Meyazia 27 Square (; or 5 May Square), commonly called Arat Kilo is an important and historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
,
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, located where Adwa St, King George VI St, Queen Elizabeth II St, and Development Through Cooperation Ave come together. Its name denotes 27 Miyazya, 5 May, both the day when Addis Ababa
fell to Italy in 1936 and was
liberated in 1941. The park is under the aegis of the Addis Ababa Land Development and Urban Renewal Agency.
Many buildings of the
Ethiopian government
The government of Ethiopia () is the federal government of Ethiopia. It is structured in a framework of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. T ...
and
Addis Ababa University
Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...
are near the square. The eastern side of the square is dominated by the
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, the western side has Addis Ababa University Department of Computer Science and the Archaeology Museum. Among the heterogeneous assortment adjacent buildings are the
Holy Trinity Cathedral,
Parliament building, and
Imperial Palace Building.
History
Meyazia 27 Square is noted for its impressive obelisk built for
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
's coronation in 1930. The historic moment depicts a Lion of Judah and a circle of relief figures and monumental panels celebrating the liberation of Ethiopia. In 1936, during the occupation of Ethiopia by
Fascist Italy, the monument was removed. Following the liberation of Ethiopia, the monument was rebuilt. After the
Ethiopian Revolution
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
, the
Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " c ...
removed the relief of the Emperor Haile Selassie from the monument. After the end of the
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
The Derg overthre ...
, the monument was restored.
References
{{Streets in Addis Ababa
Geography of Addis Ababa
Monuments and memorials in Ethiopia