Debre Zeyit is a town of Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, lying south east of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

. Since the late 1990s it has been officially known by the Oromo

Oromo language

Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...

 name, Bishoftu, which was its name until 1955. The town is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa is one of the 12 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. Misraq Shewa is located in the middle of Oromia, connecting the western regions to the eastern ones...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, and has a latitude and longitude of 8°45′N 38°59′E with an elevation of 1920 metres (6,299.2 ft). It is the administrative center of Ada'a Chukala

Ada'a Chukala

Ada'a Chukala is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Ada'a Chukala is bordered on the south by Dugda Bora, on the west by the Mirab Shewa Zone, on the northwest by Akaki, on the northeast by Gimbichu, and on...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.

Overview

Nearby points of interest include Mount Yerer, Green Crater Lake and Lake Hora Kiloli.

It is a resort town

Resort town

A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...

, known for five crater lake

Crater lake

A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...

s: Lake Bishoftu, Lake Hora (a base for watersports, many water bird

Water bird

The term water bird or waterbird is used to refer to birds that live on or around water. Some definitions apply the term especially to birds in freshwater habitats, though others make no distinction from birds that inhabit marine environments. In addition, some water birds are more terrestrial or...

s and an annual festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

), Lake Bishoftu Guda, Lake Koriftu and the seasonal Lake Cheleklaka. Debre Zeyit is also home to the Ethiopian Air Force

Ethiopian Air Force

The Ethiopian Air Force is the air arm of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and is tasked with protecting the air space, providing support to the ground forces as well as assisting during national emergencies.- Early years :...

 and the Harar Meda Airport

Harar Meda Airport

Harar Meda International Airport is an airport in Debre Zeyit, Ethiopia.In 2005, the airport served 101,839 passengers ....

 (ICAO HAHM, IATA QHR), as well as a station on the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway

Ethio-Djibouti Railways

The Ethio-Djibouti Railways, also Ethio-Djibouti Railway Enterprise, is the successor of the Imperial Railway Company of Ethiopia and jointly owned by the governments of Ethiopia and Djibouti. It was formed after Djibouti gained independence in 1977 and received the French shares of the Imperial...

. It has had telephone service since 1954. The Gafat Armament Engineering Complex

Gafat Armament Engineering Complex

Gafat Armament Engineering Complex is one of the military production facilities of the Ethiopian Defense Industry. With its headquarters in Debre Zeyit, it specializes in producing wide range of infantry equipment that meet the requirement of the Ethiopian National Defense Force.-History:It was...

 is located here. According to the Nordic Africa Institute website, other major businesses in Debre Zeyit include the Ada Flour and Pasta Factory, the Pasqua Giuseppe PLC, the Salmida Leather Products Manufacturing, Ratson (Women Youth Children Development Programme), and Winrock International Ethiopia. The Debre Zeyt Research Center, founded in 1953, is run by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

The Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute has evolved through several stages since its first initiation during the late 1940s, following the establishment of agricultural and technical school of Ambo and Jimma...

, specializing in agricultural research

Agriculture in Ethiopia

Agriculture in Ethiopia is the foundation of the country's economy, accounting for half of gross domestic product , 83.9% of exports, and 80% of total employment....

, which includes acting as the national center for research to improve the yield of teff

Teff

Eragrostis tef, known as teff, taf , or khak shir , is an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa....

, lentil

Lentil

The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...

s, chickpea

Chickpea

The chickpea is a legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae...

s, and poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

. In 2007 Debre Zeyit became the new home of Meserete Kristos College, a Christian college owned by the Meserete Kristos Church

Meserete Kristos Church

Meserete Kristos Church , meaning "Christ is the foundation Church" is an Ethiopian Anabaptist church with 205,508 baptized members and a worship community of over 389,482 persons as of August 2009. The church has over 591 congregations and 863 church planting centers scattered in all 18...

.

History

Debre Zeyit, as a definite entity, did not come into existence until after the Second World War. Accounts of earlier travelers call the region "Adda", although one Swedish memoir from 1935 mentions a village named "Bishoftu"; the future minister Makonnen Habte-Wold was born in this village. At about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) from Adda, on land that had been owned partly by Emperor Haile Selassie I, the Italians started Azienda Agraria di Biscioftu dell'Opera Nazionale per i Combattenti on 15,000 hectares, intending to create a center of colonization as well as an experimental agricultural station. The first foundation stone for the houses was laid 9 December 1937, but only 21 dwellings were ready by May 1938. Various administrative and service buildings were also built.

