ETHIOPIA - THE CITIES

HARAR, known to its inhabitants as Gēy, is a
walled city in eastern Ethiopia. The city is located
on a hilltop in the eastern extension of the Ethiopian
Highlands about five hundred kilometers
from Addis Ababa at an elevation of 1,885 meters
and has a population of 80,000.
Harar is different to any other Ethiopian city, a
walled town, with over 360 twisting and winding
alleys squeezed into 1 square kilometer, it is similar
to the medinas of Morocco. Harar is the Islam
capital of Ethiopia and is crammed with mosques,
colorful markets, coffee shops and crumbling walls.
It is colorful and photogenic and the Adare (Hariri)
women’s dresses and head scarves are particularly
colorful and exotic.
The most spectacular part of the cultural Heritage
is certainly the traditional Harari house, whose
architectural form is typical, specific and original,
different from the domestic layout usually known
in Muslim countries, although reminiscent of the
coastal Arab architecture. Their style is unique
in Ethiopia and their interior design quite exceptional.
When Harari people mention the “Harari culture”
they actually refer to the beauty of their houses,
which they are very proud of. At the end of the
19 th century Indian merchants built new houses
whose wooden verandas defined a different urban
landscape and influenced the construction of
Indian/Harari houses. Their architectural and ornamental
qualities are now part of the Harari cultural
heritage. The city is very well preserved, and few
modern buildings have damaged the traditional
architectural typologies.
For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial
center, linked by the trade routes with the rest of
Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian
Peninsula, and the outside world.
HARAR JUGOL, the old walled city, was listed as a
World Heritage Site in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition
of its cultural heritage. According to UNESCO,
it is “considered ‘the fourth holy city’ of Islam” with
110 mosques, three of which date from the 10 th
century and 102 shrines.
The city’s fortified walls, built between the 13 th
and 16 th centuries, even have small holes in them
to allow the hyenas to enter the city at night.
Every night there are several hyenas that make an
appearance after the ‘hyena man’ calls them.
Harar is a city that goes by many names, from the
city of saints to a living museum, while some Ethiopians
consider it to be Islam’s fourth holiest city
after Mecca, Jerusalem and Medina. It has even
been called the city of peace. Harar’s other name
is the African Mecca, and locals here claim that
the area’s inhabitants accepted Islam eight years
before people in the holy Muslim city of Medina
in the Arabian peninsula. Followers of the Prophet
Muhammad are said to have fled persecution in
Mecca around 600 AD and found sanctuary in the
Kingdom of Axum, a territory covering present-day
Ethiopia and Eritrea.
HISTORY
The Fath Madinat Harar records that the cleric
Abadir Umr -Rida and several other religious
leaders settled in Harar circa 1216. It is likely the
original inhabitants of the region were the Harla
people. According to 12 th century Jewish traveler
Benjamin Tudela, Zaila region was the land of the
Havilah, confined by Al-Habash in the west.
The Argobba and the ancestors of the Harari
people are believed to be founders of the city
Called Gēy (“the City”) by its inhabitants, Harar
emerged as the center of Islamic culture and religion
in the Horn of Africa during the end of the
Middle Ages.
The 16 th century was the city’s Golden Age. The
local culture flourished, and many poets lived
and wrote there. It also became known for coffee,
weaving, basketry and bookbinding.
From Harar, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, also
known as “Gurey” and “Grañ” (both meaning “the
Left-handed”), launched a war of conquest in the
16th century that extended the polity’s territory
and threatened the existence of the neighboring
Christian Ethiopian Empire. His successor, Emir Nur
ibn Mujahid, built a protective wall around the city.
Four meters in height with five gates, this structure,
called Jugol, is still intact and is a symbol of
the town to the inhabitants.
During the period of Egyptian rule (1875-1884),
Arthur Rimbaud lived in the city as the local functionary
of several different commercial companies
based in Aden; he returned in 1888 to resume
trading in coffee, musk, and skins until a fatal
disease forced him to return to France. A house
said to have been his residence is now a museum.
Harar lost some of its commercial importance with
the creation of the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway,
initially intended to run via the city but diverted
north of the mountains between Harar and the
Awash River to save money.
As a result of this, Dire Dawa was founded in 1902
as New Harar. It is a lower-lying and somewhat
hotter city serviced by the region’s main airport
and railway station.
Harar was captured by Italian troops during the
Second Italo-Ethiopian War on 8 May 1937. In 1995,
the city and its environs became an Ethiopian
region in its own right. The original domesticated
coffee plant is also said to have been from Harar.
The inhabitants of Harar today represent several
different Afro-Asiatic speaking ethnic groups,
both Muslim and Christian, including the Oromo
people, Somalis, Amhara people, Gurage people
and Tigrayans. The Harari people, who refer to
themselves as Gēy ‘Usu (“People of the City”) are a
Semitic-speaking people.
Due to ethnic cleansing campaign committed
against Hararis by the Haile Selassie regime,
Hararis comprise less than 10% of the population
of their city today.
Besides the stone wall surrounding the city, the
old town is home to 110 mosques and many more
shrines, centered on Feres Magagla square. What
breathes life into these landmarks is the community
that still lives within the city walls.