Bahir Dar

Church in Bahir Dar

Murals in a Bahir Dar church

Bahir Dar is a city in north western Ethiopia, and the capital of the Amhara Administrative Region (kilil).

Administratively, Bahir Dar is considered a Special Zone, placing it midway between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa which are organized as chartered cities (astedader akabibi, equivalent to a kilil), and cities like Mek'ele and Dessie, which are organized as woredas.

Contents

1 Geography, transportation
2 Demographics
3 People and Culture
4 History
5
6 Notes
7 References

Geography, transportation

Bahir Dar is situated on the southern shore of Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile (or Abay), in what was previously the Gojjam province. The city is located approximately 310 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa, having a latitude and longitude of [11°36′N 37°23′E] and an elevation of 1700m above sea level.

The city is equipped with an airport with paved runways, identified by the ICAO code HABD and IATA BJR; Ethiopian Airlines operates scheduled flights between Bahir Dar and the capital as well as with Gondar to the northwest. The city is also connected through roads (and buslines) to these cities.

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this city has an estimated total population of 167,261, of whom 86,355 were males and 80,906 were females. With an estimated area of 28 square kilometers, Bahir Dar has an estimated population density of 5,973.60 people per square kilometer.[CSA 2005 National Statistics], Tables B.3 and B.4. According to the 1994 census, the latest official population count, its population was 96,140.

People and Culture

Bahir Dar is an important starting points for tours of the Blue Nile Falls

The city offers a small daily market and a very extensive weekly market. There are some music clubs in the city. The Blue Nile Falls (Tis Abay) are located about 30 km to the south.

History

Bahir Dar grew around a Jesuit settlement, founded in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, from which time the Pedro Páez building dates. One of Emperor Haile Selassie's palaces is located near the city, and the Emperor considered moving the national capital to the town.

As part of Operation Tewodros near the end of the Ethiopian Civil War, Bahir Dar was catured by the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front in March 1991.

Cleveland, USA (since 2004)

Notes

References

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[Special]

Briggs, Philip. Guide to Ethiopia. Old Saybrook, CT: Globe Pequot Press, 1995. ISBN 1-56440-814-0

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