Mahbere Sillasie
Mahbere Sillasie | |
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Municipality | |
UTC+3 (EAT ) |
Mahbere Sillasie is a tabia or municipality in the
Geography
The tabia stretches down from the ridge west of Hagere Selam, northbound towards Tsaliet river. The highest peak is just south of Guderbo (2730 m a.s.l.) and the lowest place deep in the Tsaliet gorge (1780 m a.s.l.).
Geology
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]
- Phonolite plugs
- Upper basalt
- Interbedded lacustrine deposits
- Lower basalt
- Amba Aradam Formation
- Antalo Limestone
- Adigrat Sandstone
Climate
The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August. Mean temperature in Guderbo is 17.4 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 9.6 °C and maximum of 24.8 °C. The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts.[2]
Springs
As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people. The main springs in the tabia are:[3]
- Addi Geza'iti
- May Zeleqo in Guderbo
- Addi Anefti in May Mereb
Reservoirs
In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season. Overall they suffer from siltation.[4] Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water.
- Chini (reservoir), near May Mereb, constructed in 1993
- Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
- Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns – they were particularly studied in Mahbere Sillasie[5]
Settlements
The tabia centre Guderbo holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops.[3] There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:[6]
- Addi Geza'iti
- Harehuwa
- Kurkura
- May Mereb
- Waseiya
- Addi Amyuq (half of the settlement, the other half belongs to Selam)
Vegetation and exclosures
The tabia holds several
Agriculture and livelihood
Crop farming
The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by
Schools
Almost all children of the tabia are schooled,[17] though in some schools there is lack of classrooms, directly related to the large intake in primary schools over the last decades.[18] Schools in the tabia include the Harehuwa school.
History and culture
History
The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the
Religion and churches
Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The following churches are located in the tabia:
- Addi Geza'iti Maryam
- Kurkura Mika'el
- Harehuwa Medhanie Alem
- May Mereb Sillasie
- Waseiya Maryam
- Kidane Mihret in the large "Awhi Dur" forest
Inda Siwa, the local beer houses
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, which are a good place for resting and chatting with the local people. Most renown in the tabia are[3]
- Kashi Araya Gebreyohannes at Guderbo
- Hndeya Girmay at May Mereb
Roads and communication
The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs southeast of the tabia. Further, rural access road link most villages to Guderbo and further to the main asphalt road.
Tourism
Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle makes the tabia fit for tourism.[19]
Tourist attractions
- The scenic views on Tsaliet gorge
- The TPLF caves, which hold also a set of tactical maps used during the Ethiopian Civil War[20]
- The church of Kurkura Mika'el, in a very scenic position in a small forest behind limestone pinnacles, is some 30 years old. Behind it is the remnant of the earlier church established in a natural cave of 20 metres by 20 metres. The roof of the cave is covered with sooth, evidencing the fact that the villagers took cover here, during the Italian bombardments of the Tembien battles in the mid-1930s.
- An open-air museum (under construction), half-way between Guderbo and Hagere Selam
- Awhi Dur, the largest forest of the woreda
Geotourism sites
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invites for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[21] Geosites in the tabia include:
- Phonolite plugs at Addi Amyuq
- Ch'ench'eroma terraced landscape
- Harehuwa forest and exclosure
- Tsaliet gorge
Birdwatching
- Harehuwa forest
- Awhi Dur forest
Trekking routes
Trekking routes have been established in this tabia.[23] The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files.[24]
- Trek 3, northbound and down across the tabia inside Tsaliet gorge, and then following the river to the rock churches in Addeha
- Trek 4, from Guderbo westbound down to the Dabba Selama monastery
- Trek 5, largely along the ridge on the southern edge of Mahbere Sillasie
Accommodation and facilities
The facilities are very basic.[25] One may be invited to spend the night in a rural homestead or ask permission to pitch a tent. Hotels are available in Hagere Selam and Mekelle.
See also
- Dogu'a Tembien
References
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- S2CID 199105560.
- ^ a b c What do we hear from the farmers in Dogu'a Tembien? [in Tigrinya]. Hagere Selam, Ethiopia. 2016. p. 100.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - S2CID 129834993.
- ^ Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia
- ^ ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- .
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- ^ Mastewal Yami, and colleagues (2007). "Impact of Area Enclosures on Density and Diversity of Large Wild Mammals: The Case of May Ba'ati, Douga Tembien Woreda, Central Tigray, Ethiopia". East African Journal of Sciences. 1: 1–14.
- S2CID 37489450.
- .
- .
- ^ Bedru Babulo, and colleagues (2006). "Economic valuation methods of forest rehabilitation in exclosures". Journal of the Drylands. 1: 165–170.
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- S2CID 128492271.
- S2CID 95207289.
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- ISBN 978-1-4614-2179-5, retrieved 2023-10-13
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- S2CID 199338121.
- S2CID 199095921.
- ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6.
- S2CID 199271514.
- ^ "Public GPS Traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl".
- S2CID 199198251.