Feb 16, 2008 - Harar

Got tickets and by noon we're in a minivan to Harar. ... We kept a room rented in Dire Dawa and leave our packs since it was only 35 bier($4 US) The first place in Harar was full, the 2nd too expensive. ... The streets of fHarar near the gate to the old city are jammed with people buying & selling qat(also spelled khat and cot)! It seemed on the trip from Dire Dwa that most of the cultivated land was planted in qat. ... In Harar the walled city is mainly about the Ethiopians. ... Harar is no exception to the Ethiopian cities we've visited in one aspect. ...

Jan 30, 2006 - Sensory overload in Harar

In Harar (Eastern Ethiopia) I just went mystical for a couple of days. ... In Harar, every house is a treasure trove. ... The great French poet was also a great explorer and adventurer and lived for several years in Harar. ... It's not that touristy - hyenas are ubiquitous in the area, anyway - and there's a strange tradition of feeding these animals in Harar. ...

Mar 1, 2005 - Ethiopia: Hurrah Harar

" The Drunken Boat, Arthur Rimbaud E T H I O P I A: H U R R A H H A R A R Harar, the ancient capitol of the Horn of Africa, hides in the wilds of Ethiopia, oasis central for notables from the child prodigy French poet Arthur Rimbaud and the inadvertent god and father of Rastafarians, Ras Tafari aka Emperor Haile Selassie, to the first European to enter the enclave, Sir Richard Burton. ... The setting is a medieval walled city with five gates and 24 watchtowers, forbidden to entry by non-Muslims until 1854 when Sir Richard Burton (not Liz's off and again beau) decamped, involuntarily, for ten days, describing Harar as the eastern African "counterpart of ill formed Timbuktu. ... Harar's colorful markets of Droma traders feature unending stalls for the purchase of qat (chat), a mildly euphoric leafy bush similar to laurel but when chewed to exhaustion tastes vaguely of lawn, emerging local mouths in a phosphorescent green spew. ... He said, "I'm through with those birds" and dropped out of Parisian society to wander the Middle East and roost in Harar for ten adventurous years, writing nothing else except whiny letters home. ... He took up photography and gun running for the founding father of Ethiopia, Menelik II, who appointed Ras Makonnen as Governor of Harar. ...