Goba Bale Goba | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Photo taken while in Goba Wednesday Market | |
  Goba Location within Ethiopia Show map of Ethiopia Goba Goba (Africa) Show map of Africa.svg) Goba Goba (Earth) Show map of Earth | |
| Coordinates:7°0′N39°59′E / 7.000°N 39.983°E /7.000; 39.983 | |
| Country |  Ethiopia |
| Region |  Oromia |
| Zone | Bale |
| District | Goba |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Founded by | Asfaw Dargy (Former Bale Province administer) |
| First Mayor | Blata Cheru (1945) |
| Government | |
| • Current Mayor | Shimels Alemu |
| Area | |
| • Land | 26.79 km2 (10.345 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,743 m (8,999 ft) |
| Population (2016) | |
• Town | 54,630 |
| • Density | 2,085/km2 (5,400/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 49,309 |
| • Metro | 70,810 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Post Code | 4540 |
| Area code | (+251) 22 |
| Climate | Cwb |
Goba (Oromo:Gobbaa,Amharic: ጎባ) is a town and separateworeda located in theBale Zone of theOromia Region,Ethiopia approximately 446 km southeast ofAddis Ababa, this city has a latitude and longitude of7°0′N39°59′E / 7.000°N 39.983°E /7.000; 39.983 and an elevation of 2,743 meters above sea level.
The town is known for its Wednesdaymarket and forhoney,basketry andcottonshawl making;Bale National Park is 10 km to the southwest. A few kilometers outside of Goba are the remains of an old rock church.[1] Goba sharesRobe Airport (ICAO code HAGB,IATA GOB) with neighbouringRobe.
Ethiopian Airlines has a scheduled flight four times a week connecting Goba to the capital Addis Ababa and to the southern cityArba Minch.
RasDarge Sahle Selassie advance into southern Arsi and Bale led to the development of a camp at Goba in 1900, which was the site of a medieval Christian rock church or monastery. In 1907 Goba became the main center of administration in Bale under the governorship ofLeul Sagad.[2]
Arnold Weinholt Hodson visited Goba while he was the British resident in southern Ethiopia (1914–1923), briefly describing it as a "large garrison town."[3]
Goba was the capital of the formerBale Province, until the province was abolished with the adoption of thenew constitution in 1995. A telephone line connected Goba toAddis Ababa at least as early as 1936.[4] During theBale revolt, rebels attacked the capital twice between November 1965 and March 1966.[5] In 1970 the town had the only high school in Bale Province; that year the school had 682 students, of whom 86 wereMuslims in a province where Islam claimed over 90 per cent of the population.[4] As Gebru Tareke grimly concludes, "Between February 1970, when the revolt ended, and February 1974, when the imperial regime collapsed, precious little had changed in Bale, as indeed in the rest of Ethiopia."[6]
According to the third edition of theLonely Planet guide to Ethiopia, "Goba is in a state of decline and Ethiopian Airlines has even cancelled its flights here."[7]
Starting from 1 September 2014, Ethiopian Airlines has announced a scheduled service four time per week to Robe Airport connecting Goba to Addis Ababa and Arba Minch.[8]
The 2007 national census reported a total population for Goba of 32,025, of whom 15,182 were men and 16,843 were women; 4,797 or 6.13% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they practicedEthiopian Orthodox Christianity, with 69.84% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 23.12% of the population wereMuslim and 5.84% wereProtestant.[9]
The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 28,358 of whom 13,155 were men and 15,203 were women.[citation needed]
Owing to its very high altitude, Goba has asubtropical highland climate (KöppenCwb) with cool to cold mornings and mild to warm afternoons year-round. There is a lengthyrainy season from February/March to October, and a shortdry season with chillier mornings from November to January.
| Climate data for Goba | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.8 (74.8) | 22.6 (72.7) | 23.1 (73.6) | 23.6 (74.5) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.4 (70.5) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.6 (72.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.1 (44.8) | 7.5 (45.5) | 8.7 (47.7) | 9.7 (49.5) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.4 (48.9) | 9.7 (49.5) | 9.7 (49.5) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.7 (47.7) | 6.8 (44.2) | 6.5 (43.7) | 8.6 (47.5) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) | 55 (2.2) | 101 (4.0) | 162 (6.4) | 150 (5.9) | 109 (4.3) | 151 (5.9) | 187 (7.4) | 149 (5.9) | 110 (4.3) | 44 (1.7) | 16 (0.6) | 1,272 (50.1) |
| Source:Climate-Data.org, altitude: 2,427 metres or 7,963 feet[10] | |||||||||||||
