Agordat

This article is about the city in Eritrea. For the city in Ethiopia's Tigray Region, see Adigrat.

Agordat, ኣቑርደት (also spelled Akordat or Ak'ordat) is a city in Gash-Barka, Eritrea. It was the capital of the former Barka Province, which was situated between the present-day Gash-Barka and Anseba regions.

Agordat ኣቑርደት Ak'ordat
Town
Sunset between Agordat and Keren
Map of Agordat in Eritrea
Agordat
Coordinates: 15°33′N 37°53′E
Country	Eritrea
Region	Gash-Barka
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Climate	BWh

History

Excavations in Agordat uncovered pottery related to the C-Group (Temehu) pastoral culture, which inhabited the Nile Valley between 2500 and 1500 BC.^[1] Sherds akin to those of the Kerma culture, another community that flourished in the Nile Valley around the same period, were also found at other local archaeological sites in the Barka valley belonging to the Gash Group.^[2][3][4]

Agordat was the last major town along the Eritrean Railway to Massawa through Asmara. The line continued on through to Bishia, its terminus. The local economy is reliant on passing traders moving between Asmara and Kessela in Sudan.

Overview

Agordat lies in the western part of the country on the Barka River. An important market town and it also home to a large mosque. Agordat has many restaurants, as well as a hospital built during the colonial period in Italian Eritrea. A considerable amount of Eritrea's fruit and vegetables, particularly bananas and oranges, are transported through the town. Additionally, the Akat fruit is grown locally.

Climate

Ak'ordat has a hot arid climate (Köppen BWh) with hot to sweltering temperatures throughout the year and a short wet season from mid-June to mid-September due to the northward extension of the West African Monsoon and the African Easterly Jet.

Climate data for Ak'ordat
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	32 (89)	33 (92)	36 (96)	39 (103)	40 (104)	37 (99)	33 (91)	32 (89)	35 (95)	37 (99)	36 (96)	33 (92)	35 (95)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	14 (58)	14 (57)	14 (58)	18 (65)	22 (72)	22 (72)	21 (69)	21 (70)	21 (69)	21 (70)	19 (67)	16 (61)	19 (66)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	10 (0.4)	30 (1.2)	100 (3.9)	140 (5.5)	40 (1.6)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	320 (12.6)
Source: Weatherbase [5]

See also

• History of Eritrea
• Battle of Agordat (1941)
• First Battle of Agordat
• Second Battle of Agordat
• Italian cruiser Agordat

References

1. Cole, Sonia Mary (1964). The Prehistory of East. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 273.
2. Leclant, Jean (1993). Sesto Congresso internazionale di egittologia: atti, Volume 2. International Association of Egyptologists. p. 402. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
3. Marianne Bechaus-Gerst; Roger Blench (2014). Kevin MacDonald (ed.). The Origins and Development of African Livestock: Archaeology, Genetics, Linguistics and Ethnography - "Linguistic evidence for the prehistory of livestock in Sudan" (2000). Routledge. p. 453. ISBN 978-1135434168. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
4. Behrens, Peter (1986). Libya Antiqua: Report and Papers of the Symposium Organized by Unesco in Paris, 16 to 18 January 1984 - "Language and migrations of the early Saharan cattle herders: the formation of the Berber branch". Unesco. p. 30. ISBN 9231023764. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
5. "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Ak'ordat, Eritrea". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.

15°33′N 37°53′E