Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba,
meaning "where
Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern
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 ...
near the
Oromia
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
and
Somali Region
The Somali Region ( so, Deegaanka Soomaalida, am, ሱማሌ ክልል, Sumalē Kilil, ar, المنطقة الصومالية), also known as Soomaali Galbeed (''Western Somalia'') and officially the Somali Regional State, is a regional state ...
border and one of two
chartered cities in Ethiopia (the other being
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 ...
, the capital). Dire Dawa alongside present-day
Sitti Zone
Sitti Zone ( so, Gobolka Sitti), formerly known as Shinile, is a zone in Somali Region of Ethiopia.
Located at the northwestern point of the Somali Region and stretching across the savanna north of the Ahmar Mountains, Sitti is bordered on the ...
were apart of the Dire Dawa autonomous region stipulated in the
1987 Ethiopian Constitution
The Constitution of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia, was the third constitution of Ethiopia, and went into effect on 22 February 1987 after a referendum on 1 February of that year. ...
until 1993 when it was split by the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
into a separately administered chartered city. This was due to the ongoing clashes between the
OLF and
IGLF and prevented any further escalation.
It is divided administratively into two
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
s, the city proper and the non-urban woreda of
Gurgura
The Gurgure, Gorgorah or Gurgura ( so, Gurgure, om, Gurgura, ar, غرغرة) is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
Distribution
The Gurgure are the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone and Dire Dawa. ...
.
Dire Dawa lies in the eastern part of the nation, on the
Dechatu River The Dechatu River is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It rises in the Ahmar Mountains to flow north through the second largest city in the country, Dire Dawa towards the Awash River, entering the city at . It is unclear if either its flow or river bed ...
, at the foot of a ring of cliffs. The western outskirts of the city lie on the Gorro River, a tributary of the Dechatu River. It is located at the latitude and longitude of . The city is an industrial centre, home to several
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
s and the
Dire Dawa Airport
Dire Dawa International Airport , is an international airport serving Dire Dawa, a city in eastern Ethiopia. It is located northwest of the city centre.
Facilities
The airport is located at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one ru ...
.
The projected population for 2015 was 440,000 for the entire chartered city and 277,000 for the city proper, making the latter the seventh largest city in Ethiopia.
History
Origins
![Harla ruins](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Harla_ruins.jpg)
The region was already inhabited in Mesolithic times, as revealed by rock paintings and
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of pa ...
artifacts in the cave of
Porc-Épic and Laga-Oda only a few kilometers from Dire Dawa. The area surrounding Dire Dawa is believed to have been a settlement of the extinct
Harla
The Harla, also known as Harala, or Arla, are an extinct ethnic group that once inhabited Djibouti, Ethiopia and northern Somalia. They spoke the now-extinct Harla language, which belonged to either the Cushitic or Semitic branches of the Afroas ...
people.
Historically, the area used to be part of
Adal Sultanate
The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din ...
during the medieval times and was exclusively settled by the
Gurgure
The Gurgure, Gorgorah or Gurgura ( so, Gurgure, om, Gurgura, ar, غرغرة) is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
Distribution
The Gurgure are the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone and Dire Dawa. ...
Dir clan which is a major Somali tribe and after the weakening of Adal Sultanate, the
Oromos
The Oromo (pron. Oromo: ''Oromoo'') are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Oromia region of Ethiopia and parts of Northern Kenya, who speak the Oromo language (also called ''Afaan Oromoo'' or ''Oromiffa''), which is part of the Cushitic br ...
took advantage and were able to penetrate through the city and settle into these areas and also assimilate some of the local
Gurgura
The Gurgure, Gorgorah or Gurgura ( so, Gurgure, om, Gurgura, ar, غرغرة) is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
Distribution
The Gurgure are the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone and Dire Dawa. ...
clan.Dire Dawa was considered the domain of the
Emirate of Harar
The Emirate of Harar was a Muslim kingdom founded in 1647 when the Harari people refused to accept Imām ʿUmardīn Ādan as their ruler and broke away from the Imamate of Aussa to form their own state under `Ali ibn Da`ud. Prior to its invasion ...
until Menelik's conquest of the kingdom in 1887 and consequently became incorporated into modern Ethiopia from thereon.
