![]() ![]() He was a hero soldier of Emperor Yohannes IV. The several small towns which cluster together in a direction bearing north of the crest of the Abyssinian plateau, and towards Samhara, are visited by caravans on their way to Tsulla (Zoula) and Massowah.Īlula Aba Nega is well known (during the Yohannes Period) for his battles against Italy, the Ottoman Turks, Egypt and the Battle of Adwa (during the Menilik Period). King John of Ethiopia built for himself the new military capital of Makale on a high rock which commands the country of the Danakili. Nega was his favorite horse, following the custom of using "Abba" plus attaching the horse's name to that of a well-known warrior's first name. The airport is named after Alula Aba Nega who was born in Menewe (Tembien). When the airport first opened, it had one unpaved runway 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) long, with 21 flights to Addis Ababa, 4 to Shire and 2 to Humera. This airport was built in the late 1990s to replace an older one located 7 km (4 miles) from Mekele. This airport is built at the heart of Tigray region, due south east of Mekele city at a distance of 10 Km. No military aircraft are based at the Alula Aba Nega International Airport, which is used for forward deployments. There are 500 Bajaj and 375 mini bus taxis and 750 horse- drawn carts for giving intra-urban transport service. There is air flight service to and from Addis Ababa. ![]() The town has a bus station, freight terminal as well as an airport. There is daily inter-urban transport service to and from Addis Ababa and other seven major towns. The town has open ditches and closed pipes to discharge storm water. The main water supply source of the town is potable underground water and distributed through piped network and 94 public taps. ![]() The town gets 24 hours electric supply from the national grid, mobile and fixed telephone lines, and has internet services, and a postal service having 2250 boxes. The distribution of roads as per the type of construction materials shows that 190.85 km are gravel, 55.3 km asphalt, and 60.6 km cobblestone roads. The town has five inlet/outlet roads connecting it to different weredas in the zone, surrounding zones, towns in the region and Addis Ababa. The town gets grain products, livestock supply, natural resources (fuel wood, charcoal) and surplus labor from surrounding areas agricultural inputs as well as manufacturing and commercial products and some construction materials from Addis Ababa while the city serves as market center for surrounding areas. Mekele has economic linkages with the surrounding areas, towns in the region and Addis Ababa. The major investment opportunities in the town are: manufacturing industry, agro processing industry of honey, social services, hotel and tourism development. The average annual revenue of the municipality within the 2009-2011 period was 68,265,377.00 Birr and the major sources of revenue were taxes, rent and service charges. There are 512 manufacturing industries, 280 wholesale trades, 7887 retail trades, five fuel stations, nine banks and four branch micro financial institution in the town. The town serves as regional administration, trade, education and investment center. The prevailing wind direction is east to west and the principal natural constraints for the physical expansion of the town are the sloppy areas found in the north and east directions. Its altitude is 2150-2500m above sea level its mean annual temperature is 11.1-24✬ and mean annual rainfall is 671 mm. The area of Mekele city is 20,605.11 ha and it is oval shaped town. Average household size in the town is 3.3. The town has a structural plan which was prepared in 2007.Īccording to the Central Statistical Authority projection of 2011, the population of the town was 261,168. Mekele is one of the reform towns in the region and has a city administration, municipality, 7 sub-cities, 33 kebelles and 105 Ketenas. Its location is 13✣2’’North latitude and 39✢8’ East longitude. Mekele town is located in the northern part of Ethiopia in Tigray National Regional State, Mekele Zone at a distance of 783 km from Addis Ababa. It is the capital of the Tigray region and has a population of 200,000. Mekele, also spelled Makalle, is in the Tigrayan Highlands in Ethiopia. ![]()
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