Dire Dawa

Dire Dawa

Dire Dawa (Somali: Diridhaba, meaning "where the Somali ancestor Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", Amharic: ድሬዳዋ, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; Oromo: Dirree Dhawaa, lit. 'Place of Remedy';[6] Arabic: ديري داوا[7][8]) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Region border and one of two chartered cities in Ethiopia (the other being Addis Ababa, the capital). Dire Dawa alongside present-day Sitti Zone were a part of the Dire Dawa autonomous region stipulated in the 1987 Ethiopian Constitution until 1993 when it was split by the federal government into a separately administered chartered city.[9] It is divided administratively into two woredas, the city proper and the non-urban woreda of Gurgura. Dire Dawa lies in the eastern part of the nation, on the Dechatu River, at the foot of a ring of cliffs. The western outskirts of the city lie on the Gorro River, a tributary of the Dechatu River. It is located at the latitude and longitude of 9°36′N 41°52′E / 9.600°N 41.867°E / 9.600; 41.867. The city is an industrial centre, home to several markets and the Dire Dawa Airport.