1902–1936
The present-day town of Dire Dawa (311 km by rail from Djibouti), however, is of very recent origin. It owes its foundation to a technical problem: when it became impossible to lay the
Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway
Addis may refer to:
Places
*Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia
**Addis Ababa University
**Addis Ketema, a city district
*Addis, Louisiana, a town in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, US
People
*Addis (name)
Businesses
*The Addis Company, a d ...
via
Harar
Harar ( amh, ሐረር; Harari: ሀረር; om, Adare Biyyo; so, Herer; ar, هرر) known historically by the indigenous as Gey (Harari: ጌይ ''Gēy'', ) is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is also known in Arabic as the City of Saint ...
because of the steep access to the town,
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), ...
Menelik II
, spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"''
, alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.)
Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 A ...
accepted (in a later dated 5 November 1896) that the first part of the line might finish at a village at the foot of the mountains, which should be named Addis Harar ("New Harrar").
The railway reached this location on 24 December 1902, a date which may be considered the day of Dire Dawa's foundation. The new name, however, did not win recognition.
For financial and diplomatic reasons the railway was not continued until 1909 and the final inauguration of the whole line from Djibouti to Addis Ababa-again delayed by the revolution of 1916-only took place on 7 June 1917. During all this time, Dire Dawa was practically the town profited much and became a "boom city", attracting most of the trade which formerly passed through Harar. By 1902 the Ethiopian government, anticipating the future economic importance of Dire Dawa, had already transferred the customs station for trade with the Red Sea from Gildessa to Dire Dawa.
Dire Dawa developed into two settlements separated by the
Dechatu River The Dechatu River is a river of eastern Ethiopia. It rises in the Ahmar Mountains to flow north through the second largest city in the country, Dire Dawa towards the Awash River, entering the city at . It is unclear if either its flow or river bed ...
, which was dry for most of the year and became a torrent only when it rained. The north-western part of the town was planned and constructed very regularly, mostly by the engineers of the railway company. At first, this part of the town mostly housed the employees of the railway company, but it later attracted, besides the French, also Greeks, Armenians, other Europeans and Arabs, who opened shops and hotels and founded some industry as well. In 1909 the French Capuchin Mission settled in Dire Dawa. At that time Dire Dawa looked like a French town.
The other part of the town, southeast of the river, concentrated around the market and was inhabited mainly by Ethiopian, Somali and a few Arab traders.
In September 1916 the fleeing troops of
Lij Iyasu
''Lij'' Iyasu ( gez, ልጅ ኢያሱ; 4 February 1895 – 25 November 1935) was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob (ክፍለ ያዕቆብ ''kəflä y’aqob''). Ethiopian emperors tradition ...
took hold of the town. Though Lij Iyasu's governor there, the Syrian Hasib al-Idlibi, assured their security, 400 Europeans left the town and the rail traffic had to be suspended. After the battle of Maeso, the governmental troops from Addis Ababa re-established a regular administration.
During the 1920s, the south-eastern part of the town also started to develop. Its inhabitants were mostly Somali and Oromo, the other Ethiopians playing only a minor role. The population here grew to 3,000, while that of the whole town numbered 20,000. Between the two World Wars, two hospitals were established in Dire Dawa, one by the railway company and another in 1934 by the government. Education on a primary level was provided by a government school, a Catholic mission school and several schools for the different foreign communities in the town (Greek, Italian, Indian).
Dire Dawa's first governor was
Ato Mersha Nahusenay. Formerly the governor of the strategic village of Gildessa and its environs, Mersha was instrumental in the construction of the first railway and establishment of the railway city. The imperial railway company (Cie) played a key role in the early development of the city, particularly Gezira (aka Kezira), under the authority of the Ethiopian government. The original failed company was reörganized as the joint-government
Franco-Ethiopian Railway
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway (french: Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Éthiopien, C.D.E.; ) is a metre gauge railway in the Horn of Africa that once connected Addis Ababa to the port city of Djibouti. The operating company was also known as the Ethio-Djib ...
in 1908 and, after a period of financial negotiation and recapitalization, construction began anew, linking the city with the Ethiopian capital
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 ...
in 1917. The Dire Dawa-Harar road was improved in 1928, shortening the travel time to only a few hours. In 1931, the
Bank of Ethiopia
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) is the central bank of Ethiopia. Its headquarters are in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Mamo Mihretu is the current governor of the bank.
