Senafe

Senafe Adi harayf صنعفى or Tigrinya: ሰንዓፈTigrinya pronunciation: [sɐnʕafɐ]) is a market town in southern Eritrea, on the edge of the Eritrean highlands. The surrounding area is inhabited by the Saho people and the Tigrinya people.

Senafe

ሰንዓፈ
صنعفى
Senafe
Location in Eritrea
Coordinates: 14°42′N 39°25′E
Country Eritrea
RegionDebub. جنوب
DistrictSenafe District
Elevation
2,446 m (8,025 ft)
ClimateBSk

Senafe is known for the ruins of Metera (also known as Balaw Kalaw) to the south, and for Kaskase to the north. The soil is derived from volcanic ignimbrite,[1] and Senafe sits on the southeastern edge of a twenty kilometer wide caldera.

History

The original name for Saanafè was "Hakir", a Saho word. Local tradition states that the name was changed by a man named Abdullah from Sana'a in Yemen; he settled in the Awdie district of Hakir, and upon marrying a local woman he was quoted as saying "Sana-fen" which means in Arabic "where is Sana'a" he was relating to his hometown; thus the town was named Sanafe; his descendants form a tribe and are also known as Saanafè.

An early record of Sanafe is on the Egyptus Novello map, published in 1454. This map shows Sanafe at the Southern part of Eritrea.

Due to war (1998-2000) between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Senafe's economy was damaged badly. The highest mountain located in the Senafe municipality is Soira. Other high mountains that surrounded Senafe include: Metera, Arab-tarika and Emba Derho.


  • View of the plateau at Senafe
  • The Abessinian Expedition : The naval Rocket brigade firing rockets at Senafe (1868).

During Italian rule, the town grew notably: The modern town suffered extensive destruction during the Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean-Ethiopian War, although people are gradually returning from its surrounding refugee camps.[2]

Climate

The prevailing climate in Senafe is known as a steppe climate.

Climate data for Senafe
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 24.0
(75.2)		 25.2
(77.4)		 26.5
(79.7)		 26.7
(80.1)		 27.1
(80.8)		 26.7
(80.1)		 22.3
(72.1)		 22.7
(72.9)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.6
(76.3)		 23.5
(74.3)		 23.1
(73.6)		 24.8
(76.7)
Average low °C (°F) 7.6
(45.7)		 8.6
(47.5)		 10.3
(50.5)		 11.4
(52.5)		 11.9
(53.4)		 11.5
(52.7)		 11.2
(52.2)		 11.9
(53.4)		 10.4
(50.7)		 9.5
(49.1)		 8.3
(46.9)		 7.0
(44.6)		 10.0
(49.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 4
(0.2)		 7
(0.3)		 25
(1.0)		 59
(2.3)		 41
(1.6)		 31
(1.2)		 158
(6.2)		 135
(5.3)		 21
(0.8)		 10
(0.4)		 20
(0.8)		 4
(0.2)		 515
(20.3)
Source: Climate-Data.org, altitude: 2446m [3]

Notes and references
  1. Zanettin, Bruno; Bellieni, Giuliano; Visentin, Eleonora Justin (2006). "Stratigraphy and evolution of the trachy-rhyolitic volcanism of the Senafe area (Eastern Eritrean Plateau)". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 45 (4/5): 478–488. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2006.04.004.
  2. Okubaghergis, Biyan Ghebreyesus. (2020) "The Impact of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border on the Borderland Communities (2000-2018): A case Study of Senafe and Tserona." PHD thesis, University of Cagliari. Requires subscription.
  3. "Climate: Senafe - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

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