Mendefera, (
Tigrinya
(; also spelled Tigrigna) is an Ethio-Semitic language commonly spoken Eritrea and in northern Ethiopia's Tigray Region by the Tigrinya and Tigrayan peoples. It is also spoken by the global diaspora of these regions.
History and literatur ...
: መንደፈራ) formerly Adi Ugri, is an ancient town which is now the capital city of the
Southern Region or
Zoba Debub 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 ...
.
[ One World-Nations Online, All countries of the world, Map of Eritrea] The town's name derives from the high hill in the center of the city and it means that "who dared it" (in English) or "መን ደፈራ"( in Tigrinya) as it was a jungle and is a source of pride to Eritreans. The city is a reminder of the local anti-colonial movement.
History
Mendefera/Adi-ugri is an ancient town of the
D'mt kingdom which was established as early as the fifth (5th) century
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
.
[ Dr.Federica,Crivellellero. " Archeologists in Eritrea target unfunded ' rescue excavations, Sudan Tribun Dec 5,2004] It evolved into an important city in the
Aksumite
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wh ...
civilisation. Though satisfactory excavations have not yet been made, a graveyard dating back to the 2nd century BCE has been found. It contained skeletons, pottery, necklace and bronze bracelets. Numerous buildings have been excavated since 1959, with both
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
es and local and
Roman coin
Roman currency for most of Roman history consisted of gold, silver, bronze, orichalcum and copper coinage. From its introduction to the Republic, during the third century BC, well into Imperial times, Roman currency saw many changes in form, denom ...
s found. Many areas, including
tomb
A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...
s, have yet to be explored.
The town is now bustling market town in a fertile region of Eritrea. It is a place where small and large scale factories produce different products.
Mendefera is famous for its anticolonial movement during the Italian colonial administration and is a great fighter contributor of the
Eritrean Libration Front (ELF) as it is home to one of the old schools in Eritrea,
San Giorgio School.
Adi shiqano
Some villages in the vicinity of Mendefera include
Adi-Bari(ዓዲ ባሪ),
Zban ona(ዝባንዑና),
Adi-ugri(ዓዲ ወግሪ),
Berak(በራኽ),
Adi-Gahad(ዓዲ ጋህድ),
Dandere genet(ዳንዴረ ገነት),
Adi-Zarna(ዓዲ ዛርና),
Adi-Blay(ዓዲ ብላይ),
Adi-Hare(ዓዲ ሓረ),
Enda amanuel
Enda is an Irish given name. Though predominantly a male name, it can refer to a man or a woman.
It may refer to:
* Enda of Aran (died c. 530), Irish saint
* Enda Barrett (born 1987), Irish hurler
* Enda Bonner (born 1949), Irish politician
* ...
(አንዳ ኣማኑኤል),
Mai Noh(ማይኖህ),
Embezarb(እምበዛርብ),
kudofelasi(ኩዶፈላሲ),
Adi-Ada
Adi-Ada/: ትግርኛ/ዓዲ ዓዳ is a village of the former historical province of Seraye, which is located 7 km southeast to the city of Mendefera in present Southern Region of the state of Eritrea. The village has an age of at least 500 y ...
(ዓዲ ዓዳ),
Deranto(ደርዓንቶ),
Adi Bana(ዓዲ ባና),
Adi Garma(ዓዲ ጋርማ),
Adekemene(ዓደቀመነ),
May Lbus(ማይልቡስ),
Adi Groto(ዓዲ ጉረቶ),
Kloawlia(ክለዉሊዕ),
Ginebale(ጊነባለ),
Adekeseyemti(ዓደቀሰየምቲ),
Kefta(ከፍታ),
Adewehaza(ዓደዉሓዛ),
Egri mekel(እግሪመኸል)
Adi-Mongotiy(ዓዲ ሞንጎቲ),
Arato, Eritrea(አረቶ).
[ Emnetu Eritrea, List of Eritrean Villages, Seraye-Mendefera p18].
Climate
Mendefera has a borderline climate that borders both on a
cool semi-arid climate (''BSk'') and a
subtropical highland climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cwb''). Except during the humid wet season of July and August when heavy cloud cover depresses temperatures by around , daytime temperatures are very warm to hot; however, the thin, dry air means that mornings are pleasantly cool throughout the year.
See also
*
Mendefera District
References
Mendefera
Aksumite cities
Southern Region (Eritrea)
Regional capitals in Eritrea
Populated places in Eritrea
{{Eritrea-geo-stub