The bank is active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a m ...
opened its first branch in the city
[ and, a generation later, the writer C.F. Rey described the city as the most "advanced" urban center in the area, with good roads, electric lights, and piped water.
]
1936–1941: Italian occupation
On 9 May 1936 Dire Dawa was occupied by Italian troops coming from Harar, after Somali troops from Djibouti had prevented looting during the period of interregnum. Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
and Graziani Graziani is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Ariel Graziani (born 1971), South American footballer
*Augusto Graziani (1933–2014), Italian economist
* Ercole Graziani the Younger (1688–1765), Italian painter
* Franc ...
celebrated their meeting on the railway station of Dire Dawa. The Italians constructed several new buildings in Dire Dawa, especially for the administration and the Fascist party. They also improved the roads and enlarged the airport so that their military planes could take off from there to bomb the patriot forces in the Gara Mulleta. As for other towns, the Italians conceived a "piano regolatore" for the construction of an Italian town in Dire Dawa. However, their occupation ended before they could complete these plans.
During the Italian invasion, Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
ordered that Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa be spared air attacks (which included the use of chemical weapons
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...
such as mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
) and other destruction as a response to the demands of the United States and certain European countries for the safety of their citizens. The Italian army entered the country from the colonies of 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 ...
in the north and Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in the southeast. Following all major engagements of the war, Dire Dawa was the location of the meeting of the two Italian forces. General Graziani Graziani is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Ariel Graziani (born 1971), South American footballer
*Augusto Graziani (1933–2014), Italian economist
* Ercole Graziani the Younger (1688–1765), Italian painter
* Franc ...
's units, advancing from Harar, reached the city's barbed-wire fence on 6 May 1936, the day after the occupation of 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 ...
and Emperor 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 flight along the railroad to Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. They were met by two French armed cars: the railway remained under French administration and they had remained to protect French interests. The next day, the first train under Italian control left Addis Ababa: it brought Italy's 46th Infantry Regiment and finally closed the pincers of the two Italian invasion forces. The occupation of the town was more or less a formality,[Nordic Africa Institute.]
Local History in Ethiopia
". Accessed 1 Mar 2008. although resistance fighters known as ''Arbegnoch'' ("Patriots") continued to operate throughout the conflict. It was officially known by its Italian spelling ''Dire Daua'' during the occupation.
1941–1974
In June 1940 the British started to bomb the town and on 29 March 1941 Dire Dawa was liberated by the Allied forces from Harar. The town remained under British Military Administration, being the headquarters for the British Reserved Area, till it was handed over to the Ethiopian government in 1947. In the following decades the town greatly expanded and the population grew to 160,000. The infrastructure was ameliorated and several industrial plants were established.
Following the restoration of the empire in 1941, Dire Dawa was among the early provincial towns to have its own soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
league. Around 1947, their teamthe Taffariparticipated in the Ethiopian Championship series. That same year, the Railroad Workers Syndicate of Dire Dawa, a labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
, was formed for welfare purposes.[ Although its leadership cooperated with the government, its attempt to strike in 1949 was brutally suppressed by imperial troops; at the time, all strikes were seen as forms of insurrection or treason. In 1955, a public address system was installed in the central square to receive and rebroadcast state radio transmissions.][
]
1974–1991
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 ...
affected the city in many ways. Starting March 1974, there was some worker unrest; six people were wounded when police opened fire on demonstrating railwaymen and students on 17 April. Many Europeans, Yemeni Arabs, and Indians left Dire Dawa; the Greek and Armenian churches were eventually closed due to dwindling membership. On 3 February 1975, 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 ...
announced that the Cotton Company of Ethiopia was among 14 textile enterprises to be fully nationalized
Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
. The cement
A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...
factory was also later nationalized. In August 1976, the entire leadership of the local branch of the teachers' union
The following is an alphabetical list of education trade unions:
__NOTOC__ A
* NEA-Alaska
* Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Philippines)
* Alabama Education Association State Affiliate of the National Education Association.
