, Azimitachew (2010). "Chromosome Study of Local Farmers' Varieties of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae) from Tigray, Northern Ethiopia" (PDF). p. 1.^{[permanent dead link]}
12. "Aadu - Alyume" (PDF). Local History in Ethiopia. Nordic Africa Institute. 2008. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-05. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
13. "Nazareth Selected as Oromiya's Capital". Walta Information Center. July 13, 2000. Archived from the original on 3 March 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2006.
14. Hameso, Seyoum and Tilahun Ayanou Nebo (2000). "Ethiopia: A New Start?". The Sidama Concern. Archived from the original on 23 February 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2006.
15. Mosisa, Abraham T. (January 13, 2004). "Letter to U.N. Secretary-General". Oromo Studies Association. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2006.
16. "Chief Administrator of Oromia says decision to move capital city based on study". Walta Information Center. 2005-06-11. Archived from the original on June 13, 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2006.
17. J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 1004-1007
18. "CLIMWAT climatic database". Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
19. "Our Sister Cities". Aurora Sister Cities International. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
20. "Uzaklar Yakinlaşti - Sivas Twin Towns". Archived from the original on December 27, 2013.

Further reading

• Briggs, Philip. Guide to Ethiopia. Old Saybrook, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press, 1995. ISBN 1-56440-814-0

External links

• Adama Chamber of Commerce
• Media related to Adama at Wikimedia Commons
• Adama travel guide from Wikivoyage