Weather in Were Īlu
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About Were Īlu
Were Ilu (Amharic: ወረ ኢሉ; Oromo: Warra Illu) is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, this town has a latitude and longitude of 10°36′N 39°26′E. From the 1870s, Were Ilu had a Thursday market.
From the Wikipedia article Were Ilu (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
History
While still ruler of Shewa, Menelik II had a ketamma (or fortified camp) built at Were Ilu and Enewari in 1869 to guard his northern frontier and pacify the Wollo Oromo, who were his neighbors. In September of the following year, after Menelik had recaptured Maqdala, the Wollo chiefs came to Were Ilu at the Mesqel feast to make formal submission and take an oath of fealty to the king and to Mohammad Ali, whom Menelik had appointed governor of Wollo.
During the 1870s, Menelik resided at Were Ilu for extended periods. However, while the ruler of Shewa campaigned in Gojjam in early 1877, a rebellion caused by the intrigues of his consort Baffana led to Were Ilu being sacked and burned, and forced Menelik to return to Shewa. Emperor Yohannes IV met with Menelik twice at Were Ilu: the first time in 1878 to accept his fealty; and a second time in 1882 to discipline him for disturbing the peace of Yohannes' realm by fighting with Negus Tekle Haymanot the Battle of Embabo.
From the History section of Were Ilu on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Map of Were Īlu
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Getting there and nearby towns
Combolcha Airport (DSE) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 66 km away.
- Mehal Mēda 39 km southeast, about 39 min by car
- Kemisē 49 km east, about 49 min by car
- Harbu 53 km northeast, about 53 min by car
- Kara K’orē 58 km east, about 58 min by car
- Āt’aye 61 km southeast, about 1 h by car
- Dessie 64 km north, about 1 h by car
- Kombolcha 64 km northeast, about 1 h by car
- ‘Alem Ketema 72 km southwest, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Kobo 77 km southeast, about 1 h 15 min by car
- Robit 83 km southeast, about 1 h 30 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Local news
Headlines from INDB.
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Page built November 4, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.