The history of the Ethiopian airforce is tightly woven with the history of Debre Zeyit. In 1946, the beginnings of what would become the Ethiopian Air Force

Ethiopian Air Force

The Ethiopian Air Force is the air arm of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and is tasked with protecting the air space, providing support to the ground forces as well as assisting during national emergencies.- Early years :...

 was moved from the Bole airport

Bole International Airport

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport serves the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The airport is located in the Bole area, south east of Addis Ababa City Centre and north of Debre Zeyit...

 in Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, which was needed by Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines

Ethiopian Airlines , formerly Ethiopian Air Lines, often referred to as simply Ethiopian, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It serves as the country's flag carrier, and is wholly owned by the Government of Ethiopia...

, to Bishoftu. The initial group of 19 Swedes

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 under Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen

Carl Gustaf von Rosen

Count Carl Gustaf Ericsson von Rosen was a Swedish pioneer aviator. He flew relief missions in a number of conflicts as well as combat missions for Finland and Biafran rebels...

, who were to train the pilots and support personal, arrived there after leaving Sweden between 9 January and 16 July 1946. Both Ethiopian cadets and the Swedish instructors took part in constructing the first buildings on the base. Six Saab 91 Safir

Saab 91 Safir

|-See also:-References:*Smith, Maurice A. . Flight, 23 October 1947, pp. 459–462.-External links:* * * *...

 training airplanes were bought in Sweden and flown to the new airbase 24 December 1946, and on 10 November 1947 a fleet of 16 Saab-built B-17s were landed at Bishoftu by Swedish pilots.

Debre Zeyit Technical High School was established in 1958 with a 5-year course for boys 12-15 years of age. An Evangelical College had been founded two years before, which was a joint undertaking of Swedish, Norwegian, and German Evangelical missions. The Evangelical College's first headmaster was Sven Rubenson. The Animal Health Assistants Training School was established in Debre Zeyit in 1963, with financial support by the United Nations Special Fund.

The artist Lemma Tesefa Kesime was born (1956) in Debre Zeyit. He studied at the Art School 1972-1974 and received his M.A. from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 in 1983. Returning to Ethiopia, Lemma Tesefa became a teacher at the art school in Addis Ababa. Debre Zeyit was also the favored weekend retreat of Emperor Haile Selassie, who built a palace in the town, named "Fairfield" after his wartime home in exile in the town of Bath, England.

Armed forces of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front is the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. It is an alliance of four other groups: the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization , the Amhara National Democratic Movement , the South Ethiopian Peoples' Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's...

 bypassed the capital and occupied Debre Zeyit in May, 1991, bringing order to the area after the collapse of the Mengistu

Mengistu Haile Mariam

Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...

 government, taking control of what remained of the Soviet-supplied Air Force. The airbase was also used to detain several dozen senior military officers after the capture of the capital.

A bomb exploded in the town at the beginning of May 2004. It killed one person while injuring many more.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency 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, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

 in 2005, Debre Zeyit has an estimated total population of 131,159, of whom 64,642 are men and 66,517 women.

The 1994 census reported Debre Zeyit had a total population of 73,372 of whom 35,058 were men and 38,314 were women. The three largest ethnic groups reported for this town were the Amhara

Amhara people

Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...

 (42.86%), the Oromo

Oromo people

The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...

 (39.4%), and the Gurage

Gurage

Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. According to the 2007 national census, its population is 1,867,377 people , of whom 792,659 are urban dwellers. This is 2.53% of the total population of Ethiopia, or 7.52% of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region...

 (8.3%); all other ethnic groups made up 9.44% of the population. Amharic

Amharic language

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...

 is spoken as a first language by 71.95%, and 20.12% spoke Oromiffa

Oromo language

Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa, Afan Boran, Afan Orma, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names , is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and...

; the remaining 7.93% spoke all other primary languages reported. Concerning religious beliefs, 87.87% of the population said they practiced Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 6.93% were Protestants

P'ent'ay

P'ent'ay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches...

, and 4.02% observed Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholicism in Ethiopia

The Catholic Church in Ethiopia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.The Ethiopian Catholic Church, the primary organization of Catholicism in the country, is especially close to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, whose doctrine and...

.

External links

• Official website
• Cities of Ethiopia: Debre Zeyit by John Taylor (Addis Tribune, 2 November 2001)