History of Debre Markos City
The city was founded in 1853 by Dejazmach Tedla Gualu, the then ruler of Gojjam. The original name of Debre Markos was Menkorer (meaning cold place). In the 1880s, his successor Negus Tekle Haymanot built the Church of Markos, dedicated to Saint Markos, and named the town after it.
According to Wikipedia:
In March 1900 an expedition led by Percy Powell-Cotton visited Debre Markos and noted that ‘‘the town looked more like a town than Menelik's capital.
The palace of Nigus Tekle Haimanot was remodeled in 1926 by his son Ras Hailu Tekle Haymanot, in the style of European buildings after his tour of Europe in the party of Ras Tefari. In 1935, the town had postal, telegraph, and telephone service.
The Italians arrived in Debre Markos 20 May 1936. Through an interpreter, Achille Starace, who had arrived by plane, told the surprised local inhabitants that he had come to free them from their oppressors to their thorough bemusement. Debre Markos was later isolated and practically besieged by a revolt in 1938. General Ugo Cavallero, with sixty thousand men and supported by airplanes and tanks, had crushed the revolt by the end of May. A major Italian fortification was located in the city during the existence of Italian East Africa, and captured by the British Gideon Force and Ethiopian Arbegnoch (or Resistance Fighters) on 3 April 1941 during the East African Campaign.
In 1957, Nigus Tekle Haimanot School in Debre Markos was one of 9 provincial secondary schools in Ethiopia. The next year, the town was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First Class Township. In 1960 a branch of the Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority had started operation in Debre Markos.
The people of Debre Markos are known for hospitality and kindness. In Debre Markos, you get the best Teff Enjera and Tibs in Ethiopia. Most hotels cook nice Doro Wot, Zilzil Tibis and Firfir.
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