Eastern Ethiopia
EASTERN ETHIOPIA: HARAR & DIRE DAWA
HARAR IS AN IMPORTANT MUSLIM HOLY CITY, HOME TO NO FEWER THAN 90 MOSQUES. IT IS ONE OF ETHIOPIA'S LIVELIEST, MOST WELCOMING CITIES. IT IS ETHIOPIA'S MOST PROMINENT MUSLIM CITY, HOUSING WITHIN ITS WALLS NO FEWER THAN 90 MOSQUES. FOUNDED IN THE TWELFTH-CENTURY AS A CHRISTIAN CITY, HARAR WAS CONQUERED BY THE MUSLIM INVADERS WHO SWEPT ACROSS MUCH OF ETHIOPIA IN THE 16TH CENTURY. THEY DRAMATICALLY RE-SHAPED THE CITY, BUILDING THE CURRENT WALL AND REPLACING MUCH OF THE EXISTING CHRISTIAN STRUCTURES WITH THEIR OWN. TO THIS DAY THE CITY HAS A DISTINCTLY MUSLIM CHARACTER (THOUGH MUCH OF THE POPULATION REMAINS CHRISTIAN), BUT THE INFLUENCE OF ITS CHANGING RULERS AND TUMULTUOUS PAST IS VISIBLE IN THE VARIED STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE.
THE FORMER HOUSE OF HAILE SELASSIE, AT PRESENT USED BY AN ETHIOPIAN HEALER, CAN BE VISITED. MORE INTERESTING IS THE HOME OF RIMBAUD, WHO SETTLED IN HARAR IN THE LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY. THE ORIGINAL HARARI HOUSES ARE ALSO WELL-KNOWN FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS AND CARVINGS. ALL AROUND THE WALLED CITY ARE MARKETS SELLING BASKETS, SPICES AND THE POPULAR CHEWING HERB, CHAT. A LONG STANDING TRADITION OF FEEDING MEAT TO HYENAS ONE NIGHT A YEAR DEVELOPED IN THE 1960S INTO A NIGHTLY FEEDING
THE MAJOR ATTRACTIONS OF HARAR ARE ITS MERCHANTS, MARKETS, WALLED CITY AND UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE. FORMERLY A MAJOR TRADING CENTRE, HARAR HAS A BUSY AND LIVELY ATMOSPHERE AND IT'S EASY TO WALK AROUND THE CITY. BE SURE TO BARGAIN IN THE MARKETS.
DIRE DAWA
WELCOME TO DIRE DAWA THE FOURTH-MOST POPULOUS CITY IN ETHIOPIA, DIRE DAWA (ድሬ ዳዋ) USUALLY ELICITS STRONG REACTIONS. ITS COLOURFUL STOREFRONTS, TREE-LINED STREETS, NEAT SQUARES AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE (LOOK FOR ARAB, FRENCH, ITALIAN AND GREEK STYLES IN SOME OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN) ADD TO A PEACEFUL VIBE.
DIRE DAWA IS MADE UP OF TWO DISTINCT SETTLEMENTS, DIVIDED BY THE DECHATU WADI (SEASONAL RIVER). LYING TO THE NORTH AND WEST IS THE EUROPEAN-INFLUENCED ‘NEW TOWN’, KNOWN AS KEZIRA. TO THE EAST IS THE MORE COLOURFUL ‘OLD TOWN’, KNOWN AS MEGALA, WHICH HAS A DISTINCTLY MUSLIM (AND, COINCIDENTALLY, A SLIGHTLY MEXICAN) FEEL. THE TRAIN STATION IS AN ICONIC RELIC.
THE AIRPORT IS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY SO THAT ONE CAN FLY INTO DIRE DAWA AND BE MET BY A GUIDE AND DRIVER AND DRIVEN TO HARAR. ALONG THE WAY IS ONE OF THE LARGEST CHAT MARKETS IN AFRICA. THE HERBAL STIMULANT COMES FROM YEMEN AND THEN IS TRUCKED IN THROUGH DIJOUBITI. BUYERS AND SELLER CONDUCT BUSINESS VIA BID AND AUCTION. ALL IS IN THE OPEN AND EASILY PHOTOGRAPHED
THE FORMER HOUSE OF HAILE SELASSIE, AT PRESENT USED BY AN ETHIOPIAN HEALER, CAN BE VISITED. MORE INTERESTING IS THE HOME OF RIMBAUD, WHO SETTLED IN HARAR IN THE LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY. THE ORIGINAL HARARI HOUSES ARE ALSO WELL-KNOWN FOR THEIR BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS AND CARVINGS. ALL AROUND THE WALLED CITY ARE MARKETS SELLING BASKETS, SPICES AND THE POPULAR CHEWING HERB, CHAT. A LONG STANDING TRADITION OF FEEDING MEAT TO HYENAS ONE NIGHT A YEAR DEVELOPED IN THE 1960S INTO A NIGHTLY FEEDING
THE MAJOR ATTRACTIONS OF HARAR ARE ITS MERCHANTS, MARKETS, WALLED CITY AND UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE. FORMERLY A MAJOR TRADING CENTRE, HARAR HAS A BUSY AND LIVELY ATMOSPHERE AND IT'S EASY TO WALK AROUND THE CITY. BE SURE TO BARGAIN IN THE MARKETS.
DIRE DAWA
WELCOME TO DIRE DAWA THE FOURTH-MOST POPULOUS CITY IN ETHIOPIA, DIRE DAWA (ድሬ ዳዋ) USUALLY ELICITS STRONG REACTIONS. ITS COLOURFUL STOREFRONTS, TREE-LINED STREETS, NEAT SQUARES AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE (LOOK FOR ARAB, FRENCH, ITALIAN AND GREEK STYLES IN SOME OF THE ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN) ADD TO A PEACEFUL VIBE.
DIRE DAWA IS MADE UP OF TWO DISTINCT SETTLEMENTS, DIVIDED BY THE DECHATU WADI (SEASONAL RIVER). LYING TO THE NORTH AND WEST IS THE EUROPEAN-INFLUENCED ‘NEW TOWN’, KNOWN AS KEZIRA. TO THE EAST IS THE MORE COLOURFUL ‘OLD TOWN’, KNOWN AS MEGALA, WHICH HAS A DISTINCTLY MUSLIM (AND, COINCIDENTALLY, A SLIGHTLY MEXICAN) FEEL. THE TRAIN STATION IS AN ICONIC RELIC.
THE AIRPORT IS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY SO THAT ONE CAN FLY INTO DIRE DAWA AND BE MET BY A GUIDE AND DRIVER AND DRIVEN TO HARAR. ALONG THE WAY IS ONE OF THE LARGEST CHAT MARKETS IN AFRICA. THE HERBAL STIMULANT COMES FROM YEMEN AND THEN IS TRUCKED IN THROUGH DIJOUBITI. BUYERS AND SELLER CONDUCT BUSINESS VIA BID AND AUCTION. ALL IS IN THE OPEN AND EASILY PHOTOGRAPHED
