Bishoftu

Coordinates: 8°45′N 38°59′E / 8.750°N 38.983°E / 8.750; 38.983
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bishoftu
ቢሾፍቱ
Debre Zeyit
ደብረ ዘይት
City
UTC+3 (EAT)
ClimateCwb

Bishoftu (

Amharic: ደብረ ዘይት, lit. 'Mount of Olives'). However, since the late 1990s, it has been officially known by the Oromo name, Bishoftu from bishaanooftuu (which translates to "watery"),[3][4] which was its name until 1955.[5] The town serves as the primary airbase of the Ethiopian Air Force
.

Bishoftu is located 47.9 kilometres (29.8 mi) southeast of Addis Ababa along its route 4 highway.[6] It is a resort town, known for its several lakes.

Geography

Lake Hora, one of five crater lakes in Bishoftu

The town is located within the Bishoftu volcanic field, an area of

IATA QHR), as well as a station on the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway
.

History

Bishoftu, as a definite entity, did not come into existence until after the

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.[5]

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

B-17s were landed at Bishoftu by Swedish pilots.[5]

Bishoftu has had telephone service since 1954.

Bishoftu 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 Bishoftu in 1963, with financial support by the United Nations Special Fund.[5]

The artist Lemma Tesefa Kesime was born (1956) in Bishoftu. He studied at the Art School 1972-1974 and received his M.A. from the Soviet Union in 1983. Returning to Ethiopia, Lemma Tesefa became a teacher at the art school in Addis Ababa.[5] Bishoftu 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 bypassed the capital and occupied Bishoftu in May, 1991, bringing order to the area after the collapse of the Mengistu 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.[8] On 2 October 2016 at Irreechaa celebration security forces fired tear gas at protesters forcing them to panic and as a result 52 people lost their lives after falling into ditches around Lake Hora. On 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed near the town of Bishoftu.[9]

Demographics

The 2007 national census reported a total population for Bishoftu of 99,928, of whom 47,860 were men and 52,068 were women. The majority of the inhabitants said they practiced

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 79.75% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 13.82% of the population were Protestant, and 4.98% of the population were Muslim.[10]

The 1994 census reported Bishoftu 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

Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, 6.93% were Protestants, and 4.02% were Muslim.[11]

Organisations

The city is home for the National Veterinary Institute of Ethiopia, established in 1963, the leading veterinary vaccine research and production center currently producing more than 20 livestock vaccines. Next door to the national veterinary institute is the school of veterinary medicine of Addis Ababa University. The Gafat Armament Engineering Complex is located here. According to the Nordic Africa Institute website, other major businesses in Bishoftu 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.[5] The Bishoftu Research Center, founded in 1953, is run by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, specializing in agricultural research, which includes acting as the national center for research to improve the yield of teff, lentils, chickpeas, and poultry.[12] In 2007 Bishoftu became the new home of Meserete Kristos College, a Christian college owned by the Meserete Kristos Church.

Notes

  1. ^ "Population and Housing Census 2007 – Oromia Statistical" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Service. 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Population Projection Towns as of July 2021" (PDF). Ethiopian Statistics Agency. 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ISBN 978-1-84162-284-2
    .
  4. ^ "Oromiya1". 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia. Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA). 2007. p. 22. Archived from the original on 2011-11-13. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Local History in Ethiopia" Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 7 December 2007)
  6. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  7. ^ "Bishoftu Volcanic Field". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  8. ISBN 0-312-22719-1
    .
  9. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines crash - latest updates". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
  10. ^ 2007 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region, Vol. 1 Archived November 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.1, 2.5, 3.4 (accessed 13 January 2012)
  11. ^ 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Oromia Region, Vol. 1, part 1 Archived November 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Tables 2.5, 2.14, 2.17, 2.21 (accessed 30 December 2008).
  12. ^ EARI list of research centers Archived 2009-04-23 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 30 April 2009)

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bishoftu.
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