Wea or Wêa (, ) is a town in the

Arta Region Arta Region (, ) is one of the six regions of Djibouti. It was officially created in 2003 by the regrouping of sub-prefectures of the regions of Dikhil and Djibouti. It is situated in the south-central of the country, bordering the Tadjoura Regio ...

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

. It is located on the RN-1 National Highway, which connects it to

Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the capital city of the Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura. Djibouti has a population of around 780,000 ...

, located some to the east. Wea is the second largest city in the Arta Region after Arta and before Damerjog. It is the primary transportation hub in western Djibouti via highway. The town is situated in a small valley.

History

Wea's place-name literally means "turn" in the

Afro-Asiatic The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of th ...

Somali language Somali is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Somalis, Somali people, native to Greater Somalia. It is an official language in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethio ...

. It later formed a part of the

French Somaliland French Somaliland (; ; ) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti is its legal successor state. History French Somalil ...

protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.

Overview

Wea lies on the RN-1 National Highway. Weʽa is 36 kilometres (22 mi) west of

, 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of

Omar Jagaa Omar Jagaa () is a town in the Arta Region of Djibouti. It is located on the RN-1 National Highway, which connects it to Djibouti City Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the capital city of the Djibouti, ...

, 63 kilometres (39 mi) northeast of Mouloud, and 59 kilometres (36 mi) south of

Ali Sabieh Ali Sabieh (, ) is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about Southwest of Djibouti City and north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all sides. Ali Sabieh's mild climate m ...

. Public buses go from

to Wea, taking about half an hour to get to the town. The ride itself costs around 350

Djiboutian franc The Djiboutian franc (, , , ) is the currency of Djibouti. Its ISO 4217 currency code is ''DJF''. Historically, it was subdivided into 100 ''centimes''. History From 1884, when the French Somaliland protectorate was established, the French fr ...

. Arta is situated just up the mountain around 3 kilometres (2 miles) to the north. Additionally, Wea serves as a commercial transit point for goods from

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. Ethiopian trucks and traders frequently pass through the town.

Geography

The town stands at an elevation of around 455 meters (1,493 ft) above sea level, in a narrow valley running roughly east–west in the Mountains of Arta, a major wadi which run beside it. The outskirts of the town have served as a local agricultural center.

Climate

Wea has a

hot arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWh'') by the Köppen-Geiger system. The weather is sweltering during summer and very warm during

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

. The warmest month of the year is June with an average temperature of . In January, the average temperature is . It is the lowest average temperature of the whole year and the driest month is June with . Most precipitation falls in November, with an average of .

Demographics

As of the 2024 census, the population of Wea was at 3,879. The town inhabitants belong to various mainly

-speaking ethnic groups, with the Issa Somali predominant.

Sister towns

Notes

References

Wê‘a

External links

Geographic Names
{{DEFAULTSORT:We'A Arta Region Populated places in Djibouti