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HARAR

The fortified old town of Harar was the center of the powerful Adal Sultanate which ruled a big stretch of the Horn of Africa. Today Harar is a lively place with over 100 shrines and 82 mosques, the oldest of which date from the 10th century. It’s also considered to be the fourth holy city of Islam, after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Inside the ancient city walls, you wander through the colourful, mazy streets of the Old City overlooked by the unusual wood-façade houses that combine Indian and Islamic influences. Mosques nudge churches, and locals in brightly colored clothes part ways at the doors to their respective places of worship, reuniting after prayers. The city was awarded the City of Peace Prize in 2003 for its religious tolerance, and the way in which people coexist despite a history that could have caused deep rifts is very special.

You stay in a typical Harari home, its seating and sleeping platforms adorned in bright rugs, the walls hung with traditional baskets. Even the flavors here are different to those of the rest of Ethiopia, spiced with influences from India. In the evening, you go to see the feeding of the hyenas that live within the city walls, a ritual that has been practiced for many, many years. There are dozens stories about how, why and when this ritual began, but what isn’t disputed is Harer’s long relationship with its spotted hyenas. There have been ‘hyena holes’ in the walls for hundreds of years, and these scavengers are believed not only to clean the city but also to eat the evil ‘jinn’ or spirits that would otherwise possess people in the city. In the 19th century, the French poet Rimbaud was drawn to Harar, and as part of your tour, you visit his home too.