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 Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob, and Kunama people, Kunama people. Its ...
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, ...
along
Ethiopian Highway 2. 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 streams near Maychew do not reach the ocean.
History
After his capture in 1921 by
Gugsa Araya Selassie, 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, 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 wor ...
in Maychew to feed his hungry troops. By 8 September 1989,
forces had captured Maychew and
Korem, and afterwards advanced along the main highway southwards.
[
Between February 1999 and April 2000, ]SUR Construction
Sur or SUR or El Sur (Spanish "the South") may refer to:
Geography
* Sur or Shur (Bible), the wilderness of Sur/Shur from the Book of Exodus
* Sur (river), a river of Bavaria, Germany
* Súr, a village in Hungary
* Sur, a district of the city of ...
built a road segments connecting Maychew with Alamata by way of Mehoni
Endamekoni () (also transliterated as Enda Mohoni) is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or ''woredas'', in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debubawi Zone, Endamehoni is bordered on the south by Ofla, on the west by the Amhara Region, on t ...
about 68 kilometers in length. A notable landmark in this town is the church Maychew Mikael Bete Kristiyan
Maychew, also Maichew ( ti, ማይጨው, "salt water"), is a town and woreda in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located at 665 km north of Addis Ababa along Ethiopian Highway 2. According to Ethiopia’s agro-ecological setting, Maychew ...
.
Demographics
The population comprises mainly Tigraians. Amharic is frequently used as trade language. Tigraians are dominantly Orthodox Christians.
Based on the 2007 national census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency 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