Abéché

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title: "Abéché" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-chad", "ouaddaï-(region)"] topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-chad" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abéché" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
official_nameAbéché
native_nameأبشه
settlement_typeCity
image_skylineAbeché1.jpg
image_captionThe Grand Mosque of Abéché on the central square (the Place de l'Indépendance)
pushpin_mapChad
pushpin_reliefyes
pushpin_label_positionbottom
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Chad
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameChad
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Ouaddaï Region
subdivision_type2Department
subdivision_name2Ouara
subdivision_type3Sub-Prefecture
subdivision_name3Abéché
population_as_of2012
population_footnotes
population_total76492
timezoneWAT
utc_offset+01:00
coordinates
elevation_m542
::

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Abéché (, Absha) is a city in central-eastern Chad and the capital of the Ouaddaï Region. By road it is 749 km northeast of the national capital of N'Djamena and 164 km northwest of Adre, on the border with Sudan. Surrounded by savanna, it is one of the largest cities in the country. It has a rich Islamic heritage, situated along the trans-Saharan trade route and is an important cattle raising centre, with the principal market in the country for camel exports and rugs. As of 2012 it had a population of 76,492 people.

The city contains the remnants of the ancient capital, including palaces, mosques, and the tombs of former sultans. The Grand Mosque on the central square (the Place de l'Indépendance), is one of the oldest and most significant mosques in the country, built in the 19th century. The city is served by Abéché Airport and contains the Lycee Franco-Arabe school.

History

From the early 19th century, Abéché was at the centre of the Islamic slave trade in Chad and an important city in the developing of the religion in the religion. Situated long the trans-Saharan trade route, many Islamic scholars and merchants travelled through the city. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/La_grande_place_d'Abéché.jpg" caption="Abéché Market (1918)"] ::

The city of Abéché was made capital of the Wadai Sultanate in the 1890s, after the wells at Ouara, the former capital, had dried out. In 1909, French troops invaded the Kingdom and established a garrison in Abéché, forcing the sultan to renounce his throne. At that time, Abéché was the largest city in Chad with 28,000 people, but major epidemics reduced the population to 6,000 in 1919.

In 1935, the sultanate was restored by orders of the French government, and Muhammed Ouarada, heir to the throne after his father became king.

On 25 November 2006, the city was taken by the Union of Forces for Democracy, a rebel group that sought to depose president Idriss Déby. Extensive looting took place during the night. On the same day, nearby Biltine was captured by the Rally of Democratic Forces, another rebel group. A day later, both cities were retaken by the Chadian army.

On 30 October 2007, the city came to international attention when 17 French volunteers working for the charity Zoé's Ark were arrested there for alleged child abduction.

Geography and climate

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Abeché.jpg" caption="Aerial view of the city and surrounding savanna"] ::

Abéché is situated in central-eastern Chad, and by road it is 749 km northeast of the national capital of N'Djamena, 164 km northwest of Adre, on the border with Sudan, and roughly 90 km southeast of Biltine.

Abéché is the hottest major city in Chad. It gets 336 afternoons a year above 32 C. Its rainy season is in mid-year, from June to September. The hottest months are from March to June. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as a hot arid climate (BWh) bordering on a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh), due to its extreme potential evapotranspiration. It is one of the hottest cities on earth with average year-round daily high of over 36 C, and an average daily mean of around 29 C.

