Dekemhare (sometimes spelled ''Decamare'') is a town in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, lying south east of

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

. Developed as an industrial center, it became a large scale industrial and transportation city, known for its

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s but was partly destroyed in the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991. Eritrea was an Italian colony from the 1880s until the d ...

History

Village Church Dekemhare Eritrea (30644960532)

The settlement of Dequ-Mehari, now perched above the town of Dekemhare, was founded in the 15th century as a small-scale agricultural community. It was previously overshadowed by the nearby settlement of Gura, which was the location of several battles (including a major one during the 19th century Ethio-Egyptian War) and previously gave its name to Dequ-Mehari's valley. Following their invasion, the Italians devoted significant resources into developing Gura and Dekemhare as an important transportation center. Gura received an air base and a major road was built connecting Dekamhare with the port

Nefasit Nefasit ( ar, نفاسيت, ), also known as Tappa Nefasit, is a small town in the Northern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. Monastery of Debre Bizen is located at the mountains above. According to multiple tour groups the stretch between the capital ...

. The Italians built a number of contemporary services in the town. The town became a major base of operations for the Italian military in the war against Ethiopia. The town became a key agricultural center for

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa ( it, Africa Orientale Italiana, AOI) was an Italian colony in the Horn of Africa. It was formed in 1936 through the merger of Italian Somalia, Italian Eritrea, and the newly occupied Ethiopian Empire, conquered in the Seco ...

, mainly with wine vineyards, but also pasta and bread factories. The Italian influence was significant and many buildings built between 1936 and 1938 display a distinctive

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style. In 1938, the town had 12,000 residents, including 6,000 permanent Italian residents. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as the British took control over the region, many of the Italian residents left. Ethnic violence in 1947 resulted in most of rest of the Italian residents leaving Dekemhare. The industrial production of the city did not resume after the British turned over the region to

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 ...

in 1951, and there were persistent rumors that efforts by major international companies to build factories were stopped by the

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 (' ...

government. During the

(1961-1991), the town was the center of organizing and military action by the

Eritrean Liberation Front ar, جبهة التحرير الإريترية it, Fronte di Liberazione Eritreo , war = the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean Civil Wars , image = , caption = Flag of the ELF ...

(ELF). A site of early military actions between the

and the Ethiopian government, the town became controlled by rebel factions in 1977 who made it a primary organizing location. However, the town became controlled by Ethiopian forces again when the now united

Eritrean People's Liberation Front The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1970 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...

(EPLF) retreated from the territory. The town became a major location of violence during the remained of the wars including regular fighting between forces, aerial bombardment and shelling. Much of the population fled during the intense fighting in 1990 and 1991. On May 21, 1991, the EPLF took over Dekemhare which caused a disorganized retreat of Ethiopian troops and victory over

and the end of large-scale military fighting.

References

{{Commons category Southern Region (Eritrea) Populated places in Eritrea