Menachek

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Coordinates: 13°35′N 39°5′E / 13.583°N 39.083°E / 13.583; 39.083
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Menachek
UTC+3 (EAT
)

Menachek is a tabia or municipality in the

Dogu'a Tembien
district.

Geography

The tabia occupies the flanks of the valley of the Tsech'i River that drains Dogu'a Tembien to the west. The highest peak is near Welekhlekha (almost 2700 m a.s.l.) and the lowest place in the lower Tsech'i gorge (1920 m a.s.l.).

Geology

From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:[1]

Geomorphology and soils

The main

geomorphic units, with corresponding soil types are:[2]
See also: Soil in Dogu'a Tembien

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 xxx 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.[3]

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:[4]

  • May Gfay
  • May Tsechi
  • Gigbana

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.

  • Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
  • Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns[5]

Settlements

The tabia centre Addi Bayro holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops.[4] There are a few more primary schools across the tabia. The main other populated places are:[6]

  • Welekhlekha
  • Tsech'i
  • Gulha

Agriculture and livelihood

The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns. The land is dominated by

agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system.[7] The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall.[8] An elongated rugged landscape extends to the west of the tabia, which is used for transhumance
.

History and culture

Caves and archaeological sites

The Danei Kawlos cave in the Tsech'i gorge at the west of Menachek at an elevation of about 2020 metres, is some 13.5 metres long (13°37′19″N 39°01′59″E / 13.621862°N 39.033077°E / 13.621862; 39.033077). It contains lithic tools, potsherds, and faunal remains of Pastoral Neolithic age.[9] Further down, the May Ila open-air site in the Tsech'i gorge at the extreme west of Menachek at a height of about 1990 metres (13°36′35″N 39°01′42″E / 13.609826°N 39.028260°E / 13.609826; 39.028260) contains blades, blade cores, and a few potsherds of Pastoral Neolithic age.[9]

History

The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the

history of Tembien
.

Religion and churches

Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The Gulha Maryam church with its large forest is located in the tabia.

Inda Siwa, the local beer houses

In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa).

Roads and communication

The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs 2 to 5 km south and east of the tabia. There are regular bus services to these towns. Further, a rural access road links Addi Bayro and Welekhlekha to the main asphalt road.

Tourism

Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle makes the tabia fit for tourism.[10] The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invites for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".[11] Trekking routes 7 and 19 pass along the southern ridge in this tabia.

Debre Sema'it
rock church. Facilities in Menachek are very basic.[14]

See also

  • Dogu'a Tembien
    district.

References

  1. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6
    .
  2. PMID 31639144
    .
  3. S2CID 199105560
    .
  4. ^ a b 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)
  5. ^ Developers and farmers intertwining interventions: the case of rainwater harvesting and food-for-work in Degua Temben, Tigray, Ethiopia
  6. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6
    .
  7. S2CID 128492271
    .
  8. S2CID 95207289
    .
  9. ^ a b Agazi Negash. (2001). The Holocene Pre-Historic Archaeology of the Temben Region of Northern Ethiopia (PhD dissertation). University of Florida.
  10. ISBN 978-3-030-04954-6
    .
  11. S2CID 199095921
    .
  12. S2CID 199271514
    .
  13. ^ "Public GPS Traces tagged with nyssen-jacob-frankl".
  14. S2CID 199198251
    .
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