Travel Guide Nazreth / Adama

Altitude: 1,712 m. Population: 310,000. Distance from Addis Ababa: 100 km. Officially renamed Adama, from its Oromo name, but still commonly referred to as Nazreth, this city, considered the Oromo capital, is a major commercial and agricultural center undergoing rapid development, but of no tourist interest (except to Addis Ababa residents). As the country's fourth-largest city, it is well-supplied with hotels and restaurants, making it a good stopover on the way south or east.After Nazreth, the road drops in altitude before crossing landscapes of volcanic rock fields covered with sparse vegetation. Soon you come across the first Kereyou with their voluminous headdresses and herds of camels. Around a bend, the expanse of Lake Beseka comes into view. Underground resurgences are constantly raising the level of the lake's water, which is volcanic and therefore unsuitable for irrigation. A veritable ecological disaster, this lake, whose volume has increased tenfold in thirty years, is in danger of spreading throughout the area and joining the Awash, a river essential to the region's agriculture. The rails of the old railroad and the old road have already been swallowed up by the lake.