Meqele

Mekelle (, ), also transliterated as Makale or Meqele, is the capital city in the northern Tigray Region of Ethiopia. It is located around 780 kilometers north of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, at a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation of 2084 meters above sea level. Administratively, Mekelle is considered a Special Zone, which is divided into seven sub-cities. These are Adi Haki (ዓዲ ሓቂ), Ayder (ዓይደር), Hadinet (ሓድነት), Hawelti (ሓወልቲ), Kedamay Weyane (ቀዳማይ ወያነ), Quiha (ኲሓ), and Semien (ሰሜን). This places the city in between the Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa chartered cities (astedader akabibi, equivalent to a kilil), as well as the Axum and Adigrat woredas. The city is an economic, cultural, and political hub in the Northern region of the country.