* American Association ...
was sacked for alleged anti-revolutionary activities. Ten new officials were appointed pending fresh elections.[
Dire Dawa again played a role in the Ethio-Somali War of 1977/78. It was besieged in the ]Battle of Dire Dawa
The Battle of Dire Dawa were a series of battles that took place since 17 July to 17 August 1977 between Ethiopian Armed Forces and Somali Armed Forces near the town of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and adjacent to the airfield of the same name during th ...
by the Somali troops till November 1977, when the Ethiopians, Cubans and Russians under General Vasiliy Petrov took the offensive and pushed the Somalis back. In May 1979, 250 Oromos who were detained in the prisons of Dire Dawa were executed by 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 ...
regime. According to Gebru Tareke, the success of the Ethiopian Army
The Ethiopian Ground Forces () is the land service branch of the Ethiopian National Defense Force. It is senior of the two uniformed military branches. It engages in land warfare and combined arms operations, including armored and mechanized o ...
in holding Dire Dawa (17–18 August 1977) against the Somali Army
The Somali National Army ( Somali: ''Xooga Dalka Soomaaliyeed,'' lit. ''"Somali Ground Forces"'') is the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces, and is the largest out of the three service branches that make up the majority of the A ...
was decisive in winning the Ogaden War
The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War (, am, የኢትዮጵያ ሶማሊያ ጦርነት, ye’ītiyop’iya somalīya t’orineti), was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopi ...
.
1991–1993
Dire Dawa was occupied by the EPRDF
The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር, translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari) was an eth ...
on 31 May 1991 and there were reports of about 100 people killed resisting the EPRDF. Both the Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front
Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front (IGLF) was a political faction in eastern Ethiopia, led by Riyaale Ahmed Formed in 1991. IGLF, which is based amongst the Issa and Gurgura clans in northern Hararghe, evolved out of the Iil Tire division of the W ...
and the Oromo Liberation Front
The Oromo Liberation Front ( om, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and ...
claimed the city. As a result, there were numerous clashes between the two groups from 1991 until 1993. When the Somali Regional State was being established in 1993, it wanted Dire Dawa to be its capital. This was opposed by the Oromia Region
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
, of which Dire Dawa was part of at the time, so the federal government placed the city under its own jurisdiction to avoid territorial conflict between the two regions.
1993–present
On 24 June 2002, a small explosive was detonated at the headquarters of the Ethiopian Railway Commission in Dire Dawa. The Oromo Liberation Front afterwards claimed responsibility for this attack in retaliation "for the continuing harassment of Oromo students, merchants, and farmers by the Ethiopian government." Although blamed for other isolated incidents, this was the latest bombing inside Ethiopia for which the OLF claimed responsibility.
Dire Dawa moved out of federal administration to become a chartered city in 2004 after the federal parliament approved the city charter in proclamation 416/2004.[
The city was flooded in August 2006 when both the ''Dechatu River'' and the ''Gorro River'' overflowed their banks. About 200 people were reported dead, thousands were displaced and there was extensive damage to homes and markets especially along the Dechatu River. Floods are fairly common during the June–September ]rainy season
The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs.
Rainy Season may also refer to:
* ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King
* "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni
* ''T ...
; over 200 people in the region had been killed by flooding in 2005 that did millions of dollars in damage.
An overturned truck, heading from Dengego to Dire Dawa, killed 41 people 4 March 2009. The truck was carrying an unknown number of day laborers when the accident happened, and 38 were immediately killed and as many as 50 were injured. Dead and injured were taken to Dil-chora Hospital in Dire Dawa. The cause was not immediately known.
