HISTORIC JIMMA: 1860
Temperature: 29 deg C
Avg. Rainfall: 1600mm each year
Jimma was one of the strongest of the five autonomous Gibe kingdoms of the Oromo people.
Like all other kingdoms of the surrounding peoples, Jimma was also incorporated into the central Christian Empire of Ethiopia.
Jimma had a long distance trade route, that started from the coastal area and reached the ancient great Thursday market at Hirmata, with an attendance of 30,000.
This route also enabled cultural interactions from Arabia, and made Jimma to be the learning center of Islam for western Ethiopia.
The frost-free environment of Jimma is perfect for growing a huge variety of foodstuffs, including grains, legumes and crops.

The origin of Coffee
Coffee got its name from Kaffa, the origin of Ethiopian coffee, and indeed the first home of all coffee of the world. These indigenous coffee plants are found wild before formal cultivation took place.
Most of the coffee produced in the area reach the coffee market through Jimma.

The palace of Aba Jifar
This palace together with its mosque and other buildings are situated in a small town called Jiren, 9 km north of Jimma. It is one of the major attractions.
It is said that the modern town of Jimma was fashioned after an Italian city, and was also called 'piccolo Roma' during the Italian invasion. A sizable Italian community was active in Jimma up to the early 1970s.