Maychew, also Maichew ( ti, ማይጨው, "salt water"), is a town and
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
in the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...
of Ethiopia. It is located at 665 km north of
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
along
Ethiopian Highway 2
The A2 Highway is a trunk road in Ethiopia. It connects the capital Addis Ababa with Mekelle, as well as with Wukro, Adigrat, Axum, Shire and Humera. Ethiopian the A2 has a length of .
Route
Towns and cities along the A2 include, from nort ...
. According to Ethiopia’s agro-ecological setting, Maychew and its environs are classified under the Weinadega (semi-temperate zone). Maychew is located in the endoreic basin of the
Afar Triangle
The Afar Triangle (also called the Afar Depression) is a geological depression caused by the Afar Triple Junction, which is part of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. The region has disclosed fossil specimens of the very earliest hominins; t ...
. The streams near Maychew do not reach the ocean.
History
After his capture in 1921 by
Gugsa Araya Selassie
Gugsa Araya Selassie (1885 – 28 April 1932) was an army commander and a member of the royal family of the Ethiopian Empire.
Biography
''Leul'' Gugsa Araya Selassie was the legitimate son of ''Ras'' Araya Selassie Yohannes. Araya Selas ...
, the deposed
Lij Iyasu
''Lij'' Iyasu ( gez, ልጅ ኢያሱ; 4 February 1895 – 25 November 1935) was the designated Emperor of Ethiopia from 1913 to 1916. His baptismal name was Kifle Yaqob (ክፍለ ያዕቆብ ''kəflä y’aqob''). Ethiopian emperors traditio ...
was detained for two weeks at Maychew.
Near Maychew, on March 31, 1936, the
conclusive battle of the
Italian invasion of Ethiopia was fought. By means of more sophisticated and powerful weaponry and superior numbers, along with modern training, the Italians routed the Ethiopian forces, and six weeks later marched unopposed into the capital, Addis Ababa. The battle of Maychew was despairing for the emperor.
During the
Italian occupation, the inhabitants included about 500 local population and 22 Italians. Facilities included telephone service, an infirmary, a gas station, restaurant, and a Tuesday market.
["Local History of Ethiopia"](_blank)
The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 22 April 2022)
In the early years of the
Ethiopian Civil War
The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991.
The Derg overthrew ...
, the Derg required that all vehicles travelling north from Maychew be restricted to convoys. By 1980, convoys were deemed necessary to move even the 20 kilometers from Maychew to Mehoni. During the
1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...
, the commander of the First Division, Colonel Hailu Gebre Yohannis, ordered the theft of food stocks from the NGO
World Vision
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
in Maychew to feed his hungry troops. By 8 September 1989,
forces had captured Maychew and
Korem
Korem (Agewugna: ኮረ/ Sun) (alternative forms include Quoram, Kworam) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray, Ethiopia. Located on the eastern edge of the Ethiopian highlands in the Debubawi (Southern) Zone of the Tigray Region, this town ...
, and afterwards advanced along the main highway southwards.
[
Between February 1999 and April 2000, SUR Construction built a road segments connecting Maychew with ]Alamata
Alamata (Tigrinya: ኣላማጣ ) is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Debubawi (Southern) zone of Tigray it has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of above sea level and is located along Ethiopian Highway 2. ...
by way of Mehoni about 68 kilometers in length. A notable landmark in this town is the church Maychew Mikael Bete Kristiyan.
Demographics
The population comprises mainly Tigraians. Amharic is frequently used as trade language
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
. Tigraians are dominantly Orthodox Christians.
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growt ...
of Ethiopia (CSA), this town has a total population of 23,419, of whom 11,024 are men and 12,395 women. 95.28% of the population said they were Orthodox Christians, and 4.24% were Muslim.Census 2007 Tables: Tigray Region
, Tables 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4.
The 1994 census reported it had a total population of 19,757 of whom 8,894 were men and 10,863 were women.
References
{{Districts of the Tigray Region
Populated places in the Tigray Region