|location = Abéché (1961-1990 normals, extremes 1950–present) |single line = yes |metric first = yes |Jan high C = 33.6 |Feb high C = 35.6 |Mar high C = 38.2 |Apr high C = 40.4 |May high C = 40.0 |Jun high C = 38.5 |Jul high C = 34.5 |Aug high C = 32.1 |Sep high C = 35.1 |Oct high C = 37.4 |Nov high C = 35.7 |Dec high C = 34.0 |year high C = |Jan mean C = 24.9 |Feb mean C = 26.9 |Mar mean C = 30.1 |Apr mean C = 32.8 |May mean C = 32.8 |Jun mean C = 31.7 |Jul mean C = 28.8 |Aug mean C = 27.0 |Sep mean C = 28.6 |Oct mean C = 29.7 |Nov mean C = 27.7 |Dec mean C = 25.5 |year mean C = |Jan low C = 16.1 |Feb low C = 18.2 |Mar low C = 22.0 |Apr low C = 25.1 |May low C = 25.6 |Jun low C = 24.9 |Jul low C = 23.1 |Aug low C = 21.8 |Sep low C = 22.0 |Oct low C = 22.0 |Nov low C = 19.7 |Dec low C = 16.9 |year low C = 21.4 | Jan record high C = 45.0 | Feb record high C = 46.0 | Mar record high C = 47.5 | Apr record high C = 49.0 | May record high C = 47.5 | Jun record high C = 46.5 | Jul record high C = 44.0 | Aug record high C = 40.0 | Sep record high C = 42.0 | Oct record high C = 44.6 | Nov record high C = 43.0 | Dec record high C = 43.0 | Jan record low C = 7.1 | Feb record low C = 9.5 | Mar record low C = 11.0 | Apr record low C = 11.0 | May record low C = 17.0 | Jun record low C = 16.5 | Jul record low C = 15.0 | Aug record low C = 9.5 | Sep record low C = 15.5 | Oct record low C = 12.5 | Nov record low C = 11.5 | Dec record low C = 8.6 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 0.0 |Feb precipitation mm = 0.0 |Mar precipitation mm = 0.1 |Apr precipitation mm = 3.2 |May precipitation mm = 12.1 |Jun precipitation mm = 34.6 |Jul precipitation mm = 98.1 |Aug precipitation mm = 166.2 |Sep precipitation mm = 53.4 |Oct precipitation mm = 5.1 |Nov precipitation mm = 0.1 |Dec precipitation mm = 0.0 |year precipitation mm = 372.8 |Jan humidity = 20 |Feb humidity = 17 |Mar humidity = 16 |Apr humidity = 18 |May humidity = 27 |Jun humidity = 41 |Jul humidity = 60 |Aug humidity = 71 |Sep humidity = 61 |Oct humidity = 35 |Nov humidity = 23 |Dec humidity = 23 |year humidity = |unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm |Jan precipitation days = 0 |Feb precipitation days = 0 |Mar precipitation days = 1 |Apr precipitation days = 2 |May precipitation days = 4 |Jun precipitation days = 6 |Jul precipitation days = 12 |Aug precipitation days = 14 |Sep precipitation days = 7 |Oct precipitation days = 2 |Nov precipitation days = 1 |Dec precipitation days = 0 |year precipitation days = |Jan sun = 316.2 |Feb sun = 291.2 |Mar sun = 300.7 |Apr sun = 300.0 |May sun = 313.1 |Jun sun = 300.0 |Jul sun = 254.2 |Aug sun = 226.3 |Sep sun = 261.0 |Oct sun = 306.9 |Nov sun = 312.0 |Dec sun = 319.3 |year sun = 3500.9 |Jan percentsun = 90 |Feb percentsun = 90 |Mar percentsun = 81 |Apr percentsun = 81 |May percentsun = 80 |Jun percentsun = 78 |Jul percentsun = 64 |Aug percentsun = 59 |Sep percentsun = 72 |Oct percentsun = 85 |Nov percentsun = 92 |Dec percentsun = 92 |year percentsun = 80 |source 1 = NOAA{{cite web | url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-I/TE/64756.TXT | title = Abeche Climate Normals 1961–1990 | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | access-date = January 18, 2023}}{{cite web | url = https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCND/stations/GHCND:CD000004756/detail | title = Daily Summaries Station Details | publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | accessdate = January 18, 2023 |source 2 = WMO (precipitation days){{cite web | url = http://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=1169 | title = World Weather Information Service – Abeche | publisher = World Meteorological Organization | access-date = June 24, 2015}}

Demographics

Demographic evolution: ::data[format=table] | Year | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209080832/http://bevoelkerungsstatistik.de/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=de&dat=32&geo=-205&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&pt=c&va=x |date=9 February 2012 }} | |---|---| | 1988 | 40,000 | | 1993 | 54,628 | | 2008 | 78,191 | | 2012 | 76,492 | ::

Economy

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Chad_Clothes_sewer_Abéché_DSC1594-2.jpg" caption="Abéché Market"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Abeche_leather_shop.jpg" caption="A leather shop in Abéché"] ::

The city is an important cattle raising centre. the manufacture of camel-hair blankets is one of the industries of the area. and spices, textiles, handmade crafts, pottery and jewelry.

Landmarks

Once one of the strongholds of the Arabic slave trade route, the city is known today for its markets, mosques, church, central square (the Place de l'Indépendance) and for its sultan's palace.

Transportation

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Aeroport_abeché1.jpg" caption="Abéché Airport"] ::

It has major roads connecting it to the capital N'Djamena, as well as Sarh, and also to neighbouring Sudan.

Education

The Lycee Franco-Arabe school is located here.

Notable people

References

References

  1. "World Gazetteer".
  2. (2010). "Abéché". Encyclopædia Britannica Inc..
  3. "A survey of the libraries of Abéché, former capital of the Sultanate of Waday (Eastern Chad) (EAP472)". British Library.
  4. "Les ruines d'Ouara". World Heritage Site.
  5. "Public sitting held on Tuesday 22 June 1993, at 10 a.m., at the Peace Palace, President Sir Robert Jennings presiding". International Court of Justice.
  6. Anderson, David and Rathbone, Richard. (2000). "Africa's Urban Past". James Currey.
  7. Azevedo, Mario J. and Decalo, Samuel. (2018). "Historical Dictionary of Chad". Bloomsbury Academic.
  8. Anderson, Samuel DeJohn. (2018). "Domesticating the Médersa: Franco-Muslim Education and Colonial Rule in Northwest Africa, 1850-1960". UCLA.
  9. (26 November 2006). "Chad denies rebel move on capital". BBC News.
  10. (10 December 2007). "French charity members to be tried by Chad criminal court". Mail & Guardian (Zambia).
  11. {{Google maps. link
  12. "Chad Climate Index". Climate Charts.
  13. link. (9 February 2012)
  14. Wotzka, Hans-Peter, Bollig, Michael, Schnegg, Michael. (2013). "Pastoralism in Africa - Past, Present and Future". Berghahn Books.
  15. Diallo, Adama Moustafa Kardjadj, Renaud Lancelot. (2019). "Transboundary Animal Diseases in Sahelian Africa and Connected Regions". Springer International Publishing.
  16. "The City Trip Guide for Abéché (Chad)". YouGuide Ltd.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

populated-places-in-chadouaddaï-(region)