Adwa

Adwa (Tigrinya: ዓድዋ; Amharic: ዐድዋ; Arabic: عدوة also spelled Adowa or Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian troops, thus being one of the few African nations to directly thwart European colonialism. Located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region, Adwa has a longitude and latitude of 14°10′N 38°54′E, and an elevation of 1907 meters. Adwa is surrounded by Adwa woreda. Adwa is home to several notable churches: Adwa Enda-Gebri'el (built by Dejazmach Wolde Gebriel), Adwa Enda-Maryam (built by Ras Anda Haymanot), Adwa Edna-Medhane`Alem (built by Ras Sabagadis), Adwa Nigiste-Saba /Queen of Sheba secondary school, and Adwa Enda-Selasse. Near Adwa is Abba Garima Monastery, founded in the sixth century by one of the Nine Saints and known for its 10th-century gospels. Also nearby is the village of Fremona, which had been the base of the 16th-century Jesuits sent to convert Ethiopia to Catholicism.