'Addis Alem' (; also known as 'Ejerie') is a town in
Ethiopia. Located in the
Mirab Shewa Zone of the
Oromia Region, west of
Addis Ababa, this town has a longitude and latitude of .
Based on figures from the
Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this town has an estimated total population of 13,423, of whom 6,420 were males and 7,003 were females.
[1] According to the 1994 national census, the town had a population of 7,500.
Addis Alem is known for the
Basilica Church of St Maryam. Its adjacent
museum burned to the ground in
1997; however a new one has since opened.
[2]
Addis Alem was founded in the
nineteenth century by
Menelik II as a new
capital city; however in the end, he decided to keep the capital at Addis Ababa. The first paved road in Ethiopia was constructed between Addis Alem and the capital, the work beginning in
1903, and reported in quite usable condition the next year.
[3]
Notes
1. CSA 2005 National Statistics, Table B.4
2. Matt Philips and Jean-Bernard Carillet, ''Ethiopia and Eritrea'', third edition (n.p.: Lonely Planet, 2006), p. 237
3. Richard Pankhurst, ''Economic History of Ethiopia (1800 - 1935)'' (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University Press, 1968), pp. 288f.