- Holeta Genet
: For|the town in
Jimma Zone |Genet, EthiopiaHoleta Genet (also transliterated Oletta) is a town in central
Ethiopia . Located in theMirab Shewa Zone of theOromia Region , this town has a latitude and longitude of coord|9|3|N|38|30|E and an altitude of 2391 meters above sea level.Holeta Genet is best known as the location of the
Oletta Military Academy . Opened in January1935 , and staffed by five Swedish officers, the first class of 120 cadets did not complete their studies due to theSecond Italian-Abyssinian War . [Ref Ethiopia|Mockler-2003|pages= pp. 49f] It was reopened once Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia, and celebrated its 25th anniversary 20-30 April, 1960. [http://130.238.24.99/library/resources/dossiers/local_history_of_ethiopia/G/ORTGEN.pdf "Local History in Ethiopia"] (pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 18 November 2007)]Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Holeta Genet has an estimated total population of 30,007 of whom 14,825 were males and 15,182 were females. [ [http://www.csa.gov.et/text_files/2005_national_statistics.htm CSA 2005 National Statistics] , Table B.4] According to the 1994 national census, this town has a population of 16,800. The 1994 census reported this town had a total population of 16,785 of whom 8,040 were males and 8,745 were females. It is the largest of three towns in
Walmara woreda .History
Holeta Gennet came into existence with the construction of the Addis Ababa -
Addis Alem road, and houses in the latter town were dismantled and brought to this new settlement. It became the new "country retreat" for Emperor Menelik II and EmpressTaytu Betul [Chris Proutky, "Empress Taytu and Menilek II: Ethiopia 1883-1910" (Trenton: The Red Sea Press, 1986), p. 244] According to Richard Pankhurst, when the couple were in residence, its population would mushroom from about 2,400 to as many as 15,000. [Ref Ethiopia|Pankhurst-1968|pages= p. 696] It was the first place in Ethiopia to have a permanent water mill, built in 1909 on theHoletta River .Notes
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