Mahbere Sillasie

Category:Dogu'a Tembien
 
Mahbere Sillasie is a tabia or municipality in the Dogu'a Tembien district of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.  The tabia centre is in Guderbo village, located approximately 2.5 km to the west-northwest of the woreda town Hagere Selam. 

Geography 
The tabia stretches down from the ridge west of Hagere Selam, northbound towards Tsaliet river.   The highest peak is just south of Guderbo (2730 m a.s.l.)  and the lowest place deep in the Tsaliet gorge (1780 m a.s.l.). 

Geology 
From the higher to the lower locations, the following geological formations are present:
 Phonolite plugs
 Upper basalt
 Interbedded lacustrine deposits  
 Lower basalt
 Amba Aradam Formation
 Antalo Limestone 
 Adigrat Sandstone

Climate 
The rainfall pattern shows a very high seasonality with 70 to 80% of the annual rain falling in July and August.  Mean temperature in Guderbo is 17.4 °C, oscillating between average daily minimum of 9.6 °C and maximum of 24.8 °C.  The contrasts between day and night air temperatures are much larger than seasonal contrasts. 

Springs 
As there are no permanent rivers, the presence of springs is of utmost importance for the local people.  The main springs in the tabia are:
 Addi Geza'iti
 May Zeleqo in Guderbo
 Addi Anefti in May Mereb

Reservoirs 
In this area with rains that last only for a couple of months per year, reservoirs of different sizes allow harvesting runoff from the rainy season for further use in the dry season.  Overall they suffer from siltation.  Yet, they strongly contribute to greening the landscape, either through irrigation or seepage water.  
 Chini (reservoir), near May Mereb, constructed in 1993
 Traditional surface water harvesting ponds, particularly in places without permanent springs, called rahaya
 Horoyo, household ponds, recently constructed through campaigns – they were particularly studied in Mahbere Sillasie

Settlements 
The tabia centre Guderbo holds a few administrative offices, a health post, a primary school, and some small shops.  There are a few more primary schools across the tabia.  The main other populated places are:
 Addi Geza'iti
 Harehuwa
 Kurkura
 May Mereb
 Waseiya
 Addi Amyuq (half of the settlement, the other half belongs to Selam)

Agriculture and livelihood 
The population lives essentially from crop farming, supplemented with off-season work in nearby towns.  The land is dominated by farmlands which are clearly demarcated and are cropped every year.  Hence the agricultural system is a permanent upland farming system.  The farmers have adapted their cropping systems to the spatio-temporal variability in rainfall. 

History and culture

History 
The history of the tabia is strongly confounded with the history of Tembien.  In the 1980s, the TPLF, established its headquarters in a cave in Addi Geza'iti.  From these underground rooms and offices cut out in sandstone cliffs, the TPLF carried out its political activities, including a major land reform; it was from here that the offensives were organised till the conquest of Addis Ababa in 1991. 

Religion and churches 
Most inhabitants are Orthodox Christians.  The following churches are located in the tabia:
 Addi Geza'iti Maryam
 Kurkura Mika'el
 Harehuwa Medhanie Alem
 May Mereb Sillasie
 Waseiya Maryam
 Kidane Mihret in the large "Awhi Dur" forest

Inda Siwa, the local beer houses 
In the main villages, there are traditional beer houses (Inda Siwa), often in unique settings, which are a good place for resting and chatting with the local people.  Most renown in the tabia are
  Kashi Araya Gebreyohannes at Guderbo
  Hndeya Girmay at May Mereb

Roads and communication 
The main road Mekelle – Hagere Selam – Abiy Addi runs southeast of the tabia.  Further, rural access road link most villages to Guderbo and further to the main asphalt road. 

Tourism 
Its mountainous nature and proximity to Mekelle makes the tabia fit for tourism. 

Touristic attractions 
 The scenic views on Tsaliet gorge
 The TPLF caves, which hold also a set of tactical maps used during the Ethiopian Civil War
 The church of Kurkura Mika'el, in a very scenic position in a small forest behind limestone pinnacles, is some 30 years old.  Behind it is the remnant of the earlier church established in a natural cave of 20 metres by 20 metres.  The roof of the cave is covered with sooth, evidencing the fact that the villagers took cover here, during the Italian bombardments of the Tembien battles in the mid-1930s. 
 An open-air museum (under construction), half-way between Guderbo and Hagere Selam
 Awhi Dur, the largest forest of the woreda

Geotouristic sites 
The high variability of geological formations and the rugged topography invites for geological and geographic tourism or "geotourism".  Geosites in the tabia include:
 Phonolite plugs at Addi Amyuq
 Ch'ench'eroma terraced landscape
 Harehuwa forest
 Tsaliet gorge

Birdwatching 
Birdwatching (for the species, see the main Dogu'a Tembien page) can be done particularly in exclosures and forests.   The following bird-watching sites have been inventoried in the tabia and mapped. 
 Harehuwa forest
 Awhi Dur forest

Trekking routes 
Trekking routes have been established in this tabia.  The tracks are not marked on the ground but can be followed using downloaded .GPX files. 
 Trek 3, northbound and down across the tabia inside Tsaliet gorge, and then following the river to the rock churches in Addeha
 Trek 4, from Guderbo westbound down to the Dabba Selama monastery
 Trek 5, largely along the ridge on the southern edge of Mahbere Sillasie

Accommodation and facilities 
The facilities are very basic.   One may be invited to spend the night in a rural homestead or ask permission to pitch a tent.  Hotels are available in Hagere Selam and Mekelle. 

More detailed information 
For more details on environment, agriculture, rural sociology, hydrology, ecology, culture, etc.,  see the overall page on the Dogu'a Tembien district. 

References 

Category:Populated places in the Tigray Region
Category:Populated places in Ethiopia