![]() ![]() ![]() Three institutions still important for modern Mekelle were founded by Yohannes. Mekelle's position on the route to Shewa, the power base of Yohannes's main rival Menelik could have been another factor. ![]() He must have chosen the place for its strategic proximity both to rich agricultural areas (of Raya Azebo) and to the Afar salt country. The credit for Mekelle's growth into a regional capital goes to atse Yohannes IV who made Mekelle political capital of his expanding state. In the tax records of atse Tewodros II, Mekelle appears as a tributary district within Enderta with a negarit of its own. Mekelle is believed to have evolved from a 13th-century hamlet called Enda Meseqel (later Enda Medhane Alem), becoming a town by the early 19th century, when ras Wolde Selassie of Enderta made Antalo his seat of power, and the region of Mekelle (40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north) his recreational center. Mekelle University developed out of the pre-1991 Arid Agricultural College, and about a dozen other governmental and private colleges were created. In 2007, Mekelle had new engineering, cement, and textile factories, producing for the local and foreign markets. The majority of the population of Mekelle depends on government employment, commerce, and small-scale enterprises. It is 2.6 times larger than Adigrat, the second-largest regional center. Mekelle is the second-largest city in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa, with a population of around 545,000. Mekelle has grown rapidly since 1991 with a population of 61,000 in 1984, 97,000 inhabitants in 1994 (96.5% being Tigrinya-speakers), and 170,000 in 2006 (i.e. It is the economic, cultural, and political hub of northern Ethiopia. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. It is located around 780 kilometres (480 mi) north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, with an elevation of 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. Mekelle ( Template:Lang-ti), or Mekele, is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. ![]()
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