Currently, there are plans to revitalize the city. A historic and popular part of the city is to be demolished and replaced by a financial center, malls, mixed-use buildings, hotels, recreational facilities, and hospitals. As part of the plan, historical buildings will be renovated, and a new space will be allotted for building new homes and businesses for those displaced by the move. New roads, parks, and an industrial zone will also be built, and major railway project is expected to greatly increase business activity in the city.
Climate
Dire Dawa has a borderline tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Aw'') just above a hot semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSh''). The mean annual temperature of Dire Dawa is about . The average maximum temperature of Dire Dawa is , while its average minimum temperature is about . The region has two rain seasons; that is, a small rain season from March to April, and a more pronounced rain season that extends from July to August. The aggregate average annual rainfall that the region gets from these two seasons is about .
Demographics
The projected population for 1 July 2015 was 440,000 for the entire chartered city and 277,000 for the city proper, making the latter the seventh largest city in Ethiopia.
Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...
of Ethiopia (CSA), Dire Dawa had a population of 341,834, of whom 171,461 were men and 170,461 women. 233,224 or 68.23% of the population were urban inhabitants. For all of Dire Dawa, 76,815 households were counted living in 72,937 housing units, which resulted in an average of 4.5 persons per household, with urban households having 4.2 people per household on average, and rural households 4.9 people. Ethnic groups in the region include the Oromo (156,958, 46%), Somali (83,069, 24%), Amhara (108,962, 20%), Gurage
The Gurage (, Gurage: ጉራጌ) are a Semitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting Ethiopia.G. W. E. Huntingford, "William A. Shack: The Gurage: a people of the ensete culture" They inhabit the Gurage Zone, a fertile, semi-mountainous region in ce ...
(15,543, 4.5%), among other groups (5.5%). The religion with the most believers in Dire Dawa is Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
with 50.9%, 45.6% are Ethiopian Orthodox
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
, 2.8% Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, and 0.4% Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Traditionally the Nole Oromo clan used the area as grazing land, and farming in the Laga Harre district. They live alongside the Gurgura
The Gurgure, Gorgorah or Gurgura ( so, Gurgure, om, Gurgura, ar, غرغرة) is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
Distribution
The Gurgure are the majority in the Erer district in the Sitti Zone and Dire Dawa. ...
clan which share both Oromo and Somali identities, speaking the Oromo language and tracing their genealogy to the Dir, a Somali clan family.[ The Issa subclan of the Dir make up a significant number of urban and rural Dire Dawa, whereas a sizeable portion of the ]Gadabuursi
The Gadabuursi ( Somali: ''Gadabuursi'', Arabic: جادابورسي), also known as ''Samaroon'' (Arabic: ''قبيلة سَمَرُون)'', is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Dir clan family.
The Gadabuursi are geographically s ...
subclan of the Dir mainly reside in the rural areas to the east of the chartered city state.
I.M. Lewis (1998) states:
"Including the land round Harar and Dire Dawa inhabited by the Somalis of the 'Iise and Gadabuursi clans."
According to the CSA, , 90.76% of the population had safe drinking water: 69.61% of rural and 99.48% of urban inhabitants having access. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living
Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
for Dire Dawa include the following: 11.4% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 76.6% and for women 53%; and the civic infant mortality rate
Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...
is 71 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is less than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life.
Transportation
Dire Dawa is served by a station on the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway
The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway (; , , ) is a new standard gauge international railway that serves as the backbone of the new Ethiopian National Railway Network. The railway was inaugurated by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on January ...
, which is located 10 km northwest of the city centre close to the town of Melka Jebdu. In addition, the city is served by the Ethio-Djibouti Railways
The Ethio-Djibouti Railway (french: Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Éthiopien, C.D.E.; ) is a metre gauge railway in the Horn of Africa that once connected Addis Ababa to the port city of Djibouti. The operating company was also known as the Ethio-Dj ...
with its western terminus located in the city centre. The Dire Dawa Airport
Dire Dawa International Airport , is an international airport serving Dire Dawa, a city in eastern Ethiopia. It is located northwest of the city centre.
Facilities
The airport is located at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one ru ...
offers flights to and from the city. Additionally, the Selam Bus Line Share Company provides inter-city bus service.
