Ābīy Ādī, Ethiopia

History

Abiy Addi owed its importance in the 19th century due to its location on the "King's Road", at the point where the road south from Adwa split, one branch taking travellers to Debre Tabor and the other to the Lake Ashenge region. The British explorer Charles Beke passed through this town (which he called "A'biyad") 15 April 1843, and described it later as "the principal place of Tembien, and a large market-town." However, in later years the fortunes of the town varied. By 1890, visitors described Abiy Addi as a small market town which handled various imported goods, such as mirrors made in France, cotton cloth from Manchester and Mumbai, as well as the usual local produce. Writing a few years later, Augustus B. Wylde described the Abiy Addi market, held on Saturdays, as of medium size.

On 5 December 1935, during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, Abiy Addi was occupied by the Italian Eritrean Corps. the town was evacuated later that month. Then, after having been headquarters of Ras Kassa Haile Darge and Ras Seyoum Mengesha, it was definitely reoccupied by the Italians on 28 February 1936. A rock-hewn church served as the shelter of Ras Kassa.

In 1938, there were shops and restaurants in Abiy Addi, a telephone and telegraph office, a health post and a school. There was also an important market. At May Lomin, there were gardens with bananas, coffee and lemons.

From the History section of Abiy Addi on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.