Adama, Oromia Region, Ethiopia

🇪🇹 Adama (Adaamaa or Hadaamaa, አዳማ), formerly Nazreth (ናዝሬት), is a city in the central Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone 99 km (62 mi) south-east of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.

Overview Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects Addis Ababa with Dire Dawa. A large number of trucks use this same route to travel to and from the seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway runs through Adama.

Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU) (formerly Nazareth Technique College) is located in Adama. Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.

History The city name Adama may have been derived from the Oromo word adaamii, which means a cactus or a cactus-like tree. More specifically, adaamii means Euphorbia candelabrum, a tree of the spurge family, while hadaamii would mean Indian fig. Following World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie renamed the town after Biblical Nazareth, and this name was used for the remainder of the twentieth century. In 2000, the city officially reverted to its original Oromo name, Adama, though Nazareth is still widely used.

In 2000, the government moved the regional capital of Oromia from Addis Ababa to Adama, sparking considerable controversy. Critics of the move believed that the Ethiopian government wished to deemphasize Addis Ababa's location within Oromia. On the other hand, the government maintained that Addis Ababa "has been found inconvenient from the point of view of developing the language, culture and history of the Oromo people".

On 10 June 2005, the Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO), part of the ruling EPRDF coalition, officially announced plans to move the regional capital back to Addis Ababa.

Transport Adama is a busy transportation center. The city is situated along the road that connects Addis Ababa with Dire Dawa. A large number of trucks use this same route to travel to and from the seaports of Djibouti and Asseb (though the latter is not currently used by Ethiopia, following the Eritrean-Ethiopian War). Additionally, the new Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway runs through Adama.

Education The Adama University was founded in 1993.

Places of worship Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples (Oriental Orthodox: Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Protestant: Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, Evangelical Christian: Kale Heywet Word of Life Church, Full Gospel Believers Church, Catholic: Ethiopian Catholic Archeparchy of Addis Abeba). There are also Muslim mosques.

Sport Adama Stadium is the home of Adama City FC, a member of the Ethiopian Football Federation league.