Harar

It was our last long distance trip outside of Addis Ababa. Harar, an ancient walled city, known as the fourth holiest city in Islam. It is said that when persecution of Muslims on the Arabian peninsula caused them to flee the people of this city welcomed them. We spent 4 days (May 5-8) of our time on this adventure.

Our entire MCC team flew to Dire Dawa, a nearby city to Harar. It was a combination cultural trip and a rest and relaxation trip. The warm air of an arid land awaited us as we disembarked from the Ethiopian airlines twin prop Bombardier aircraft. The airport was outside the city but in a short time our transport had us at the Hotel Samrat. Owned by Indian entrepreneurs, it was nice enough although we found small battles the entire weekend over noise. We were put on the 4^th floor and it seems that the 5^th floor still needed to be worked on. Work crews started pounding away in the morning so I had to make many visits to the front desk and finally the owner. Even after he told them to stop within a half an hour they had started again. There was also a pool, nice enough although the color was more green than clear. A number of locals came and swam as well.

But what we came to see was Harar. Friday was 'Harar Day' for us. We drove from Dire Dawa to Harar, a drive that took over an hour. We drove through a number of busy towns as well as through the semi arid land until we hit the outskirts of the city.

The ancient walls of Harar still stand although with some modern reinforcements. If you want to read more about the city you can go to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harar The city has grown beyond the walls as well. We walked the narrow and winding city streets for the day. The city was built on a hill thus many of the streets are as hilly as San Francisco streets. Our driver left us off in what was the closest to the center of town (ancient cities rare were neatly planned, urban sprawl was normal). Dozens of young men eagerly awaited us hoping to be asked to be the tour guide for our group of 20.

We walked first to the house of one of the first Europeans to live in the city; a French arms merchant and poet named Arthur Rimbaud. His poetry seems along the lines of Samuel Coleridge but he was active in the city in the 1880's. His house was built on one of the high points of the city where it could overlook the town and beyond. With 3 stories it was unique for its time. The house is now a museum with the French having contributed for it's upkeep. Photos from that time period were blown up, organized and nicely placed throughout the house. There were writings and poems of his also blown up to read on the wall. If you want to read more about him go to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaud

Our meals (lunch and supper) were at restaurants that surely cater to tourists, what was the giveaway? English menus and 'ferenj' food (mostly Italian). We spent time wandering the streets, some of the women and girls went to get henna designs on their arms and legs. Some of us went to the Christian gate and market place which had some similarities with the Khan il Khalili market in Cairo (the Khan is much bigger, more organized and obviously wealthier, but they both have narrow alleyways bursting with small vendors of spices and all kinds of goods. They also have covered alleys as well).

But the highlight was surely the feeding of the hyenas after nightfall. We were told to meet the 'Hyena Man' on the outskirts of town at dusk. So our drivers drove us through narrow alleyways, out past the gate and into an open area. There about a dozen hyenas were laying about. A man came with a bucket of meat scraps and instantly the hyenas jumped up and began milling about him. Our 2 vans kept their lights on so we could see the spectacle. Immediately he motioned for someone to come and help him feed the hyenas. Slowly we went, one by one, out to where the hyenas were. Some stayed back the entire time. Wanda said 'no' but I went out as well as MCCers. Our Ethiopian friends refused to go near. But now we can say that we fed the hyenas in Harar.