Bahir Dar

Originally the settlement was called Bahir Giyorgis. Between 1810 and 1900, Bahir Dar had 1,200 to 2,000 inhabitants. It was developed in situ as a monastery and function of trading hub. In the 19th century, Bahir Dar was visited by Belgian, French, British and Italian travelers, who described it alternatively as a village or a town. During the early 20th century, the British, desiring to construct a barrage at the outlet of Lake Tana, dispatched several study teams, such as those of Dupis (1902), Grabham and Black (1920–21) and Cheesman (1926–34). In 1930 the Ethiopian Government sent to Bahir Dar its own team of experts, who described Bahir Dar as a village with considerable trading activity, with a population from the interior as well as from Lake Tana ports such as Zege. …

Bahir Dar is located at the exit of the Abbay from Lake Tana at an altitude of 1,820 metres (5,970 ft) above sea level. The city is located approximately 578 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa. The Lake Tana region is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 2015. Bahir Dar has a borderline tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), very close to a subtropical highland climate (Cwb). Afternoon temperatures are very warm to hot year-round, and morning temperatures cool; however, the diurnal range is much larger in the largely cloudless dry season.

The city offers a small daily market and a very extensive weekly market. There are some music clubs in the city. The Blue Nile Falls (Tis Issat) are located about 30 km to the south. Nowadays the amount of water running through the falls is being reduced and regulated, since the construction of a hydroelectric power dam. Nevertheless, the Blue Nile Falls are still one of the main tourist attractions of Bahir Dar, especially during the rainy season when the water level rises and the falls become greater.