Sodere is a spa town

Spa town

A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...

 in central Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

. Located approximately 25 kilometres south of Adama

Adama

Adama , better known as Nazret or Nazreth , is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, at at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa...

 (or Nazret) and 120 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

 in the Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa Zone

Misraq Shewa is one of the 12 Zones of the Ethiopian Region of Oromia. This zone takes its name from the kingdom or former province of Shewa. Misraq Shewa is located in the middle of Oromia, connecting the western regions to the eastern ones...

 of the Oromia Region

Oromia Region

Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...

, this town has a latitude and longitude of 8°24′N 39°23′E with an elevation of 1466 metres above sea level. It is one of five settlements in Adama

Adama

Adama , better known as Nazret or Nazreth , is a city in central Ethiopia and the previous capital of the Oromia Region. It is located in the Misraq Shewa Zone of Oromia, at at an elevation of 1712 meters, 99 km southeast of Addis Ababa...

 woreda

Woreda

Woreda is an administrative division of Ethiopia , equivalent to a district . Woredas are composed of a number of Kebele, or neighborhood associations, which are the smallest unit of local government in Ethiopia...

.

Sodere lies alongside the Awash River

Awash River

The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...

 and features lush, shady vegetation

Vegetation

Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...

. Vervet monkey

Vervet Monkey

The vervet monkey , or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus....

s live on the resort grounds. Crocodile

Crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...

s and, less frequently, hippos

Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...

 may be seen in the nearby Awash River

Awash River

The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...

.

The spa facilities

The hot springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...

 resort, popular for its therapeutic

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

 effects, is located outside the town. An Olympic size swimming pool

Olympic size swimming pool

An Olympic-size swimming pool is the type of swimming pool used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is 50 meters in length. This is typically referred to as "long course", delineating it from "short course" which applies to competitions in pools that are either 25 meters or 25 yards in...

, reportedly empty during the week, is a popular draw for weekenders from Addis Ababa. Other features include a full-service restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

, and a hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 and conference center.

The resort was developed by the Ethiopian government, and was in operation by 1963. During the mid-1990s, Sodere was the site of peace talks between several factions vying for control of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. The journalist Abdullahi Dool commented that "Any serious Somali who reads the outcome of this last meeting at the Ethiopian resort or the previous ones, would just laugh at the names and clan organizations these peole are said to 'represent'."

Demographics

Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency

Central Statistical Agency (Ethiopia)

The Central Statistical Agency is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth, as well as to act as an official training center in that field. It is part of the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and...

in 2005, Sodere has an estimated total population of 1,867 of whom 992 are men and 875 were women. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 1,042 of whom 538 were men and 504 women.

External links

• United Nations Security Council - press release regarding Somalian peace initiatives in Sodere
• Wabe Shebelle - Sodere Hotel website (commercial site)