Waliso
Waliso (Walisoo) is a town in Southwest Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region in Ethiopia, 114 km southwest of Addis Ababa, it has a latitude and longitude of 8.53333°N, 37.96667°W with an elevation of 2063 meters above sea level. Waliso is the administrative center of this Zone.
Waliso town has seven administrative Kebeles. Dej. Geresu Duki Comprehensive Secondary School, Oromia Institute of Water Technology, Ambo University – Faculty of Social Science (Waliso Campus) and other private institutes and colleges are located in Woliso. In Waliso, there is a natural hot-spring, which makes the town one of the leading tourism heritages in Ethiopia.
The town allows a round view of 360 degrees from Meja hill – a volcanic mountain (Tulluu Majaa in Afaan Oromoo), situated in the middle of the town. There is also a natural hot-spring, which makes the town a tourism heritage in Ethiopia. In addition, Wonchi volcano (Wancii in Afaan Oromoo), the highest volcano Ethiopias, is 32 kilometers away from Waliso. This volcano contains a crater lake which became a tourist destination.
Waliso is derived from the name of an Oromo clan. Legend has it that Waliso is the son of Liban (Liiban in Afaan Oromoo), who had three children: Ammaya (Ammayya in Afaan Oromoo), the oldest, Waliso (the middle) and Kutaye (the youngest). Liban belongs to Metcha, a bigger Oromo clan.
The road that ran from Addis Ababa to Waliso was one of the few roads built by the Ethiopian Empire before the Italian-Abyssinian War; by 1938, the 110 kilometers from Addis Ababa to Waliso had been asphalted, and the 90 kilometers beyond to Abelti gravelled.
After the Italian occupation of much of Ethiopia, two rival Ethiopian resistance fighters, the Arbegnoch, operated around Waliso: Geresu Duki; (Afaan Oromoo: Garasuu Dhukii) and Olika Dingel. Geresu Duki (a former member of the Ethiopian Crown Prince's personal guard) was in the end the better-known – and the longer-lived of both – but Olika Dingel, a Welega Oromo, was as legendary. Geresu Dhuki was the offspring of a local Oromo Prince, Akkawaaq Darra Gada.
In 1955 a 40 kW hydro-electric power station was built; by 1965 the installed electrical capacity was 32 kVA and the annual production 64,500 kWh. In 1958, Waliso was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as First Class Township. The Multipurpose Community Telecentre was opened in February 2000, with assistance from the British Council. It was the first of its kind in Ethiopia, and the next one was opened in Debre Berhan almost two years later. That same year, construction of a 200-bed hospital was completed, the Wolisso Hospital (officially the St. Luke Catholic Hospital), which was then opened on 27 April 2001. Construction was launched in 1997 by an Italian organization (CUAMM Doctors with Africa), equipment included surgical, X-ray and laboratory equipment, at a cost of 72 million Birr.
The second largest flower farm in Ethiopia, owned by the Indian company Surya Blossoms, had its official opening in Woliso on 22 June 2009. Present at the opening was Trade and Industry Minister Girma Biru, Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Gurjit Sing, Oromia Regional president Abadula Gemeda, and Chairman of Karuturi Global Limited, the parent corporation of Surya Blossoms, Surya Rao.
Waliso town has seven administrative Kebeles. Dej. Geresu Duki Comprehensive Secondary School, Oromia Institute of Water Technology, Ambo University – Faculty of Social Science (Waliso Campus) and other private institutes and colleges are located in Woliso. In Waliso, there is a natural hot-spring, which makes the town one of the leading tourism heritages in Ethiopia.
The town allows a round view of 360 degrees from Meja hill – a volcanic mountain (Tulluu Majaa in Afaan Oromoo), situated in the middle of the town. There is also a natural hot-spring, which makes the town a tourism heritage in Ethiopia. In addition, Wonchi volcano (Wancii in Afaan Oromoo), the highest volcano Ethiopias, is 32 kilometers away from Waliso. This volcano contains a crater lake which became a tourist destination.
Waliso is derived from the name of an Oromo clan. Legend has it that Waliso is the son of Liban (Liiban in Afaan Oromoo), who had three children: Ammaya (Ammayya in Afaan Oromoo), the oldest, Waliso (the middle) and Kutaye (the youngest). Liban belongs to Metcha, a bigger Oromo clan.
The road that ran from Addis Ababa to Waliso was one of the few roads built by the Ethiopian Empire before the Italian-Abyssinian War; by 1938, the 110 kilometers from Addis Ababa to Waliso had been asphalted, and the 90 kilometers beyond to Abelti gravelled.
After the Italian occupation of much of Ethiopia, two rival Ethiopian resistance fighters, the Arbegnoch, operated around Waliso: Geresu Duki; (Afaan Oromoo: Garasuu Dhukii) and Olika Dingel. Geresu Duki (a former member of the Ethiopian Crown Prince's personal guard) was in the end the better-known – and the longer-lived of both – but Olika Dingel, a Welega Oromo, was as legendary. Geresu Dhuki was the offspring of a local Oromo Prince, Akkawaaq Darra Gada.
In 1955 a 40 kW hydro-electric power station was built; by 1965 the installed electrical capacity was 32 kVA and the annual production 64,500 kWh. In 1958, Waliso was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as First Class Township. The Multipurpose Community Telecentre was opened in February 2000, with assistance from the British Council. It was the first of its kind in Ethiopia, and the next one was opened in Debre Berhan almost two years later. That same year, construction of a 200-bed hospital was completed, the Wolisso Hospital (officially the St. Luke Catholic Hospital), which was then opened on 27 April 2001. Construction was launched in 1997 by an Italian organization (CUAMM Doctors with Africa), equipment included surgical, X-ray and laboratory equipment, at a cost of 72 million Birr.
The second largest flower farm in Ethiopia, owned by the Indian company Surya Blossoms, had its official opening in Woliso on 22 June 2009. Present at the opening was Trade and Industry Minister Girma Biru, Indian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Gurjit Sing, Oromia Regional president Abadula Gemeda, and Chairman of Karuturi Global Limited, the parent corporation of Surya Blossoms, Surya Rao.
Map - Waliso
Map
Country - Ethiopia
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| Flag of Ethiopia | |
Anatomically modern humans emerged from modern-day Ethiopia and set out to the Near East and elsewhere in the Middle Paleolithic period. Southwestern Ethiopia has been proposed as a possible homeland of the Afroasiatic language family. In 980 BCE, the Kingdom of D'mt extended its realm over Eritrea and the northern region of Ethiopia, while the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region for 900 years. Christianity was embraced by the kingdom in 330, and Islam arrived by the first Hijra in 615. After the collapse of Aksum in 960, a variety of kingdoms, largely tribal confederations, existed in the land of Ethiopia. The Zagwe dynasty ruled the north-central parts until being overthrown by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, inaugurating the Ethiopian Empire and the Solomonic dynasty, claimed descent from the biblical Solomon and Queen of Sheba under their son Menelik I. By the 14th century, the empire grew in prestige through territorial expansion and fighting against adjacent territories; most notably, the Ethiopian–Adal War (1529–1543) contributed to fragmentation of the empire, which ultimately fell under a decentralization known as Zemene Mesafint in the mid-18th century. Emperor Tewodros II ended Zemene Mesafint at the beginning of his reign in 1855, marking the reunification and modernization of Ethiopia.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| ETB | Ethiopian birr | Br | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AM | Amharic language |
| EN | English language |
| OM | Oromo language |
| SO | Somali language |
| TI | Tigrinya language |