Babati Explained

Official Name:Babati
Settlement Type:City of Manyara Region
Pushpin Map:Tanzania
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:300
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Tanzania
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Manyara
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Babati
Population As Of:2022 census
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:67445
Coordinates:-4.2167°N 80°W
Elevation M:2145

Babati[2] is a town in Babati Urban District of Manyara Region of Tanzania. It is the administrative capital of Babati Urban District and Babati Rural District and also the administrative capital of Manyara Region. Babati town has developed from a mere village since Babati District was established in 1985. The new status boosted the town into rapid growth. The town is located at an altitude of 21450NaN0 near the end of Tarangire National Park and the base of Lake Babati, nestling under Mount Kwaraha.[3]

History

The story is told that the town's name resulted from misunderstanding a Gorowa boy by a German roadwork supervisor. The boy did not understand the question about the location's name asked by the German. He pointed at an older man and said "Baba ti", meaning in his language "this is my father". The German noted down the name "Babati" as he thought this was the township's name.

It is claimed in the book Tanganyikan Guerilla: East African Campaign 1914-1918, that Napoleon's son, then a colonel in the British Cavalry, died and was interred in Babati.

Transport

The trans-African automobile route — the Cairo-Cape Town Highway passes through Babati.

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.citypopulation.de/en/tanzania/cities/ Citypopulation.de
  2. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  3. Web site: Babati: A town with intriguing history. 2013-03-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20140107181451/http://in2eastafrica.net/babati-a-town-with-intriguing-history/. 2014-01-07. dead.