Education
The Dire Dawa University
Dire Dawa University is a public university located in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. It opened for the 2006–07 academic year with 754 students, as one of 13 new universities started by the Ministry of Higher Education, Federal Democratic Republic o ...
was founded in 2006.
Places of worship
Among the places of worship
A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
, there are predominantly Muslim mosques. There are also a few churches, Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches and temples : Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
, Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY; also called Mekane Yesus Church) is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest individual member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some ...
(Lutheran World Federation
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF; german: Lutherischer Weltbund) is a global communion of national and regional Lutheran denominations headquartered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The federation was founded in the Swedish ...
), Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church
The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church ( "The Ethiopian Word of Life Church") is an evangelical denomination, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
History
The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church was founded in 1927 in southern Ethiopia by the evangelical ...
, Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Abeba
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
(Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
), Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church
The Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in Ethiopia. The headquarters is in Addis Ababa.
History
The Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers' Church has its origins in a prayer conference held at the Universi ...
.
In literature
Dire Dawa was the inspiration for the fictional town "Debra Dowa", capital of the fictional East African nation "Azania" in the "outrageously un-politically correct tale""Good Reads"
/ref> ''Black Mischief
''Black Mischief'' was Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous ...
'' by the English author, Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
.
Chairmen of the Administrative Council
* Abebe Eshete: 1981 – 1991
* Habtamu Assefa Wakjira: 1991 – 1993[Worldstatesman.org](_blank)
/ref>
* Ismail Aw Aden: 1993 – 1995
* Solomon Hailu: 1995 – 2003
* Fisseha Zerihun: 2003 – 2006
* Abdulaziz Mohammed: 7 August 2006 – 2008
* Adem Farah: June 2008 – 2010
* Asad Ziad: June 2010 – 2015
* Ibrahim Uthman: June 2015 – 2021
* Kedir Juhar: 29 September 2021 –present
Notable people
* Ali Birra
Ali Mohammed Musa (29 September 1950 – 6 November 2022), known professionally as Ali Birra, was an Ethiopian singer. He was regarded as the most popular Oromo icon, as well as an influential artist in the other regions and urban areas of Ethi ...
* Ato Hussein Ismail
Hussein Ismail or Husein ismail ( so, Xuseen Ismaaciil, ar, حسين إسماعيل, ) also known as Ato Hussein Ismail was a Somali Ethiopian politician who held several spots in the Ethiopian government. He is the first Somali to be promote ...
* Luciano Violante
Luciano Violante (born 25 September 1941) is an Italian judge and politician, Member of Parliament from 1979 to 2008. He is particularly interested in questions of justice, the struggle against the Mafia and institutional reform.
Biography
Viola ...
* Ismail Omar Guelleh
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
* Abdul Majid Hussein
Dr Abdul Majid Hussein ( so, Cabdulmajiid Xuseen; ar, عبد المجيد حسين; ) born 1944), also called የማሰብ ችሎታ ያለው አንበሳ (The Intelligent Lion), is an Ethiopian politician, who was the Permanent Representative o ...
See also
* Railway stations in Ethiopia
Current railway stations in Ethiopia are served by standard gauge railways of the National Railway Network of Ethiopia which is mostly under construction, except the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway. Other stations were built for the in 2018 stil ...
* Cement in Africa
Countries
Angola
* Lobitoo - proposal 2006
* Nova Cimangola - state-owned cement company based in Luanda, associated with Scancem and Heidelberg Cement
Benin
* Onigbolo, Porto-Novo
Burundi
* Bugarama
* Burundi Cement Company - (BUCEC ...
References
* Bekele, Shiferaw (1989). Aspects of the History of Dire Dawa (1902-1936)
* Imbert-Vier, S. (2011). Tracer des frontières à Djibouti: Des territoires et des hommes aux XIXe et XXe siècles; p. 116
* Pankhurst, R. (2010). Who were the 'Young Ethiopians' (or Young Abyssinians): An historical inquiry. Education Issue, Vol. 2, no.2, p: 129
External links
*
{{Authority control
City-states
Regions of Ethiopia
Cities and towns in Ethiopia